Farm & Ranch

Young farmers and the future

By Rebecca French Smith Missouri Farm Bureau (MFB) members have a long history of being involved. It’s at the very core of why this organization began, but that involvement is only as good as the next generation. By those measures, MFB is on solid ground. In Missouri, MFB members from every county belong to the

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Beef cattle nutrition, ration balancing workshop Jan. 30 in Nevada

The Vernon County MU Extension Center and Council will host a Beef Cattle Nutrition and Ration Balancing Workshop at 6 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Vernon County Fairgrounds Diner at 1488 East Ashland St, Nevada. The speakers will be Patrick Davis, Cedar County MU Extension Regional Livestock Specialist, and Andy McCorkill, Dallas County MU Extension

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MU Extension offers tips for negotiating new farmland leases

Renters and property owners are negotiating new farmland leases in response to lower farm commodity prices, says University of Missouri Extension agriculture business specialist Joe Koenen. Communication helps landlords and tenants find a middle ground for new leases, Koenen says. Landlords in tune with lower farm prices recognize that tenants will request rent adjustments. “I

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Eric Greitens announces new Director of Department of Agriculture

Governor-elect Eric Greitens announced his new Director for the Department of Agriculture. He sent the following message announcing his pick via Facebook: Our farmers and ranchers form the backbone of Missouri. Every day, men and women across the state wake up before dawn and do hard work to make quality, affordable food for our families.

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Extension Beef Cattle Conference to be held on Jan. 26

I want to make you aware of the Upcoming Southwest Missouri MU Extension Beef Cattle Conference that will be held on Jan. 26 at the Stockton United Methodist Church Family Life Center in Stockton.  The event will begin at 4 p. m. with registration.  There will be booth sponsors at the event and you can

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Market your trees as you market your livestock

Study and know your market before you sell trees, says University of Missouri Extension forestry specialist Hank Stelzer. MU Extension, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation, offers a series of workshops to help landowners learn how to improve the quality of their timber and how to market it. MU Extension in Laclede County

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NRCS funding available to protect wetlands and other agricultural land

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has $9.5 million available to help Missouri landowners restore wetlands and $360,000 available for easements to protect agricultural land from conversion to non-agricultural uses. The funding is part of a national effort by USDA to protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands through NRCS’ Agricultural Conservation Easement

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FDA changes coming for livestock owners Jan. 1

Livestock owners across Missouri are encouraged to be prepared for the upcoming Food and Drug Administration changes to antibiotics that will go into effect on Jan. 1. Craig Payne, director of veterinary medical extension at the University of Missouri, said there are two main changes. The first deals with medically-important feed grade or water soluble

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Farmers’ Almanac finds

by Chris Fennewald The 2017 Farmers’ Almanac is out, and as always, it makes for some interesting reading. My copy says it is the 200th edition. That means for 200 years, folks have relied on it to determine the best days to wash their windows and wax their floors. How is that possible? There are

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Show-Me-Select sale in tune with the times

The 35th Show-Me-Select Bred Heifer Sale had a $1651 average on 364 heifers Nov. 18 at Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage. The price range varied from $1100 to $2050 according to Eldon Cole, livestock specialist with University of Missouri Extension. The most active bidding was done on 55 head of Red Angus heifers consigned by

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