The Missouri labor market showed further improvement in November 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 17,400 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from October 2020 to November 2020, and the civilian labor force increased more than 23,000. However, the labor market still showed substantial losses from […]
Tag: industry
Audio: Beef check-off encourages consumption and drives demand
Under the Beef Check-off program, producers and beef importers pay a $1-per-head assessment on animals they market and equivalent on beef they import. Missouri retains half of each dollar collected for marketing and research in state as identified by the Council’s board. On this episode of Driving Demand, a content partnership with Missouri Beef Industry […]
United States hog inventory down 1 percent
As of December 1, there were 77.5 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, down 1 percent from December 2019 and down 1 percent from September 1, 2020, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Other key findings in the report were: Of […]
University of Missouri Research looks at technology to kill weeds
If it’s a weed, spray it. That’s the mindset that most in the agriculture industry held for years, however, that thinking no longer works as more weeds become resistant to herbicides, says Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri Extension weed scientist. Bradley uses waterhemp as an example. Waterhemp is one of 14 herbicide-resistant weed species in […]
Missouri Attorney General joins multistate lawsuit against Google for anticompetitive practices and deceptive online display advertising
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a multistate coalition of 10 states in filing a lawsuit against Google for multiple alleged violations of federal and state antitrust laws, including anticompetitive conduct, exclusionary practices, and deceptive misrepresentations in connection with its role in the multibillion-dollar online display advertising industry. “In this lawsuit, we allege that Google […]
17 illicit massage businesses in Missouri shut down for alleged sex and human trafficking
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced an update to his office’s efforts to evict illicit massage businesses through the Hope Initiative. Since launching the initiative, 10 additional illicit massage businesses have either been evicted, are in the process of being evicted, or their eviction is likely. “Human trafficking is a global scourge that affects millions […]
Officials in Missouri ponder preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic
Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have been on the rise in Missouri and other states, and experts say the consequences of being unprepared for an infectious-disease outbreak have never been more apparent. Gov. Mike Parson has cited concerns about staffing levels with the demand hospitals are seeing from the crisis. His comments coincide with calls […]
Audio: Missouri’s U.S. House members vote along party lines to decriminalize marijuana
The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has voted largely along party lines in favor of decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. Missouri’s Democratic members voted in support and Republicans voted against the plan. GOP Congresswoman Ann Wagner did not vote on the measure. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, would remove […]
Applications now available for 2021 Missouri Agribusiness Academy
The Missouri Department of Agriculture is offering 30 high school students representing 4-H clubs and FFA chapters, as well as farm families, throughout Missouri the opportunity to explore careers in agriculture through the 2021 Missouri Agribusiness Academy. MAbA is a competitive program for sophomores interested in pursuing agriculture-related degrees and careers. “With this class, the […]
Missouri Livestock Symposium to be held virtually this year
The Missouri Livestock Symposium will be held virtually this year. “Industry Discussion on Current Issues in the Cattle Business” will be the topic of the first Zoom event on December 10th at 7 o’clock. Three cattle industry professionals will be featured during the first Zoom session. They are University of Missouri Associate Extension Professor of […]
Office of Workforce Development to host four Job Fairs in December
The Missouri Office of Workforce Development is continuing its series of Return Strong Virtual Job Fairs from now until the end of the year. Four fairs will be held throughout December, starting with a fair for information technology job seekers, December 1. The Return Strong Virtual Job Fairs are part of the state’s efforts to […]
Audio: Economist predicts 2021 to be a good year for Missouri agriculture
Economist Ernie Goss says this year’s increase in Missouri farm income is leading to an increase in farmland prices. Goss, an economics professor at Creighton University in Omaha, says rising global oil prices are also generally good news for the state’s ethanol industry. Goss surveys rural bankers monthly as part of his Rural […]
Strong bred heifer demand at Kirksville Show-Me-Select replacement heifer sale
At the recent Kirksville Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale, 135 heifers averaged $1,952. Despite the current volatility in the cattle market, buyers were willing to invest in the future, said Zac Erwin, sale coordinator. “I had a feeling the demand was out there but wasn’t quite sure how all the outside factors would affect the market […]
When price is right, wheat middlings are good cattle feed
At the right price, wheat middlings are a good source of protein, fiber, and phosphorus for livestock says University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Kendra Graham. Wheat middlings, or midds, are lightweight feeds used in mixes. The middlings are a byproduct of the wheat milling industry that is not flour. Flaky and loose, they are […]
Audio: Missouri construction sector seeking military veterans to fill jobs
Missouri’s construction industry is busy, and getting busier, but companies don’t have enough skilled employees. Contractors and the state are now reaching out to veterans to join their ranks. Len Toenjes represents hundreds of contractors with Missouri AGC. Toenjes says salaries in construction are well above the median in Missouri. A new grant of […]
Missouri State Highway Patrol Assistant Superintendent, Malik Henderson, to retire after 32-years of service
Lieutenant Colonel Malik A. Henderson, assistant superintendent, will retire effective December 1, 2020, after over 32 years of service. Henderson was appointed to the Patrol on July 1, 1988, as a member of the 60th Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy in Jefferson City, Henderson was assigned to Troop E, Zone […]
Audio: Pfizer in Chesterfield expects approval, vaccines should be ready by end of year
Pfizer labs in Chesterfield, Missouri are ready to mass-produce a new COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the FDA approves its success rate and safety data. Pfizer and BioNtech have teamed up to develop a successful mRNA-based vaccine and have reached a 90 percent success rate in its studies so far. At a press conference with Missouri Gov. […]
‘Won’t be able to survive’: Childcare centers serving low-income Missourians face closure
(Missouri Independent) – Cortaiga Collins doesn’t know how much longer her childcare center will survive. Only about a dozen children have been attending regularly amid the pandemic. Under normal circumstances, she used to serve as many as 100. She’s already had to reduce the hours that Good Shepherd Preschool and Infant/Toddler Center in St. Louis […]
Missouri receives $6 million in federal aid to create thousands of tech apprenticeships
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation is deploying $6 million in federal funding to create 5,300 new tech industry apprenticeships. During a virtual event Monday, President Dan Mehan calls the investment a game-changer. “There is an apprenticeship revolution going on in Missouri,” he says. “Over the last two years, our state ranks second […]
November 9 – 13 designated as Registered Apprenticeship Appreciation & Awareness Week
Governor Mike Parson recognized the importance of Registered Apprenticeship Programs with a proclamation to officially set apart the week of November 9-13, 2020, as Registered Apprenticeship Appreciation & Awareness Week, to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week. Now in its sixth year, National Apprenticeship Week is a nationwide celebration that gives businesses, communities, and educators the […]