Loren Ray Parkhurst, 89, Eagleville, MO, passed away Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at a Des Moines, IA hospital. He was born on July 24, 1932, the son of Orville and May (Hunsicker) Parkhurst. He was the second of six children. Loren attended grade school at a country school just a few miles from home. He […]
Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) joined Representatives Tracey Mann, Jason Smith, Bob Latta, and a bipartisan coalition of more than 70 members of Congress in introducing a resolution recognizing the important role of the stepped-up basis in preserving family farms and small businesses. “If the President gets his way and guts the stepped-up basis, it would […]
This week, the Missouri Department of Agriculture celebrates the state’s position nationally in agriculture production. Missouri is home to 95,000 farms, employs nearly 460,000 people in agriculture, forestry, and related industries, and has an estimated economic impact of $93.7 billion. Agriculture remains the state’s number one economic driver, supporting both rural and urban communities from […]
Groups advocating for health-care access for all Missourians urged the state Senate to reject a proposed constitutional amendment to undermine Medicaid expansion passed by the House. House Joint Resolution 117 would empower the Legislature to block services to the hundreds of thousands of newly eligible residents who are signing up, by repealing expansion and making it […]
A benefit will be held at the Milan Community Center for a man who received a brain injury related to COVID-19. The Benefit for Shawn Moody will start on February 26, 2022, at 5 pm. Moody is from Elma, Iowa, and is married to Gayla Albrecht-Moody from the Milan/Green City area. Attendees can eat and […]
(Missouri Independent) – A beef processing facility 40 miles southeast of downtown Kansas City polluted at least a mile of nearby streams and allowed septic tanks of sewage and entrails to overflow, state regulators found this month. The facility, the former site of a beef operation that neighbors felt threatened a nearby botanical garden, was referred […]
The Princeton R-5 Board of Education on February 14th approved the 2022-2023 school calendar and changed school hours. The first day of school will be August 23rd, and the last day is scheduled for May 19th, 2023. Snow days are built into the calendar that totals 1,109 hours. For the 2022-2023 school year, the day […]
The Trenton FFA Chapter had five first-place winners and state qualifiers for Area 2 Proficiency Awards. Those receiving awards were Colton Roy in Ag Processing, Makenzee Epperson in Dairy Production Placement, Jesse Huber-Bethards in Grain Production, Kaci Persell in Outdoor Recreation, and Gracyn Rongey in Vegetable Production. Eight Trenton FFA entries received second place. They […]
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to spend up to $1 billion to foster the creation of climate-friendly agricultural and forestry products by offering grants to facilitate their production and the markets to sell them. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon in those industries. “Agriculture is such […]
A business at Gallatin and two at Cameron are among those receiving investment dollars from the USDA Rural Development department. Apex Outdoor LLC at Gallatin will use a $422,000 rural development loan guarantee to finance and purchase equipment for a startup meat processing business. A news release from USDA says the equipment will be used […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds ranchers and livestock producers that they may be eligible for financial assistance through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) for 2021 grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. The deadline to apply for 2021 LFP assistance is Jan. 31, 2022. “Ongoing, widespread drought conditions have resulted in significant financial losses […]
(Missouri Independent) – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack faced questions on how his agency is doling out emergency pandemic aid and fostering collaboration with historically Black colleges during a Thursday hearing before the House Agriculture Committee. Committee Chairman David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, asked Vilsack for “critical updates on the implementation of pandemic relief programs, including […]
Increases in fertilizer prices add to the cost of growing forage for grazing. This leads farmers to ask if they should buy hay or fertilizer, says University of Missouri Extension nutrient management specialist John Lory. Comparing the benefits of buying hay vs. applying fertilizer for better yields is complicated, but it is crucial to the […]
Throughout January, Hy-Vee’s registered dietitians will host events focused on healthy habits and nutrition to begin the new year. The dietitian team will host educational events, including virtual store tours and cooking classes, as well as an in-person health fair at select locations. Virtual Wellness Wednesdays Hy-Vee dietitians will cover trending nutrition topics and share […]
Meat prices have been on the rise, but family-farm advocates say higher profits haven’t been making their way to smaller cattle producers. Four companies control 85% of the beef supply, noted Darvin Bentlage, a cattle rancher and farmer in southwest Missouri. He said the executive order on promoting competition that President Joe Biden signed last summer is a […]
The University of Missouri Extension will hold a feedlot school on January 13 and January 14, 2022, at North Central Missouri College in Trenton. MU Extension beef nutritionist Eric Bailey says MU Extension specialists will present the “ins and outs of feeding cattle in Missouri.” There is renewed interest in feedlots due to new packing […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt earlier this month filed a comment letter during the comment period of a proposed USDA rule change that would affect the labeling of “fake meat” products. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has been successful in defending a Missouri state statute that prohibits the labeling of “fake meat” products as meat. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Smithfield Foods agreed this week to pay the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration $13,494 to settle a citation for failing to protect its meatpacking employees in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from exposure to the coronavirus last year, but the company didn’t admit it did anything wrong. As such, the settlement can’t […]
Warren County has been selected by American Foods Group as the planned location for a new state-of-the-art beef processing facility, pending final approval. Once established, the facility would create more than 1,300 new jobs and generate $1 billion in economic impact in the state of Missouri. “Missouri is able to compete for projects of this […]
