Farm & Ranch

University of Missouri Extension will sponsor a Summer Tax School July 6 at Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center, Columbia. MU Extension agricultural business specialist Mary Sobba says the program centers on farm tax issues. Speakers include a tax law professor, a retired Internal Revenue Service agent and a Missouri Department of Revenue employee. Topics

by Stewart Truelsen It’s a job-seekers’ market this year with the unemployment rate slowly declining and job creation at a high level, but how long will these jobs last? Computerization, robotics and artificial intelligence will bring a sea change to the workplace over the next couple of decades, creating new occupations and eliminating some current

For some jobs, farmers need help. Custom operators provide a wide range of services. The jobs vary from tillage and planting to spreading fertilizer and harvesting grain and hay. Big jobs might be building fence or moving dirt. A University of Missouri Extension price guide lists nearly 150 services. The guide, which was updated this

Corn growers facing replanting decisions because of flooding and saturated soils have time to safely plant corn through the end of May and even into early June. That is the advice from University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist Greg Luce. He notes that growers vary in their regional situations and, depending on their circumstances, some

The 2017 Ozark Empire Fair Hay Show will have changes aimed at attracting more entrants.  The increase in haylage harvest in the region will allow farmers to enter wrapped hay whether the bales were individually wrapped or placed in an in-line wrapper. Another change is to convert the system of evaluation from Relative Feed Value

Missouri famers who participate in USDA programs will be required to provide additional control of ephemeral gully erosion on their highly erodible fields, State Conservationist J.R. Flores said. Ephemeral gullies are the smaller ditches in fields that farmers often smooth with a disc before planting crops. Flores, who heads the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service

This may be the year for two cuttings of tall fescue hay. That’s good news. The bad news: The first cutting will make lousy hay, says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension forage agronomist. Erratic weather caused fescue to set seed early. Under stress, grass made seed instead of leaves. “Those early seed stems must

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wildlife biologists on the feral hog strike team have tallied up feral hog numbers for the first three months of 2017. The first quarter yielded a total of 2,332 feral hogs removed by MDC, partner agencies, and private landowners, which is nearly half of the total number of feral hogs

You may not be aware that your local extension centers offer a variety of soil and hay testing equipment and other items that you can check out.  It is best to call before you stop by to make sure the item you want is available.  Using a soil or hay probe provides you with a

Love them or hate them, the beet’s nutritional value is as intense as its striking purple color. Once the Rodney Dangerfield of the garden, beets are finding new respect among nutrition and health advocates. Beets are not just for borscht or pickling any more, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. The granddaddy of