At the annual American Forage and Grassland Council meeting, held Jan. 6-8 in Covington, Kentucky, Progressive Forage Grower Editor Lynn Olsen received the Merit Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made contributions to the forage or grassland industry in research, teaching, extension, production or industrial development.

At the annual American Forage and Grassland Council meeting, held Jan. 6-8 in Covington, Kentucky, Progressive Forage Grower Editor Lynn Olsen received the Merit Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made contributions to the forage or grassland industry in research, teaching, extension, production or industrial development.

To assist with the costs of traveling to the 2013 International Grassland Congress, the Forage and Grassland Foundation will make available limited funds ($2,000) for early career scientists (MS or PhD graduate student, post doc, and assistant professor within 6 months of hiring) and producers.

In 2012, there were at least 3,527 monthly weather records for heat, rain and snow broken by extreme weather events that hit communities throughout the U.S., according to an updated interactive extreme weather mapping tool and year-end review released by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The 2012 tally exceeds the 3,251 records smashed in 2011 and catalogues these record-breaking extreme events in all 50 states.

Kansas' top agriculture official called Tuesday for the repeal of state laws restricting corporations' involvement in agriculture, a move that would reverse a policy enacted more than 80 years ago. Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman said the state's anti-corporate farming laws hinder the growth of agriculture and recruitment of new agribusinesses to Kansas. Also, in a letter to Rodman earlier this month, Attorney General Derek Schmidt questioned the constitutionality of at least one provision of state law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has denied petitions for rehearing in the case of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, et al. v. EPA, which challenges the EPA's decision to allow commercial sales of 15 percent ethanol (E15). The Grocery Manufacturers challenged the approval contending the E15 will cause harm to motor vehicle engines.

According to a new study published in Practical Neurology, countries in which people drink the most milk, per capita, also win the most Nobel Prizes, per capita. For example, Swedish citizens have won 31.855 prizes for every 10 million people. They also consume about 350 kilograms of milk each, on average, over the course of a year. At the other end of the spectrum is China, a country that has won 0.060 Nobels per 10 million people and where the average person drinks less than 50 kilograms of milk per year.

University of Missouri Extension has released a free app for iPhones, iPads and Android devices to help people easily identify weeds in the field, lawn or garden. Kevin Bradley, MU Extension weed scientist, unveiled the app at the MU Crop Management Conference, Dec. 19 in Columbia. The app, called ID Weeds, has information on more than 400 plant species that could be encountered as weeds in crop fields, pastures, lawns, gardens or aquatic areas in Missouri and surrounding states.