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Ag News

COOL STORY – Two Kids Spend “Gap Year” Catching State Fish from Every State

I thought this was a crazy cool idea and what a great experience for the boys! Luke Konson and Daniel Balserak set out during their gap year (time between high school graduation and college enrollment) to catch the state fish in all 50 states and ended up with an unforgettable adventure. Below is an excerpt that ran on Outdoor's blog ...
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What About This Turkey and Potatoes Shortage… And a Few Other Items You Might Not Get at the Grocery Store

I tried to buy a few pounds of turkey at some local Kansas City BBQ joints the past few weekends and they all told us they were no longer selling turkey in big bulk because of the shortage. My wife went to two different grocery stores this week and they were both out of turkey in the deli section. I ...
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Farm Expenses Up More Than +7% in 2021

Farm production expenditures in the United States reached an estimate $392.9 billion last year, an increase of +7.3% over 2020. Of the 17-line items tracked by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 15 showed an increase from the previous year while only "interest" and "seeds and plants" witnessed a decrease.The four largest expenditures for US farmers - "feed", "farm ...
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China Saying they Could Become a Net-Food Exporter with NEW Water Project

China has begun work on what will be the world's largest water tunnel, designed to transport water from Three Gorges Dam (also the world's largest) to the Han River, where it will then connect to what will be the world's largest canal. The nearly 125-mile-long Yinjiangbuhan tunnel is just a tiny portion of what's known as the "South-North Water Diversion ...
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Interesting Data… US Pork Industry’s Contributions to the American Economy

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) released a new report highlighting how the American pork industry is a significant contributor to the US agricultural and overall economy. The report covers the last five years of pork industry value chain contributions and growth. From farm to fork, the combined economic contribution from hog production and pork processing supports 613,823 direct and ...
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“Champagne”… All You Need to Ever Know

Legend has it that during the summer of 1693 a French Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Pérignon first crafted this bubbly brew at the abbey of Saint Pierre d’Hautvillers, overlooking the town of Epernay, France in the region called Champagne. Others will argue that 30 years earlier some English scientists first made the discovery in Winchcombe, which was a market ...
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Looking Back at Our First Crop Dusters

Today, the agricultural and aviation communities quietly celebrate the 101st anniversary of the first use of the airplane for crop dusting. On this day in 1921, Army Air Corps pilot Lieutenant John A. Macready, piloting a specially modified Curtiss JN4 Jenny, spread lead arsenate over a six-acre grove of 6,000 catalpa trees at Postmaster Harry Carver’s farm in Troy, Ohio ...
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Interesting… Rapid Heat Stress Test for Livestock

Heat stress is weighing heavy on the minds of many producers this year, for themselves as well as their animals. For poultry producers, it's also an unfortunate fact that the most productive breeds tend to be more prone to heat stress. Karthik Nayani, an assistant professor in the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas, ...
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US State Fair Season Kicks Off!

State Fairs are kicking off the 2022 season across America, many after having been closed the past two years due to Covid-19. For so many families, there is just no better way to wrap up a long, hot summer than a couple of deep-fried Twinkies, a rickety carnival ride, and some dusty livestock pens! Below is a little history and ...
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USDA’s “Beagle Brigade” is America’s First Line of Defense Against Agricultural Threats

One of the country's first lines of defense against foreign agricultural pests and diseases is just about as adorable as they are effective. The US "Beagle Brigade" utilize their incredibly acute sense of smell to uncover threats that not even the most sensitive scientific equipment can detect. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) uses its highly-trained Beagles in airports ...
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