Entries by Tracy Mumma

USDA Invests in Domestic Fertilizer Production

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USDA announced that it is investing more than $116 million through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) to help eight facilities expand innovative fertilizer production in California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. FPEP is funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation and provides funding to independent business owners to help them modernize […]

‘Transition to Organic’ Sessions from Tilth Conference Available Online

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eOrganic partnered with Tilth Alliance to record the Transition to Organic sessions at the 50th Anniversary Tilth conference held in November. With funding provided by the USDA Transition to Organic (TOPP) program, these recordings are now publicly available on the eOrganic YouTube channel. The four sessions, each around an hour long, include a panel with […]

Nebraska Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

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Concept proposals are due January 31, 2025. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture anticipates awarding approximately $820,000 to projects enhancing the competitiveness of Nebraska specialty crops. Each project must identify at least one expected measurable outcome and indicator that specifically demonstrates the project’s impact in enhancing the competitiveness of eligible specialty crops. Proposals should be initiated […]

Weeds Acquiring Herbicide Resistance from Crop Rice, Study Shows

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Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis sampled weedy rice, a relative of cultivated rice, from fields in Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. They found that 57% of 201 samples were resistant to the imidazolinone family of herbicides. Rice growers began planting cultivars that were engineered to be herbicide-resistant, to help them manage the problem of […]

Global Nutrient Analysis Shows Recycling Feces and Urine Would Reduce Need for Mined Fertilizers

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Scientists from Cornell University published results of their global analysis of nutrient recycling in Nature Sustainability. They concluded that many countries could become self-sufficient for fertilizer if they would recycle all human and animal urine and feces to agriculture. The nutrients found globally in human and poorly utilized livestock excreta represent 13% of crop and […]

Minnesota Launches Green Fertilizer Grant Program

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Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced a new Green Fertilizer Grant Program that will support agricultural and rural electric cooperatives to invest in green fertilizer manufacturing. The MDA will begin accepting applications on December 18, 2024, and may award between $250,000 and $6.665 million for business-ready and shovel-ready projects. Applications will be due March 18, […]

California Project to Help Ranchers Stay Strong in Extreme Weather

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Based on results of producer surveys conducted by University of California researchers, a statewide team has begun a project designed to help California ranchers stay strong through extreme weather variability. The researchers surveyed and interviewed nearly 50 ranchers to collect their wisdom about how they survived the drought from 2012-2016. After publishing the results of […]

Land & Legacy Scholarship

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Applications for Quarter 1 are due January 15, 2025 The Land & Legacy Scholarship, in partnership with Powerflex Supply and administered by the National Grazing Lands Coalition, provides financial support for farmers and ranchers interested in attending any of Noble Research Institute’s 2025 educational courses. Each scholarship awarded will cover the full cost of a […]

Northeast Regional Food Business Center Supporting Food and Agricultural Businesses

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The Northeast Regional Food Business Center has awarded up to $100,000 each for 13 projects that will offer business technical assistance, value- and supply-chain coordination, market development, and more to support small- and mid-sized food and agricultural businesses. In addition, four organizations received grants to build regional or sub-regional technical assistance provider networks that will […]

Missouri CRCL Project: Regenerative Grazing

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Applications are open until January 31, 2025. The Missouri Climate Resilient Crop and Livestock (CRCL) Project helps farmers implement climate-smart agricultural practices through direct payments and education. The Regenerative Grazing Program offers producers $50 per acre to implement managed grazing with regenerative outcomes: enhanced soil health, improved ecosystem biodiversity, and increased carbon sequestration. Each farmer […]