Ag Briefs: Lodi FFA Alumni hosting toy show on March 13
LODI, WI
Lodi FFA Alumni hosting toy show on March 13
The Lodi FFA Alumni Association is hosting its toy show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 13 at the Top of Lodi, 103 Pleasant St., Lodi, Wis. The event will also feature a Kiddie Pedal Tractor Pull at 11 a.m.
Toy and craft vendors and display tables can still register until Feb. 28. See www.lodiffaalumni.com for more details and registration information.
The show features a variety of makes and models of machinery and vehicles of several scale sizes. Attendees will also see a wide selection of farm toys and model tractors, with vintage toys and signs. Crafts and food will also be available on site.
Admission is $3 for adults, kids 12 and under are free. Every paid admission will be given a ticket for a chance to win door prizes. Kyle Kurt, Lodi FFA Alumni vice president. noted that a barn will be featured along with other items in the raffle.
Funds from the event will be used to help support the schools’ agricultural programs and assist with FFA students’ development activities, such as speaking contests and career-development events.
THOMPSON, N.D.
Semi filled with hogs headed to WI crashes in blizzard conditions
Blizzard conditions on I-29 in North Dakota caused a semi driver with a load of hogs to roll the rig, according to the State Patrol.
The patrol says whiteout conditions caused the driver to end up in the median and as he attempted to get back on the highway the load shifted and the trailer rolled over.
Patrol Sgt. Matt Johnson said many of the hogs were salvageable and alive following the crash, Associated Press reported.
The driver was on his way from Canada to Wisconsin when the accident occurred.
DEFOREST, WI
Yahara Pride Farms to host conference on March 3
Yahara Pride Farms (YPF) will hold its annual Watershed-Wide conference beginning at 10 a.m. on March 3 at the Comfort Inn and Suites in DeForest. Farmers, agribusiness professionals and community members are invited to attend this free educational event.
The event will showcase speakers on a variety of topics in modern sustainable agriculture. Experts from within the Yahara watershed and across the state will share information that can be applied to farms locally and beyond focusing on topics like reducing greenhouse gasses and planting green.
The event will include lunch sponsored by Compeer Financial and a snack break sponsored by Endres Insurance. Visit yaharapridefarms.org for the complete schedule. Online RSVP is required by Feb. 28.
SPRINGFIELD, IL
Corn growers to vote on increasing checkoff next month
Illinois corn producers will have a vote on whether to contribute more toward promoting their product. The Illinois Corn Marketing Board has scheduled a referendum on increasing the corn checkoff one-quarter, from ⅝ of a cent to ⅞ of a cent per bushel.
The vote will be March 29 with polling at local extension offices.
Growers who sell a bushel of corn in Illinois pay the checkoff to the marketing board to promote the industry. The money is used for research, marketing and education.
The referendum follows a public meeting conducted earlier this month by the Illinois Department of Agriculture seeking input on the checkoff. Public comments convinced the marketing board to schedule the vote.
MADISON, WI
State continues to lose farms
America's Dairyland lost 300 farms in 2021, bringing that number down to 64,100, according to recently released USDA data. Ten percent of those farms are identified as registered dairy herds.
By the numbers, Wisconsin had 28,200 operations in the $1,000-$9,999 sales range this past year, down 500 compared to 2020. But the largest of the farm categories, which were operations that did over a million dollars in business, went up by 50 at 2,100, Wisconsin Ag Connection reported.
Total land on farms in the Badger State was 14.2 million acres, which was about 100,000 acres less than the year earlier. Wisconsin's average farm size remained steady at 222 acres. The average farm size for those in the $1,000,000 and over economic sales class was 1,714 acres.
CLARK CO., WI
Clark Co. FTD releases new video
“In my mind, Clark County is the center of agriculture in Wisconsin”. The words of farm broadcaster Bob Bosold as stated in a new video from Clark County Wisconsin Farm Technology Days.
