Purple-colored boxes are being hung on trees throughout the country to track and monitor the spread of the Emerald Ash Beetle. The “traps” are not meant to catch the beetle, but are part of an $8 million USDA survey to monitor the spread of the insect population. To date, more than 50 million ash trees from Missouri to Quebec have been killed by the beetle. Read more (Northjersey.com).

In response to drought conditions in Texas, the USDA Farm Service Agency authorized the use of emergency grazing on acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program for 13 additional Texas counties. This authorization brings the total number of counties approved to graze CRP acres to 51. The emergency use is for grazing only and does not allow for haying. There will be a 25 percent CRP payment reduction for acres used under this emergency provision. Learn more.

A well-managed dairy herd kept outdoors year-round left a carbon footprint 6 percent smaller than that of a high-producing dairy herd kept in barns, according to researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The study used a computer program that simulates the major biological and physical processes and interactions of a crop, beef or dairy farm. Data was collected on grazing systems and manure management, and their effects on nutrient loss to the environment. The data was used on four different farm models to evaluate the environmental dynamics of four different dairy farms in all types of weather over 25 years. Learn more.  

It’s brown, about three-quarters of an inch long and it is feasting its way through the mid-Atlantic. The brown marmorated stink bug is munching through apple orchards in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, causing nearly $37 million in damage, according to the U.S. Apple Association. The Asian native was first brought to the U.S. via Allentown, Pa., in 1998. The population grew last summer and has now been seen in 33 states including California, Oregon and Washington. Read more (Associated Press).

Losses from managed honey bee colonies totaled 30 percent nationwide during the 2010/2011 winter, according to a survey conducted by USDA and the Apiary Inspectors of America. But those losses are marginal compared to previous years. During the 2009/2010 winter, losses were 34 percent while 2008/2009 accounted for a 29 percent loss. Although the losses are not significant from year to year, researchers are concerned that continual losses of this size could place a strain on the economic sustainability of commercial beekeeping. Read more or view the survey results.

(WHNT News 19)

The deadline for the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE), is quickly approaching. Producers who have not signed up for either program have until June 1 to do so.

“Producers must be aware of these deadlines and take action,” said USDA Farm Service Agency Acting Director Bruce Nelson.

Farmers and ranchers who choose to participate must enroll their farms each year in the revenue-based ACRE program or the price-based DCP safety net. Producers who chose to stay in the DCP program after June 1, 2009, have the option of changing over to the ACRE program. Those who enrolled in the ACRE program in 2009 or thereafter, cannot return to DCP.

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Livestock losses due to the Texas drought have reached $1.2 billion in six months, according to economists with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Farmers are selling off herds, crop conditions are deteriorating and ranchers are being forced to feed hay to their herds early in the season due to lack of pasture growth. The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that 100 percent of the state is abnormally dry and 82 percent is classified as being in extreme and exceptional drought. Read more (Drovers Cattle Network).