KFGO & Growing Harvest Ag Network’s Sarah Heinrich & Rusty Halvorson bring you the latest in agriculture news and information from the Upper Midwest.
Solar storm knocks out GPS during planting
While a solar storm brought the aurora borealis to a large part of the U.S., it also played havoc with farmers in the middle of spring planting. 404 Media says the storm broke critical GPS and precision farming abilities in tractors and agricultural equipment at a time when they're especially important. These outages f...
6m ago
USDA announces projects to strengthen rural infrastructure
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is funding 47 projects in 23 states to improve access to reliable electricity and clean drinking water for more than one million people and create good-paying jobs across the nation. The announcement was made during President Biden's Infrast...
28m ago
Kevin Dooley / CC
Minnesota soy checkoff trade mission to Uzbekistan yields soybean meal sale
The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council's (MSR&PC) long-term, global vision is paying off, as soy checkoff investments recently led to Uzbekistan purchasing 150 metric tons of U.S.-origin soybean meal. This marks the second shipment of soybean meal to Uzbekistan since 2022 and comes on the heels of a...
31m ago
United Soybean Board / CC
April 2024 Sales of 4-Wheel-Drive Tractors Jump More than 20% in the U.S.
U.S. Sales of 4-Wheel-Drive tractors increased 24.1% in April compared to 2023, according to the new data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Additionally, 4-Wheel-Drive tractor sales are up 1.9% in the U.S. year-to-date. Unit sales of 100+ Horsepower tractors increased in the U.S. April sales rose 7...
1h ago
FFA Teacher Ambassadors announced for upcoming school year
National FFA Organization, headquartered in Indianapolis, is proud to announce the incoming cohort of National Teacher Ambassadors for the 2024-2025 school year. There will be 64 National Teacher Ambassadors representing 31 different states, as well as Puerto Rico. The National Teacher Ambassadors will serve as the lea...
2h ago
USDA seeks partnership proposals on CRP benefits
The USDA strongly encourages eligible conservation partners to submit proposals for $10 million in available funds to research the Conservation Reserve Program's environmental benefits. CRP is one of the world's largest voluntary conservation programs with an established track record of preserving topsoil, sequestering...
May 13, 2024
U.S. Department of Agriculture / CC
Finstad and Fischbach introduce FARMER Act in the House
Brad Finstad (R-MN) and Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) introduced the Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience Act into the House last week. The FARMER Act is intended to strengthen crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable for producers. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) had previousl...
May 13, 2024
USGC expanding opportunities in established Asian markets
The U.S. Grains Council recently organized marketing conferences promoting U.S. corn fermented protein (CFP) and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) in South Korea and Taiwan. Both countries are already important trade partners for U.S. agriculture but still have significant opportunities for growth in CFP and...
May 13, 2024
Jeff Hitchcock / CC
NMPF statement on "higher-of" inclusion in the House farm bill
From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud: "We commend House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn 'GT' Thompson, R-PA, for including language in the House farm bill to restore the previous "higher of" Class I mover formula. The previous mover served dairy farmers well for decades, while the current mover ...
May 10, 2024
eutrophication&hypoxia / CC
USDA announces new actions to reduce impact and spread of H5N1
On March 25, 2024, immediately following the first detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle in the Texas panhandle region, USDA and HHS began their work to understand the origin of the emergence and its potential impact in bovines and humans. USDA experts also took swift action to trace animal movements, began sampling to ass...
May 10, 2024
Julia Rubinic / CC
USDA forecasts winter wheat production up 2% in 2024
U.S. farmers are expected to produce 1.28 billion bushels of winter wheat this year, according to the Crop Production report released today by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In NASS's first winter wheat production forecast for 2024, production is expected to increase 2% from 2023. As of May 1, ...
May 10, 2024
Dmitry Kalinin / CC
12,000 people visit Ag on the Mall in D.C.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers partnered with other ag industry stakeholders to showcase American agriculture at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It was a chance to show the public how farmers feed and fuel the world while protecting the environment for future generations. More than 12,000 people came ...
May 10, 2024
U.S. Drought Monitor: Wet weather across Great Plains and Midwest led to scattered improvements
Heavy precipitation fell in western Oregon and adjacent southwest Washington and northwest California this week, and across large portions of the central U.S., as a series of storm systems caused continued bouts of severe thunderstorms and unfortunately included more significant tornadoes. The wet weather across portio...
May 10, 2024
Age of U.S. farmers still concerning
The average age of U.S. farmers remains a concerning topic. Farmdoc Daily says the 2022 Census of Agriculture confirms that U.S. farmers continue getting older. However, America's farmers are also becoming younger relative to the U.S. population. Relative to the rest of the population, the farmers have become slightly ...
May 10, 2024
USDA NRCS Texas / CC
Rounds introduces legislation to prevent mandatory electronic tagging of livestock
U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced legislation that would prevent federal government overreach on the operations of South Dakota farmers and ranchers. The bill would prevent the Secretary of Agriculture from implementing any rule or regulation requiring the mandatory use of electronic identification tags, or ...
May 09, 2024
K-State Research and Extension / CC
American and Australian cattle producers commit to partnership through joint statement signing
Leaders of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and Cattle Australia (CA) signed a joint statement at the Beef 2024 convention in Rockhampton, Australia to further the two organizations' partnership on issues related to cattle health, lab-grown proteins, and sustainability. "America's cattle farmers an...
May 09, 2024
EPA, FDA, and USDA issue joint regulatory plan for biotechnology
In response to President Biden's Executive Order 14081, "Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ...
May 09, 2024
Phil Warren / CC
U.S. and Mexico dairy industries renew commitment to cross-border cooperation
Leading dairy representatives from the United States and Mexico met this week in Chihuahua, Mexico to renew their commitment to collaborate and advocate on mutually beneficial dairy policies. This was the sixth meeting between leading U.S. and Mexico dairy organizations since 2016. The National Milk Producers Federatio...
May 09, 2024
Marco Verch Professional Photographer / CC
New bill would scale up voluntary, locally-led big game conservation on working lands
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Congressmen Ryan Zinke (R-Mont) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) introduced the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act. This bill would support and expand voluntary efforts to improve wildlife habitat, including big game habitat, on private and working lands. Building on the success of ...
May 09, 2024
Meat Institute updates animal handling guidelines to include bison
To help drive the meat industry forward, the Meat Institute has updated its Animal Handling Guidelines and Animal Welfare Audit. The changes include scores for each criterion, allowing the Institute's members to set goals. The Meat Institute also released a new bison animal welfare audit. The guidelines and audit were ...
May 09, 2024