U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), along with the entire Senate Republican caucus, sent a letter to President Biden urging him to abandon his effort to impose a capital gains tax increase on family-owned businesses, farms, and ranches. Repealing this part of the tax code would have a devastating effect on multi-generation operations, which could lead […]
Tag: producer
Mizzou weed science shares Seed Terminator research
In the 1984 film “The Terminator,” a robotic assassin played by Arnold Schwarzenegger warns, “I’ll be back.” If waterhemp could talk, it might say the same thing. Waterhemp can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. The prolific producer of seeds is the state’s No. 1 weed, robbing Missouri agriculture of millions of dollars […]
University of Missouri Extension to hold “Feedlot School” at North Central Missouri College
The University of Missouri Extension will hold a Feedlot School Aug. 4-5 on the Barton Campus of North Central Missouri College in Trenton. Speakers will present the “ins and outs of feeding cattle in Missouri,” says MU Extension beef nutritionist Eric Bailey. “There is renewed interest in feedlots due to new packing plants being built […]
USDA announces dates for Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands signups
Agricultural producers and landowners can apply for the Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands signup from today until August 20. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated signup options to provide greater incentives for producers and increase the program’s conservation and climate benefits, including setting a minimum rental rate and identifying two national priority zones. […]
Missouri Department of Agriculture suspends grain dealer license for Pipeline Foods LLC
The Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Grain Regulatory Services Program suspended the Missouri grain dealer license for Pipeline Foods, LLC. Effective immediately, Pipeline Foods, LLC is not licensed to operate as a grain dealer in the state of Missouri. Please contact the Missouri Department of Agriculture if you or your business have any unsettled obligations with […]
Landowners and tenants invited to respond to 2021 Missouri rental rate survey
Landowners lease roughly 35% of Missouri crop, pasture, and woodland acreage to renters every year. Rented acreage has increased in recent years as more land has transitioned to the next generation, interest rates have incentivized land investments, and interest in carbon markets and working land conservation has grown, said Ben Brown, extension economist with the […]
Biden-Harris Administration invests $307 million in rural water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in 34 states
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the United States Department of Agriculture is investing $307 million to modernize rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in 34 states and Puerto Rico (PDF, 224 KB). The investments being announced follow President Biden’s announcement last week of a Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework that will make the largest investment in clean […]
Farm Service Agency now accepting nominations for county committee members
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency began accepting nominations for county committee members on June 15. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas for these members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2021 election must be postmarked or received in the […]
White House says executive order coming on labeling beef as a ‘Product of USA’
(Missouri Independent) – The White House will unveil an executive order in the coming days that directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to clarify that meat can only receive a “Product of USA” label if that livestock is raised in the U.S. rather than abroad, press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “The EO […]
Fireworks, Food and Family: Cookout costs remain steady for Fourth of July
Much like Christmas and birthday wish lists, kids compile their own “wish list” of fireworks for the Fourth of July celebration. The youngest took inventory of firecrackers leftover from last year (aka, a stash he had hidden) and determined we need roman candles, bottle rockets, parachutes, and artillery shells. This year’s explosions and bright lights […]
Relief payments to black farmers on hold amid lawsuits backed by former Trump aides
(Missouri Independent) – Former Trump administration officials and conservative and libertarian nonprofits have launched lawsuits to block federal relief funds aimed at Black and minority farmers—a development that House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott of Georgia calls “an evil system at work here.” Suits have been filed in Florida, Wisconsin, and Texas that says it’s […]
USDA reminds Missouri producers to file crop acreage reports
Agricultural producers in Missouri who have not yet completed their crop acreage reports after planting should make an appointment with their U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) office before the applicable deadline. “Many USDA programs require producers to file an accurate crop acreage report by the applicable deadline,” said Jeremy Mosley, State Executive Director […]
USDA, FCC, and NTIA announce interagency agreement to coordinate broadband funding deployment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an interagency agreement to share information about and coordinate the distribution of broadband deployment federal funds. In accordance with the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act, the respective Cabinet and agency leaders announced that their agencies will […]
Biden-Harris administration extends moratorium of residential evictions in USDA multifamily housing communities
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended through July 31, 2021, the moratorium on evictions of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who live in multifamily housing communities supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The United States is recovering from a nationwide housing affordability crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s […]
Some of Missouri’s largest CAFOs are seeking less stringent state regulation
Eleven of Missouri’s largest concentrated animal feeding operations are working to reduce the state’s oversight of their hog facilities despite a record of manure spills and clean water violations. Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, has 11 CAFOs seeking new state permits. The facilities, dotted across northern Missouri, combined are capable of raising more […]
Audio: Missouri moving back into the industrial hemp market quickly
It took 70 years for Missouri to get back into the industrial hemp market- and now there is more demand than ever because of its use in CBD oil. Missouri was once a top hemp producer in the nation, but then it got regulated as a drug because of its connection to its cousin, marijuana. […]
USDA opens signup for CLEAR30, expands pilot to be nationwide
Landowners and agricultural producers currently enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program now have a wider opportunity to enroll in a 30-year contract through the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers initiative, called CLEAR30. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expanding CLEAR30, a water-quality focused option available through CRP – to be nationwide now. Interested producers with […]
Stocker cattle could add value to your operation without breaking the bank
Stocker cattle make up just 12 percent of the 4.25 million head currently part of the beef industry in Missouri. But these cattle could add as much as $78 million to Missouri’s economy, according to the Missouri Beef Value-Added Study, a 2016 University of Missouri Extension report for the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority. […]
USDA announces dates for Conservation Reserve Program general and grasslands signups
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set a July 23, 2021, deadline for agricultural producers and landowners to apply for the Conservation Reserve Program General signup 56. Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept applications for CRP Grasslands from July 12 to August 20. This year, USDA updated both signup options to provide greater […]
As massive livestock operations move in, fighting them gets harder for rural neighbors
(Missouri Independent) – Jeff Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old. And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere. But after years of fighting, his community is home to a […]