USDA Investing to Protect Communities in Florida

The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be investing more than $46 million this year through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership for projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, and restore healthy forest ecosystems on public and private lands. Through the projects, USDA’s Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are working hand-in-hand with agricultural producers, forest landowners, and …

Alabama Farmer Pleased with DEKALB Corn Variety

Will Curtis from Troy, Alabama was recently determined one of the highest-yielding farmers in the state in the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) National Yield Contest. In the irrigated strip-till category, Curtis placed in the top three with a yield of 314 bushels per acre with DEKALB DKC68-69. He told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman that he was pleased with the …

Signup for Conservation Easements Underway in Georgia

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Georgia reminds producers and landowners that signup for this year’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) is underway. In order to be considered for the fiscal year 2021 funding pool, applications must be submitted by Feb. 5, 2021. Georgia State Conservationist, Terrance O. Rudolph, said, “With ACEP, NRCS can help different types of landowners …

Improvements Made to Livestock Risk Protection Insurance Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced further changes to the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance plan. These changes take effect today, Jan. 20, for crop year 2021 and succeeding crop years. The improvements include: Increasing livestock head limits for feeder and fed cattle to 6,000 head per endorsement/12,000 head annually and swine to 40,000 …

Treating More Common Plant Pathogens Naturally

Common plant pathogens and how to treat them naturally. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Rust blight is easy to identify because of the hue that gives it its name. Basically, it causes rust-colored pustules on the plants it infects. It also thrives in wet weather but prefers cool temperatures rather than hot. You’ll recognize it by the …

USDA Offers New Forest Management Incentive for CRP

(USDA/FSA) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making available $12 million for use in making payments to forest landowners with land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in exchange for their implementing healthy forest management practices. Existing CRP participants can now sign up for the Forest Management Incentive (FMI), which provides financial incentives to landowners with land …

U. S. Researchers to Host Webinar about COVID-19 Disruptions to Food Supply Chains

(UF/IFAS) — A multi-region, multi-institution research and outreach team investigating the impact of COVID-19 on food and agricultural systems will host a free webinar those engaged in the food supply chain at any level at 2 p.m. EST January 28, 2021. Participants interested in the webinar can register at https://tinyurl.com/lessonsfromcovid-webinar. This hour-long webinar is part of the Lessons from COVID-19: …

Secretary Perdue Comments on MOU on Animal Biotechnology

(USDA) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Assistant Secretary for Health and Head of the Public Health Service Admiral Brett Giroir, M.D., establishing a regulatory environment at the Department of Agriculture for agricultural animal biotechnology innovation: “Today’s Memorandum of Understanding clears a path to bring our regulatory framework into …

UF Scientist Finds Way to Reduce Greenhouse Gas in Soil

(UF/IFAS) — When soil gets saturated with water, the ground can produce nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that depletes the ozone, that the layer protects plants and animals on Earth from harmful ultraviolet light. For context, nitrous oxide is 310 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas that’s harmful to the ozone layer. That’s why it’s important to …

CattleFax Presents 2020 Cow-Calf Survey

CattleFax is presenting the 2020 Cow-Calf Survey, which is directed towards cow-calf operations, both commercial and seedstock/purebred operations. The answers received will provide the industry and your operation with valuable information regarding industry benchmarks and trends. By completing the survey, participants will receive a results summary packet, full of useful benchmarking information that will allow managers and owners to evaluate their own …