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Agriculture

Pa. wheat production down, oats up

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania winter wheat production totaled 14.6 million bushels in 2024, down 16% from the 2023 total of 17.5 million bushels, according to Kevin Pautler, acting director of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Northeastern Regional Field Office. Area harvested for grain totaled 195,000 acres, down 15% from the previous year. Yield was estimated at 75.0 bushels per acre, down 1.0 bushel from the previous year yield of 76.0 bushels per acre. Oat production was estimated at 3.01 million bushels, up 5% from 2023. Yield was estimated at 59.0 ...

Nearly $6M invested for access to healthy foods

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering with Reinvestment Fund to invest nearly $6 million to improve access to healthy foods in underserved communities across the country. The investments are being made through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Planning Grant Program, which provides grants to organizations for healthy food retail or food retail supply chain projects in early-stage planning and pre-development phases. “No matter where you live in our country, you should be able to get affordable, fresh, and healthy food close to ...

Farming sustainably comes with a financial cost

CEDAR HILL, Mo. — On a rainy Sunday afternoon at Big River Grain and Cattle in Cedar Hill, a rural enclave outside St. Louis, farmer Daniel Bonacker rolls up an electric fence and lets his herd of 80 beef cattle onto a 30-foot strip of fresh milo. Milo is a stalky plant that resembles ...

Big Valley FFA members receive jackets

LEWISTOWN — Working in agriculture is the only life that Miley Kohler has ever known. So, when Kohler, a sophomore at Mifflin County High School, became old enough, she signed up to join the Big Valley FFA chapter. Kohler hopes FFA will enable her to teach others about the importance of ...

Mifflin County Conservation District announces grant application period

BURNHAM — Farm operations can now apply for funding through the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) to install best management practices, including waste storage facilities and mortality composters, forest and grass buffers, stream and wetland restoration and heavy use area protection to name a few. Funding for the ACAP Program was originally created through the American Rescue Plan Act and the Clean Streams Fund and was established with the goal of reducing non-point source pollution to surface and groundwater supplies, officials said in a press release. The program ...

NRCS announces additional funding opportunity for any preserved farms

HARRISBURG — USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Pennsylvania is making $2 million available to landowners with preserved farms to install conservation best management practices, or BMPs. Available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), this additional funding opportunity is available to landowners with preserved farms who have previously submitted an application to NRCS and award is contingent on funds available. This will help landowners further their conservation efforts on preserved farms to improve water and air quality, enhance soil ...