DFA to acquire Dean Foods' assets, farmers dumping milk, Prospective Plantings report out and COVID-19 news.

Janet Kubat Willette, E-Content Editor

April 3, 2020

2 Min Read
NolanBerg11/flySnow/SteveOehlenschlager/ThinkstockPhotos

Need a quick catchup on ag news? Here are seven stories that you may have missed this week.

1. U.S. farmers intend to plant nearly 97 million acres of corn in 2020, according to USDA's Prospective Plantings report out March 31. USDA expects 76.1 million acres of soybeans to be sown. Wheat acres are expected to hit an all-time low of 44.7 million acres. Cotton acreage is expected to be mostly steady at 13.7 million acres. – Farm Futures

2. Will hemp again be used by the U.S. military? Military officers and researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are discussing using hemp fiber to replace imported polyester and polymer in Army vehicles. To make it a reality, UW researchers are working to create a textile the military can test. The military wants to use hemp for seat belts, seat covers or uniforms. – Hemp Industry Daily

3. Golden E Dairy was asked to dump 25,000 gallons of fresh milk because there was no place for the milk to go as the dairy product marketplace has been gutted by the closure of schools, restaurants, hotels and food-service businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

4. Dairy Farmers of America will acquire the assets, rights, interests and properties related to 44 of Dean Foods' fluid and frozen facilities for $433 million. Prairie Farms Dairy will acquire the assets, rights, interests and properties relating to eight additional facilities, two distribution branches and certain other assets for $75 million. – Wallaces Farmer

5. One of the nation's largest farmworker unions says the nation's largest fresh produce farms aren't taking steps to protect fieldworkers from the spread of COVID-19. The new coronavirus spreads from person to person through droplets from coughs and sneezes and is transferred on surfaces. – Quartz.com

6. Bayer AG agreed to pay $39.5 million to settle allegations that its Monsanto unit ran misleading ads about its Roundup weedkiller. The settlement has nothing to do with ongoing cancer suits. – Farm Futures

7. Many states have implemented restrictions on gatherings of more than 10 people and are encouraging social distancing as a means of delaying COVID-19 infections. While some farmers and ranchers were already dealing with stress and mental health concerns due to other causes, social isolation adds another stressor. But social distancing doesn't mean eliminating social connections.  – Nebraska Farmer

And your bonus.

Tina and Orion Weldon met at Rutgers University while working on their dissertations. They discovered they both wanted to farm. They have started a farm, TerraPurezza, and an institute where they practice regenerative farming. – Austin Chronicle

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