The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture crop progress report for Montana shows minimal planting has occurred due to high soil moisture and muddy conditions.
Topsoil moisture conditions for the state were 94 percent adequate to surplus, above last year’s 87 percent. Wet weather is still impacting much of the state’s spring planting. Just 1 percent of spring wheat has been planted compared to the 5-year average of 10 percent.
Winter wheat is rated at 26 percent excellent, 56 percent good, 15 percent fair, and 3 percent poor.
According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, the total number of U.S. farms fell 3.2 percent while the average farm size increased 1.6 percent since 2012. Michael Nepveux is an economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation and said the new data also shows farmers and ranchers are getting older.
“The average age of that principal operator continues to increase,” said Nepveux. “The 2012 census reported that to be 58.3 years. For the 2017 census, that increased to 59.4 years for that average.”
The 2017 census reported a 30 percent increase in the number of female farmers, and an increase in younger farmers. However, Nepveux said that’s partially because USDA changed how that data is reported.
“In the past, they tended to focus on just the principal operator, whereas now they expanded that to include other decision makers,” Nepveux added. “So that doesn’t necessarily mean that we have 30 percent more women farming than we did say five years ago. Also, you saw an increase in the number of younger farmers as a result of this. This is due to those intergenerational farms where you have the parents and children operating as business partners on the farm.”
The 2017 census also shows changes in farming practices, as farmers are implementing more environmentally friendly production practices.
This week, the Montana Department of Agriculture and Noxious Weed Management Advisory Council have awarded nearly $1.8 million for the development and implementation of noxious weed management programs across Montana.
The grants assist counties, conservation districts, tribes, and researchers in efforts to combat noxious weeds in Montana. Fifty-eight local cooperative projects were funded in total.
The Montana Noxious Weed Trust Fund grant program was established by the Montana Legislature in 1985.
In Washington, a new bill would codify oversight and regulation of cell-based meats. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi has introduced a bill that would give the USDA responsibility to regulate, inspect, and label cell-cultured meat and poultry.
The Cell-Cultured Meat and Poultry Regulation Act of 2019 would codify the responsibilities of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration over food products grown in laboratories from animal cell cultures. The USDA and the FDA have already agreed to a joint regulatory effort regarding cell cultured meats.
The legislation would place cell-cultured food products derived from livestock and poultry under FSIS jurisdiction by amending the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the primary laws governing FSIS jurisdiction and oversight responsibilities.
-Reported by Lane Nordlund/MTN News
