More in Heat and Drought

On Sunday morning (Jan. 13), Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president, took to the podium at the opening of the AFBF annual meeting carrying a long list of farm country issues – both tribulations and triumphs -- to highlight....More

The USDA says measures to open conservation land to emergency haying and grazing during the 2012 drought freed up a record 2.8 million acres and provided as much as $200 million in forage for producers facing critical feed shortages....More

The USDA is entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to improve sharing of data and expertise, monitoring networks, and drought forecasting efforts....More

Scarce supplies are prompting reports of hay hijacking in Missouri, but south of the border, bales seem to be staying in place, Extension agents with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture have said....More

Two years of intense drought have slammed the forestry, agriculture and cattle industries in Arkansas. The areas that were most affected by the 2010 and 2011 drought years were the cattle and forestry sectors. Row crops were least affected by the drought years because of irrigation. The main effects of the drought on row crops were higher pumping costs and continued downward pressure on an already limiting resource—groundwater....More

Philip Johnson, a professor of equine medicine and surgery in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, says he has seen a large spike in the number of Missouri horses infected with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, a bacterial infection that can cause painful swelling, abscesses and inflammation in the legs, chests, and abdominal cavities....More

Cotton Incorporated and the USDA have combined to study a high tech, real time system of monitoring soil moisture that will provide much more accurate production information for official variety testing programs around the country — and it could provide valuable data for growers further down the road....More

Some semblance of normalcy seems to be seeping into parts of the state along with a series of ground-soaking rains, but uncertainty about 2013 lurks below the surface....More

Despite drought, Missouri net farm income could reach almost $2.8 billion for 2012. That ranks above the average for 2004 to 2011, but below 2011, which hit a record-breaking $3.33 billion....More

The direct effect of the 2012 drought on Arkansas livestock is $128 million, or $141 per bred cow. Factors included in that calculation are: Increase in cost of hay; reduced hay sales; decreased revenue in calf sales due to lighter weight calves being sold....More

The USDA has announced the scheduling of four regional meetings which will outline available resources to assist with local, regional and state recovery efforts....More