Secretary Perdue Statement on Beef Processing Facility in Holcomb, Kansas

(Washington, D.C. August 28, 2019) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement regarding the beef processing facility in Holcomb, Kan.: “As part of our continued efforts to monitor the impact of the fire at the beef processing facility in Holcomb, Kan., I have directed USDA’s Packers and Stockyards Division to launch an investigation into recent beef pricing margins to determine if there is any evidence of price manipulation, collusion,…

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Why Consider Backgrounding a Calf?

Stan Smith, PA, Fairfield County OSU Extension The recent packing house fire in Kansas has the potential to cause a backlog in feedyards that pressures feeder calf prices this fall. Backgrounding calves for later sale is an alternative. Typically, when feed prices go down, we see feeder calf prices begin to climb as a corresponding move. That is, unless fed cattle prices are unstable or declining. A fire in a Kansas cattle packing…

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National Classic Promotes Breed, Primes Future Generation

Real-world genetics and youth development meet at Simmental's premier junior show. Bozeman, MT - The Simmental breed is founded on data, but it balances a science-backed approach with youth development. Both existed in tandem during the American Junior Simmental Association's National Classic, hosted in Louisville, Kentucky.   "Here at the National Classic, we pride ourselves in our educational contests that we have throughout the week. We have a genetic evaluation quiz, a cattlemen's quiz,…

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South Dakota: Cover Crops After Small Grains

David Karki SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist Due to extremely wet spring and consistent moisture through the summer, grain harvests have slowed down a bit across South Dakota. According to USDA- National Agricultural Statistics Service (as of Aug 18th, 2019) only 76% of winter wheat harvest has been completed in the state well behind 95% of five-year average. Similarly, only 27% of spring wheat and 60% of oat are harvested, well behind 75%…

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Hay Quality Considerations

Adele Harty, SDSU Extension Cow/Calf Field Specialist The weather-related opportunities and challenges that 2019 has presented are forcing farmers and ranchers to alter “normal” management decisions. The precipitation and forage growth that the state has experienced this year is something most have never seen and may never see again, but with the additional rainfall, comes variation in forage quality. SDSU Extension encourages producers to test hay and forage crops every year, but if…

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Unique Public-Private Research Maps the Future for Dryland Crops

Kansas sorghum growers’ investment supports grant funds, industry participation in crop improvementMANHATTAN, Kan. – Many sorghum growers believe their crop can be a key to the future partly because of its drought-tolerant nature. Now they’re banding together in an unprecedented way to invest in that belief.The worsening reality of water scarcity means research and increased production of dryland crops such as sorghum, millet and other “ancient grains” is a race against time. Groundwater…

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Federal Court Sends Illegal Water Rule Back to EPA

A federal court says the 2015 Waters of the United States rule is unlawful under the Clean Water Act because of its “vast expansion of jurisdiction over waters and land traditionally within the states’ regulatory authority.” The court for the Southern District of Georgia found the agency overstepped not just the CWA, but also the Administrative Procedure Act, which lays out the most basic rules governing how agencies may propose and establish federal…

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USDA Details Trade Damage Estimate Calculations

(Washington, D.C., August 23, 2019) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Chief Economist has published a detailed accounting of how estimated damage from trade disruptions was calculated for its support package for farmers announced on July 25, 2019. USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist developed an estimate of gross trade damages for commodities with assessed retaliatory tariffs by China, India,…

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K-State, KDA Equip Law Enforcement with Knowledge About Industrial Hemp

Researchers offer up-close education at recent, standing-room only research center tour HAYSVILLE, Kan. – More than 60 law enforcement officials from across Kansas packed a small room at the John C. Pair Horticultural Center recently to prep themselves for questions they may soon be getting about industrial hemp in the state. Kansas State University researchers are growing and testing their first crops of industrial hemp at research centers in Haysville, Olathe and Colby.…

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