April, 2024

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Glyphosate resistant lamb’s-quarters confirmed in Quebec

Real Agriculture

Glyphosate resistance has been confirmed in lamb’s-quarters in Quebec. The finding, which comes from the CÉROM grain research centre, is the first confirmation of glyphosate resistance in the annual weed anywhere in the world. University of Guelph research scientist Dr.

Grain 353
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NEW: USDA Confirms Cow-to-Cow Transmission a Factor in Avian Flu Spread

AgWeb Farm Journal

USDA said this week cow-to-cow transmission is a factor in the spread of avian flu in dairy herds, but it still does not know exactly how the virus is being moved around.

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European Funding will take cell-to-cell communication research to next level

Agri-tech

Curiosity-driven research probing the mysteries of cell-to-cell communication has been awarded prestigious European Research Council (ERC) funding. Professor Christine Faulkner and her group at the John Innes Centre have received the ERC Advanced Grant which supports excellent research scientists who are established in their field. “This funding will take our discovery research into cell-to-cell.

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Strawberry Farmworkers Fight for a Living Wage

Civil Eats

Driving north from Santa Barbara on California’s Highway 101, you wind through miles of grapevines climbing gently rolling hills. It’s a bucolic vision of agriculture, with hardly a worker in sight. As soon as you drop into the Santa Ynez Valley, that vision changes. Here, from March through October, endless rows of strawberries fill the valley’s plain.

Farming 140
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FP Next: Just how much farmland does Bill Gates own?

Western FarmPress

Ep. 10: It’s not just the farmer down the road buying land; media and business moguls, companies, and even China are making significant purchases. What does that mean for you?

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How do animals react to a solar eclipse?

AgriLife Today

Wildlife responses vary from unbothered to anxious While many of us are preparing for the solar eclipse on April 8 with ISO-approved solar eclipse glasses and extra water and fuel, animals will naturally be caught unaware by the premature darkening of the sky. So, how do they respond? Jacob Dykes, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Read More → The post How do animals react to a solar eclipse?

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Help shape the future of farm support!

Real Agriculture

These days, the Canadian Federal Government and multinational food companies are investing hundreds of millions to support BMPs on Canadian farms. Here’s the thing, nobody knows your operation better than you do. These programs need YOUR feedback on what you want and need. Everyone in agriculture is focused on productivity and profitability, and so Food Water Wellness.

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More Trending

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Barley plants fine-tune their root microbial communities through sugary secretions

Agri-tech

Different types of barley recruit distinct communities of soil microbes to grow around their roots by releasing a custom mix of sugars and other compounds, research from the John Innes Centre finds. Beneficial soil microbes that live on or around plant roots can provide nutrition, help the plant withstand stress and protect it from pathogenic microbes.

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Seeds from Wild Crop Relatives Could Help Agriculture Weather Climate Change

Civil Eats

In the rugged Tumacácori mountain region 45 minutes south of Tucson, the Wild Chile Botanical Area (WCBA) was established in 1999 to protect and study the chiltepin pepper —the single wild relative of hundreds of sweet and hot varieties including jalapeño, cayenne, and bell peppers, found on dinner plates worldwide. The isolation of this ecologically rich archipelago of peaks, located in a “sea” of desert that stretches from northern Mexico into southern Arizona, means that plants grow here that

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Tax refund, mentor ignite cattle career

Western FarmPress

Cattle buyer Clint Langley purchased his first set of heifers at 14 years old with his dad's tax refund check. See where he's at today and who he credits for getting him into the order-buying business.

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On the Ground with the Farmers Producing Antibiotic-Free Meat

Modern Farmer

Nearly four decades ago, Ron Mardesen and his wife Denise stopped using antibiotics on their hog farm, A-Frame Acres, in Elliot, Iowa. He decided there was a better way to raise his animals, one that wouldn’t require the need for routine antibiotics. After prioritizing clean feed, fresh air, comfortable bedding and plenty of space, he says his pigs began to thrive.

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How capital gains taxation changes will impact the farm succession plan

Real Agriculture

There may be a flurry of activity in several accountants’ offices over the next 10 weeks as farm families grapple with how changes to the capital gains inclusion rate and exemption laid out in the latest federal budget may impact their succession planning. The government plans to increase the taxable portion of capital gains —. Read More There may be a flurry of activity in several accountants’ offices over the next 10 weeks as farm families grapple with how changes to the capital ga

Farming 340
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A Message to the Ag Industry about H5N1

AgWeb Farm Journal

The livestock industry needs a comprehensive, cohesive plan to address the virus. Producers, their employees and veterinarians need clear answers and support from U.S. agricultural leadership, moving forward.

