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Agriculture

Honoring buffalo, growing tribal futures

BELCOURT, N.D. — Tribal producers, conservationists and community members gathered Sept. 16 for ‘Honoring Buffalo, Building Tribal Agriculture: Turtle Mountain Field Day’, a free, in-person event hosted by the North Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Intertribal Agriculture Council’s Great Plains Region. The event celebrated the sacred role of buffalo in Indigenous traditions while promoting sustainable agriculture, conservation practices and partnership-building. Held at the Sky Dancer Casino and Resort Event Center in Belcourt, the field day began ...

Mifflin County Forever Farm receives $140K

LEWISTOWN — A Mifflin County farm owned by Jeffrey A. and Melody A. Ranck was the recipient of state grant funds to protect against residential and commercial development. According to a news release from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Bratton Township farm received $143,451 — with $90,785 coming from state funds and $52,666 from county funds. The farm contains 101 acres of land. The grant includes $5.7 million to purchase developmental rights for 2,079 acres on 24 farms in 14 Pennsylvania counties. The joint investment between state and local government is aimed ...

Workshop for greenhouse and nursery growers set

UNIVERSITY PARK — Greenhouse growers, nursery operators and garden center managers and employees interested in learning about the latest research-based information and management practices for their businesses can attend an upcoming Penn State Extension workshop. The “Central Pennsylvania Greenhouse Meeting” will be Dec. 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bread of Life Restaurant, 30644 Rte. 35 N., McAlisterville. The workshop is designed to deliver research-based guidance on producing and managing annuals, bedding plants, perennials and houseplants with practical insights ...

Rollins strengthens SNAP retailer stocking requirements

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is proposing changes to strengthen the stocking requirements for retailers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These changes would protect the program, participants, and taxpayers by mitigating fraud, waste, and abuse and ensuring additional healthy food options for recipient families. “Retailers participating in SNAP need to sell real food, plain and simple. Right now, the bar for stocking food as a SNAP retailer is far too low, allowing people to game the ...

Big Valley FFA members fare well at Fall Career Development Event

HUNTINGDON — Members of the Big Valley FFA chapter traveled to the Huntingdon County Fairgrounds on Sept. 25 to compete in the Fall Career Development Event. This year, the Fall CDEs consisted of seven different events that the members of Mifflin County — along with the Juniata and East Juniata FFA chapters from Juniata County and four schools from Huntingdon County — could compete in. The events that the members of these seven different FFA chapters could participate in were FFA knowledge, wildlife and forestry, milk quality and products, safe tractor driving, ...

Farm to School grants to support American farmers and children

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is delivering on its commitment to support child health and American agriculture by opening applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants. Through this grant opportunity, USDA will invest up to $18 million in farm to school projects that connect farmers to USDA’s child nutrition programs through local food procurement, agricultural education, school gardens and more. New this year, USDA reimagined the Farm to School Grant program, implementing several improvements, including streamlining the ...