Sat.Apr 20, 2024 - Fri.Apr 26, 2024

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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.

Farming 345
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Weekend reading: report on sugar content of Nestlé’s baby food products—by country

Food Politics

An investigative report from Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN): “How Nestlé gets children hooked on sugar in lower-income countries.” Nestlé’s leading baby-food brands, promoted in low- and middle-income countries as healthy and key to supporting young children’s development, contain high levels of added sugar. In Switzerland, where Nestlé is headquartered, such products are sold with no added sugar.

Food 317
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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 145
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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

Cattle 142
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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?

Ranching 334
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At long last: legislation to reduce childhood obesity and diabetes!

Food Politics

I received an e-mailed press release from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): NEWS: Sanders and Booker Take on Food and Beverage Industry with New Legislation to Address Childhood Diabetes and Obesity Epidemics. Sen. Sanders, along with Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Peter Welch (D-VT), have introduced legislation to Take on the greed of the food and beverage industry and address the growing diabetes and obesity epidemics n

Beverage 252
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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

Seeding 144

More Trending

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Beef Market Update: Volatility in U.S. cattle markets contrasts gains in Canadian fat cattle prices

Real Agriculture

After a decent start of better markets in terms of cash cattle, the futures market ended the week to the down side. This volatility is related to news around the ongoing outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), currently confirmed in eight U.S. states and in 33 herds of U.S. dairy cattle. Earlier in the. Read More After a decent start of better markets in terms of cash cattle, the futures market ended the week to the down side.

Cattle 321
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Industry-funded study of the week: Prunes

Food Politics

I learned about this one from this article: Prune consumption may prevent bone loss for postmenopausal women. Dietary supplementation with prunes can have a broad range of effects on immune, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in postmenopausal women, according to a recent study…. Read more When I see a headline like this, my first question is , as always, who would pay for something like this?

Pruning 235
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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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Government Regulation Hits Rural Landowner As Feds Claim Dry Ditch Is “Waters of US”

AgWeb Farm Journal

Federal officials say a dry depression on Dan Ward’s Iowa land, 100 miles from a navigable river, is “waters of the United States.

Ruralism 137
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Farming Forward: How to grow more soil with advanced grazing

Real Agriculture

What does soil look like after 20 years of applying the GRASS principles? (Those are covered in this video) A soil pit in this pasture that Steve Kenyon of Greener Pastures Ranching has grazed cattle on for about 20 years shows the results of using animal impact and strategic rest periods to build not just. Read More What does soil look like after 20 years of applying the GRASS principles?

Pasture 299
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Food debate of the week: Eat snakes?

Food Politics

I kn0w you wwill want to know about this. Take your pick: PRO Eating snakes offers ‘healthy and sustainable’ protein source: A new study has found that python meat could represent a more sustainable source of protein compared to conventional animal meat…. Read more However, a new study co-authored by Dr Daniel Natusch and Dr Patrick Aust, among others, has suggested that the commercial farming of snakes could help improve agricultural food security and offer a more sustainable alternative to m

Food 230
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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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Generative AI set to fundamentally change agriculture

Western FarmPress

It is speculated that machine learning will fundamentally change farming, from breeding of new hybrids to the ways farmers gather data.

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Overwhelming support for Calves for a Cause at Canadian Dairy XPO

Real Agriculture

For Ingersoll, Ont., dairy farmer Darryl Markus it’s all about giving back. Earlier this month at the Canadian Dairy XPO (CDX), Markus and his family, and the entire Canadian dairy industry, were on hand for the Calves for a Cause auction to benefit London Children’s Health Foundation. Markus started the auction four years ago to show. Read More For Ingersoll, Ont., dairy farmer Darryl Markus it’s all about giving back.

Livestock 299
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American Diabetes Association: conflicted interests

Food Politics

Thanks to everyone who flooded my mailbox with this piece from The Guardian: She was fired after not endorsing Splenda-filled salads to people with diabetes. Why? According to a lawsuit {Elizabeth] Hanna recently filed against the ADA, the organization – which endorses recipes and food plans on its websiteand on the websites of “partner” food brands – tried to get her to greenlight recipes that she believedflew in the face of the ADA’s mission.

Food 133
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For This Alaska Town, Whaling Is a Way of Life

Civil Eats

For many Alaska Native communities, subsistence hunting and fishing is a way of life. For the Apassingok family, it accounts for more than 80 percent of their food. If Daniel Apassingok and his sons, Chris and Chase, have a particularly fruitful day out on the water pursuing seals, walruses, and whales, they can feed their entire Siberian Yup’ik village of Gambell.

Food 130
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Intern reflection: Samuel Hadacek

NASDA

Growing up on a Virginia sheep and cattle farm with two veterinarians as parents made me realize early on that what goes on in the rooms of policymakers has real effects for the boots-on-the-ground of the industry. From working on cattle farms to grain elevators to pesticide cooperatives, I have seen how policy can affect prices, usage of products and public opinion.

Pesticide 130
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Poll: Wait, cancel, or roll on — what’s your plan for equipment purchases this year?

