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Ag News

Why More Ranchers are Turning to HerdDogg

It’s been years since location-based technologies and geofencing-enabled apps, like Foursquare, changed what users expected from their mobile devices. Now we all have access to geo-located tools like Uber, Lyft, and more right at our fingertips. A company called HerdDogg has leveraged this technology to help ranchers keep tabs on their herds and improve efficiency. HerdDogg’s animal traceability platform combines in-field ...
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Interesting… USDA Enlists Tiny Wasps to Save North America’s Ash Trees

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to stop regulating the movement of living ash trees and wood products as a way to control the spread of one of North America's most devastating invasive insects, the emerald ash borer. The strategy, which had been in place for over a decade, has proven no match for the insect which ...
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Many of Our Farms Trace Back to “The Homestead Act of 1862”

I was sent this interesting article the other day and I wanted to pass it on and share. I did some research and the text was simplified from the article and deep research report titled, "The Homestead Act of 1862" by Lee Ann Potter and Wynell Schamel. I think we should all spend some time and think about how thankful ...
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For Your Enjoyment… Pick Your Winter Forecast

It’s that time of year, the Old Farmer’s Almanac and their younger sibling, the Farmer's Almanac (FA) is forecasting the coming winter season. Lets see what both have to say...The Old Farmer’s Almanac (OFA) was founded in 1792 and has been releasing annual long-range weather forecasts for centuries. Remember, the OFA’s weather predictions are made up to 18 months in ...
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Iowa-Based Startup PowerPollen Makes “Pollination-on-Demand” a Reality

Pollination is an essential step in food production and one that nature facilitates in several ingenious ways. Unfortunately, nature isn't always the most efficient or reliable partner in this critical process. Iowa-based PowerPollen says it can eliminate the uncertainties with a breakthrough technology that can collect and store pollen, allowing it to be applied on-demand during the optimal pollination window ...
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How Hybrid Flex-Fuel Vehicles Could Beat Plug-In Electrics

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) wants to put the spotlight on E85 as a viable solution to lowering vehicle carbon emissions. The group recently unveiled an ethanol-powered vehicle demonstration to counter the narrative that electric vehicles are the only path to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to ACE, hybrid flex-fuel vehicles powered by ethanol already have cleaner ...
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The Massive Changes in the Dairy Business

America's dairy farmers have continued to dwindle as the economics of the industry fail to support smaller operations. The USDA's latest data shows that since 2003, the U.S. has lost more than half of its licensed dairy operations, which now stand at just under 32,000. The last three years have seen larger year-over-year declines than at any other point in ...
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What You Might Not Know About the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame

The U.S. National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas, more commonly known as the "Ag Center," was chartered by Congress in 1960 to serve as the national museum of agriculture and a memorial to farming leaders. The 172-acre complex is one of the few museums in the country that focus specifically on farming and rural America ...
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Fatherless College Dropout Turns Farm Debt into Fertilizer Dynasty

Sir John Bennet Lawes, an English agronomist and founder of the artificial fertilizer industry died this day in 1900, but not before he would forever change how we grow our crops. Lawes found himself fatherless at the age of 8 and the responsibility of the 250-acre family farm left in the hands of just himself and his mother. The two ...
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Spotted Lanternfly Moving Across Country… What You Need to be Looking For

State agriculture departments across the country are urging people to show no mercy if they encounter a spotted lanternfly. The invasive species sucks the life from trees and crops while leaving behind a nasty residue that encourages the growth of sooty mold. Native to China, India, and Vietnam, the spotted lanternfly was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has ...
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