More in Pesticide Regulation

Feb. 12, 2013

Article

American Agriculture Movement (AAM) reunion to record farmers’ stories for history

The American Museum of Agriculture in Lubbock, Texas, is hosting a reunion of AAM participants and their families June 12-13, 2013, to capture their stories for future generations....More
Feb. 11, 2013

Article

Tips to maintain your pesticide applicators license

To help meet the continuing education requirements of your pesticide applicator license or certificate, here are a few recommendations. Continuing education activities occur year-round across the state. In Nueces County alone, last year we offered 41 hours of CEU’s. You may not find affordable, convenient or sufficient numbers of opportunities if you wait until your license or certificate renewal deadline is near, so start early....More
Feb. 11, 2013

Commentary

Super Bowl farmer ad whitewashes America? 1

Sometimes an ad is simply an ad. Less than 24 hours after Dodge ran a two-minute commercial during the Super Bowl, race hustlers were already banging away, calling the ad lily-white, exclusionary and intentionally prejudiced....More
Feb. 8, 2013

video

‘Start clean, stay clean’ new mantra for High Plains weed control

Glyphosate has been getting a lot of bad press, primarily due to the problems with glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth. But it’s still one of the most broad-spectrum, efficacious herbicides ever developed. Monsanto’s John Everitt talked about ways to preserve glyphosate or Roundup for future use in this interview at the Weed and Water Summit sponsored by Monsanto in Lubbock, Texas....More
Feb. 7, 2013

Article

Oklahoma Conservation Districts encourage participation in ‘Prairie Chicken Insurance’ plan

The recent announcement by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) of an agreement reached with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to offer landowners options for assurance against additional requirements if the Lesser Prairie Chicken is listed as Endangered or Threatened species should be greeted as welcome news according to Joe Parker, President of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD)....More
Feb. 7, 2013

Article

New tax law increases direct expense deduction for 2012, 2013

First-year Direct Expensing (Section 179) is an election in IRS code that allows businesses like farms to deduct the cost of capital purchases as a tax deductible expense....More
Feb. 5, 2013

video

Weed scientists recommending more than herbicides for fighting resistance on High Plains: Part II

Cotton farmers, particularly those accustomed to spaying a single herbicide on their crops, may need to dust off some of the old equipment and herbicides they or their fathers used in the 1980s and 90s. Texas A&M University’s Wayne Keeling explained why during this presentation at Monsanto’s Weed and Water Summit in Lubbock, Texas....More
Feb. 5, 2013

video

Weed scientists recommending more than herbicides for fighting resistance on High Plains: Part I

When weed scientists first received samples of suspected glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth in 2011, Texas A&M University’s Wayne Keeling hoped they were isolated cases. 2012 proved that not to be the case, Keeling told producers attending Monsanto’s Weed and Water Summit in Lubbock. Keeling listed a series of recommendations for dealing with the issue during his presentation....More
Feb. 4, 2013

video

West Texas farmers should build moisture reserve

Latest weather forecasts indicate West Texas farmers could be facing another year of less than favorable moisture conditions. Bob Glodt, research manager for Agri-Search Inc., says growers should be looking for ways to build moisture reserves before they reach peak bloom in their cotton. Glodt spoke at Monsanto/Deltapine’s Weed and Water Summit in Lubbock, Texas, Jan. 31. More than 80 farmers attended the summit....More
Feb. 1, 2013

Article

Emergency loans available for drought-stricken farmers

South Texas growers affected by last year’s drought are encouraged to apply for emergency farm loans as soon as possible, according to an employee of the Cooperative Extension Program at Prairie View A&M University in Edinburg who has a long record of helping farmers apply....More
Feb. 1, 2013

Article

King Cotton and Prince Peanut expecting tough times in 2013

Cotton and peanuts have traditionally been among crop royalty in the South. Historically, if cotton is to be called king, surely peanuts would be the crown prince, but both are likely to face severe challenges for acreage in the upcoming 2013 planting season....More
Feb. 1, 2013

Article

Nine factors that could impact commodity markets this decade

Nine factors could affect the commodity markets in the coming years, with much of the influence coming outside the United States....More
Jan. 30, 2013

Article

Corporations buying land globally could deplete resources, corner food market

The race for land, water and perhaps a captive food market is on. Or so says a new study published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A Science Daily report calls the new research “the first global quantitative assessment of the water-grabbing phenomenon,” the process of some nations and many large corporations buying up property and available water resources in less wealthy and often underdeveloped countries....More
Jan. 30, 2013

Article

Cotton industry concerned with pesticide blame in honey bee decline

Recent surveys of beekeepers have indicated the greatest concerns were starvation, weather, weak colonies in the fall and lack of mite control -- yet most news media outlets have provided the public with stories related to pesticides....More
Jan. 29, 2013

Article

Immigration reform takes spotlight

Leaders in the House and Senate are vowing that immigration reform will take a large portion of the legislative spotlight this year....More
Jan. 28, 2013

Article

Proper protection needed for those who work in the sun

“Farmers and ranchers are in an at-risk occupation,” Collier said during a recent county production conference in Brownfield. Farmers spend a lot of time in the sun and may not protect themselves adequately. Skin cancer should be a significant concern....More
Jan. 25, 2013

Commentary

Fire ants vs. Benadryl a battle of pain

A fire ant attack is a moment of blind panic; an initial frozen blink of time when you realize you’re being swarmed by ant devils. Panic steps aside for primal instinct and fits of bucking, jumping and flailing with movements seldom seen at the wildest of tent revivals....More
Jan. 23, 2013

Article

Western Farm Press

Climate change report projects major Southwest impact

A new NCA report shows that Southwest snowpack and streamflows have declined over this past decade. Climate models project continued reduction in snowpack and streamflow in many of the region's major river basins, and increased drought duration and severity throughout the region....More
Jan. 23, 2013

Article

Farmland rush may bring short supply, high value in 2013

Projected changes in tax laws prompted many landowners who were planning to sell in the next two years to act before new rules take effect. This high level of activity is likely to lead to a short supply of available land in 2013....More
Jan. 18, 2013

blog

National debt not greatest challenge facing the country 3

We survived. We avoided that fiscal cliff, which was considerably steeper and significantly more hazardous than what we face today, and emerged—slowly, perhaps—into what we believe to be the leading nation of the free world....More
Jan. 17, 2013

Article

Scientists say climbing mercury will decrease crop yields

Predictions of another potentially hot and dry growing season across large areas of the nation has many wondering if the previous two years of extreme heat and drought experienced in the U.S. is the “new norm,” and if so, what is driving global weather changes in modern times?...More
Jan. 17, 2013

Article

World records broken for rice production, use and trade

The world produced a record rice crop in 2012-13, according to USDA estimates, but records were also broken for use and trade....More
Jan. 17, 2013

Article

2013 Mid-South Farm and Gin Show list of ‘to-dos’

In making plans to attend this year’s Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, March 1-2 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, Tim Price, show manager, offers a short list of to-dos....More
Jan. 16, 2013

Commentary

Road to Damascus change for anti-GM apostle Mark Lynas

In a shot heard round the GM world, Mark Lynas, a pioneer in the anti-GM movement, came out as a full-fledged advocate of GM crops and his reversal may end up as a significant benchmark for the GM crop industry....More
Jan. 15, 2013

Article

FDA’s newly proposed food safety regs

On January 4, 2013, two years to the day after President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued two proposed regulations they said will “help prevent foodborne illness.”...More