Missed some agricultural news this week? Here are seven stories to catch you up and maybe give you a laugh.

Kristy Foster Seachrist, Digital editor

January 21, 2022

6 Min Read
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Drone funding

In India, the Union Agriculture Ministry will be subsiding the cost of drones to help make the technology affordable for farmers there.

The “sub-mission on agricultural mechanisation” (SMAM) scheme envisages granting up to 100% funding for drone purchase by ICAR institutions, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State agriculture universities. It provides for 75% grant funding for drone purchase to farmer producer organizations (FPOs). The financial aid and grants shall be applicable until March 31, 2023.—Microsoft News

 

A COVID casualty in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Farm Show returned as an in-person event this month, but parking revenue suggests many stayed away during the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Agriculture said Thursday that parking revenue was down by more than 40% from 2020, the most recent in-person show. Last year’s show was done virtually.

Parking revenue is used as a rough proxy to gauge attendance at the Farm Show, because the massive indoor agriculture exposition held every January in Harrisburg does not charge admission or count how many people come through its doors.—Associated Press

 

Another wolf attack in Colorado

Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported another wolf attack in Colorado. Officers received a report of the attack on two cows in Jackson County Jan. 18.

Officers say the report stated there were six wolves on a ranch in Jackson County. The attack occurred on the same ranch where another cow was killed by wolves in December.

CPW says one of the cows had to be euthanized. “CPW will be working closely with this individual ranch as well as other producers to provide resources to minimize the likelihood of conflict or depredation as it works to create a statewide wolf restoration and management program as directed under Proposition 114,” the agency stated in a news release.

Prop 114 was passed by voters in 2020, but the plan is still being implemented.

“It’s worth underscoring that this incident is not related to or a result of wolf reintroduction efforts in Colorado,” CPW added.—MSN

Stakeholders have been participating in meetings on “depredation compensation” which would reimburse those affected by a wolf attack.

Gray Wolves are a state endangered species meaning they cannot be killed for any reason other than self-defense. Illegally killing a wolf could result in fines of up to $100,000, a year of jail time, and a lifetime loss of hunting license privileges.

2 commodities to monitor closely in 2022

There are two commodities that have my keen interest and attention at the start of 2022: rice futures and hog futures. Due to a combination of lower supplies and potential for steady to higher demand, these are two commodity markets which may have the ability for prices to ignite higher in the coming months.  

Get more details on why Naomi Blohm says to watch these two commodities in the Ag Marketing IQ column on Farm Futures.

 

Technology for USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently awarded Lumen Technologies a task order worth more than $1.2 billion to deliver a fully integrated wide area data transport service with secure remote access, contact center and cloud connectivity solutions to more than 9,500 USDA locations across the country and abroad. 

These solutions will enable nearly 100,000 USDA employees to effectively manage vital farming, food and nutrition, forestry and rural economic development services upon which America relies.

The Lumen platform's edge computing architecture and vast fiber connectivity will help the USDA securely acquire, analyze and act on data closer to where it is collected at the edge of the network, which reduces latency and saves bandwidth. – PR Newswire

 

And something to think about for the weekend:

Growing steaks for space

Scientists are attempting to “grow” steaks from cow cells so astronauts can chow down on the delicacy during an upcoming space mission.

The Houston Chronicle reports how Axiom Space—a private Houston-based company which markets itself as the “world’s first commercial space station”—intends to send astronauts to the International Space Station with these steaks in tow.

using technology created by Aleph Farms in Israel, which is tending to the cow cells and converting them into muscle, fat and all other parts that would make it nearly indistinguishable to the real thing.

 

And your bonus for the week:

Winter weather continues

A major snowstorm took over the eastern portion of the country last week and now arctic air is crossing the country and is headed for the east coast this weekend with another winter storm.

However, one police department took it upon themselves to come up with a way to deal with the wicked weather.

South Carolina police released bodycam footage showing the arrest of a well-known ice queen.

The "rare" footage showed Elsa from Disney's Frozen franchise reveling in the freshly fallen snow that blanketed the scenery around her. Then, she spotted the police -- and ran.

"Freeze!"

Despite the poor choice of words, Elsa soon gave up the chase.

"Come on guys, just let it go," she could be heard saying.

No one was "injured or severely frozen," the Pickens Police Department said on its Facebook page. "Her accomplice, the abominable snowman, is still at large. He has unleashed more snow and ice. Help us find him."

The department used the short parody to include a reminder for motorists to be safe on the roads while driving.— Accuweather

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