Heifer prices kept going up in the fifth of six fall sales of Show-Me-Select replacement heifers, December 7th. The 74 head averaged $2,334 with the previous high being $2,099 on 64 head at Fruitland, Mo. “Heifer quality was top-notch.” said Kendra Graham, the sale coordinator, “Buyer turnout was high and they were willing to pay […]
Category: Farm News
Audio: Southeast Missouri State University designs new variety of rice
After about one decade in the making, Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and the Missouri Rice Research and Merchandising Council have developed a medium grain rice. Agriculture professor Mike Aide says MM17 rice will be available for the 2019 planting season. Aide says MM17 rice is ideal for Asian restaurants making […]
MU Agronomist: Grazing fall pasture growth extends high-price hay
Managed grazing makes better use of forage in a year of high-priced hay. After a drought with short grass and little hay, fall pastures grew fast with good rains. Management-intensive grazing (MIG) extends fall grass supplies. Or the grass can be saved for winter grazing, says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist. Controlled […]
Blake Hurst Re-elected Missouri Farm Bureau President
Atchison County farmer Blake Hurst was re-elected president of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation (MOFB) at its 104th annual meeting. Voting delegates elected Hurst, of Westboro, Dec. 4, to a fifth two-year term. He is the 14th president of the organization. Approving 2018 legislative policy and electing board members capped the three-day meeting of Farm Bureau county […]
Feeding corn to cows replaces hay, but care is needed when adding starch to diets
Wintering cows in a year with bad hay or shortages of hay proves challenging to beef farmers with the prolonged drought last summer upsetting haymaking plans. Beef nutritionist Eric Bailey, University of Missouri Extension, answered farmers’ questions December 2nd at the Missouri Livestock Symposium in Kirksville. His topic: “Winter Feeding With Expensive Hay.” Less hay can […]
Prices average $2,099 per head at Fruitland Show-Me-Select sale
What a sale!” said sale coordinator Erin Larimore about the $2,099 average price for replacement heifers at the Show-Me-Select sale in Fruitland, Mo., December 1. The fourth of six fall sales kept the upward trend in prices. Two sales remain for heifers raised with protocols from the University of Missouri Extension animal scientists. Larimore, a […]
Missouri Department of Agriculture accepting nominations for annual awards through December 7th
The Missouri Department of Agriculture is now accepting nominations for the Missouri Agriculture Awards. As part of the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture in January, the Missouri Agriculture Awards will honor six individuals that strive to innovate their farm or ranch, give back to their communities, commit to land stewardship or stand as a great example […]
Audio: Missouri decides against state Dicamba label for 2019
The Missouri Department of Agriculture says certified applicators in Missouri will NOT have a state label to follow on dicamba products in the 2019 growing season. MDA Director Chris Chinn tells our sister network Brownfield that the new two-year federal label for three dicamba products is 40 pages long. Training will be required […]
Bids grow stronger in third sale of Show-Me-Select heifers
With a strong start on bidding, the first lot of heifers averaged $2,250 at the Kingsville Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale, November 24. Big bidding set the stage for higher prices early in the sale of 237 head of bred heifers. Final average was $1,832. The sale at the Kingsville Livestock Auction topped the two previous […]
Estate planning, marketing and fences are topics to be covered at Kirksville Livestock Symposium
Farmers face tough questions every day and will find answers for marketing and estate planning at the Kirksville Livestock Symposium, Nov. 30 and Dec 1. The Symposium farm management sessions give cutting-edge help, says Garry L. Mathes, event chair. Leading off Saturday sessions will be estate planning with speaker Connie Haden of Haden and Associates […]
Kirksville heifer sale hits an average price of $1,716
At the Kirksville Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale, 133 heifers averaged $1,716. It wasn’t the strong sale expected, said Zac Erwin, sale coordinator. A lot of things worked against bidder enthusiasm. “I was hoping for a stronger market,” Erwin said after the sale Friday night, Nov. 16. “But it wasn’t a bust by any means.” The […]
Farm labor workshops expose complexity of hiring, firing
Major farm management decisions concern capital and labor. Too little attention goes to the labor side of farming, says agricultural economist Joe Horner. To help decision-makers, he plans three University of Missouri Extension workshops across Missouri. Farm labor management isn’t like the old days when a farmer could hire neighbor boys to help. Also, present-day […]
Missouri Department of Agriculture issues statement on Dicamba products for the 2019 growing season
the Missouri Department of Agriculture announced it will not pursue Special Local Needs (24c) labels for the use of Engenia, FeXapan, and XtendiMax for the 2019 growing season. This announcement follows the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to extend the registration of these three Dicamba products for another two years with additional safeguards. The Missouri […]
Joplin heifer sale adds quality but bidders remained reluctant
“It was a great night to be a buyer,” Eldon Cole said after the Southwest Missouri Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale. Average price on 311 heifers was $1,586. That’s almost $200 per head below Cole’s prediction. The University of Missouri livestock specialist has managed 39 heifer sales. He knows well-managed heifers and what they bring to […]
Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture set for January 10, 2019
The Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture is coming back to Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach this winter with the conference set for January 10th and 11th, 2019. “Agriculture is Missouri’s No. 1 industry, with nearly 100,000 family farms,” said Governor Mike Parson. “To prepare the next generation of Missourians who will be a part of this industry, […]
Missouri beef herd owners learn about profits and risks of sending calves to the feedlot
Missouri beef herd owners learn profits and risks of sending their calves to a feedlot. They’ve entered 50 Missouri Steer Feedouts run by the University of Missouri Extension. To cut risks in learning, they enter samples of five to 20 head, said Eldon Cole, MU Extension livestock specialist. The Missouri Steer Feedout for winter-spring born […]
Programs offer assistance to farmers from natural disasters
The United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Brent Hampy reminds producers who experienced losses from natural disasters during the 2017 and 2018 calendar years that they may be eligible for assistance through several programs. One of those is the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, which provides […]
American Angus Association elects new officers
Five directors were elected to the 2018-2019 American Angus Association® board of directors, as well as a president and chairman and a vice president and vice chairman of the board, during the 135th Annual Convention of Delegates hosted at the 2018 Angus Convention in Columbus, Ohio. A total of 298 delegates from 41 states and […]
Sharp turn to cold weather brings threat of fescue foot in beef cow herds
Odd fall weather and fescue pasture growth set up potential poisonous pastures causing fescue foot in cow herds. Fall growth after a drought produces more toxins in infected tall fescue grass. The poison develops after rains start regrowth following a drought, says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension specialist. Roberts urges herd owners to keep […]
Julie Goodnight to be featured equine expert at Missouri Livestock Symposium
Horse owners will learn about health care as well as behavior and tack tips at the Missouri Livestock Symposium November 30 and December 1, 2018. Internationally recognized horse trainer Julie Goodnight of Poncha Springs, Colorado, headlines the Equine section this year with three talks aimed at making better and safer horse owners. Her topics include, […]