Covid-19 may causes changes in planting intentions for farmers
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – COVID-19 is putting a dent in farm income and prices, and may prompt farmers to reconsider their planting intentions, officials with the Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture said recently. Net farm income could fall by $20.1 billion, or 19 percent, in 2020, according to a mid-April estimate from the University of Missouri’s Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI). |
| 4/29/2020 |
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Western Boone County FFA kicks of Milk & Meat program
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INDIANAPOLIS — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, FFA members and FFA Alumni and Supporters across the country continue to do what they do best — serve and feed America while helping others in their communities. In Indiana, the Western Boone County FFA kicked off “Milk & Meat for Boone County” last week. The FFA chapter is purchasing milk, beef and pork from Indiana businesses at discount prices to help farmers. The chapter will then supply the protein to the Caring Center and Western Boone’s food pantry to provide donations for more than three months in hopes of meeting increased needs. |
| 4/29/2020 |
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| Deere making face shields in fight against Covid-19 |
MOLINE, Ill. — Newly appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture Jerry Costello II recently called agriculture the “backbone of America”. John Deere, an Illinois-based agricultural giant, gave credence to Costello’s words as the company is in the process of making 25,000 protective face shields, with supplies being ordered for the production of an additional 200,000 to be made at its Moline factory. |
| 4/15/2020 |
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| U.S. House members request coronavirus aid for specialty crop producers |
| WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an April 7 bipartisan letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, 108 members of the U.S. House Representatives asked the Trump Administration to provide direct support to specialty crop producers as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is implemented. |
| 4/15/2020 |
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Coronavirus and its impact on dairy
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WOOSTER, Ohio— The Coronavirus has turned the world upside down, wreaking havoc on the health and economy worldwide, and impact on the dairy industry in particular. Before the virus began spreading across the globe, about half of the cheese sold in the United States was consumed outside the home in restaurants, take-out sales and institutions, according to Dr. Mark Stephanson, Extension Dairy Policy Specialist and Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension and Center for Dairy Profitability. Stephenson was a presenter in a webinar hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Extension and Nutrient Pest Management program |
| 4/15/2020 |
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| Online meat sales and shipping discussed during webinar |
CORVALLIS, Ore. — While fruit and vegetable producers have sought out avenues for their fresh picks, producers of meat are searching as well. Earlier this month, the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN) at Oregon State University held a Webinar to address the logistics of online sales and shipping of meat. NMPAN is a national community of practice focused on the long-term viability of the small and mid-sized processors who are essential to the local and regional meat and poultry sectors. |
| 4/15/2020 |
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| Farmland holds value despite disruptions |
Amid a myriad of pressures, average farmland values are still holding their value, at least for now. Prices for farmland declined between 2014-16 in many areas of the nation before plateauing in 2017 and early 2018. In the past couple of years, however, farmland values have been under pressure due to reduced crop yields, the ongoing trade war with China, low commodity prices and reduced farm profitability. And now, fate has thrown another wrench into the works with Covid-19, which have some worried what could be around the corner. |
| 4/15/2020 |
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| Farm animal veterinarians deemed ‘essential’ by DHS |
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — When it was announced on March 15 that just 15 states had officially deemed veterinarians as essential workers, those in the rural sector might have gone into panic mode. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deemed farming as an essential business and any livestock animals (cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, donkeys, mules, buffalo, oxen, llamas and others) are part of that essential business. The DHS went on to classify agricultural veterinarians as “workers who are essential to the infrastructure of farming.” |
| 4/15/2020 |
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Apple growers are donating fruit to children out of school
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LANSING, Mich. — A number of apple growers and others in the industry in Michigan have gotten together to provide apples to school children in this time of disruption. Diane Smith of the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) hatched the idea and it wasn’t long before quite a few local growers, along with Gleaner’s and the Food Bank Council of Michigan, were distributing three truckloads of apples to kids all over the state. Three truckloads of apples as in 346,000 fresh apples and 726,000 sliced apple packages to kids who are currently out of school due to the COVID-19 crisis. MAC also worked with apple shipping, processing and sales organizations across the state to make the donation happen. |
| 4/15/2020 |
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