Farm & Agriculture

Wet July leads to wet early August; crops, forage thrive, with warnings

Heavy rains on the first two days of August followed what may have been the ninth-wettest July since 1895. Preliminary state average rainfall was 6.5 inches, said Pat Guinan, MU Extension climatologist. He reported heavy rains started August with 3 to 8 inches overnight in a swath in northern...

Chinch bugs and billbugs damage zoysiagrass lawns in summer

By August, most zoysiagrass lawns recover from earlier droughtlike conditions and bugs go to work. Brown patches of zoysia that are severe along lawn edges such as concrete driveways and sidewalks may indicate chinch bug damage, says University of Missouri Extension turf specialist Lee Miller. The...

USDA Reminds Missouri Producers of Aug. 1 Deadline to Enroll in Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Programs

(COLUMBIA, MO), July 22, 2016 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Missouri Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director, Mark Cadle reminds farmers and ranchers that they have until Aug. 1 to enroll in Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and/or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2016 crop...

Herbicide damages ornamentals when droplets move off of the soil or intended plants.

Off-target herbicide movement: What you see is not what you get

Off-target herbicides may be invisible, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Off-target herbicides damage crops, ornamentals and other vegetation in nearby fields when droplets move off of the soil or intended plants and onto nontarget plants, says University of Missouri Plant Sciences research...

Never too late for rescue nitrogen

How late in the growing season can rescue nitrogen be applied to corn and still be profitable? When nitrogen deficiency is seen, yields always improve when nitrogen is applied as late as tasseling, according to two decades of research by University of Missouri Extension agronomists. Limited...

Phosphorus-deficient corn plants, a typical symptom associated with corn grown following fallow.

Fallow syndrome presents in Missouri

Cornfields in northeastern Missouri this spring were more uneven following prevented planting acres. Typically, they were phosphorus-deficient and had slower early growth than fields following soybean. These are symptoms associated with corn fallow syndrome, which is known to stunt corn and cause...

Variety tests help farmers pick what seeds to plant in the fall.

Wheat yields vary statewide in MU variety tests

Wheat yields were good at most test sites in the 2016 University of Missouri Variety Testing Program. A lack of precipitation during the early part of the growing season allowed an early wheat harvest. Tests from parts of southeastern Missouri showed the highest yields of soft red winter wheat,...

Farmers' concerns told in first of 7 meetings

No one stress or concern in farm country bothers all. Topics vary by where you are, farm to farm, and where you are in the life cycle of a farm. Farmers, agribusiness leaders and lenders gathered to share ideas July 7 at the Audrain County 4-H Center, Mexico. It is one of seven listening sessions...

Meeting Planned to Provide Input into Federal Conservation Programs

A local working group charged with identifying local priority resource concerns and providing input about program criteria to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will meet at 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at the Caldwell County USDA Service Center at 23 West Main Street in...

Pork producers encouraged to attend 2016 Missouri Swine Health Symposium, July 18 in Sedalia

The Missouri Pork Association, in cooperation with the University of Missouri Extension Commercial Agriculture Program, is hosting the third annual Missouri Swine Health Symposium on Monday, July 18, at the Pork Place in Sedalia, Mo. The free event is open to pork producers, swine veterinarians and...