Breaking News

Agriculture

USDA-NASS agriculture update

USDA to survey farmers’ planting intentions for 2025: As the 2025 crop production season begins, producers nationwide will be contacted to determine their plans for the upcoming growing season. Each year, the agriculture industry anticipates USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, which provides the first survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ planting intentions for the year. We mail the survey to more than 6,000 producers across the northeastern U.S., asking producers to provide information about the types of crops they intend to plant in 2025, how many acres they intend to ...

PA Farm Bill grants to expand career awards

HARRISBURG — Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding has announced $501,123 in PA Farm Bill Agriculture and Youth Grants awarded to 58 organizations in 29 counties, funding projects that will empower youth to succeed in Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry. Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker joined Secretary Redding in the 2025 PA Farm Show’s So You Want to Be a Farmer area, where anyone can learn how to raise food or flowers for fun, profit, or a new career. “Our young people hold the energy and potential that will power Pennsylvania tomorrow,” ...

Northern Tier Beef meetings offered in Apri

UNIVERSITY PARK —An upcoming Penn State Extension workshop aimed at beef producers and new and beginning farmers will explore the advantages and challenges of artificial insemination versus natural service in beef cattle breeding, with insights from a breeder who has worked with both methods. The "Northern Tier Beef Meeting: No Bull About Breeding Season" will be offered at three locations on different dates in April: • Montrose: 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. April 15, Susquehanna County Library, 458 High School Road. • Towanda: 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. April 16, Bradford County ...

Dairy Miss shares facts, St. Patrick’s Day recipe

Hello, my name is Julianna Campbell, and I am a Juniata County Dairy Miss. I want to remind everyone to get three servings of dairy everyday. Udderly amazing dairy facts: • About 73 percent of calcium available in the food supply is provided by milk and milk products. • Dairy ...

Pennsylvania 4-H Week runs through March 22

MIFFLINTOWN — Four-H is different from many other youth programs because it focuses on agriculture, science and engineering and technology. Plus, it also looks at healthy living and citizenship through projects like raising animals, clothing and textiles, foods and nutrition, shooting sports and seeing eye puppy service projects. Whew, that was a mouthful albeit an important one. Four-H also continues to appeal to today’s youth because the programs offered are what kids need to thrive in adulthood, especially in rural areas like the Juniata Valley. “We are thrilled to ...

USDA invests up to $1B to combat avian flu

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently announced a $1 billion-dollar comprehensive strategy to curb highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), protect the U.S. poultry industry, and lower egg prices. This is in addition to funding already being provided to indemnify growers for depopulated flocks. As the Secretary detailed in the Wall Street Journal, the five-pronged strategy includes an additional $500 million for biosecurity measures, $400 million in financial relief for affected farmers, and $100 million for vaccine research, action to reduce regulatory ...