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Biochemical Society Award for Researcher

Agri-tech

Dr Sam Mugford has received a prestigious award for his outstanding service in supporting the research of the John Innes Centre. Sam, a research assistant in the group of Professor Saskia Hogenhout, has been recognised by the Biochemical Society’s 2025 Awards with the Research Support award. “This is a huge honour and an amazing surprise,” said Sam.

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Are there any business impacts from the total eclipse?

DTN

The exciting solar eclipse will be hitting the U.S. on April 8, 2024. And if you are lucky enough to be within an approximately 170-mile wide strip of land stretching from Texas to Maine, you are in the path of a total solar eclipse. This type of event won’t happen again in the U.S. until 2044, so it’s no wonder many people are making travel plans to take in those few precious minutes of the sun totally eclipsed by the moon.

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Who is holding onto corn?

Western FarmPress

Ag Marketing IQ: Illinois and Iowa producers hold nearly 3 billion bushels in corn stocks, limiting rally opportunities on the cash market. Weather and fuel production could fuel short-lived market rallies.

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Agriculture is a Way of Life for This 1890 Scholar

USDA Blog

Leigh Adams grew up in Houston, Texas, where agriculture and the outdoors were a way of life for her. “When I wasn’t at school, I was in the country tending to the ranch, fishing, baling hay or hunting,” she said. “Doing these activities brought nothing but happiness.

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Durnin redefining farm and ranch wear for women

Real Agriculture

What do you do if you’re a woman working in agriculture and you can’t find comfortable work clothes? How about starting your own clothing line? That’s what independent agronomist Michelle Durnin did in 2021 when she launched Durnin Farm & Ranch Wear to design and sell women’s workwear. At the Canadian Dairy XPO in Stratford, Read More What do you do if you’re a woman working in agriculture and you can’t find comfortable work clothes?

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USDA Now Requiring Mandatory Testing and Reporting of HPAI in Dairy Cattle as New Data Suggests Virus Outbreak is More Widespread

AgWeb Farm Journal

USDA Now Requiring Mandatory Testing and Reporting of HPAI in Dairy Cattle as New Data Suggests Virus Outbreak is More Widespread apiuser Wed, 04/24/2024 - 12:15

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Despite Recent Headlines, Urban Farming Is Not a Climate Villain

Civil Eats

At the end of January, multiple publications including Modern Farmer and Bloomberg ran eye-catching stories on the results of a research study published in Nature. Forbes declared that, “Urban Farming Has a Shockingly High Climate Cost,” a headline that was outright wrong in terms of the study’s findings. Earth.com led with a single, out-of-context data point: “Urban agriculture’s carbon footprint is 6x greater than normal farms.

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New and Young Farmers Increasing, According to Agriculture Census

Food Tank

The 2024 Census of Agriculture from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals a growing number of new and beginning and young producers in the United States. Despite these changes, the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture say progress is still necessary to support these groups. In 2022, the number of farms with new and beginning producers in the United States increased by about 5 percent from 2017.

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Burned acreage recovering; more rain needed

Western FarmPress

Pastures scorched by the Smokehouse Creek Fire are beginning to recover. Funds are available to assist Texas and Oklahoma producers impacted. Preparations continue for next week's beef conference.

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Savi Horne: Stewarding Land Access and Environmental Justice

USDA Blog

For Savonala “Savi” Horne, every day is like Earth Day, a day celebrated on April 22 annually since 1970 as a call to mobilize millions of Americans to drive positive action for our planet. As the Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, Land Loss Prevention Project (LLPP) and a member of the USDA Equity Commission’s Agriculture Subcommittee, Horne stands as a steward of equitable land access and a formidable force in the field of environmental justice and sustainab

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Corn School: Does planting into green cover crops work?

Real Agriculture

Planting corn directly into a living cover crop before it is killed by herbicide or tillage is not something growers would have considered 30 years ago, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs soil management specialist Jake Munroe. More and more farmers, however, are now willing to take the leap thanks to advances. Read More Planting corn directly into a living cover crop before it is killed by herbicide or tillage is not something growers would have considered 30 years ago

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Vilsack Links China’s Reduced Ag Purchases to U.S. Policy Shifts

AgWeb Farm Journal

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack suggests China’s reduced purchases of American agricultural products, particularly corn and soybeans, may be linked to recent actions taken by the U.S.

