Interested investors may pre-register for the teleconference at the following link: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10195074/fe1cb11a58. Registered participants will receive an email with a calendar reminder, dial-in number and PIN that allows immediate access to the call on January 7, 2025.

Participants who do not wish to pre-register may dial (833) 535-2202 (U.S.), (412) 902-6745 (international), or (866) 605-3852 (Canada) and request the Lindsay Corporation call. Additionally, the conference call will be simulcast live online and can be accessed via the investor relations section of the Company’s website, www.lindsay.com. Replays of the conference call will remain available on the Company’s website until the next quarterly earnings release. The Company will have a slide presentation available to supplement management’s formal presentation, which will also be accessible via the Company’s website.

About Lindsay Corporation

Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN) is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation and infrastructure equipment and technology. Established in 1955, the company has been at the forefront of research and development of innovative solutions to meet the food, fuel, fiber and transportation needs of the world’s rapidly growing population. The Lindsay family of irrigation brands includes Zimmatic center pivot and lateral move agricultural irrigation systems, FieldNET and FieldWise remote irrigation management technology, FieldNET Advisor irrigation scheduling technology, and industrial IoT solutions. Also a global leader in the transportation industry, Lindsay Transportation Solutions manufactures equipment to improve road safety and keep traffic moving on the world’s roads, bridges and tunnels, through the Barrier Systems, Road Zipper and Snoline brands. For more information about Lindsay Corporation, visit www.lindsay.com.

— BUSINESS WIRE

The post Lindsay Corporation Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast appeared first on Morning Ag Clips.

“They forgot I had one leg,” the 45-year-old said, laughing. The trainer at a center for amputee farmers picked himself up and added: “We fall and we rise.”

The phrase encapsulates his journey since the civil war in Sierra Leone. From 1991 to 2002, conflict in the West African country created some 28,000 amputees like him. Amputation by machete was one terror tactic by rebels.

But even now, amputation rates remain high in Sierra Leone due to motorbike accidents, poor medical care and delayed treatment by traditional healers, according to medical researchers. The government doesn’t collect data on amputees, but the United Nations estimates there are about 500,000 disabled people in the country.

Makieu’s left leg was amputated as a child after rebels shot him and he received no medical attention for a week.

More than 20 years later, in a nation ranked near the bottom of the U.N. development index, amputees still face discrimination, often regarded as a shameful reminder of the civil war. Many resort to begging and live in the streets.

“No one cares about you as an amputee in Sierra Leone,” Makieu said.

The Farming on Crutches initiative where Makieu works near the capital, Freetown, offers a rare refuge. It aims to restore amputees’ confidence and independence by teaching them skills to start a farm business. They’ve trained 100 amputees and want to expand their work.

The training has transformed Makieu’s life. After his amputation in 2002, he lived in a small room with a friend in Freetown, dependent on him for food, money and shelter.

At a displacement camp for 270 amputees in Freetown, he met Mambud Samai, the founder of Farming on Crutches and a pastor.

“Many (amputees) are being rejected by their families and communities. They don’t believe they have love,” the 51-year-old Samai said. He felt moved to help after being a refugee himself in Guinea during the civil war.

First, Samai organized beach football matches for amputees in Freetown, boosting their confidence. During a visit to Sierra Leone, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon saw the project and funded a site for an amputee football club outside the capital.

But Samai decided football was not enough. As a farmer, he saw agriculture as a path to self-sufficiency. In 2020, he set up a demonstration farm to teach amputees how to farm and become rural leaders.

His project’s name reflects amputees’ widespread use of crutches instead of prosthetic legs in Sierra Leone. Foreign donors distributed them after the civil war but many people say they don’t fit well and cause sores. And the country’s only prosthetic clinic is too expensive for many.

Makieu was one of the first Farming on Crutches trainees in 2022. He learned how to use farm waste for organic fertilizer and bamboo sticks for fences. He set up a small farm operation this year with his wife, Zanib, also an amputee. They met during the training and now have a child.

Makieu wants to inspire future farmers.

“It’s my dream to teach people about life. It’s about changing your mindset,” he said.

Morning mist rolled over the nearby mountains as the camp rose for exercises ahead of a strenuous day. They gathered in a circle, harmonizing on local songs before Samai spoke.

“We are created for fellowship, not isolation,” he said. “When we return, we are not as we came. We go home to serve our community as rural leaders.”

