Hand Holding Small Marijuana Leaf with Cannabis Plants in Background

Mexican national pleads guilty to $10 million marijuana grow operation in Daviess County

A Mexican national pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a Daviess County, Missouri, marijuana-growing operation where law enforcement officers seized nearly $10 million worth of plants. Miguel Pulido-Maldonado, also known as “Mona,” 28, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to one count of conspiracy to manufacture and possess with the […]

CAFO Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation

COVID-19 pandemic hits livestock farmers hard

Missouri Farm Bureau public affairs director Eric Bohl says the COVID-19 crisis has hit livestock farmers hard. First, stay-at-home orders destroyed demand from restaurants and schools as well as a large portion of the meat and dairy market. As the pandemic grew, it began to impact employees at meat processing plants which caused several processors […]

FCS Financial Community Giving

FCS Financial awards 26 Community Improvement Grants

FCS Financial is recognizing 26 different 4-H clubs and FFA chapters with $500 grants for submitting outstanding Shaping Rural Missouri grant applications. This is the first round of awards. Due to school closures, the second round of funding was issued with an application deadline of May 1. In the nine years of its existence, more […]

Grazing School Map

Grazing schools postponed due to COVID-19

The University of Missouri and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will postpone their annual series of management-intensive grazing schools in 2020 due to safety concerns about COVID-19. Organizers will look at the situation in late May to consider options, said MU Extension forage specialist Craig Roberts. NRCS and MU Extension specialists hold more than […]

Farmers Market

Farmers market vendors prep for season amid COVID-19 concerns

University of Missouri Extension food safety specialist Londa Nwadike says that, right now, science is on the side of produce growers.  “There is currently no evidence that the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has been transmitted through food or food packaging,” said Nwadike, who has dual extension appointments with MU and Kansas State University. That’s […]

Farm equipment cultivator

Farmers face unique safety risks during COVID-19

Farmers and ranchers face unique safety risks as COVID-19 continues to spread. The predicted peak of the COVID-19 outbreak likely will hit as spring planting season shifts into high gear, says Rusty Lee, University of Missouri Extension field specialist in agronomy. Physical distancing becomes difficult as farmers receive seed and chemical deliveries, Lee says. Shipments […]

Jeremiah Searles Final

Bethany man charged with kidnapping, assault and abuse of a child

A Bethany man has been charged in Harrison County with three felonies after an alleged incident on Monday, March 23, 2020. Thirty-nine-year- old Jeremiah Searles has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, terrorizing, first-degree domestic assault, and abuse or neglect of a child—no sexual contact. Arraignment was held on Tuesday, and […]

Animal Abuse

Missouri Attorney General shuts down dog breeder due to animals being kept in cruel conditions

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced his office has filed a lawsuit, citing violations of the Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA), and obtained a temporary restraining order against Cornerstone Farms, a dog breeding company operated by Debra Ritter and located in Curryville, Missouri. This case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the Missouri Department of […]

Meth with police banner

Missouri man sentenced to 24 years for meth conspiracy

A Kirbyville, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in southwest Missouri. Brent A. Tribble, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 24 years in federal prison without parole. On Sept. 16, 2019, Tribble pleaded guilty to participating in a […]