W-L Research (W-L) recently celebrated its 55th anniversary and the opening of the new Forage Genetics International (FGI) research facility in Davis, California.

A corn shortage in Iowa is causing the state to seek crops from other states. Flooding delayed spring planting and last year’s drought knocked down corn yields, according to Ross Korves, economic policy analyst of Michigan-based ProExporter Network, as quoted in an article by Perry Beeman in the Des Moines Register. Korves spoke to an audience attending the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s Economic Summit at Iowa State University.

Farmer Terry L. Button of Rushville, New York, director of the National Hay Association (NHA), has received a U.S. Congregational appointment as director of the National Freight Advisory Committee (NFAC), a group that provides advice and recommendations on matters related to freight transportation in the U.S.

A dangerous fungus is showing up in some Midwest pastures, according to the University of Missouri Extension as reported in a post by Paul Ebeling on Heffx. It so far this year has proved fatal to several animals.

Protecting farmers’ and ranchers’ right to privacy is a top priority, said the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), which took legal action recently to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from publicly releasing personal information about thousands of farmers and ranchers and their families. EPA is expected to respond to several Freedom of Information Act requests, prompting AFBF to file a lawsuit and seek a temporary restraining order before the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA has designated eight new bio-based product categories for preferred federal procurement.

The DuPont Crop Protection Land Management business unit has introduced the first three in a series of learning modules that address stewardship best practices, aimed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of day-to-day herbicide, insecticide and fungicide use.

Grassland Oregon has opened a new research location in southeast Iowa, whose main focus will be the screening and evaluation of new cover crop, turf grass and forage species and varieties.  

Drought can turn ordinary forages into sources of nitrate and prussic acid poisoning in cattle, and producers should keep a close eye on pasture conditions, says Dirk Philipp, assistant professor for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

A University of California – Riverside (UCR) researcher has discovered a chemical that allows plants to grow while using less water, according to a report by FSA. Plant biologist Sean Cutler discovered the chemical “quinabactin” that mimics the functions of a plant hormone called “abscisic acid” that makes plants conserve water. The find could mean a break on the pocketbooks of crop growers.