Don Hale of Blackfoot, Idaho, was a valued leader in the Idaho Hay and Forage Association and played a major role in founding the Idaho Hay Association, later known as the Idaho Hay and Forage Association.  The Idaho Hay and Forage Association established a special award, the Don Hale Hall of Fame Award, to be presented annually to someone affiliated with the hay and forage industry in Idaho.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers continues to grow its electronic library of safety materials with the recent addition of a safety manual for industrial/agricultural mowers. The e-book gives equipment operators and maintenance personnel convenient access to a wide scope of safety information from their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

The American Forage and Grassland Council, in conjunction with the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, will host the 2nd Annual National Tour, May 21-24, 2013 in Syria, Virginia. Graves Mountain Lodge will serve as the tour headquarters.

DuPont Pioneer and Mendel Biotechnology Inc. have entered into a license collaboration to evaluate and commercialize new gene leads for increased water use efficiency (WUE) and improved photosynthesis in corn. Under the agreement, DuPont Pioneer and Mendel will evaluate these new gene leads and test them for yield-enhancement traits in Pioneer brand corn products. 

Crops should be managed in a way to prevent weed infestations, overuse of herbicides and herbicide resistance. But in the real world, growers will use the most convenient and economical practices until a crisis forces a change. Routine monitoring of weed populations for their resistance to herbicides can avert such a crisis.

USDA scientists are giving guidance to farmers on using a tool designed to maximize the advantages of planting cover crops. The technology, known as a "roller/crimper," can reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for herbicides. Cover crops can improve soil quality, and in organic operations, they play a major role in keeping weeds in check.

A USDA scientist and his colleague at Cornell University have developed a new tool for studying how roots take shape in the soil.

The three-dimensional imaging system and software package, developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Leon V. Kochian in Ithaca, New York, and Randy T. Clark of Cornell, allows scientists to collect data on root systems faster than ever before, and to study root architecture in unprecedented detail.

Landowners experienced a terrible drought this past summer and many are wondering what to do now with the poor pasture that is left.

“There are two responses to have toward a drought: short term and long term,” said Jill Scheidt, agronomy specialist with the University of Missouri Extension in Barton County.