The FTD committee says the video features people who are part of everyday life in this rural home for the largest dairy-producing county in the state which will host the 2022 FTD show July 12-14 at Roehl Acres & Rustic Occasions just south of Loyal.
The video can be viewed online at www.wifarmtechdays.org or on Facebook at https://bit.ly/35cv7DP
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
Avian flu strain at Indiana farm hasn't spread, officials say
State officials say a strain of avian flu that can cause high mortality rates among birds confirmed at a commercial turkey farm in southern Indiana has not spread to neighboring farms.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health said Thursday that poultry farms with a 10-kilometer control area around the infected Dubois County farm have completed an initial round of surveillance testing for highly pathogenic avian influenza, and all of the tests were negative.
It says testing of the control-area farms will continue on a weekly basis. The 18 commercial poultry flocks within the control area are under quarantine until further notice.
MANITOWOC, WI
Farm WI to host second annual Maple Days
Manitowoc's Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center, in partnership with the Wisconsin Maple Syrup Producers Association, will host the second annual Maple Days March 11-12.
The two-day event will highlight local syrup producers and offer hands-on opportunities to learn about Wisconsin's maple industry. Family-friendly activities will run 9 a.m.-1 p.m. both days at the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center, 7001 Gass Lake Road.
Guests will learn how to tap a sugar maple log, grade maple syrup, learn about the science of sap, make maple taffy and sample pure Wisconsin maple syrup.
On March 12, visitors are encouraged to extend their experience beyond Farm Wisconsin with stops at three local sugarbushes — Inthewoods Sugar Bush, at 1040 S. Union Road, Manitowoc; Maple Sweet Dairy, at 4501 County Road W, De Pere; and East Ridge Villa, at N5835 Ridge Road, Plymouth.
The three sugarbushes will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for guests to witness maple syrup production firsthand.
For more details, call Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center at 920-726-6000 or visit farmwisconsin.org.
OMAHA, NE
Survey: farm prices, equipment sales soar across 10 states
The strength of the economy in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states continues to drive farmland prices and farm equipment sales higher, according to a new monthly survey of bankers in the region released Thursday.
The overall economic index for the region grew to 61.5 in February from January's 61.1. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 suggests a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, said that on average the bankers expect corn and soybean prices to slip over the next six month, which would hurt the rural economy.
But for now, farmland prices and farm equipment sales continue growing.
The farmland price index dipped in February but remained at a high level of 78.8. That's down from 88.5 last month. The farm equipment sales index also remained high at 72 in February even though it slipped from January's 72.4.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
WASHINGTON D.C.
American ag exports shattered records in 2021
The American agricultural industry posted its highest annual export levels ever recorded in 2021, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced today.
The final 2021 trade data published by the Department of Commerce shows that exports of U.S. farm and food products to the world totaled $177 billion, topping the 2020 total by 18 percent and eclipsing the previous record, set in 2014, by 14.6 percent.
The U.S.’s top 10 export markets all saw gains in 2021, with six of the 10 – China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, the Philippines and Colombia – setting new records, USDA reported.
Worldwide exports of many U.S. products, including soybeans, corn, beef, pork, dairy, distillers grains and pet food, also reached all-time highs. China remained the top export destination, with a record $33 billion in purchases, up 25 percent from 2020, while Mexico inched ahead of Canada to capture the number two position with a record $25.5 billion, up 39 percent from last year.
AUGUSTA, ME
Gov. aims to add funding to fight 'forever chemicals'
Maine lawmakers are going to consider more funding to fight "forever chemicals" as more farms discover contamination.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — known as PFAS — have been found in hundreds of farm sites where sludge or papermaking waste containing the toxins was spread. PFAS are also being found in wells and landfills.
The proposed additional funding contained in the governor's supplemental budget is on top of $30 million already dedicated to testing and mitigation efforts, the Bangor Daily News reported.
The funding follows state officials' estimates that it could cost tens of millions of dollars a year to detect and remediate contamination.