Makieu interjected: “I sustain my life through farming, I met my wife here. This training can be a big package for you.”

But the vast majority of amputees in Sierra Leone have no such support.

Alimany Kani, 30, lives in a camp built by the Norwegian Refugee Council for amputees on the outskirts of Freetown. He lost his leg when he was a baby, to the same bullet that killed his father in the civil war. Despite holding a master’s degree in social work, he cannot find a job.

“Even if you have qualifications, an able-bodied with less education will always get the job,” Kani said.

Sierra Leone’s National Commission for Persons with Disability told AP that discrimination towards amputees has improved in the last decade since the Disability Act in 2011 aimed to provide equal opportunities and punish discrimination.

Kani firmly disagreed and called on the government to deliver reparations to victims of the civil war. Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2009 recommended that amputees receive pensions, access to healthcare, accommodation and education.

But many of those pledges remain unfulfilled, including for Kani. Only 1,300 out of 32,000 have received a full reparations package due to lack of resources, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration.

“The government don’t keep their promises. It’s inhumane,” Kani said.

There currently is no specific support for amputees from the government, the National Commission for Persons with Disability said.

Sierra Leone’s health ministry, the president’s office and the National Commission for Social Action office that manages the reparations program did not respond to questions.

A farming charity in Britain, Pasture for Life, is financing Farming on Crutches in full, but Samai said they need support from Sierra Leone’s government to expand.

Meanwhile, the government is investing over $600 million in agriculture but some believe this will largely benefit large-scale agriculture over small-scale farmers, such as Farming on Crutches’ trainees, who form 70% of the population.

Two such smallholders are cousins and Farming on Crutches trainees, Amara and Moustapha Jalloh, aged 19 and 21, in central Sierra Leone.

Both recently harvested rice and cassava. Moustapha, who was born without a leg, said his harvest surplus allowed him to pay for computer science training. He dreams of being an agricultural engineer.

“Any successful story, there must be painful experiences,” he said.

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

— Jack Thompson, Associated Press

The post ‘We Fall and We Rise’: Some Amputees in Sierra Leone Turn to Farming to Combat Discrimination appeared first on Morning Ag Clips.

This program is funded through President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It also reflects the goals of the President’s Investing in America agenda to rebuild the economy from the bottom up and middle out, and to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure.

“Rural America is the backbone of our country, providing the everyday essentials we all depend on,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA Rural Development is partnering with the Forest Service to support timber industry innovations that improve forest health and reduce wildfire threats while creating good-paying jobs for people in rural, forest-dependent communities.”

Through TPEP, USDA Rural Development and the Forest Service will make $220 million available in loan guarantees for borrowers to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve wood processing facilities, sawmills and paper mills, that use trees harvested from federal or Tribal lands. The program is designed to manage up to 20 million acres of national forests managed by USDA Forest Service and complement the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.

USDA Rural Development will begin accepting TPEP applications on December 26, 2024, with a maximum loan amount of $25 million. USDA encourages applicants to use the TPEP Dashboard to find areas the Forest Service has identified as high or very high priority areas to address the risk of wildfires and insect infestations or disease, which have caused or have the potential to cause significant damage.

Applicants may learn more through the upcoming TPEP webinar, scheduled for January 6, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

USDA encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities:

• Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities;
• Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to USDA Rural Development programs and benefits from Rural Development-funded projects; and
• Assisting rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.

Applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov and will be accepted until funds are expended.

Additional information will be available in the Dec. 26, 2024, Federal Register. To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, visit www.rd.usda.gov or contact the nearest USDA Rural Development state office.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery subscriber page.

— USDA

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LYONS, Ga. — Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South.

An irrigation sprinkler system about 300 feet (92 meters) long lay overturned in a field, its steel pipes bent and welded joints broken. The mangled remains of a grain bin sat crumpled by a road. On a Friday in early December, Hopkins dragged burly limbs from the path of the tractor-like machine that picks his cotton crop six rows at a time.

“I have wrestled with lots of emotions the past two months,” said Hopkins, who also grows corn and peanuts in rural Toombs County, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Savannah. “Do we just get through this one and quit? Do we build back? It is emotionally draining.”

Hopkins is among farmers across the South who are still reeling from Helene’s devastation. The storm made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a major Category 4 storm and then raced north across Georgia and neighboring states.

