EDINBURG – While the vast majority of Texans would give an eyetooth for a good dose of tropical rainfall, cotton producers in South Texas don’t want any part of it, experts say. “If cotton growers here could wave a magic wand, they’d push that rain to our north, away from the Lower Rio Grande Valley” said Brad Cowan, Texas AgriLife Extension Service agent in Hidalgo County.

At Ag Media Summit, held July 23-27 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Livestock Publications Council awarded the Progressive Dairyman team with first-place honors in “Non-Association Publication” and “Publication Website.” These were two of 54 total categories in the organization’s annual contest. The Progressive Dairyman team is “honored,” says Managing Editor Walt Cooley. “Both of these categories are typically very competitive, especially the non-association publication award,” he said. “These awards are the result of a team effort from a highly talented staff.”

A new federal effort aimed at helping rural areas needs input from private and nonprofit organizations, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday. "I believe that it's essential and necessary that this country focus more time and more attention on rural America and economic opportunity in rural America," Vilsack told about 180 people attending the Council on Foundations' Rural Philanthropy Conference in Kansas City.

St. Joseph, Missouri — Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) has a strong foundation of innovative biological and pharmaceutical research and development, manufacturing and technical service. And, the company takes pride in keeping those service operations close at hand in facilities that are owned and operated in the United States by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Corn leaves are rolling. Soybean leaves are flipping. Crop plants go into a defensive mode against the sun and heat.     “For crops, the drought threat is serious,” says Bill Wiebold, University of Missouri Extension agronomist. “Yields drop. Plants die.

Will the U.S. continue to serve as the balancer of the world supply or be a leader in supplying the world? That’s the question DPAC asked in a letter to Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson Monday (July 25) and in dairy policy discussions in several venues from Pennsylvania to Michigan to Washington, D.C. As Ranking Member of the U.S. House Ag Committee, Collin Peterson released a "Discussion Draft" Dairy Bill on July 13, which contains National Milk Producers Federation’s (NMPF) package of reforms called "Foundation for the Future" (FFTF). "As dairy farmers, we object to proposals that add more layers of centralized government control on top of the current system, which is overly complex, lacks transparency and has poor price discovery," states the DPAC letter sent to Rep. Peterson and Chairman Lucas Monday. "While we agree with the Discussion Draft proposal to eliminate the Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP), we object to the replacement it suggests.

COLUMBIA, Missouri – Adding value to beef goes beyond adding pounds to calves, says a beef meat marketing authority. Producers must listen to the consumer’s demand for eating quality.

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that a high demand for guaranteed farm ownership and direct farm operating funds has prompted USDA to transfer appropriated funds between programs as authorized by law, to meet the urgent credit needs of producers, including beginning and minority farmers and ranchers.

Good seedbed preparation and late summer management are among the biggest factors that determine a successful, high-yielding alfalfa crop. Alfalfa is a long-term investment for growers and, to maximize productivity, there are several steps to take before seeding in the fall to ensure good stand establishment the next spring.