News June 2018 Commodity Corner

June 2018 Commodity Corner

June 2018 Commodity Corner
June 8, 2018 |

Horticulture 

Current or future strawberry farmers are encouraged to attend a Strawberry Growers Meeting at the Morgan County Extension Office June 21 at 5:30 p.m. Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Dr. Allen Straw will present. Contact Mike Reeves at reevemd@aces.edu to learn more.

-Mac Higginbotham, division director

Meat Goat & Sheep

Many small ruminant sheep and goat management educational events are available this summer. Alabama Extension offers workshops, field days and symposia about internal parasite control and small ruminant grazing management. Learn more at tinyurl.com/y9luwbuu. A highlight is the National Goat Conference at Tuskegee University Sept. 16-18. Register at tinyurl.com/GoatConf18.

-Nate Jaeger, division director

Pork

A federal jury awarded $50 million in damages to 10 neighboring landowners of a North Carolina contract hog farm on April 26, though the state’s statutes limit punitive damage to $3.25 million. The defendant is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. This is the first of 26 nuisance cases brought against Murphy-Brown LLC, which said it plans to appeal the ruling.

-Guy Hall, division director

Cotton; Soybean; Wheat & Feed Grain

Bayer completed the acquisition of Monsanto June, 7, following the receipt of all required approvals from regulatory authorities. Federal regulators allowed the agribusiness giants to merge after agreeing to spin off assets worth $9 billion. Bayer will remain the company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio.

-Carla Hornady, divisions director 

Wildlife

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently released its Strategic Surveillance and Response Plan for detecting white-tailed deer that test positive for chronic wasting disease. The goal is to have stringent testing of deer in the area while working to reduce deer density. Learn more at OutdoorAlabama.com.

-William Green, division director

Peanuts

The Alabama Peanut Producers Association (APPA) sponsored the Troy University baseball game against Auburn University May 15 in Troy. APPA board member and Pike countian Billy Hixon threw out the first pitch. Baseball fans also snacked on free peanut samples.

-Caleb Bristow, division director

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