With the average planted corn acreage over the past 15 years at about 78 million acres, the market's dilemma was finding a source for all the extra acres needed, he said. The increase in intended acres for corn was partially offset by fewer expected acres of soybeans and cotton, the USDA said. Futures prices for corn this week dropped to their lowest level since October, a far cry from five months ago when prices climbed past $4 a bushel to their highest level in about nine years....

While we may be seeing pastures green up and forage become available for livestock, however, many producers are also looking at empty hay barns and overgrazed pastures. While these summer annuals can definitely produce substantial amounts of forage in a relatively short amount of time, there are a couple of things that producers should keep in mind when considering summer annuals as an option. With this situation in mind, many producers have looked or are looking at the possibility of...

Leaders of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and executives at Monsanto co. and DuPont co., two biotech crop giants, said they hoped the plan, which includes third-party auditing, would help agricultural players around the world feel confident that biotech crop development was subject to stringent safety standards. Biotech firms plan new guidelines - Los Angeles Times. Leaders of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and executives at Monsanto co. and DuPont co., two biotech crop...

Nutritional requirements for horses are met or not met depending on the grasses in your pasture, the type of soil you have, how many acres are available for the horse to graze and how weedy it is. Horses lack the rumen, the large stomach-vat where cattle and other ruminants ferment and degrade poor quality, high fiber, materials through the action of microorganisms. Being herbivores, horses can graze the same pastures as cattle. But, even on a good quality pasture or hay, free-choice...

The use of fishmeal as a feed for cattle, sheep and deer was banned within the EU in 2001 as a precaution in the midst of the BSE crisis. There is no evidence that feed from fishmeal can pass a disease to cattle and some MEPs have argued that the ban should be lifted. It is a high protein feed and was often fed to give extra energy to dairy cows and calves. He said: "We should be discouraging overfishing in our seas rather than trying to develop new markets for fish products. Grass Mr...