1 year ago
Six couples will be honored on March 21 as the 2024 class of Kansas Master Farmers and Master Farm Homemakers in recognition of their leadership in agriculture, environmental stewardship and service to their communities. The statewide awards program is in its 98th year and is sponsored by K-State Research and Extension and Kansas Farmer Magazine. This year’s ...

1 year ago
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for March 2025, which are effective March 3, 2025. USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs. Operating, Ownership and Emergency Loans  FSA offers ...

1 year ago
Steers entered by Sharps Creek Ranch from Cottonwood Falls and heifers owned by Spring Creek Ranch of Cassoday won the overall gain contest as part of the 2024 Flint Hills Beef Fest feedlot and carcass awards. According to the Kansas Livestock Association, the steers from Sharps Creek gained 3.47 lbs. per day from the time they ...

1 year ago
With declining Ogallala Aquifer levels and rising input costs, efficient irrigation is more critical than ever for Kansas farmers. Since 1989, irrigated acres in western Kansas have dropped by nearly 11%, making water efficiency a growing priority for producers. Experts say optimizing irrigation systems can cut water waste by up to 25% while maintaining or ...

1 year ago
Kansas State University graduate student Lauren Frink and her research team have evaluated consumer’s perceptions of the flavor of three muscles in the round after extended periods of wet aging as part of a larger project to highlight less popular cuts of meat. Frink’s results will be included in the annual research report for K-State’s 112th annual ...

1 year ago
The Kansas Department of Agriculture has hired Suzanne Ryan-Numrich to serve as the director of the KDA Division of Agriculture Marketing, Advocacy and Outreach. The Division of Ag Marketing serves Kansans through efforts to retain and grow farms, ranches and agribusinesses, expand the Kansas agriculture industry, assist rural Kansas communities, and raise awareness of and ...

1 year ago
There's no place like the tallgrass prairie of Kansas and Oklahoma, and a Kansas State University researcher is working to protect grazing lands in the prairie through education and improved land-management practices. Phillip Lancaster, clinical assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting a project to develop resources for grazing education and conservation with the ...

1 year ago
Tracking the price of grain - whether on an app or tuning into the right radio station for the market reports - is an important and routine part of farming. Still, Kansas Wheat and K-State wheat researchers encourage producers to look beyond the value of the bushels in the bin when deciding on their crop ...

1 year ago
Compared to most other farm crops grown in Kansas, grain sorghum has a reputation for being tolerant to heat, and in 2024, that was a good thing. The National Centers for Environmental Information reports that 2024 was the second warmest year on record in Kansas over the past 130 years, with an average daily temperature of 57.5 degrees ...

1 year ago
The other day, my old cow friend, Buffalo, died. She was the kindest, gentlest dairy cow that I’ve ever known, and I cannot remember mourning the loss of a cow more than I am mourning Buffalo. She has been by my side almost the entirety of my dairy farming career, and it is difficult to imagine the farm without her presence. Small-scale, ...

1 year ago
When assembling a product, it is important to have the right tool to make the building process go smoothly. Similarly, cattle producers can make the calving process go smoothly by selecting the right bull to mate with the cows, said the experts at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute. Speaking on a recent Cattle Chat podcast, K-State beef cattle ...