News you can use
News you can use
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From the MSU News Service BOZEMAN — Montana State University Extension will host its annual cropping seminar series Jan. 6-10 in the Golden Triangle area of north-central Montana. Speakers will cover topics such as noxious weeds, pulse insect management, pesticide updates and winter barley. Interested individuals can attend in Chester, Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Fort Benton, Great Falls, Havre, Shelby or Stanford. There is no charge for the seminars, and all producers are encouraged to attend. RSVPs are encouraged. The C...
Press release The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) $2 billion Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program, aimed at helping specialty crop producers expand markets and manage higher costs, is now accepting applications from Dec. 10, 2024 through Jan. 8, 2025. Funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation, MASC was announced in November alongside the $140 million Commodity Storage Assistance Program for facilities impacted by 2024 natural disasters. MASC helps specialty crop p...
BILL BARROW, ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and ZEKE MILLER The Associated Press WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary, the last of his picks to lead executive agencies and another choice from within his established circle of advisers and allies. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office Jan. 20, 2025. Rollins would...
Press release Montana State University Extension will host its annual cropping seminar series Jan. 6-10, 2025, in the Golden Triangle area. Speakers will cover topics such as noxious weeds, pulse insect management, pesticide updates, and winter barley. Interested individuals can attend in Chester, Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Fort Benton, Great Falls, Havre, Shelby or Stanford. There is no charge for the seminars, and all producers are encouraged to attend. The Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Shelby, Chester, Havre, Fort Benton,...
Press release WASHINGTON Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Nov. 19 the creation of new programs that will help farmers who grow fruits, vegetables, and nuts overcome market barriers for their products, and help producers access necessary pre-market storage for their crops following severe weather events, including recent hurricanes. Specifically, the new Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops initiative will provide $2 billion to assist specialty crop growers in maintaining a strong domestic supply and expanding...
Press release BILLINGS - The Montana Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee presented a check for $9,250 to the Montana Food Bank Network during their luncheon Tuesday, November 19. The luncheon was part of the 105th MFBF Annual Convention November 18-21 at the DoubleTree and Northern Hotels in downtown Billings. The donation came from proceeds raised during the YF&R Hoofin' it for Hunger race September 21 in Dillon, thanks to generous local...
Press release Montana Farmers Union members connected with women from across the country during National Farmers Union's Annual Women's Conference, held earlier this month in San Antonio, Texas. "The NFU Women's Conference allowed me to connect with women in ag from both Montana and all over the country. Both the networking and conference sessions helped fill my cup to continue the hard work that is agriculture in Montana," said MFU member Shawna McCauley. Attendees said they...
Press release Gildford resident Alice Miller just returned from Billings as part of REAL Montana (Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership). For Miller and other members of REAL Montana Class VI, this was the second of 10 seminars in their two-year educational program. The seminar, with a focus on media and communications, provided participants with intensive training. They began with personalized coaching on effective media interview techniques from local news anchors...
MELINA WALLING, Associated Press and AYURELLA HORN-MULLER, Grist Associated Press Editor's Note: A version of this was in the November Farm and Ranch special section. HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) - Jeremy Ford hates wasting water. As a mist of rain sprinkled the fields around him in Homestead, Florida, Ford bemoaned how expensive it had been running a fossil fuel-powered irrigation system on his five-acre farm - and how bad it was for the planet. Earlier this month, Ford installed an...
MSU News Service BOZEMAN - With new funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, scientists in Montana State University's Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology will seek to fill knowledge gaps surrounding an agricultural weed that has caused problems for Montana producers for decades. Jennifer Lachowiec, an associate professor in MSU's College of Agriculture, received two grants from the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture totaling more than $900,0...
John 14:6 'I am the Way, the truth and the life' Out our way, everybody knows you mount a horse from the left side. More importantly the horses know it. But now and then some greenhorn will want to get on from the right (and wrong) side. The results can be interesting. Like everybody I know, my rope is tied on the right side of the saddle and would make mounting on that side a bit difficult. Doc is a pretty even-tempered fellow - and although he has dumped me a few times, it...
Press release Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Montana Leopold Conservation Award®. The $10,000 award honors ranchers, farmers, and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land. Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 28 states. In Montana, the award is presented with the Montana...
Press release MANITOWOC, Wis. During a visit to Dramm Corp. today, U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced Oct. 30 that the Biden-Harris administration is making investments that will strengthen American farms and businesses by expanding innovative domestic fertilizer production and increasing independent meat and poultry processing capacity, which will in turn increase competition and lower fertilizer costs for farmers and food costs for consumers. The Department is awarding over $120 m...
