Livestock

The consensus of agricultural economists is that crop prices, especially for corn, soybeans and cotton, will go down this year. The cost of farming is also expected to go down but not as much.

The longhorned tick has only been in Missouri for a couple of years, but it is already spreading across the state and can carry a disease that can infect cattle. There are currently no known treatments or vaccines for the disease, and it could cost ranchers a lot of money.

Black vultures are a nuisance for Missouri livestock producers. The federally protected birds are preying on newborn livestock. The problem has increased as the black vulture population grew to roughly 21,000 in 2021.

Silvopasture is the practice of grazing livestock in a forested area instead of an open pasture. It’s a very old practice that might see new life.

Looking for ways to fund lobbying and legal efforts to preserve their way of business, pork producers are turning down guaranteed money that could go to advertising in hopes it will lead to voluntary donations of unrestricted funds.

Corn, soybeans, livestock, lumber and wines are all among the products the state is marketing to southeast Asian countries.

The USDA backed away from forcing livestock farmers to use electronic identification tags, but an advocacy group is still trying legal means to keep it from happening in the future.

The Missouri Farm Bureau and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are partnering on an initiative to control the aggressive black vulture population.

People are eating a lot of meat, both in the U.S. and around the world, and that could be good news for the cattle sector in 2020. Things are looking up...

Franklin County is considering zoning changes that would allow large livestock operations to be built in areas where they haven’t been permitted before.…