Experts estimate the cost to farmers, timber growers and other agribusinesses from Florida to Virginia will reach more than $10 billion. The toll includes ravaged crops, uprooted timber, wrecked farm equipment and mangled chicken houses, as well as indirect costs such as lost productivity at cotton gins and poultry processing plants.

For cotton growers like Hopkins, Helene hit just as the fall harvest was starting. Many put most cleanup on hold to try to salvage what remained of their crops.

`Staggering’ losses to cotton, pecans and fall vegetables

Georgia farmers suffered storm losses of at least $5.5 billion, according to an analysis by the University of Georgia. In North Carolina, a state agency calculated farmers suffered $3.1 billion in crop losses and recovery costs after Helene brought record rainfall and flooding. Separate economic analyses of farm damage tallied losses of up to $630 million in Virginia, $452 million in South Carolina and $162 million in Florida.

Hopkins figures he lost half the cotton on his 1,400 acres (560 hectares).

“We were at the most vulnerable stage we could be,” he said. “The lint was open and fluffy and hanging there, waiting to be defoliated or picked. About 50% of the harvestable lint ended up on the ground.”

Even with insurance, Hopkins said, he won’t recoup an estimated $430,000 in losses from his cotton crop alone. That doesn’t include the cost of debris removal, repairing or replacing damaged machinery and the loss of two small pecan orchards uprooted by the storm.

The storm ripped through blooming cotton fields, pecan orchards laden with nuts and fields where fall vegetables like cucumbers and squash awaited picking. Hundreds of large poultry houses used to raise thousands of chickens at a time got destroyed.

Farmers far from Helene’s center weren’t spared, as tropical-storm force winds reached outward up to 310 miles (499 kilometers).

“It was staggering,” said Timothy Coolong, a University of Georgia horticulture professor. “This may be just too much for some folks.”

Helene was one of the deadliest U.S. hurricanes in nearly two decades, killing more than 200 people. It left more than 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed across the South.

Will aid to farmers come soon enough?

Georgia’s government in November diverted $100 million that had been set aside for construction projects or paying off existing debt to fund emergency loans to farmers and cleanup in Helene’s aftermath. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has made additional storm relief a priority for the upcoming legislative session.

But Georgia’s constitution prohibits using state funds to give direct disaster aid to individuals and private businesses.

In Congress, a spending bill passed early Saturday to avoid a government shutdown included $21 billion in disaster aid to U.S. farmers.

“We need help, but we need it quick,” said Jeffrey Pridgen, a fifth-generation farmer who raises chickens in south Georgia’s Coffee County.

Pridgen operated a dozen poultry houses, each large enough to raise up to 20,000 chickens at a time. Helene destroyed four of them, along with thousands of chickens. Only one of Pridgen’s houses remains in working condition, the others having been badly damaged.

Pridgen said new chicken houses will cost about $450,000 apiece. Because most of his were decades old, he expects insurance to cover just half the cost.

“I was looking at retirement, but I lost my retirement and my income in one day,” said Pridgen, 62. “It’ll be two years before we get fully operational again. I’m basically starting over.”

‘Everybody lost something’

Georgia’s poultry industry took an estimated $683 million hit, with farmers having to rebuild about 300 chicken houses and repair hundreds more.

The poultry processing plant that relies on Pridgen and other storm-impacted farmers for chickens is now operating just four days per week, he said.

“Now for at least a year, perhaps a little bit longer, we’re in rebuilding mode,” said Mike Giles, president of the Georgia Poultry Federation. “That affects production in an area for an extended period of time.”

Helene’s devastation shouldn’t have much impact on consumer prices because crops grown elsewhere can make up for most shortages, said Michael Adjemian, a University of Georgia professor of agricultural economics. Pecans are one possible exception. Georgia is responsible for roughly one-third of U.S. production.

“In most cases, even a terrible storm like this is going to have a relatively small impact,” Adjemian said. “And maybe it’s not even noticeable, depending on the product.”

Helene cost Georgia cotton farmers roughly one-third of their crop, with direct and indirect losses valued at $560 million. Some were still recovering from Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Cotton growers also were facing low prices this harvest season of around 70 cents per pound (per 0.45 kilograms), said Taylor Sills, executive director of the Georgia Cotton Commission. That meant they needed a big yield to turn any profit.

“Times were awful, and then they got hit by a hurricane,” Sills said. “There are people who lost everything and there are people who didn’t. But everybody lost something.”

