The University of Wisconsin's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program announced the launch of the IPM Toolkit Version 1.0, available for free in the iTunes app store. The first generation app makes mobile many of the great tools available through the Integrated Pest and Crop Management website, which was updated recently.

Recognizing the need to access data at different times and from any location, the IPM Toolkit was developed to run on mobile devices, enabling users to stay up-to-date as items get posted on the Internet throughout the growing season.

FMC Corporation announced its “Stand and Be Heard Anthem Singing Contest,” an opportunity for students in agriculture to showcase their patriotic singing skills for a chance to win scholarship prizes. Any member of a national agricultural student organization is invited to submit an audition video singing the national anthem. Participants may submit their entries online until June 15.

FMC Corporation announced its “Stand and Be Heard Anthem Singing Contest,” an opportunity for students in agriculture to showcase their patriotic singing skills for a chance to win scholarship prizes. Any member of a national agricultural student organization is invited to submit an audition video singing the national anthem. Participants may submit their entries online until June 15.

More rain came to most of Texas, improving drought-damaged pastures and rangeland, according to Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel.

The rains greatly improved the agricultural situation, according to weekly reports, but many ranchers were still feeding hay, though the green-up allowed them to cut back. The warmer-than-normal weather and moisture also brought on weed growth in pastures, particularly those pastures damaged by last year’s drought.

Livestock Grain and Market News fed cattle report for March 23.

John Stika, president of Certified Angus Beef, spoke at Kansas State University's Cattlemen’s Day in early March. He highlighted the importance of responding to market demand.

Dairymen are buying much of the 5,000 acres in Weld County, Colorado, once occupied by Butterball's turkey farms. Those producers are expanding their efforts to meet the expected milk demand that comes with the new Leprino Foods cheese plant in Greeley. New dairies are expected to arrive and existing local dairies are expected to expand.

Plans for a powdered milk processing plant in Fallon, Nevada, that would create 44 full-time jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs have moved a giant step closer to reality. Quail Hollow LLC, a subsidiary of Dairy Farmers of America, closed an agreement with the city of Fallon to buy 31.5 acres. Construction of the $70-million facility is tentatively scheduled to begin in May and be completed by the summer of 2013, Fallon’s Lahontan Valley News reported. Eric Grimes, executive director of the Churchill Economic Development Authority, said the plant would have a “massive impact on the county and the region.”

State water regulators found more than 50 decomposing cow carcasses at the Rego Dairy in Gustine, California. The operator could face fines and a referral to the state Attorney General's office. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a cleanup order. Dairy owner Franklin Rego has until March 30 to dispose of the carcasses. If he can't meet that deadline, he could face fines.