7 ag stories you might have missed this week - Oct. 4, 2019

Perdue sparks controversy with comments at World Dairy Expo, Ag Economy Barometer dips and too many eggs

Janet Kubat Willette, E-Content Editor

October 4, 2019

2 Min Read
NolanBerg11/flySnow/SteveOehlenschlager/ThinkstockPhotos

Missed some ag news this week? Here’s 7 stories to catch you up.

1. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters that it’s getting harder for farmers to get by when milking smaller herds. “In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” Perdue said. “I don’t think in America we, for any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability.” Perdue made the remarks following an appearance at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. In 2018, Wisconsin lost 638 herds and 551 have exited so far in 2019. – Washington Post

2. An international collaboration of researchers pushed back against the advice that red meat isn’t good for you. The scientists concluded the links between eating red meat and disease and death were small and the quality of evidence was low to very low. – The New York Times

3. The Ag Economy Barometer dipped three points in September. Farmers were noticeably more pessimistic about current conditions on their farms and in the U.S, but somewhat more optimistic about future economic conditions, compared to a month earlier. – Farm Futures

4. An apple orchard located a mile south of the Indiana-Michigan line was burglarized, with thieves making off with $27,000 worth of apples in September. The suspects must have had a business-related use for such a volume or buyers lined up. – Michigan Farmer

5. Too many hens laying too many eggs are pushing down prices and adding more stress to the farm economy. Jackson, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine, the nation’s top egg producer, said that prices for its eggs fell 30% to about 92 cents a dozen in its quarter that ended Aug. 31. The flock of U.S. laying hens rose 800,000 birds from September 2018 too September 2019. Chickens produced 3% more eggs during that period. – The Wall Street Journal

6. Chris Hoffman, a pig farmer from McAlisterville, Pa., is America’s Pig Farmer of the Year for 2019-20. Hoffman is a first-generation pig farmer. He sells 34,000 hogs annually. – National Hog Farmer

7. It's harvest time for the roughly 900 farms across Vermont growing hemp. "The hemp industry is changing extremely rapidly," said Jane Kolodinsky, who chairs the Community Development and Applied Economics Department at the University of Vermont. – WCAX.com

And your bonus.

John Porter, Extension specialist and professor emeritus at the University of New Hampshire, has released the second edition to his book, “Preserving Old Barns.” The edition includes a section with preservation techniques from timber framer Arron Sturgis. To the untrained eye, barns might generally appear to look the same, but examine them closer and features show how precisely they were used. View the slideshow. – American Agriculturalist

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