Grants to accelerate cover crop adoption in Midwest

 In partnership with ADM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced $2.6 million in grant awards to help farmers plant cover crops across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Minnesota. Awarded under NFWF’s Midwest Cover Crop Initiative, these five grants will support implementation of this beneficial agricultural practice on 500,000 acres.

G20: FAO says global threats to agrifood systems need complex approach

The challenges undermining global food security call for a complex approach embracing investment, policy reforms and better use of resources, QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) told a key meeting of the G20 today.

Farms, Families Often Suffer Without Estate Planning

An estate and succession planning expert says not developing a farm transition plan is often difficult for survivors and the farm operation. John Shoup with the Indiana Ag Law Foundation tells Brownfield families have been fractured after the death of a family member. “The relationships are fractured because of either maybe there was no plan or maybe people didn’t feel like they were included in the plan, and that’s an awfully difficult situation.”

USDA announces assistance for on-farm food safety expenses for specialty crop growers

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to provide up to $200 million in assistance for specialty crop producers who incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety certification in calendar years 2022 or 2023.

West Michigan-developed ‘Craigslist for local food and farms’ app nears 100K users

Local entrepreneur Terra Osman leveraged her self-taught development skills to create a mobile app that connects buyers and sellers of local produce and garden supplies. After launching Farmish in mid-March, the app now has more than 100,000 downloads and 86,000 current users as Osman mulls how to grow the business further.

Conservation, crop insurance, dairy pricing priorities detailed at 2023 farm bill hearing

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and ranking member U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) officially kicked off the first hearing on the 2023 Farm Bill at Michigan State University. Noting strong bipartisan approval of the current farm bill, Stabenow said she and Boozman intend to continue the tradition as the committee seeks input from producers on needed improvements, in light of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Deere launches See & Spray Ultimate

 John Deere has introduced See & Spray™ Ultimate, a factory-installed system available for model year 2023 John Deere 410R, 412R, and 612R Sprayers that enables targeted spraying of non-residual herbicide on weeds among corn, soybean, and cotton plants.

Threat grows from SCN

Agriculture and farming officials are helping growers manage soybean cyst nematodes to prevent a major loss in yield as the crop’s production season approaches.

Farmers should think about proactively managing soybean cyst nematodes since they are the No. 1 pest in soybeans, said Jeremiah Mullock, the production manager of chemical company Baden Aniline and Soda Factory, or BASF.

Apply by April 29 for Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge

The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, is seeking entrepreneurs to apply online for the 2023 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. Now in its ninth year, this national business competition showcases U.S. startup companies developing innovative solutions to challenges faced by America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

Taking Every Opportunity

“I didn’t know I wanted to farm full- time until I went away to college at Michigan State,” Ben said. “Being away that first month was so awful. I couldn’t wait to come home and help. All through the fall harvest I drove home almost every day after class to help – I couldn’t stand not being there.”