President Donald Trump will host Chinese President Xi Jinping (she-gin-ping) in April at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The two-day meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 6th and 7th.
General Mills to Commercialize Organic Perennial Wheat
General Mills and Cascadian Farm announced last week the two will work with the Land Institute to commercialize organic Kernza, a perennial grain and wild relative of annual wheat. The intermediate wheatgrass grows deep roots that show promise to increase soil health, carbon sequestration, water retention and enhance surrounding wildlife habitat, according to General Mills.
Organic Farmers Group Growing
The Organic Farmers Association is gaining momentum, according to Politico. The group, organized by the Rodale (roh-dale) Institute, has formed a steering committee and will hold leadership elections early next year. The panel includes 12 voting seats for certified organic farmers and seven non-voting seats for organic farm organizations. The Rodale Institute says the organization has “several hundred members” that …
Report Shows Equipment Manufacturers Economic Contributions
A new report shows the equipment manufacturing industry supported almost 1.3 million jobs in the United States last year.
Texas, Kansas Suspend Trucking Restrictions for Wildfire Relief
The Governors of Kansas and Texas suspended trucking restrictions over the weekend for trucks hauling hay and supplies to wildfire affected areas.
Low Pathogenic Bird Flu Confirmed in Tennessee
Tennessee officials confirmed a less dangerous strain of bird flu was found in Giles County, Tennessee, which borders Lincoln County Tennessee, the site of high pathogenic avian influenza found more than a week ago.
Senate Ag Needing Ethic Paperwork on Perdue
The Senate Agriculture Committee is getting closer to scheduling a confirmation hearing for Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue, but still needs some paperwork from the White House.
Wildfire Relief Fund
A catastrophe of dire measure has struck our friends to the west as wildfires have swept across the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado since the early morning hours of Monday, March 6. Over 1 million acres have burned leaving 500,000+ acres in Texas, 833,000+ acres in Oklahoma, 630,000+ acres in Kansas and 35,000+ acres in Colorado scorched and barren. …
Citrus Agency Hopes for Rebound After New Forecast
From: The News Service of Florida The Florida Department of Citrus is hoping for a better second half of the growing season after the latest decline in projections for the state’s orange and grapefruit harvest. Meanwhile, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said a 4 percent drop from February to March in the forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is another …
Analyzing Disease Mutations Using Online Cattle Genomes
Thanks to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists, a genomic database of U.S. beef cattle is now available online. The complete genomes of 96 bulls representing different U.S. cattle breeds were sequenced by researchers at the Agricultural Research Service‘s (ARS) U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. The breeds include Angus, Brangus and Hereford. The publicly accessible …