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Agriculture

USDA forecasts higher production for corn in Pa.

HARRISBURG — The USDA-NASS, Northeastern Region has released the crop production forecast for October, according to King Whetstone, director of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Northeastern Regional Field Office. The latest survey, which was conducted during the last week of September and the first week of October, included the following commodities: Corn production is forecast at 129 million bushels, up 11% from 2022. Based on conditions as of Oct. 1, yields are expected to average 154.0 bushels per acre, down 2 bushels from the September forecast and up ...

USDA to measure cost of pollination

HARRISBURG — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its 2023 Cost of Pollination survey from November through December of 2023. The survey will be sent to nearly 16,000 producers nationwide. “Honey bees are important pollinators of crops ranging from almonds to zucchinis,” King Whetstone, director of the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office, said. “To help accurately depict the health of the pollination industry in the United States, NASS will ask crop producers about their use of honey bees, the fees they paid for ...

More indoor farms are being built as many shut down, business struggles

CLEBURNE, Texas — Inside a bright greenhouse about an hour outside Dallas, workers in hairnets and gloves place plugs of lettuce and other greens into small plastic containers — hundreds of thousands of them — that stack up to the ceiling. A few weeks later, once the vegetables grow to full size, they’ll be picked, packaged and shipped out to local shelves within 48 hours. This is Eden Green Technology, one of the latest crop of indoor farming companies seeking their fortunes with green factories meant to pump out harvests of fresh produce all year long. The company operates ...

USDA to survey row crops county acreage and production

HARRISBURG — Beginning this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey a sample of producers in 37 states, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York as part of its 2023 Row Crops County Agricultural Production Survey. The survey will collect information on total acres planted and harvested and total yield and production of row crops to support estimates down to the county level. Producers can complete their survey securely online at agcounts.usda.gov. If producers do not submit their completed ...

Fun dairy facts from Juniata Dairy Miss

Hello. I am Jayde Sweger, and I am a Juniata County Dairy Miss. I want to remind everyone to get three servings of dairy every day. Some fun dairy facts: America’s favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla and cows can smell some things up to six miles away. October is Cheese Month. Cheese ...

Workshop offers chance to elevate calf management expertise, skills

UNIVERSITY PARK — Dairy farmers and dairy farm employees can enhance their calf management knowledge and skills at an upcoming Penn State Extension workshop. The “Calf Management Workshop” will take place Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rail Center, 184 Young Rd. in Lewisburg. Expert presenters will share their knowledge and experiences with calf management. Attendees can learn about a variety of topics related to calf management, including colostrum management, disease prevention, social housing and heifer-raising costs. Participants must register by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 18. The ...