Today's Ag News
Welcome to Today's Ag News, a list of news story links provided by the Kansas Department of Agriculture as a benefit to our website visitors. These news stories are the work product of media outlets nationwide. Reference to outside entities on our website, or links to outside entities from our website, or reference to outside entities by our officers or by our employees, does not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of the accuracy, relevancy, timeliness, or completeness of information available from these outside sources or from their websites.
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Farmers plants more corn, soybeans
The Des Moines Register
Iowa growers planted 13.7 million acres of corn this year, compared with 13.3 million bushels last year, and 9.8 million acres of soybeans, up slightly from last year’s 9.75 million acres, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.
81 percent of Iowa corn rates good or excellent, USDA says
The Des Moines Register
"The corn crop looks good right now, and that's why it's falling on the markets," said Roger Elmore, an Iowa State University agronomist.
New River Market restaurant will focus on local foods
The Kansas City Star
A restaurant focusing on locally grown produce — what could be a more fitting name than The Farmhouse?
Russia bans two U.S. pork plants, one U.S. poultry plant
Meatinglace.com
Russia has banned imports of pork from two Farmland Foods plants and imports of poultry from one Sanderson Farms Inc., USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said late last week.
Turning concerns into compliance: Grinding the details of FDA’s feed ban rule
Meatingplace.com
In spite of the fact that the risk of BSE in the U.S. is already negligible, the rule should remove the last remaining excuse to restrict international trade with the U.S. in beef and beef by-products.
'Meat'ing customer demands
The Hays Daily News
In at 6:30 a.m., Wittman is ready for customers by 9 when the store opens. He stays busy throughout the day taking orders over the phone, helping customers who come in to shop and keeping the coolers stocked with a variety of meats he cuts and prepares for customers after it comes in from wholesalers in Wichita and Nebraska.
WHEAT RIGHTS
The Salina Journal
"I wish we didn't have to do it," said Fred Cholick, dean of the College of Agriculture. "I wish the public dollar would support it, but it doesn't. It would be impossible for us to have viable plant breeding programs and viable extension research programs solely on the public dollars.
Wheat harvest likely to exceed expectations
The Salina Journal
When fields were examined along four routes from Manhattan to Colby, the average yield was expected to be 41.3 bushels to the acre.
Harvester saves up for overseas dream but runs into snag
The Hutchinson News
AMY - As a hot wind whipped the Kansas wheat field before him, custom harvest employee Tertius Kroucamp wondered what the future would bring.
Food businesses face increased regulation
Phoenix Business Journal
HR 2749 has the backing of food safety advocates, consumer protection organizations and federal lawmakers worried about recent food contamination incidents.
New generation biofuels seen in 2010 at earliest
Reuters
The first generation biofuels made from food crops such as grain, rapeseed oil and palm oil are used to produce biofuels to reduce use of fossil fuels and combat global warming.
European regulators back Monsanto corn products
St Louis Business Journal
Following a four-year review, EFSA scientists also confirmed that herbicide-tolerant Roundup Ready 2 corn is as safe as conventional maize for all uses, including cultivation, across the entire European Union, Monsanto said.
Cattle Health: Bovine Tuberculosis FAQ
The Cattle Network
he cattle will be injected with a small amount of tuberculin into the web of their tail. Seventy-two hours later the cattle will need to be run through the chute again to check for a reaction from the tuberculin
Plainview recalls products on Salmonella scare
Reuters
After the product cleared quality testing and left our facility it was blended with other ingredients and that's when contamination was found, but in situations like this it's in the public's best interest to be overly cautious," Plainview General Manager Dallas Moe said in a statement on Monday.
Feed costs, swine flu put small hog farms in peril
The Kansas City Star
"Producers that aren't efficient will be hit first," Ellis said. "Those are the operators that we will see exit the market. Not the big operators." http://www.kansascity.com/438/story/1260646.html
Kansas inspectors cite several restaurants in area
The Kansas City Star
“And we also sent the cooks to a class on June 10 provided by the Kansas Department of Agriculture so they can better understand the temperatures and proper procedures of what they are supposed to do.” http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1260385.html
Cloud County sees boost from wind farm
The Lawrence Journal World
At its peak, the wind farm turns out 201 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 60,000 homes a year. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/jun/19/cloud-county-sees-boost-wind-farm/
Trying to catch the wind
The Lawrence Journal World
Wind farms aren’t the only draw. State leaders are hoping to attract wind manufacturing, capitalizing on its central location in the wind belt and access to major interstate highways. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/jun/19/trying-catch-wind/
Vilsack looking for ways to help pork industry
Meatingplace.com
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Thursday he is looking for ways to help the struggling pork industry, including relief from restrictions on use of funds that might allow more government pork purchases. http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=12716
Nestle recalls Toll House cookie dough products
The Washington Post
The FDA advised consumers to throw away any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their homes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061900949.html
Harvest is on in Saline County
The Salina Journal
His first load of wheat, hauled to the Cargil Ag Horizons grain terminal off Halstead Road west of Salina, posted a test weight of 63.6 pounds per bushel. http://www.saljournal.com/news/story/harvest6-19-09
Kansas crop better than expected
The Wichita Eagle
At the Belle Plaine Co-op, elevator manager Pete Nulik said Thursday that he has taken in about 75,000 bushels of wheat so far with test weights averaging about 57 pounds a bushel. http://www.kansas.com/business/agriculture/story/859327.html
Custom cutters hurt by low wheat yields
The Wichita Eagle
"It didn't make sense to load up equipment and go where there is no wheat," said Pam Shmidl, operations manager of Hutchinson-based U.S. Custom Harvesters, an association of professional harvesters. http://www.kansas.com/business/agriculture/story/859200.html
Kan. couple turns popcorn into growing business
The Wichita Eagle
Each year, Schlaegel said, he plants 10 acres of popcorn, which yields from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. He also grows 250 acres of regular field corn and 250 acres of soybeans on the farm, too. http://www.kansas.com/457/story/859305.html