Real Agriculture

If current crop prices, input prices, equipment values, and interest rates have you reconsidering a major purchase, you’re not alone. Thinning crop margins and an increasingly more challenging farm financial outlook for the year are showing up in some equipment sales trends and forecasts. Large equipment purchases are rarely snap decisions, however, and many farms need.

Crop 290
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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.

Farmland 127
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Breeding better hogs with artificial intelligence

Western FarmPress

Tech for ultrasound image interpretation, body weight estimation, and testicular ultrasound may determine productive versus nonproductive boars.

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Intern reflection: Karmen Sperr

NASDA

Collaboration and community. These are two things that I have learned throughout my experience at NASDA and what I believe makes the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture unique. When I first applied for this internship I did not know a lot about NASDA, but what I quickly learned was that NASDA is a very collaborative organization that combines the expertise of its staff, members and partners to make real change in advancing and supporting agriculture.

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New Holland aims to reduce harvest stress and loss with Raven Cart Automation

Real Agriculture

New Holland is touting its recent joint venture with Raven industries as an opportunity for grain growers to access grain cart automation that can reduce cart operator stress and also reduce grain spillage. Earlier this year, New Holland announced a joint venture with Raven Industries to make Raven Cart Automation available on its combines in. Read More New Holland is touting its recent joint venture with Raven industries as an opportunity for grain growers to access grain cart automation that c

Grain 279
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A Margin Squeeze is Setting in Across Row-Crop Farms, and 80% of Ag Economists Are Now Concerned It'll Accelerate Consolidation

AgWeb Farm Journal

A Margin Squeeze is Setting in Across Row-Crop Farms, and 80% of Ag Economists Are Now Concerned It'll Accelerate Consolidation apiuser Fri, 04/26/2024 - 11:31

Crop 125
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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.

Cattle 124
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Coalition Letter to USTR Urging Engagement on Trade Policies

NASDA

Letter Dear Ambassador Tai, On behalf of the U.S. food and agriculture community, we urge your enhanced engagement on trade policies to bolster our global competitive standing around the world. Recommitting to an aggressive trade agenda, holding parties accountable to commitments, and improving trade enforcement mechanisms are critical steps that need to be taken.

Mechanics 130
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New Kinze split-row, folding planter to debut in 2025

Real Agriculture

From hitch pin to closing wheels, Kinze plans to introduce a new 5670 pivot fold, split-row model planter for the 2025 planting season. “It’s kind of the next member of our 5000 series family,” says Kinze product specialist Brad Niensteadt. In this report from Commodity Classic in Houston, Texas, he tells RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin that.

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What’s it like to farm in Iowa and Brazil?

Western FarmPress

FP Next — Deep Dive: A Farm Futures columnist and farmer in Iowa and Brazil talks about opportunities and challenges in Brazilian agriculture.

Farming 122
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APHIS To Require Electronic Animal ID for Certain Cattle and Bison

AgWeb Farm Journal

APHIS issued its final rule on animal ID that has been in place since 2013, switching from solely visual tags to tags that are both electronically and visually readable for certain classes of cattle moving interstate.

Cattle 122
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1890 Scholars Program Revealed and Strengthened Skills

USDA Blog

Kristina Edwards learned about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 1890 National Scholars Program her senior year in high school. One year later, she was named an 1890 Scholar and remained one for the entirety of her time at Prairie View A&M in Texas. “Receiving this honor made me proud of my accomplishments,” she said. “I was excited and relieved.

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Hunt appointed chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission

Real Agriculture

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay has announced the appointment of David Hunt as the new chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission. Hunt will replace Doug Chorney, whose term expires at the end of April. Chorney chose to not re-apply for the job. Hunt has worked for the Manitoba government since 2007, starting as a.

Grain 278
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Calif. pot industry owes $732m in taxes

Western FarmPress

Most of it is owed by businesses that have already failed.

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Who Is The Driving Force Buying Farmland?

AgWeb Farm Journal

David Muth of Peoples Company Capital Markets, the Investment platform for Peoples Company, shares how institutional investors have reacted to higher interest rates on their land investments pursuits.

Farmland 120
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Investing in Wastewater Infrastructure is Key to Preserving Smith Island, Maryland

USDA Blog

For the people living on Smith Island, the water matters. But it’s about more than the beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay from the picturesque island ten miles from the mainland. The multi-generational residents depend on the surrounding Chesapeake Bay for their livelihoods. For many, crabbing, oystering, and ecotourism are what puts dollars in their bank accounts, and food on their tables.

Food 120
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Evolving Massey Ferguson planters pair proven performance to precision

Real Agriculture

Building on a solid foundation is one way to produce a dependable planter that offers the latest in precision planting technology. That’s what farmers can expect when they take a look at Massey Ferguson VE Series planters, says marketing product specialist Forrest Francis. In this report from Commodity Classic at Houston, Texas, Francis notes how.

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How will AI impact farming?

Western FarmPress

Artificial intelligence could further speed farm growth and consolidation, some observers say.

Farming 122