Twenty-six teams from universities across North America will vie for prizes and global recognition for their design innovations in American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers' (ASABE) 15th Annual International ¼-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition. The competition will be held May 31 – June 3 at the Expo Gardens in Peoria, Illinois. The event is free and open to the public.

The teams have spent the 2011-2012 academic year designing and building utility or recreational pulling tractors that they will present and demonstrate at the competition.

Indiana's forage crop is thriving after an extremely mild winter. A new Purdue University website offers growers and livestock producers a place to buy and sell it.

Forage Finder can help growers sell – and buyers take advantage of – what has the potential to be a high-yielding crop. The site is free to use.

As spring planting goes into high gear in the U.S., farmers are going high-tech in order to use less fertilizer, save money and protect the environment, reports Voice of America. Satellite-based GPS navigation systems are becoming standard on modern farm equipment, helping farmers get the most from their fields. 



In recognition of the USDA's 150th Anniversary, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) launched an online historical timeline. The history provides important information about the advancement of agricultural statistics as well as the background of NASS itself.

The Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) should grant non-regulated status to a new variety of herbicide-tolerant corn, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). Approval of DAS-40278-9, the regulatory name of the genetically engineered corn variety, will provide farmers an important alternative to manage hard-to-control weeds and respond to potential herbicide resistance.

A plant risk assessment conducted by APHIS “clearly justifies a determination of non-regulated status” for DAS-40278-9, AFBF told Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a letter.

This spring brought some unexpected weather that may lead to forage harvesting challenges for Michigan farmers. That’s why Michigan State University (MSU) Extension educators and specialists have joined forces to study the issue and offer online resources to help farmers make harvest decisions that will ensure optimum forage quality for livestock diets. The Alfalfa Field Project facilitated by MSU Extension addresses the effects of Michigan’s unusual spring weather this year on the growth and quality of the alfalfa crop.

Debbie Lyons-Blythe, White City, Kansas, is Monsanto’s America’s Farmers Mom of the Year 2012. Lyons-Blythe was nominated by her children (Meghan, Allie, Trenton, Tyler and Eric), and also by her aunt, Mary Ferguson, who she describes as “more of a friend than an aunt.” Both nominations summarized in 300 words what makes Lyons-Blythe so special to her family, farm, community and the agricultural industry.

The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture's Department of Plant Sciences has announced an opening for an assistant professor/forage production systems.

The position, which is based at the Plateau Research and Education Center in Crossville, Tennessee, is full-time and tenure track.

Click here to view the position announcement.

Review of completed applications begins June 15.  FG