Kansas.com: Agriculture

Two Kansas farmers sued over uncertified wheat seed

RICK PLUMLEE — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:32 CST

Two Kansas farmers have been sued over unauthorized use of a proprietary wheat variety developed by Kansas State University researchers.

The suit was filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in Wichita against James Rossillon of Yates Center and his son, Eric Rossillon of Gridley.

The Kansas Wheat Alliance and KSU Research Foundation took legal action against the Rossillons for allegedly buying uncertified wheat from a grower or growers, then planting the wheat for reproductive purposes without authorization and in violation of federal law.

State's '09 soybean harvest is forecast to be even bigger

RICK PLUMLEE — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:00 CST

A soybean harvest already projected to be a state record was increased this week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said this month that it expects Kansas to produce nearly 157 million bushels of soybeans this fall.

That's 11 million more than was pegged in the October forecast.

Rains muddy race for crop insurance deadline

RICK PLUMLEE — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:03 CDT

In 35 years of farming, Scott Van Allen has never planted so much wheat this late in the fall.

Rain has left him with soggy fields on his Sumner County farm. He still has to plant about 1,100 acres — or about half his wheat.

That presents a problem for Van Allen and other wheat farmers in his area.

15% ethanol blend unlikely, analyst says

RICK PLUMLEE — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:04 CDT

As the deadline nears for the Environmental Protection Agency to decide whether to raise the blend level of ethanol in gasoline, don't expect it to reach the 15 percent as requested by the ethanol industry.

That was the opinion of market analyst Jerry Gulke on Wednesday after addressing the Ethanol Leader's Summit at the Courtyard by Marriott at Old Town.

"My guess is they'll phase in 12 percent over time," said Gulke, head of the Chicago-based Gulke Group.

Crops in 'holding pattern'

RICK PLUMLEE — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

The bountiful fall harvest projected for Kansas is still a go.

But a combination of factors has an inordinate amount of the crops still in the fields for this time of the year. And that has farmers and others in the agricultural industry around the state nervous.

"It's been an interesting fall," Sedgwick County farmer Greg Rau said Friday. "There will be a freeze one of these nights and that will be the end of it."

Westmoreland farmer touts virtues of bison

McClatchy Regional News — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

CLAY CENTER — Westmoreland bison farmer Ed Dillinger compared bison meat to fish when talking to Lions Club members about meat this week.

Bison meet is high in protein, low in fat and relatively low in calories, according a brochure on bison meat from the Kansas Buffalo Association. Per 100 grams of cooked lean meat it has 143 calories, compared to 211 and 212 in beef and pork and 190 in skinless chicken. It has 2.42 grams of fat, compared to 9.28 grams in beef, 9.66 grams in pork and 7.41 grams in skinless chicken.

Bison meat is also a rich source of vitamins and minerals including B-12, selenium, zinc and phosphorus and is a good source of iron, vitamin B-6, and niacin.

Fort Dodge HQ to leave Overland Park

RICK PLUMLEE — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

Pfizer announced Tuesday that it will move the headquarters of the former Fort Dodge Animal Health from Overland Park to Pfizer Animal Health's base in Madison, N.J.

A day earlier, a Pfizer official said the pharmaceutical company "will be maintaining a presence in Overland Park for some time."

But a decision to move was made Tuesday.

Economy on way up for rural banks

Associated Press — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

OMAHA — For a second straight month, a survey of rural bankers in 11 Midwest and Plains states suggests economic conditions are improving but remain weak.

According to a report issued Thursday by economist Ernie Goss of Creighton University in Omaha, the overall index for the Rural Mainstreet economy rose to 37.5 in October, compared with 36.5 in September and 32.0 in August.

The new figure remained well below the growth-neutral score of 50, but it was much higher than the index's record low of 16.9 set in February.

As yields bust bins, prices disappoint

RICK PLUMLEE — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:55 CDT

With Ryan Speer's fall harvest about halfway completed earlier this week, the Sedgwick County farmer likes what he's seeing in his corn and soybean crops.

"Yields are at least 25 percent above our average," he said.

It's been that kind of fall for farms across Kansas and many other farming states.

Safety clause put in biolab bill

SUZANNE GAMBOA — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators are requiring the Homeland Security Department to further study the safety of a foot-and-mouth disease research lab in Manhattan before it can use $32 million provided to build it.

The money is in a Homeland Security Department spending bill considered Wednesday by a House and Senate conference committee, but would only be available to the department after studies prove the lab can operate safely.

Homeland Security Department officials wanted $36 million to start work on the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility they plan for Kansas State University. But there has been opposition to the lab and the foot-and-mouth disease research to be done there, based in part on concerns that an accidental release of the disease would devastate livestock.