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The Shrimp on Your Table Has a Dark History

Civil Eats

A few months ago, along the coast of Andhra Pradesh in eastern India, Josh Farinella drove 40 minutes out of his way to visit workers who peel shrimp for Choice Canning, where he worked as a shrimp factory manager. He didn’t travel to the rural area for any of his job responsibilities; he was there to document injustice. He observed a crew of local women quickly peeling shrimp along rusty tables in 90-degree heat, wearing street clothes and flip-flops.

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Biogas From Mega-Dairies Is a Problem, Not a Solution

Modern Farmer

At the end of February, the town board of Lind, Wisconsin voted against changing the zoning laws to allow a nearby 600-cow dairy to install an anaerobic digester. These digesters are becoming more common, particularly at larger dairy operations housing thousands of cows, called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This is partially because they have been included as a key ingredient in the Biden administration’s pledge to reduce methane emissions in animal agriculture.

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IRS has new guidance for retirement accounts and farmers

Western FarmPress

Estate Plan Edge: Only 40% of farmers invest in qualified retirement accounts — or in other words, not farmland. But the IRS has a rule change that may make retirement accounts more favorable for farmers.

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Mexico Is Right to Reject GMO Tortillas

Food Tank

A trade dispute between Mexico and the United States over genetically engineered (GMO) corn is pitting science against the power of the pesticide industry. On both sides of the border, and perhaps worldwide, this dispute promises to focus a new generation of eaters, public health scientists, and political leaders on what is known, and not known, about the safety of food made from GMO corn.

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The Sharp Edge: Sulphur strategies for higher-yielding soybeans

Real Agriculture

Research from Purdue University agronomy professor Shaun Casteel indicates that early sulphur applications broadcast pre-plant or right at planting can deliver a soybean yield bump in specific conditions. On the season debut of The Sharp Edge, Maizex agronomist Henry Prinzen takes that knowledge to the field to compare notes with Simcoe, Ontario, grower Kyle Sowden.

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How Do Wind, Solar, Renewable Energy Effect Land Values?

AgWeb Farm Journal

“If we step back and look at what that means for farmland, we're taking our energy production system from highly centralized production facilities and we have to distribute it,” says David Muth.

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New School Meal Standards Could Put More Local Food on Students’ Lunch Trays

Civil Eats

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized long-anticipated changes to the nutrition standards that regulate school meals. Among the changes that attracted the most attention were the first-ever limits on added sugar and a scaled-down plan to reduce salt. But another small tweak has big implications for the increasing number of schools working to get more fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats produced by nearby farmers onto students’ trays.

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Making Old Orchards New Again

Modern Farmer

Wherever you find an old homestead—a house and barn with a little bit of land that has stood from sometime in the 1800s or early 1900s—you’ll find an apple tree. It may be gnarly, with limbs clawing out in all different directions like a witch’s unkempt hair. It may be surrounded by weeds and overgrowth, struggling skyward for the nutrition of the sun.

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Summit blends high tech with agriculture

Western FarmPress

Slideshow: The ag tech marketplace has exploded over the last decade, and it’s expected to continue growing at a rapid pace, as seen at Agri-Tech Innovation Summit.

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Sludge report

Food Environment and Reporting Network

Share Tweet This Story’s Impact 8 million monthly web readers. 2 million monthly social users. Mother Jones Dostie Farm, an organic dairy in Fairfield, Maine, was thriving until one day in October 2020 when owner Egide Dostie Jr. got a call from Stonyfield, his exclusive buyer. Something was off with the farm’s milk: Tests had found that it contained three times the state’s allowable level of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, one of the class of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.

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Edible Bean School: Reviewing the planting checklist

Real Agriculture

It won’t be long before the soil is fit and planters roll into edible bean fields. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Edible Bean School, Hensall Co-op field marketer and edible bean grower Dave Louwagie shares a checklist he uses to make sure all systems are go when conditions are right for dry beans. To. Read More It won’t be long before the soil is fit and planters roll into edible bean fields.

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Exchange: Argentina’s Corn Crop ‘Likely’ Faces More Cuts

AgWeb Farm Journal

Argentina’s corn production, already cut sharply due a stunt disease spread by leafhopper insects, was “likely” to be cut further, the Rosario Grain Exchange said.

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