1 year ago
Government payments and crop insurance helped to keep Kansas accrual net farm income mostly steady in 2024 compared to 2023, according to a report from the Kansas Farm Management Association. KFMA Executive Director Mark Dikeman said his organization’s analysis indicates an average net farm income of $98,583, down just slightly from $100,618 in 2023 – a 2% ...

1 year ago
Voting is underway for next year’s inductees into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame. The nominees from Kansas include the late Glenn Mull of Haviland and the late Bob Foote from Bucyrus. According to the Kansas Livestock Association, Mull and his father, Keith, owned and operated Mull Farms and Feeding Inc. What started with one feedyard in ...

1 year ago
A new product that reduces animal stress could be the key to increasing artificial insemination rates in cattle. Kansas State University's Technology Development Institute, or TDI, collaborated with faculty in the College of Agriculture to design, produce and test the product. Assistant Professor Nicholas Wege Dias and Professor Sandy Johnson, both in K-State's animal science and industry department, specialize in beef cattle reproduction ...

1 year ago
Kansas agriculture has a beauty like no other. While that beauty can’t be fully captured with a camera, photographers are encouraged to try, and then to share it with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s annual photo contest. KDA will begin accepting photos on June 1, and will continue accepting entries through August 1. According to the ...

1 year ago
Steady rains that fell on many parts of Kansas in late May highlight a delicate balancing act for the state’s farmers. On one hand, rain is the lifeblood of agriculture. Many livestock ponds received a timely boost while crop producers – especially wheat growers – needed the rain to increase their chances of a bountiful harvest ...

1 year ago
The USDA announced this week it will be expediting Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) payments to cattle producers who suffered losses from drought and wildfire in 2023 and/or 2024. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will use existing Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) data to streamline payment calculations. Payments automatically will be issued for producers who ...

1 year ago
Kansas State University nano-entomologist Amie Norton describes a process in which researchers discovered alfalfa’s ability to detect contaminants in water and milk. The finding may lead to a more efficient way to test liquids for the presence of contaminants, something that could help save lives in regions or countries where water is compromised by environment or ...

1 year ago
In early May, a delegation of U.S. livestock genetics and agriculture leaders representing Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Idaho, and the Senepol Cattle Breeders Association traveled to Aguascalientes, Mexico, to advance trade partnerships and expand the global reach of U.S. beef cattle genetics. Delegates from Kansas included Dr. Justin Smith, Kansas Department of Agriculture Animal Health ...

1 year ago
With irrigation systems running across Kansas fields, a simple adjustment could make a big difference in conserving water and boosting crop performance —slowing down the speed of center pivot systems. Kansas State University water resource engineer Jonathan Aguilar said a simple but often overlooked adjustment — slowing the speed of center pivot irrigation systems — could ...

1 year ago
The U.S. House Agriculture Committee passed its initial reconciliation bill yesterday. It contains several NCBA-supported provisions that strengthen the defense against foreign animal disease and aid producers who have lost cattle due to predator depredation or natural disasters. The legislation now moves to the full House for further consideration. This bill addresses several issues NCBA members ...

1 year ago
In dry western Kansas, the sound of artificial rain spraying from center pivot irrigation sprinklers fills the spaces between the small towns. Irrigation has turned this region into a productive agricultural powerhouse, churning out millions of bushels of grain. Heath Koehn farms with his dad near Montezuma over the Ogallala aquifer that supplies farmers with irrigation and ...