In an open letter to customers, Monsanto says the company is committed to supporting farmers at every stage of the growing season. Monsanto, the maker of the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend crop system that includes the dicamba herbicide formulation XtendiMax, responded in the letter to complaints of dicamba drift injury to non-tolerant crops. Monsanto says that many farmers are “experiencing …
Largest Ever Dead Zone Found in U.S. Gulf
Federal scientists have measured the largest dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico in recent history. The oxygen-depleted area is roughly the size of New Jersey. Politico’s Morning Ag Report says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the increasing dead zone was fed by nutrient pollution washing down the Mississippi River. NOAA says the nutrient runoff comes primarily from …
Efforts Address Declining Pollinator Populations
Those in agriculture have been working with beekeepers and researchers to adopt more appropriate steps for assessing pesticides and their risks to pollinators. Dr. David Epstein, an entomologist for the USDA’s Office of Pest Management Policy, explains how a recent meeting between ag industry stakeholders, researchers, and beekeepers impacts his work at the USDA. Sponsored ContentNuseed Carinata Covers New GroundJuly …
Drought Expands Across the U.S.
The latest Drought Monitor shows soils continuing to dry out and crops suffering as drought and abnormal dryness expands and intensifies across the Plains, Midwest, northern Rockies, and Virginia. Montana saw the most severe level of drought, called exceptional drought, grow by 10 points in a week. 12 percent of the state is in exceptional drought and 24 percent is …
Alabama Drought Funding Application Deadline is Friday
Friday, July 28 is the application deadline for Alabama landowners impacted by last year’s extreme drought to apply for funding. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Alabama will be providing dollars to eligible landowners through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Sponsored ContentNuseed Carinata Covers New GroundJuly 31, 2024CIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril …
Chlorpyrifos Ban Introduced in U.S. Senate
Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal and New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall Tuesday introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate to ban chlorpyrifos, a widely used agricultural insecticide. Udall explained that The American Academy of Pediatrics says chlorpyrifos use “puts all children at risk,” adding that “we need to listen to the experts” and ban the pesticide.” The Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency …
NACD Urges Congress to Restore EQIP
NACD Encouraged by Technical Assistance funds The National Association of Conservation Districts is encouraged that the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2018 bill strongly funds technical assistance at the Agriculture Department, but is concerned with continued cuts to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The spending legislation includes an allocation of $874 million for the Conservation Operations account – almost $10 …
Court Denies Petition to Ban Pesticide
A U.S. Appeals Court in San Francisco denied a petition from environmental groups to force the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Reuters says that decision ends one of three parallel attempts to get the ban put in place. The groups, including Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council, wanted the ban in place because they allege the …
Urban Agriculture Conservation Grants Awarded
The National Association of Conservation Districts, in partnership with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, has awarded $1 million in grants to 19 conservation districts in 14 states to boost technical assistance capacity for urban agriculture and conservation projects. “Our work as conservationists has evolved since the Dust Bowl when many of our nation’s 3,000 conservation districts were first established,” NACD …
Putnam Comments Re: Phosphorous Reduction in Everglades Agricultural Area
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam released the following statement regarding the South Florida Water Management District’s announcement that for the Water Year 2017 monitoring period, the Everglades Water Quality Program achieved a 70-percent phosphorous reduction. “We continue to make headway in restoring the health of the Everglades, and the Everglades Agricultural Area has, yet again, exceeded state-mandated goals …