FYI on TruffleAgUpdate

Over the past two years, the Department of Agriculture's monthly forecasts of how much farmers will harvest have been off the mark to a greater degree than any other two consecutive years in the last 15, according to a Journal analysis of government data. This year's early-season forecasts also appear to have been way off.

Presentation to Googlers on how food is shipped.

Organic crop systems can provide similar yields and much higher economic returns than a conventional corn-soybean rotation, according to thirteen years of data from a side-by-side comparison at Iowa State University’s Neely-Kinyon Research and Demonstration Farm. The Long-Term Agroecological Research Experiment (LTAR) began in 1998 with support from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. The LTAR is one of the longest running replicated comparisons in the country. Kathleen Delate, professor in ISU Agronomy and Horticulture, leads the project.

With hay prices rising across the country, the ability to judge hay quality is an increasingly critical skill -- both for buyers and producers. Hay prices, though varying by region, quality and package, are sharply higher this fall compared to a year ago, Agriculture.com sources reported this week. Prices have as much as doubled in some areas, due to acreage shifts and a poor growing season.

Livestock producers need to diligently manage livestock nutrition needs this fall and winter because of the low-quality forage available, says Ohio State University Extension specialist Rory Lewandowski. “We have pretty good forage quantity, but what is going to hurt us is the quality,” says Lewandowski, an educator with the university’s Extension Beef Team. “Most of southeastern Ohio is going to be in that situation because we had decent amounts of hay in terms of tonnage, but the quality, especially of that first cutting, is going to present a problem.”

Giles County (TN) USDA Farm Service Agency County Executive Director Mike Mayfield reminds eligible ranchers and livestock producers who had livestock losses or grazing losses during the 2011 crop year that the deadline for applying for benefits under the Livestock Forage Disaster Program and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program is January 30th of next year.

In preparing for winter feed needs for the cow herd, beef producers need to consider cow nutrient needs; pros and cons of different feeding methods; and possible alternative (and cheaper) feeds to reduce costs to the cow/calf enterprise. By knowing what you have for feed in terms of quantity and quality tells you what you may need to purchase for additional feed for the winter-feeding. Taking inventory on quantity is easier than knowing quality, however a forage analysis is essential in determining winter-feed needs and making an informed purchase decision.

Entertaining video about the dairy cow girls.

Agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer CNH Global Inc. said Monday that it has entered into a partnership with a Brazilian manufacturer to sell products in Latin America. CNH's Case New Holland business will work with Semeato, a Sao Paolo, Brazil, producer of attachments and agricultural machinery specializing in no-till and grain-seeding technologies, to develop and sell products in Latin America. The partnership adds the no-till and seeding products to CNH's offerings.

The Ford Motor Co. was falling behind in the nation’s farm technology race when Clemson professor Carl Lund joined the company in 1955. As an agriculture engineer who had grown up on a farm in Kansas, Lund worked with a team of scientists over the next few years to build and promote Ford’s new 9000 series of tractors — machines that answered the plains states’ needs in large-scale farming, said Lund’s son, retired medical doctor and fellow Clemson alumnus Carl M. Lund Jr.

It's a well known fact that most farm subsidies go to crops, like feed corn, that aren't exactly healthy. They're crops that are easy to grown en masse and in the heartland. But a new study from the US Public Interest Research Group, called "Apples To Twinkies," shows just how unhealthy most subsidized food is. According to the report, the vast majority of produce subsidized by the USDA ends up in junk food.

Livestock may suffer from prussic acid poisoning after feeding on sudangrass, forage sorghums or sorghum-sundangrass crosses under certain environmental conditions. Producers are concerned about the recent frost because livestock most commonly die from prussic acid poisoning when they've fed on plants that are very young, stunted by drought or frosted. Cattle and sheep are more susceptible than swine because they are more likely to consume large quantities of the poison, according to J.W. Schroeder, North Dakota State University Extension Service dairy specialist.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) Tuesday gave county staff direction on enforcing an ongoing contract regarding grazing lands. Richard Coel, director of community development and Bill Stockton, an associate planner, spoke to the BOS regarding enforcement of the Williamson Act Contract compliance with grazing lands. Stockton said, of 550 parcels of land in the county, 385 parcels, or 40,000 acres, are grazing land. But 300 of those parcels don't comply with grazing land requirements, Stockton said.

The wet spring and early summer weather has led to many questions regarding hay quality and the factors beef producers should consider when planning their cow wintering programs. Determining what feed is available on the farm, what quality of feed is needed throughout the winter and early spring, and identifying where the gaps are in meeting the animal needs is a task that needs to be undertaken soon so that the available resources can be utilized to their best advantage.

The drought of 2011 is set to go down in the record books as one of the most severe in history. Most livestock producers in the Southern Great Plains have not been able to put up enough hay to meet their requirements in a normal growing season, let alone during a drought when they will have to start feeding hay earlier in the year.

The drought in Texas is so bad, ranchers are going to extremes to keep their animals alive. One Belton man drove more than 2,000 miles to pick up donated hay. Lee Mosley received 275 bales of hay, and his ranch needs it.