Trump Administration Takes Major Step to Improve Implementation of the Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON (March 12, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new method for conducting biological evaluations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to assure that pesticide registration review actions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) do not jeopardize endangered species. The updated method ensures that—when available—the agency will use high-quality historical data that reflects where and how certain pesticides are used. “Responsible pesticide use is an essential tool…

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Minimizing antibiotic resistance in beef cattle

Using the appropriate antibiotics is best for both livestock and people, say veterinarians at Kansas State University. K-State experts discuss proper use of antibiotics in a treatment protocol MANHATTAN, Kan. – Remember going to the doctor when you were a kid and you left after receiving a shot to cure your ailments? Contrast that to today when patients often are told that it is just a virus and they leave the office with…

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Semen/Nitrogen Tank Care

Dean Kreager, Licking County Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator Handle with care. The inner container is only attached to the outer container at the neck and a crack in this connection will cause the tank to quickly fail! It is almost time to start breeding for the 2021 calf crop. Last week I talked about proper semen handling so this week I thought it was worth providing some information on care and handling…

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Are Genetics the Key to Dealing with Fescue Toxicosis?

Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County, OSU Extension (originally published in The Ohio Cattleman, Expo 2020 issue) One of the sessions that I attended during the American Forage and Grassland Council at the beginning of 2020 explored the possibility of identifying genetic markers in cattle for tolerance of the endophytic fungus that lives within the KY-31 tall fescue forage, which is the most prominent pasture grass in our region. This…

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Managing Mud Season

Ted Wiseman, OSU Extension, Perry County (originally published in Farm and Dairy) This is not a new topic or an issue that we haven’t seen before.  But this past year has really been a challenge for ruminants.  In a normal year mud season was early fall, then freeze in the winter and then reappear in March.  This year it started after last September’s dry weather, and since then it’s been mud season.  This…

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USDA Announces Continued Progress on Implementation of China Phase One Agreement

(Washington, D.C., March 10, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that China has continued its progress in implementing the U.S.-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement and has taken several additional actions to realize its agriculture-related commitments. The agreement entered into force on February 14, 2020, and the actions announced today build upon the measures announced on February 25. The most recent actions include: Signing a protocol that allows…

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OSU to celebrate meat sciences at annual event

By Brian Brus STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State University is celebrating 100 years of meat science during the annual Animal Sciences Weekend in early April. The weekend will kick off with a scholarship banquet April 3 at the Wes Watkins Center for International Trade Development and run through April 5 with the Cowboy Classic production sale at the Purebred Beef Center. Highlights will include tours of the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural…

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K-State researchers test fertilizers for best results in Kansas, other soils

Liquid fertilizers are best in calcareous soils, they say MANHATTAN, Kan. – Ganga Hettiarachchi knows that farmers want to be good stewards of the environment. And as a soil scientist at Kansas State University, she is in a good position to help them along the way. Hettiarachchi and former doctoral student Jay Weeks recently completed a study of how phosphorus – an important nutrient for growing farm crops – reacts in alkaline farmland,…

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USDA Improving Services to Provide More SNAP Participants the Dignity of Work

New rule encourages more robust services and opportunities to gain skills for today’s job market (Washington, D.C., March 5, 2020) – In light of President Trump’s historic economic expansion - with a 3.6% unemployment rate and 6.4 million job openings across the nation - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a proposed rule that will strengthen the way states serve SNAP recipients through Employment and Training. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants…

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