For more than a decade, bee keepers have had a hard time keeping colonies alive, and it is a problem they say is still happening, and they blame it largely on climate change.
“We know that that’s affecting them because it’s affecting when flowers are blooming because they’re flowering too early, they’re flowering too late, and it doesn’t match when the bees need that energy. So we’re trying to come up with alternative forage that farmers can plant, that beekeepers can plant, that will help sort of compensate for that difference,” said Lanie Bilodeau, Research Leader at the USDA Bee Laboratory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
during the 1980s, a 10 percent colony loss was considered normal. However, since then, keepers have reported as much as half their hives either dying or disappearing.
Study looks at how triazine chemistry impacts effectiveness against resistant weeds
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With fewer young people entering agriculture and farmers nearing retirement, industry leaders warn of challenges ahead while working to keep farming profitable and sustainable.
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A late-season freeze in northeast Louisiana has forced farmers to replant thousands of corn acres, adding costs, straining seed supplies, and raising concerns about shifting to soybeans.
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March 15 of each year is the application deadline for the Pima Cotton Trust, and March 1 of each year is the application deadline for the Wool Trust. The law mandates trust payments by April 15. More information about these programs is available at www.fas.usda.gov/programs.
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Superior Livestock Auctions markets more than 1.7 million head of cattle nationwide while also building long-term relationships between both cattle raisers and beef producers.
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The proposal would require farmers’ consent before companies can sell agricultural data
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