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.

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.

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.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan has been crisscrossing the country, visiting college campuses to educate young people about careers in agriculture. Merrigan's efforts are spurred by the rising age of farmers in America, which is 57. (In 2002, it was 55.)

Agricultural census figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers and ranchers is the segment over 65. For every one farmer and rancher under 25, there are five who are 75 or older.

The Steiger 600, Steiger 500, Steiger 450 and Steiger 350 all showed significant fuel efficiency and drawbar horsepower advantages over the competition, according to test lab reports.

Hamilton Equipment is the exclusive U.S. importer/distributor of the full line of Tanco Autowrap products including Tanco bale wrappers, bale shears and Tanco parts.

The Wisconsin Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) funded several innovative grazing-related projects from 2009 to 2011. The Wisconsin Grazing Initiative 2012 Report details the 21 educational projects, 23 technical assistance projects and 10 research projects that supported a variety of grazing-related work. Click here to read the full report. The projects, which can last as long as three years, incorporate research-based information and rely on farmer-to-farmer learning. Public events and media coverage of these projects increased general awareness of the benefits of managed grazing to Wisconsin’s rural landscape, communities and economy.

Neal Martin, director of the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin, received the first ever John S. Shenk Memorial Award from the NIRS Forage and Feed Testing Consortium (NIRSC) for his 20 years of service to the organization. The award was presented at the NIRSC annual meeting on Feb. 15. NIRSC works to promote accuracy, knowledge and application of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis through uniformity, standardization and good practices in order to bring excellence in forage and feed testing to the farmer.