Audio: U.S. House to debate disaster aid to help states, including flood-stricken Missouri

The U.S. House is expected to bring up a 17 billion-dollar federal disaster relief package this week that involves helping Midwestern farmers, including in Missouri. Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly the plan addresses several things.     The House measure would provide 1.5 billion for construction projects intended to […]

Smithfield Food Website

Smithfield Foods & RAE launch joint venture to create renewable energy, wildlife habitat

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE) have formed a joint venture called Monarch Bioenergy to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) across Smithfield’s hog farms in Missouri. This partnership converts manure collected from Smithfield farms into RNG, while simultaneously delivering ecological services and developing wildlife habitat. Once complete, all Smithfield company-owned finishing farms in […]

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

Audio: Controversial agriculture bill could resurface today in Missouri Senate

A controversial agriculture bill could resurface today in the Missouri Senate.     The state Senate could debate today whether to ban Missouri counties from enforcing rules stricter than state regulations required for large animal feeding operations. Jefferson City Republican Mike Bernskoetter’s bill would bar counties from limiting where the farming operations, known as CAFOs, […]

Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA)

Missouri Public Utility Alliance responds to Grain Belt-related legislation passed by Missouri House

The Missouri House advanced House Bill 1062 to the Missouri Senate. This bill will effectively kill new infrastructure projects like the Grain Belt Express transmission line. Members of the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) have repeatedly let lawmakers know that 39 local consumer-owned utilities, representing more than 350,000 people in the state, stand to lose […]

Farm Field

Funding available to farmers interested in installing edge-of-field monitoring stations

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is making $2 million available to interested farmers to help install voluntary edge-of-field monitoring stations on agricultural land in five states, including Missouri.  “Edge-of-field water quality monitoring provides quantifiable data that supports voluntary-based conservation efforts aimed at reducing the movement of sediment and nutrients off Missouri farms,” State Conservationist […]