USDA scientists are giving guidance to farmers on using a tool designed to maximize the advantages of planting cover crops. The technology, known as a "roller/crimper," can reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for herbicides. Cover crops can improve soil quality, and in organic operations, they play a major role in keeping weeds in check.

“I noticed a small van slow down beside the cab of my truck while it was passing.  I glanced over and noticed that the occupants appeared to be a young mother and a toddler, who was in a child seat. 

A USDA scientist and his colleague at Cornell University have developed a new tool for studying how roots take shape in the soil.

The three-dimensional imaging system and software package, developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Leon V. Kochian in Ithaca, New York, and Randy T. Clark of Cornell, allows scientists to collect data on root systems faster than ever before, and to study root architecture in unprecedented detail.

Landowners experienced a terrible drought this past summer and many are wondering what to do now with the poor pasture that is left.

“There are two responses to have toward a drought: short term and long term,” said Jill Scheidt, agronomy specialist with the University of Missouri Extension in Barton County.

Parnell, a global leader in dairy reproduction, today announced the launch of Synchronization Pack, containing estroPLAN (cloprostenol sodium) and GONAbreed (gonadorelin acetate) - the first reproductive hormone ever to be approved by the FDA to synchronize estrous cycles in lactating dairy cows and beef cows. Currently done with extra label drugs and hormones. Synchronization Pack incorporates timed injections of GONAbreed (gonadorelin acetate) and estroPLAN (cloprostenol sodium) to allow for fixed time artificial insemination (FTAI) in commonly used cattle breeding programs.  GONAbreed has also been FDA-approved for the treatment of ovarian follicular cysts in dairy cattle.

Senators from leading dairy producing states have introduced bipartisan legislation to encourage dairy producers to invest in risk-reducing farm savings accounts. The Dairy Augmentation for Increased Retail in Yogurt (DAIRY) Act, introduced by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Charles Schumer (D-New York), would give dairy producers a new tool to manage increasing demand while providing a safety net for volatile market downturns.

Eighty-six employees at the Dairy Farmers of America plant in Monett, Missouri, were notified by letter on March 6 that the DFA plant will be shutting down in the second half of 2013.

Grassland Oregon, Inc. has announced that its Albion forage perennial ryegrass is now available in commercial quanitities.