Improve Ragweed Management Practices with New ‘Focus on Cotton’ Webcast Excessive reliance on glyphosate to control ragweed has allowed resistant varieties to flourish in cotton production systems. A new Focus on Cotton webcast titled “Herbicide-resistant Common Ragweed Management in Cotton” helps cotton growers, consultants, and other industry experts diversify management practices and herbicide applications to better control ragweed populations. This 27-minute …
Culver’s Restaurant Starting the Second Year of #FarmingFridays
The Culver’s restaurant chain successfully debuted the #FarmingFridays social media content series last year. Culver’s has once again invited agricultural influencers to share pictures and videos that show their passion for and knowledge of agriculture. The social media effort is part of the Culver’s Thank You Farmers Initiative, which recognizes the hard work and commitment of the farmers that feed …
H-2A Visa Program May Be Expanded
The House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the fiscal 2018 Homeland Security Spending Bill that would help dairy producers and other farmers that need year round labor. The amendment would expand the types of businesses that can apply for the H-2A visa program for temporary or seasonal workers. Politico’s Morning Ag Report says it would also nullify the requirement …
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 …
No Timeline to Restore Brazilian Beef Imports
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue met his counterpart from Brazil on Monday to discuss the U.S. ban on fresh beef imports from Brazil. Perdue said the U.S. needs to see more progress from Brazil on beef inspections before the ban would be lifted. A Cattle Network Dot Com article says the ban went into effect on June 22nd as the …
Farmers and Ranchers Push for Comprehensive Tax Reform
Tax policies to support and preserve agriculture are essential to every farmer and rancher in America, a group of Farm Bureau members in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with lawmakers say. “Tax reform is critical for farmers and ranchers,” said Isabella Chism, a corn and soybean farmer and Farm Bureau member from Indiana who is vice chair of the …
Researchers Hope to Help Find Sites to Grow Tomorrow’s Produce
by Brad Buck, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences University of Florida researchers are sounding a warning bell that fresh produce may be hard to come by in the future. Scientists with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences cite changes in our climate, loss of fresh water and competition for resources as major threats to farmers’ …
Perdue Farms to Upgrade Animal Welfare Standards
The nation’s fourth-largest poultry producer, Perdue Farms, announced it’s adopting new animal welfare standards that increase the well-being of its broilers. The announcement came from the Perdue Animal Welfare Summitt, which brought together animal care experts from around the globe, advocates, researchers, and farmers. Jim Perdue, Chairman of Perdue Farms, said trust is earned by responding to consumers and other …
U.S. Dairy Increasing Pressure on Canada
The U.S. dairy lobby is putting increasing pressure on Canada as the talks to redo NAFTA draw closer. People close to the situation told Reuters that America’s dairy farmers want concessions that Canada doesn’t seem likely to grant. The deal could be a hindrance to the upcoming NAFTA talks, under which Canada sends a lot of its exports to the …
House Budget Wants $10 Billion Cuts to Ag Spending
The House GOP released its budget this week, calling for $10 billion in spending cuts to agricultural programs through the next ten years. However, Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the plan doesn’t necessarily say how to go about getting to that number. It does recommend reigning in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending by promoting “state flexibility,” but it doesn’t go …