— Russ Bynum, Associated Press

The post Farmers Are Still Reeling Months After Hurricane Helene Ravaged Crops Across the South appeared first on Morning Ag Clips.

It’s especially concerning for communities in remote villages not connected to the state’s road system that are only accessible by plane or boat. Even the simple process of starting a garden and getting the necessary supplies and equipment to the village is a logistical and expensive challenge. There is extremely limited access to materials; prohibitive shipping costs; and unique environmental challenges like Alaska’s short growing season, which is only three to five months long depending on location and elevation. Limited access to education and experience around farming, especially in rural Alaska communities, add to a formidable list of barriers to addressing access to locally grown foods.

Fortunately, the Homer Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is proactively addressing these concerns by providing guidance, education and resources to Alaska Native villages within their service area. This work is being accomplished thanks to an Equity in Conservation Outreach Cooperative Agreement, awarded to the Homer SWCD in 2023 by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Outreach and Partnerships Division.

The Homer SWCD project is called Expanding Support for Village-Driven Agriculture in Rural Alaska. It aims to meet the needs of tribal and remote villages in Alaska by increasing their food sovereignty and security through small-scale agriculture. The Homer SWCD aims to provide technical assistance, outreach and education to support beginning farmers; expand inclusivity and support for tribal communities in off-road villages; establish relationships with underserved rural communities and Tribal Conservation Districts; and create experiential educational opportunities for rural Alaska farmers.

“Subsistence agriculture is a big part of life off the road system,” said Monica Kopp, Agriculture Program Coordinator with Homer SWCD. “There is interest in agriculture in these communities to help with food security. They want to start gardens. Some want to take their existing gardens and scale them up and be able to apply for NRCS financial assistance, which can be significant. Getting their first high tunnel is really the gateway into conservation with NRCS.”

Homer SWCD is a grassroots organization based in the world-class halibut fishing town of Homer, Alaska, on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. Traditionally known as a fishing village, Homer also has many small farms, including cut flower operations focused on growing peonies. The town is known as “The City of Peonies” and has an annual peony celebration every summer. There is a thriving community farmers market, a food hub that provides online ordering for local foods; and multiple Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations. Homer also has several ranches and livestock operations producing beef, pork and poultry.

“People really value farmers here, and farmers have become successful,” said Monica Kopp, Agriculture Program Coordinator with Homer SWCD. “Alaska currently leads the nation in beginning farmers, because so many people are finding how important it is to grow food here and not have to rely on our unstable food transportation chain for food to get here. Agriculture is relatively new in Alaska and interest is growing.”

Through the Equity Agreement, Homer SWCD is applying their decades of experience working with farmers in Homer and connecting those farmers and resources to Alaska Native communities off the road system. In 2024, staff visited multiple off-road villages including Tyonek, Seldovia, Port Graham and the Kodiak Archipelago. They plan to visit more villages such as Igiugig, Sand Point, and the Western Aleutian Islands in 2025 and 2026.

The agreement provided funds for Homer staff to travel to these communities to provide education and assistance to help them maintain or establish new gardens, and work with them one-on-one to address their unique questions and needs.

“We want to foster knowledge, confidence and experience to help them be successful growing food and provide a support network of growers and mentorships with experienced farmers,” Monica said.

In 2025 and 2026, Homer SWCD will host small farm workshops and bring community members from remote villages to tour farms in Homer. Some of the participants have never been to a farm before.

“Bringing people together and getting our hands in the soil is the best way to build change and create successful agriculture in these communities,” Monica said.

— Tracy Robillard, Public Affairs Specialist, NRCS Alaska

USDA

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But there’s a potential technological solution to the waste problem, according to new research from Texas McCombs. By moving from paper shelf labels to digital ones, supermarkets can easily lower prices and move older stock from their shelves to consumers’ homes.

Using technology to quickly change prices on labels, a process known as dynamic pricing, benefits more than just consumers, says Ioannis Stamatopoulos, associate professor of information, risk, and operations management.

“Everyone is better off when dynamic pricing is enabled,” he says. “There’s less food waste and less emissions from food ending up in landfills.”

Grocers save time and money, too. They can change digital labels — also called electronic shelf labels — with a few keystrokes on a tablet, compared with printing physical labels and sticking them onto shelves. When it’s easier and cheaper to update prices, Stamatopoulos says, grocers should do it more often.

