Another drought year ahead or not, adding more forages to the grazing mix helps during the annual summer slump, says a University of Missouri Extension forage specialist.

Rob Kallenbach advocates more alfalfa, although the legume called “the queen of forages” has fallen out of favor with some farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a new microloan program from the USDA designed to help small and family operations, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers secure loans under $35,000. The new microloan program is aimed at bolstering the progress of producers through their start-up years by providing needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their operations.

Landmark Services Cooperative will be hosting its annual farm management workshops Feb. 4 in Deforest, Wisconsin, and Feb. 5 in Janesville, Wisconsin.

“The 2013 farm management workshops will provide useful planning and production tools for agriculture producers of all scopes and sizes,” says Kristi Lange, communications and events coordinator for Landmark Services Cooperative. “As this year’s theme – “Every farm has a history: Managing your farm for the future” – suggests, discussions will help producers combine lessons learned with new industry tools to plan for a successful year.”

The value of lablab, an annual tropical legume, as potential quality forage has long been known, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be made a lot better, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant breeder. Gerald Smith, plant breeder at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, is currently working with hundreds of crosses looking for superior qualities. “We need a new forage crop in Texas that fits our seasons and works for us in the summer,” Smith said.

Farmers continue to utilize the practice of exchanging machine work between farms, which has been and will continue to be a useful management tool. The “Farm Machine Work Rate for 2012 – 2013” summary report is now posted on Michigan State University Extension educator Dennis Stein’s website. The tool provides mid-Michigan farms a reference in establishing a value for machine work being exchanged between farms. Click here to visit Stein's site.

The Mosaic Company’s Nutrient Removal App was selected by AgProfessional editors as one of the 10 best and most innovative products introduced by the industry in 2012. Since its debut in January 2012, the Nutrient Removal App has been downloaded over 6,500 times by farmers and retailers.

At the annual American Forage and Grassland Council meeting, held Jan. 6-8 in Covington, Kentucky, Progressive Forage Grower Editor Lynn Olsen received the Merit Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made contributions to the forage or grassland industry in research, teaching, extension, production or industrial development.

To assist with the costs of traveling to the 2013 International Grassland Congress, the Forage and Grassland Foundation will make available limited funds ($2,000) for early career scientists (MS or PhD graduate student, post doc, and assistant professor within 6 months of hiring) and producers.

In 2012, there were at least 3,527 monthly weather records for heat, rain and snow broken by extreme weather events that hit communities throughout the U.S., according to an updated interactive extreme weather mapping tool and year-end review released by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The 2012 tally exceeds the 3,251 records smashed in 2011 and catalogues these record-breaking extreme events in all 50 states.

University of Missouri Extension has released a free app for iPhones, iPads and Android devices to help people easily identify weeds in the field, lawn or garden. Kevin Bradley, MU Extension weed scientist, unveiled the app at the MU Crop Management Conference, Dec. 19 in Columbia. The app, called ID Weeds, has information on more than 400 plant species that could be encountered as weeds in crop fields, pastures, lawns, gardens or aquatic areas in Missouri and surrounding states.