2 years ago
In rural America, talk about horsetails in a field conjures thoughts of farmhands in saddles, working cattle or checking on emerging crops. When Kansas State University weed management specialist Sarah Lancaster gets questions about horsetails, however, the inquiry is probably not about four-legged farm animals. “I like to call horsetails the dinosaurs of the plant world,” Lancaster ...

2 years ago
Wheat harvest has been marching on for nearly two weeks in Cowley County, with numerous interruptions from rain, reported Kevin Kelly, general manager of Two Rivers Coop in Arkansas City. Harvest started in the area around June 7 and quality appears to be good with proteins in the 14 percent range. Kelly said test weights are ...

2 years ago
 Despite a serious last-minute challenge, the Kansas State University Helwig Farms Quarter-Scale Tractor Team took second place out of 22 teams from other universities at the 26th annual American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers' International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition in Peoria, Illinois. K-State's team has finished among the top two in this competition 18 times out ...

2 years ago
 Summer’s hottest days are likely still ahead in Kansas, but Tawnie Larson knows that “farm and ranch work won’t stop during hot weather.” So, Larson -- a project consultant for agriculture health and safety in Kansas State University’s Carl and Melinda Helwig Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering – is putting in some sound advice for farmers this ...

2 years ago
Wheat harvest in Kansas is starting off slow, with some farmers test cutting in south central Kansas as early as June 7. The outlook of rain in the forecast really got combines rolling on June 13, but storms moved through the area again Tuesday evening and sent farmers out of the fields. Rainfall amounts ranged ...

2 years ago
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting more than 1 million acres in this year’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup. This is one of several signups that USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is holding for the program. The results for CRP General signup reflect the continued importance ...

2 years ago
As producers prepare to harvest short wheat and thin stands, K-State cropping specialists recently detailed their recommendations for adjusting combines and operator control in a recent Agronomy eUpdate. “In short wheat, getting the heads into the combine with less straw will be a challenge,” the authors wrote. “In some cases, the reel may not be able ...

2 years ago
U.S. senators on the Budget Committee dug into the impacts of climate change on farming during a Wednesday hearing, raising concerns about what the next few decades hold for food production and the way of life. But Republicans and representatives of farm groups pushed back against increased government regulation. Brent Johnson, president of the Iowa Farm ...

2 years ago
Football fans and super hosts alike should pin or post this year’s winning recipe for the 2023 National Festival of Breads, the nation's only amateur bread-baking competition. The invention of Gloria Piantek of West Lafayette, Indiana, the Cheese Lover’s Barbecue Bread Twists combine three types of cheese, sweet and smoky seasoning rub and crunchy smoked almonds into the ...

2 years ago
Kansas is “the wheat state,” the officially adopted moniker that embraces its place as the country’s breadbasket. Tall white grain elevators, some decorated with wheat murals, loom over tiny farm towns. For decades, Kansas led the nation in wheat production, and the U.S. led the world in wheat exports. But this year’s meager wheat harvest turns that ...

2 years ago
Not only do hot summer days make people uncomfortable outdoors, it can also impact livestock. K-State Research and Extension beef veterinarian A.J. Tarpoff said temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation all affect cattle. Not only do producers need to watch daytime temperatures, Tarpoff said nighttime temperatures are just as important in preventing heat stress. “They really ...