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Both North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers surveyed damage from Hurricane Florence by airplane last week. In North Carolina, the area east of I-95 appears most devastated from the storm while in South Carolina, Dillon, Marion, Marlboro Counties - in that order – appear to be the most severely impacted by crop damage, reports Southwest Farm Press.
“There are a lot of ifs right now. Unfortunately, it looks like the if is very negative,” North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says.
Troxler says it is incredibly difficult for farmers to find encouragement amidst the devastation.
“Being a farmer myself I have lived through some disasters and I understand it. You don’t have a choice. You put your head down, you bow your neck and you go forward. After what I’ve seen, there are some definite disasters out there,” he said.
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Vaccines are only guaranteed to be effective when the product has been handled per label instructions and used within the expiration date, according to South Dakota State University specialists. Basic storage and handling recommendations for vaccines include:
- Keep cool, between 35-45 degrees F.
- Keep shaded, the sun’s ultraviolet light can have negative impacts.
- Modified live vaccine (MLV) – mix only as needed or that can be used in 1 hour and consider dedicating one syringe to the MLV so there is no risk of residues from other health products.
Click here for more information.
America’s vast western grazing lands produce food for the nation, recreation revenues for local communities, and habitat for wildlife. Producers often manage large swaths of rangelands, making it a challenge to track how vegetation has fared over time, according to NRCS.
To meet this challenge, the Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) provides the first-ever vegetation cover maps for rangelands from the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean.
Created by the University of Montana in partnership with USDA and U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), this easy-to-use technology provides trends in rangeland resources from 1984 to present at the ranch, county, and watershed scales.
The RAP revolutionizes monitoring because it provides a view of rangeland resources at an unprecedented blend of time, space, and scale. This is accomplished through field data, satellite imagery, and the cloud-based computing power of Google Earth Engine.
Click here for more information.
The 550-pound calf market is expected to remain fairly favorable, said CattleFax analyst Mike Murphy during a market outlook webinar broadcast by CattleFax on Sept. 12, 2018.
Murphy explained that an El Nino weather pattern is being forecast for the fall and winter, which would be good for stocker grazing conditions across Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. For 550-pound calves this “creates supportive demand,” stated Murphy.
He projected $160 per cwt for fall lows in the market in October and early November, but added that prices “may not go that low with supportive demand… $165 to $170 per cwt could be closer to the range if the winter wheat grazing scenario stays favorable.” Murphy noted that these prices would be similar to prices that were seen for summer video sales and forward contracts, reports Cattle Business Weekly.
Click here for more on the fall market outlook.
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has earned accolades from both the National Cattlemen's Beef Association as well as the American Farm Bureau for releasing a plan to scale back the practice known as "Sue and Settle."
Ethan Lane with the NCBA and the Public Lands Council praises Zinke, saying "Ranchers operating on public land are subjected to relentless, coordinated litigation designed to force settlements with the Department of the Interior. These actions waste taxpayer dollars, divert precious resources away from conservation efforts, and jeopardize the livelihoods of America's food and fiber producers. Secretary Zinke should be commended for this common-sense decision, which will shed some light on these bad actors and their unsavory tactics."
Click here to read more from the Oklahoma Farm Report.
