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Agriculture

Farmers urged to plant cover crops

MIDDLEBURG — Corn silage and horticultural crops have been or will be harvested right now. Soybeans will be harvested soon as well. Regardless, the Snyder County Conservation District strongly urges planting cover crops when cash crops are not growing. Cover crops help farmers do many things. Cover crops armor the soil from the autumn rains, winter snows and spring showers. Cover crops trap manure and fertilizer nutrients from leaching that would enter our surface and ground waters. Cover crops feed beneficial microbial life during times when cash crops are not present. ...

USDA to measure vegetable chemical usage

HARRISBURG — Interviewers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will interview more than 680 vegetable growers in the northeastern region to gather information for the 2024 Vegetable Chemical Use Survey this fall. The survey will collect information on bearing acreage, pest management practices, acres treated, and application rates, fertilizer and pesticide application, acres treated, and rates applied to 12 vegetable crops. In addition to Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, vegetable growers in 12 other states will also hear ...

Honey bees may play key role in spreading viruses to wild bees

UNIVERSITY PARK — Honey bees may play a role in increasing virus levels in wild bumble bees each spring, according to researchers at Penn State who analyzed seasonal trends of parasite and virus transmission in bees. The study — published in the journal Ecosphere — found that honey bees consistently had higher levels of viruses than bumble bees. Additionally, while both types of bees had lower virus prevalence in the winter, only bumble bees experienced negligible levels by spring. Heather Hines, associate professor of biology and entomology in the College of Agricultural ...

USDA announces Inflation Reduction Act funding

WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced new funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) for fiscal year 2025 as part of President Biden and Vice President Harris' Investing in America agenda. Administered by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, the program helps landowners and other eligible entities conserve, restore, and protect wetlands, productive agricultural lands, and grasslands at risk of conversion to non-grassland uses. Healthy wetlands, grasslands, and farmlands sequester carbon and provide many other ...

USDA to measure production for northeastern milk

HARRISBURG — Thousands of milk producers across the country will receive surveys from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) as the agency collects information for the 2024 Milk Production reports. “The dairy industry is an important component of the Northeast’s agriculture, and it is crucial for us to have accurate data about this key sector,” said Kevin Pautler, acting regional director of the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office. NASS conducts the Milk Production survey in the region every January, April, July and October. ...

Penn State Extension to hold hands-on sheep shearing school

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State Extension's livestock team is organizing a hands-on sheep shearing workshop Sept. 28 at Turning Point Land and Livestock Services in Dornsife. The Pennsylvania Sheep and Wool Growers Association is co-sponsoring the event. The school is aimed at beginning shearers, but experienced people are encouraged to attend if seeking additional practice and sheep shearing resources. The program will cover professional shearing patterns; equipment set-up, maintenance and repair; wool handling and preparation; and basic sheep care. Austin Brown, extension program ...