FCS Financial Community Giving

FCS Financial announces scholarship recipients

FCS Financial has awarded three scholarships to rural Missouri nurses to complete the Agrisafe Nurse Scholar education series. One scholarship recipient is from Trenton, Jena Eads, a registered nurse at Wright Memorial Hospital. Other recipients of an FCS scholarship are Katie Krohn – quality management lead at the regional medical center in Kirksville and Carla […]

Safety first graphic

Graves, Hartzler ask for further clarity on CDC meatpacker safety guidelines

Congressman Sam Graves, along with Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, sent a letter to Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within Department of Health and Human Services and Loren Sweatt, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the Department of Labor, demanding further clarification on […]

Gallatin City Hall

Gallatin Board of Aldermen accept ordinances, move forward with plans for county fair

The Gallatin Board of Aldermen accepted several ordinances at a meeting Monday evening. One added a new chapter to city code regarding regulations for medical marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation, and dispensaries. The board voted in April to draft a city ordinance reducing the medical marijuana dispensary distance requirement from 1,000 feet to 100 feet […]

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 […]

Together We Can

MU Extension releases Mental Health Toolkit

The University of Missouri Extension and partners recently released a Together We Can toolkit to help rural Missourians access mental health resources. “This presents the resources to help open up conversations about mental health,” says MU Extension health and safety specialist Karen Funkenbusch. “Making it comfortable to talk about mental health is the first step […]

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 […]

Farmers Market

Free ‘how to’ webinar for those selling in farmers markets on accepting EBT/SNAP payments

Are you a farmers market or direct marketing farmer or rancher who wants to expand your potential customer base by accepting electronic benefit transfer/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT/SNAP) and other electronic payments? The University of Missouri Extension is hosting an informational webinar about the MarketLink Free EBT SNAP Equipment Program at 11 a.m.-noon Tuesday, April […]

USDA Sign

USDA unveils tool to help rural communities address COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue unveiled a one-stop-shop of federal programs that can be used by rural communities, organizations, and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide (PDF, 349 KB) is a first-of-its-kind resource for rural leaders looking for federal funding and partnership opportunities to help address this pandemic. “Under […]

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 […]