Press release WASHINGTON, October 23, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Oct. 23 a historic $1.5 billion for 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land. Partners will provide $968 million in contributions to amplify the impact of the federal investment. Selected RCPP projects will help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners adopt and expand v...
From the MSU News Service BOZEMAN — Montana State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics and MSU Extension will host the 18th annual Agricultural Economics Conference from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, at the Best Western GranTree Inn, 1325 N. Seventh Ave. in Bozeman. The conference is part of the College of Agriculture’s annual Celebrate Ag week, which honors the state and university’s joint agricultural legacy and celebrates current students, alumni and MSU’s extended agricultural community acros...
Press release BOZEMAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development is inviting Montana farmers, rural entrepreneurs, tribes, and organizations to comment on proposed changes that will make it easier to apply for funding under three vital business programs. These updates aim to streamline and simplify the application processes for the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG), Agriculture Innovation Center (AIC) and Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) programs. By modernizing scoring criteria, standardizing a...
Press release WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an additional $250 million in automatic payments for distressed direct and guaranteed farm loan borrowers under Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act. This significant step continues USDA’s commitment to keeping farmers and ranchers financially viable and support for agricultural communities. Over the past two years, USDA acted swiftly to assist borrowers in retaining their land and continuing their agricultural operations. Since President Bid...
From Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage announced that Richard Louis Stuker of Chinook will be inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame and John Stuker of Chinook will be inducted as a legacy members, while Eugene Taber, who also has connections to the area, also is one of this year's inductees into the as a Legacy nominee. The inductees from the 17th class of of inductions were chosen from a field of candidates nominated by the general...
Press release Sen. Jon Tester announced Friday that he was awarded the Friend of the Farm Bureau Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation, one of the country's largest agricultural organizations. "I'm proud to take my cues from Montana's farmers and ranchers – and I would like to thank the Montana Farm Bureau for its work advocating on behalf of our states number one industry, agriculture. Whether it's by working to support irrigators impacted by the catastrophic siphon...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Oct. 2 up to $7.7 billion in assistance for fiscal year 2025 to help agricultural and forestry producers adopt conservation practices on working lands. This includes up to $5.7 billion for climate-smart practices, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which is part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, and $2 billion in Farm Bill funding. This is more than double the amount available last year and the most conservation assistance made ava...
Press release Legislators in D.C. have a clearer understanding of agriculture in Montana, thanks to the Montana farmers and ranchers who spoke with leaders and Congressional members during the National Farmers Union Legislative Fly-In held earlier in September. During the Fly-In, more than a dozen Montana Farmers Union members had the opportunity to hear from leaders from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, and more about the Farm Bill, what’s being done to curb anti-competitive practices in a...
Press release The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing the launch of the Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network, an initiative designed to provide personalized support to financially distressed farmers and ranchers across the nation. Through a series of Cooperative Agreements, this national network will connect distressed borrowers with individualized assistance to help them stabilize and regain financial footing. USDA’s Farm Service Agency made this announcement Sept. 26 at the Farm Aid Festival in Saratoga S...
Press release BOZEMAN — Registration is now open for the second annual Montana Ag Technology Innovation & Investment Summit. In coordination with the Montana Department of Agriculture nd Montana State University, the Montana Agricultural Business Association is bringing the event to Bozeman Nov. 6. “The Montana Agricultural Business Association is proud to partner with the Montana Department of Agriculture and Montana State University to lead this important conversation on investing in Montana-built ag innovation,“ MABA...
Press release Two national cattle organizations, United States Cattlemen’s Association and R-CALF USA will co-host the “Livestock Producers Freedom Rally” in Rapid City, South Dakota, Oct. 7, 2024, beginning at 10 a.m. Mountain Time in the Rushmore Room of the Ramkota Hotel and Convention Center. The event will focus primarily on animal identification, with speakers to address the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s rule mandating electronic identification ear tags for cattle and bis...
Press release As part of his continued effort support Montana small businesses and agricultural producers, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont, secured $1,399,985 for Old Salt Meat Company to finance meat processing in the state. Old Salt Meat Company is a cooperatively owned livestock processor focused on driving value and return to producers while helping consumers access to locally raised beef. The funding will be used to establish a USDA-inspected slaughter facility, scale up their fabrication space under USDA inspection, and...
