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- Ohio Livestock Coalition accepting nominations for 'Neighbor of the Year' awards
- Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductees announced
- Ohio Congressional delegation involved in Farm Bill progress
- It’s half a ton, it’s on the loose and it wants to run. Stay calm?
- Legal tips for all purpose vehicle use
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Farm bill with cuts to food stamps splits Democrats
The House Agriculture Committee will consider a farm bill Wednesday that contains a $20.5 billion cut over 10 years to the food stamp program, drawing objections from committee member James McGovern, Democrat of Worcester.
Tn. Governor vetoes 'ag gag' measure over constitutional issues
He also agreed with state Attorney General Robert Cooper’s assessment that the bill is constitutionally suspect. But the governor also called on state lawmakers to revisit the issue. He expressed sympathy for farmers who say they fear “large-scale attacks on their livelihoods” from secret recordings.
Bowman v. Monsanto: U.S. Supreme Court sides with Monsanto in biotech ag seed pa
A federal court in Indiana ruled in favor of Monsanto and awarded damages to Monsanto of $84,456. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the case, before the Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter. (Read the Supreme Court’s opinion in Bowman v. Monsanto.)
EPA Makes a Mess
In a statement from Nancy Stoner, prepared for DTN, the agency acknowledges missteps were made: "After a recent release by EPA of CAFO- and AFO-related information under a Freedom of Information Act request, the agricultural community raised a number of privacy concerns. In response, EPA determined that some personal information that could have been protected under FOIA was released.
Supreme Court favors Monsanto in seed saving case
Despite the narrow focus of the ruling, many in the industry see the decision as having wide reaching implications.
Agriculture is expected to remain strong in the coming decade
Overall, this report indicates an optimistic future that includes some bumps along the way. A couple of these bumps include the short-term softening of commodity prices which are affected by increased production encouraged by high prices from the drought induced short crops of 2012 and increasing crude oil prices.
Catholic groups say agriculture laws should aid poor, farmers
“In the face of continuing budgetary constraints, the 2013 Farm Bill is an opportunity to address our nation’s broken and outdated agricultural policies,” they said.
Crop Insurance Expansion Pushes Cost Increase in Latest U.S. Farm Bills
The federally subsidized crop insurance program, the costliest part of the U.S. farm safety net, would spin off at least three new types of coverage and could cost 10 percent more under draft farm bills pending in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
Farm bill: Still a little something for everyone
Each bill would eliminate $5 billion in annual direct payments that aren't tied to production or crop prices and would consolidate other programs. At the same time, the bills would create new programs with some of that money and raise the subsidies for some crops while business is booming in the agricultural sector.
OARDC breaks ground on new ag engineering building
The 40,000-plus square foot facility will replace the one destroyed by a tornado Sept. 16, 2010. It is expected to be finished in 18-20 months and will house more than 50 employees. All current employees of the facility have been forced to relocate.
USDA Report Summary
The slow start to the corn planting this year has prompted USDA to back off its early projected corn yields, though the May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates still project record corn production of 14.1 billion bushels.
Future Heads of Family Farms Dig Into Financials
While other classes teach ag students how to repair combines or learn the proper chemical mixes of common fertilizers, students in agricultural economist Kevin Moore's "Returning to the Farm" class create business plans using financial information from their own family farms.
House Ag Committee Releases Farm Bill Discussion Draft
House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota released a discussion draft of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management, or FARRM Act of 2013. The bipartisan bill cuts spending, reduces the size of government, and makes common-sense reforms to policy.
Are your farm acres covered?
The Muskingum and Guernsey conservation districts will have a cover crop informational meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 30. The meeting will be at the Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Co-Op meeting room, 17 S. Liberty St., New Concord.
Congress Poised to Move on Farm Bill
The atmosphere on Capitol Hill for the farm bill suddenly seems to be full speed ahead.
The Senate Agriculture Committee will mark up its bill on Tuesday, and the House Agriculture Committee will follow suit on Wednesday.
HSUS creates its own Ohio ag council to try and gain farming ‘street cred’
I re-read a comment in HSUS’ media release from John Dinon, HSUS’ Ohio director of outreach and engagement: “We are excited to connect Ohio’s conscientious consumers to the kind of traditional family farmers they want to support.”
Still time to enter ODA’s “Agriculture is Cool!”
Ohio children enrolled in school or home schooled during the 2012-2013 academic year are encouraged to capture their personal interpretation of why Ohio agriculture is cool for their chance to win prizes including Ohio State Fair concert tickets. Entries must be postmarked by May 15, 2013.
Farm payments to resume says FSA
This includes payments for the 2011 Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE), the Noninsured Crop Assistance Program (NAP) and the Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC).
Draft farm bill aids pork, beef lobbies
The Midwest Corn Belt would retain its costly new Agricultural Risk Coverage program—which was the mainstay of the commodity title approved last summer by the Senate in the last Congress. But the ARC payments have been trimmed back modestly and more importantly, the standard index changed from a five-month average market price to the 12-month average.
Extension agent: Farmers need to help curb flooding
Hoorman said three things are important when slowing down the rate of water going to the ditches and rivers: water infiltration, soil absorption of water and peak water discharge to the rivers and streams. He said tillage and land management affect them all.
New farm machinery cautioni signs planned
Farm machinery caution signs are being installed on Hancock County and township roads. The Hancock County Farm Bureau recently purchased 75 diamond-shaped signs with the message, "Caution-Farm Machinery."
USDA and EPA: Report shows no definitive reason for honey bee colony collapse
The USDA and the United States EPA released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health May 2. The report states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.
Farmers get reprieve on fuel storage regs
This amendment states the U.S. EPA may not use any of its funds to enforce the SPCC rule against farms for a period of 180 days, until after Sept. 26, 2013. So while this ruling does not currently exempt farmers from having a SPCC plan, it does give them a few more months to develop a plan.
Scioto County: Bringing agriculture to area students
The event brought hundreds of area elementary students to the fairgrounds to learn about various aspects of agriculture in the community.
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS DATA-DRIVEN NUTRITION ASSISTANCE
The proposed database would help the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and its state-level partners make smarter decisions about where to invest time and money,