Today’s farmers and ranchers are so busy increasing their productivity to meet the needs of a growing world that they don’t have time to sit and visit with their neighbors like they used to. However, there is still great value in building relationships, sharing information and asking for advice. cropNAtion, the social media platform for agriculture which launched in 2011, allows farmers and ranchers to connect with each other whether they are across the country or across the section.

American Agri-Women (AAW) recently drafted resolutions to address issues and threats to agriculture. Representatives from this all-volunteer coalition of more than 50,000 farm, ranch and agribusiness women will deliver these resolutions to elected officials in Washington, D.C., in early June. The group’s resolutions, which are reviewed each spring, cover ag business and economics, commodities and natural resources.

The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) has launched “Meet America’s Farmers,” a YouTube channel of videos featuring today’s farmers. The channel was developed to offer consumers the opportunity to observe the commitment of today’s farmers to raising safe, healthy and affordable food. Individual farmers and farm organizations are invited to create their own videos for the channel, using a shared values approach to connect with consumers.

DuPont opened a $40 million plant genetics research facility in Johnston, Iowa, earlier this month. Approximately 400 new jobs will be created through the increased research and development capabilities housed in the 200,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building.

A new tool for livestock producers, an online network of pasture lease listings called PastureScout, was launched recently to help ranchers find pasture leases.

April is a good month to plant and establish a new stand of alfalfa. In fact, the sooner, the better, says an Ohio State University Extension educator.

University of Illinois associate professor of weed science, Aaron Hager, says that the below-freezing temperatures last week damaged some emerged corn in some parts of the country.

"While the damage appears not to be widespread, it is very likely that some growers will opt to replant damaged stands," he said. Losses of the initial corn stand could range from complete to partial, so farmers may need to control existing corn plants before replanting.

Renting pasture for grazing livestock is a fairly common practice in Indiana but one a Purdue Extension forage specialist says landowners and producers need to carefully discuss.

Many livestock producers continue to make hay while the sun shines, according to Texas AgriLife Extension Service reports.

With rains and warmer-than-average weather, cool-season grasses and small grains continued to show rapid growth, according to the reports. Producers throughout the state were taking advantage of the situation to bale as much as they could and rebuild hay supplies depleted in the 2011 drought.

Warmer-than-normal spring temperatures have accelerated the development of biennial weeds in pastures and along roadsides. "A problem that we would typically think about dealing with sometime in mid-May is rearing its ugly head now," said University of Illinois extension educator Robert Bellm.