The presence of a new Bermuda grass pest has been confirmed in Van Zandt County, Texas, and producers are advised to be on the lookout, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts. Unlike other insects that attack plants from the outside, the Bermuda grass stem maggot damages them from inside, according to Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson, AgriLife Extension forage specialist, Overton. “Basically, they consume material inside the stem, unlike armyworms or grasshoppers, where the damage is external,” she said.

Resources, weather give birth to western Kansas feedyards Western Kansas has always played a role in the beef industry.

EPA has reached an agreement with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to make changes to Iowa’s Clean Water Act (CWA) permit and compliance program for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The agreement includes specific actions the IDNR intends to take to remedy the program and a timeline for implementation of those actions to ensure clean, healthy water.

Sitting in the Boise airport on my way home from our all-company meeting in August, I posted a status update to Facebook on all the fun activities we did and how it made me feel energized for the year to come. A dairy producer friend from Wisconsin noticed my comment about zip-lines, Hot Wheels races and sending an egg pilot safely down to earth and sent me a message asking, “Is there anything we as dairy farmers can use or learn from that experience that will help us with our employees, team or staff?”

Click here to download a PDF of the latest export watch, provided by the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC). PD

Click here to download a PDF of the latest Export Watch update, provided by Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. PD

The dairy industry has entered a time of unprecedented economic volatility. In 2011, there were dairies that made enormous profits; at the same time, their neighbors were declaring bankruptcy.