Page 18 - Agweek News Today

In Benson County, North Dakota, where Palmer amaranth was first found in 2017, Scott Knocke, North Dakota State University agricultural extension agent, continues to teach farmers how to identify and control the weed.

The Arthur Companies, based in Arthur in eastern North Dakota, is buying Thresher Artisan Wheat, which has eight locations and 60 employees in the Snake River Valley of Idaho.

Brad Carlson, University of Minnesota Extension educator, water resources, and Dan Kaiser, U of M nutrient management specialist, talked about fertilizer management during the virtual “Strategic Farming 2022: Let's talk crop fertility adjustments,” held online Wed., Jan. 5.

The Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association has changed its name to Snake River Sugarbeet Association. The association is named for the Snake River, which provides irrigation water for more than 3 million acres in the region, including every acre of sugarbeets.

United States Sugar Corp., a Florida, company that markets sugar cooperatively with Red River Valley sugarbeet growers through United Sugars, is seeking to purchase Imperial Sugar Co., including a major refinery in the Savannah, Georgia, area. The U.S. Department of Justice is suing to block the purchase.

Agriculture drives our future, economy, jobs, communities, food, fiber, fuel, flowers and so much more. What it looks and feels like in our towns and rural areas will be different in the future, but it’s our job to open doors and prepare our kids to be part of ag’s future.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are hosting the virtual public hearings on the Waters of the U.S. rule.

Challenges that the United States faces include stiffer competition for agricultural exports from Brazil, which has lowered its shipping costs and the Ukraine, where rail transportation costs are low.

“It still is the most important problem faced by growers in North Dakota and Minnesota,” said Mohamed Khan, North Dakota and University of Minnesota sugarbeet specialist.

A Barnes County, N.D., rancher wonders why the North Dakota Department of Agriculture couldn't stop a Fargo, N.D., source of sunflower "screenings" as a feed product when they knew it had been partially banned in Minnesota for excessive Palmer amaranth weed seeds.