Planting winter pastures this fall might not save livestock producers’ bacon but it could certainly help them save what hay they have if there’s another drought next summer, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert.

“Normally, people plant winter pastures to defray winter feeding costs,” said Jason Banta, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist, Overton. “But hay stocks are certainly not up to sufficient levels, and by reducing winter feeding they can certainly hang onto more of the stocks they have.”

When it comes to today’s agriculture, there are many examples of great farmers and ranchers all over the country doing wonderful things to bring food to the table for those around the world. But few of those farmers and ranchers are recognizable by consumers, mainstream media and influencers.

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) wants to change that. The organization is looking for the “Faces of Farming and Ranching” to help put a real face on agriculture and shine a light on the heart, personalities and values that are behind today’s food.

The dry summer has many corn producers concerned that their corn crop may not meet their production expectations, according to Tim Schnakenberg, an agronomy specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

“The corn crop is deteriorating rapidly in areas that have missed key rains and producers are looking at alternatives, especially for their later planted corn,” said Schnakenberg.

Chopping the crop for silage is one way to retain some value of the crop before it wilts down in the drought, even though the dry matter tonnage produced may be 10-50 percent lower in a drought compared to normal corn silage.

As of July 1, DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred became known as DuPont Pioneer. The company stated, "DuPont Pioneer is an important element in extending DuPont's efforts in the agricultural and food industries.

Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Jim Smith provided information about managing silage feedout in hot weather in the trending topic article, "Maximizing silage feed value during hot weather requires extra management." Click here to read it. Because this article has been so popular, we reached out to Pioneer to respond to a followup question: Q. Many areas experienced warmer-than-usual winters and springs. What advice do you have for feed storage this summer when temperatures have already been a bit higher the whole year?

66th North Dakota Dairy Princess crowned Marissa Leier of Hague was crowned North Dakota’s 66th State Dairy Princess. She and runner-up Amy Noel, 19, were crowned during a luncheon with Midwest Dairy Association North Dakota Division board members. Leier was a member of the state champion dairy judging team that competed at World Dairy Expo and the livestock judging team that competed at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. She attends North Dakota State University where she is majoring in biology. Both Leier and Noel received scholarships from the Friends of Dairymen and the North Dakota Milk Producers. Noel was also awarded the Midwest Dairy Association scholarship, chosen separately from among the candidates. —From Midwest Dairy Association news release Shamrock Farms celebrates 90 years in business Shamrock Foods Company – the parent company of Shamrock Farms – prides itself on its willingess to embrace new technology.

Walter Bradley, government and industry relations representative for Dairy Farmers of America, testified last month before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy in support of H.R. 2997. Congress created the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) to assist with cleaning up toxic waste sites. H.R. 2997 seeks clarification under CERCLA and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act regulation that animal manure does not necessitate an emergency response nor create a Superfund site.

Nestle has broken ground for the Dairy Farming Institute, which will support the sustainable development and the accelerated modernization of the dairy industry in China. The groundbreaking follows an announcement Nestle made in January, in which the company committed to transform Shuangcheng, one of its largest fresh milk supply bases in China, into the country's benchmark for dairy farming and management best practices.

TRENDING TOPIC ARTICLE: FEED & NUTRITION In this video, published in the July 20, 2012 Progressive Dairyman Extra e-newsletter, Dr. Mike Hutjens of the University of Illinois discussed drought-stress corn concerns and strategies for the drought of 2012. At the time, nearly one-third of the U.S. corn crop was experiencing drought-stress.