(Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler photo courtesy U.S. House of Representatives website)

Audio: U.S. Representative Hartzler trying to change rules to “benefit Missouri’s cattle industry”

Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler says Missouri’s cattle industry needs more markets and competition. The Missouri Republican has teamed with a California Democrat to introduce a bill that the two lawmakers say will fix regulatory roadblocks that hurt livestock auctions and small meat packers. The “A-PLUS” Act would amend the Packers and Stockyards Act to allow […]

Yard signs for GOP Senate candidates greet Republicans attending Boone County Lincoln Days Friday in Columbia (Rudi Keller - Missouri Independent)

No signs of support for Greitens in Missouri county where abuse charges will be heard

(Missouri Independent) –  A smattering of giggles greeted the name of former Gov. Eric Greitens Friday evening when emcee Branden Rathert called for the U.S. Senate candidates invited to speak at Boone County Republican Lincoln Days to come forward. Up to that point, there had been no trace of Greitens or his campaign at the […]

Career Development Events

Trenton FFA teams takes 1st place in Northwest Missouri District Career Development Events competition

Five additional contest results have been released from the Northwest Missouri District Career Development events competition held on Tuesday. Trenton FFA teams won first place at districts in ag sales and dairy cattle. Previously, it was announced Trenton had a first-place team for food science. Other Trenton FFA teams have qualified for state in the […]

Grain Belt Express News Graphic

Missouri Senate committee takes up bill targeting Grain Belt Express transmission line

(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Senate is poised to take up a long-running effort to stymie the Grain Belt Express, a massive transmission line meant to carry wind energy from southwest Kansas across three states.  The $2 billion project would carry 4,000 megawatts of energy, dropping some off in Missouri before ending at the Illinois-Indiana […]

Combine and farm tractor with wagon in field

Coalition of legislators introduce resolution to protect family farms and small businesses

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 […]

Career Development Events

Results from FFA Career Development Events held in the Northeast Missouri District

Judging teams from schools in the eastern counties of the Green Hills Region have qualified for additional competition during the Missouri FFA Convention. Students competed on Wednesday in Career Development Events at the Northeast Missouri District level. All FFA teams have qualified for state. Dairy cattle judging: Brookfield placed 2nd Milan placed 4th Putnam County […]

Typical pen style CAFO ( Photo by Darrell Hoemann - Investigate Midwest)

As CAFO lawsuit heads to Missouri Supreme Court, counties weigh options

(Missouri Independent) – As a fight over who can regulate industrial hog and cattle operations awaits action by the Missouri Supreme Court, counties that sought more stringent protections against them wait in limbo.  The Missouri Supreme Court is expected to hear an appeal by county commissioners who sought to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, […]

NCMC Barton Farm Campus

North Central Missouri College to host Ag Club competition on Thursday

More than 65 area high schools with an estimated 1,500 agriculture students are pre-registered to be on the campus of North Central Missouri College in Trenton this Thursday, March 17, 2022, for the annual NCMC Ag Club Contests. The event is held in cooperation with Area 2 FFA Association Agriculture Instructors. Students will be practicing their […]

Missouri FFA Jacket with emblem

North Missouri FFA chapters take top honors in career development competition in Marshall

FFA Chapters in Chillicothe, Meadville, Gilman City, and Green City had teams place in the top six for career development contests on Tuesday, hosted by the Marshall FFA Alumni. Chillicothe received first place in team competition among 23 teams in livestock judging. Chillicothe’s knowledge team placed third out of 25. Meadville FFA had its entomology […]

Sam Graves Sam Graves official photo

Video: Congressman Sam Graves responds to President Biden’s State of the Union Address

In response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address, Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) highlighted the many struggles real Americans are dealing with every day in President Biden’s America. “The difference between what we’re feeling in North Missouri and what the President says we’re feeling is stark,” Rep. Sam Graves said. “The supply chain crisis, […]

Princeton R-5 School District website 2021 -2022

Princeton Board of Education approves school calendar for 2022-2023; changes time school is to begin and end

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 […]

American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall spoke at the organization’s 2022 annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia (photo provided by American Farm Bureau Federation)

American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ

(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 […]

Screenshot of USDA or United States Department of Agriculture website

United States Department of Agriculture pledges $1B for ‘climate smart’ ag products

(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 […]

USDA Sign

USDA provides update on implementation of forthcoming disaster assistance for agricultural producers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided an update at the Cattle Industry Convention on forthcoming assistance for agricultural producers impacted by weather-related disasters in calendar years 2020 and 2021. “Over the past two years, as agricultural producers have struggled with the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have been hard-hit by more frequent and […]

USDA website

USDA urges producers to submit applications for 2021 grazing loss assistance by January 31

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 […]

Fertilizer Prices News Graphic

With high fertilizer prices, are you better off buying fertilizer or supplemental hay?

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 […]

Hall, Janorschke and MOFB President Garrett Hawkins

Jacob Hall and Jessica Janorschke named Missouri Farm Bureau Ambassadors

Four judges selected Jacob Hall, of Marshall, and Jessica Janorschke, of St. Joseph, as 2022 Missouri Farm Bureau Ambassadors during the organization’s 107th annual meeting on Dec. 5 at the Lake of the Ozarks. The MOFB Ambassador Program selects a male and female student 17-to-22 years of age to represent agriculture and Farm Bureau for […]