Shortages in reliable labor and an urgent need for young people to learn job and work skills might seem like a win-win combination but special rules apply.   Lifelong lessons in work ethic are often learned as a kid baling hay on hot summer days. It’s summer, the kids are out of school, and many are looking for summer jobs. It’s a good time to take inventory of the measures agricultural operators need to take to keep minors safe and stay in compliance with state and federal child labor laws. In addition to the federal child labor laws discussed herein, there are likely additional state la ..read more

Adverse winter weather, like we saw this past winter, can trim away pounds and increase costs of production up to 20% or more. Whether for feedlots or for wintering areas, proper holding pen design and maintenance are crucial to keeping cattle dry and comfortable under adverse climatic conditions.   In general, mud is one of our costliest weather hazards. The more you concentrate animals under wet conditions the slower pen surfaces dry, causing maintenance energy requirements to increase. In the summer, too much mud on cattle limits the ability of the animal to dissipate heat. Wet muddy a ..read more

Water is extremely important for crop production. When water becomes limiting to the plant it is important to understand how plants use water. We often hear the term evapotranspiration in relation to plant water demand. ET is a combination of soil water evaporation and water used by the plant during transpiration. Soil evaporation is the major loss of water surface and typically is higher after rain and under high temperature conditions.   Plant transpiration increases as corn leaf area increases. Transpiration is the mechanism by which water moves from the soil through the plant into the ..read more

As temperatures heat up during the summer cattle producers need to assess the heat stress that their cattle are under. Typically pastured cattle are not as susceptible to heat stress as feedlot cattle. Pastured cattle have the ability to seek shade, water and air movement to cool themselves. In addition, radiant heat from dirt or concrete surface is increased for feedlot cattle. At temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit cattle endure physiologic stress trying to deal with their heat load. Although cattle at this temperature are not at risk of dying they will have an increased maintenance req ..read more

One of the most daunting challenges facing agronomic crop production is the continuing evolution of weeds resistant to herbicides. The magnitude of herbicide resistance is best measured on a global scale. The most recent summary indicates 520 unique cases of herbicide resistance—encompassing 268 species—occur globally. Approximately 11–12 cases of unique resistance are discovered each year. In contrast, our understanding of how and why weeds are evolving various resistance mechanisms is evolving much slower. This introduces a somewhat precarious situation: if we do not fully understand how and ..read more

Citing California’s improved water supply and increased almond shipments in early 2023, growers and almond sector leaders say the outlook has improved for the state’s No. 3 crop, valued at $5 billion.   Three years of drought and a drop in the almond price prompted growers to remove orchards and plant fewer trees. However, conditions changed this winter after atmospheric river storms brought above-average snowpack and filled empty reservoirs.  “We were on pins and needles that this was going to be another drought year, but our fortune changed quite dramatically with the winter that w ..read more

Efficient and profitable farming depends on accurate soil testing, but fertilizer recommendations for the same batch of soil differ across the nation. A coordinated effort from researchers across the United States seeks to solve that problem.   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is giving more than $1.6 million in grant support to the ongoing development of the Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool, or “FRST,” as an interface website. It is part of a $40 million investment in 31 new projects through USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grants, or CIG, p ..read more

Poultry scientists with the University of Arkansas are testing new technology aimed at reducing the substantial amount of water typically used to process chicken for consumers.   Researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station have received more than $350,000 as part of a nearly $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to investigate a novel water disinfection technology. California-based technology company Micro-Tracers is the lead organization on the project, which began in February and will continue for two years.   The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station ..read more

Missouri forage producers should begin removing seed heads from tall fescue grass pastures soon to reduce toxic endophytes that thwart herd health and profits, says University of Missouri Extension state forage specialist Craig Roberts.   Seed heads typically emerge by mid-May in most of Missouri’s tall fescue pastures. They contain five times more ergovaline than leaves and have little nutritive value, says Roberts. In early summer, seed heads can also become infected with ergot, a highly toxic fungus that grows on the seed. Ergot infects most grasses and small grains, not just tall fesc ..read more

There’s a reason why many university researchers and cotton consultants across the Cotton Belt include AgLogic 15GG brand aldicarb in their research trials every year. It’s the standard used to measure the performance of all other options including experimental and registered pesticides as well as a wide range of seed treatments.   “I started including AgLogic 15GG in my trials because there’s really no better comparison,” says Brandon Phillips, consultant in Ben Hill County, GA. “I don’t care if you’re talking about a competitive in-furrow pesticide or a seed treatment. If they can’t bea ..read more