How much is more often? To find out, Stamatopoulos — with Naveed Chehrazi of Washington University in St. Louis and Robert Sanders of the University of California, San Diego — analyzed two unnamed European grocery chains as they installed the tags.

One, in the United Kingdom, introduced digital labels for 940 perishable products. The labels displayed the base price and added discounts as products got closer to expiring. The researchers found the stores changed prices 54% more often.

Raising the Bar for Barcodes

The second supermarket chain, in the European Union, adopted electronic labels but added a second technology: expanded barcodes.

Unlike a standard barcode, an expanded one can hold inventory details such as packaging dates, lot numbers, and expiration dates. When inventory nears its “sell-by” date, a store can lower prices to stimulate buying.

After the EU stores installed the two technologies, the researchers found, they increased price change frequency 853%.

Rapid price changes aid shoppers, says Stamatopoulos. “If you’re a consumer who really, really cares about price, then you can buy the blueberries that will expire two days later and consume them today.”

By better managing inventories, the barcodes also boost stores’ bottom lines, he adds. “Because the grocery store can put things on discount when they’re about to expire, they can afford larger orders, so they take advantage of economies of scale in ordering.”

The Price of Dynamic Pricing

Although dynamic pricing has long-term benefits, it faces short-term obstacles. One is consumer fear that retailers will jack up prices when demand is high — as ride-hailing companies such as Uber do.

In February, when the fast-food chain Wendy’s announced it would roll out dynamic pricing, it drew backlash. It quickly clarified that it would cut prices during slow periods but not raise them during busy periods.

But unlike restaurants, it’s hard for grocers to pinpoint hours of high demand for individual products, Stamatopoulos notes. “For retailers to estimate demand very finely and dynamically respond accordingly, so as to squeeze every dollar out of it, I think that’s kind of impossible,” he says.

Another barrier is cost. Grocers must invest in digital labels and tablets, while employees must update data daily for thousands of items.

Europe is ahead of the U.S. on adopting these technologies, but that could be changing. In June, Walmart announced it will transition to digital price labels in 2,300 stores by 2026. Amazon Fresh and the Midwestern chain Schnuck’s are also using them.

To speed the transition, Stamatopoulos suggests government subsidies, like those for solar panels and electric vehicles.

“Somebody needs to break this equilibrium,” he says. “Then things will move to a new era where everybody’s using the additional information.”

“Inventory Information Frictions Explain Price Rigidity in Perishable Groceries” is forthcoming in Marketing Science.

Story by Suzi Morales

–Suzi Morales
University of Texas at Austin
via EurekAlert!

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“These Composting and Food Waste Reduction projects help communities reduce the harmful effects of food waste on the environment,” said Terry Cosby, Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which houses OUAIP. “Local strategies and tools like these are important climate solutions and also contribute to food security at the community level.”

USDA prioritized projects that anticipate or demonstrate economic benefits, incorporate plans to make compost easily accessible to farmers, including community gardeners, integrate other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts and collaborate with multiple partners.

“Efforts to reduce food loss and waste are a vital component of USDA NIFA’s food safety and nutrition portfolio,” said USDA NIFA Director Dr. Manjit Misra. “The projects funded through this initiative will generate new opportunities at the local level for improved food security, economic growth and environmental prosperity.”

Recipients include projects in 15 states and one territory, including two states that will be first-time participants in the program. Some highlights of recipients include:

• The Moab Compost Pilot Program in Moab, Utah, will divert residential and commercial food waste from landfills, catalyze a cultural shift around food waste awareness and increase agricultural producers’ access to compost.
• The City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, will engage with food businesses to reduce municipal food waste, divert commercial food waste from the trash and generate compost.
• The City of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, will integrate full-service composting into major city-wide events, implement composting and food waste reduction programs in the school district, pilot an 18-month curbside composting service for residents, and distribute compost to community gardens and urban farms.

For a complete list of the selected cooperative agreement recipients and project summaries, visit usda.gov/urban. These new agreements build on USDA’s $23.3 million investment in 119 agreements since 2020.

More Information

OUAIP was established through the 2018 Farm Bill. It is led by NRCS and works in partnership with numerous USDA agencies that support urban agriculture and innovative production. The CFWR cooperative agreements are part of a broader USDA investment in urban and innovative agriculture. Other efforts include:

• Investing $5.2 million in 17 awards for the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) competitive grants in fiscal year 2024. Since 2020, UAIP has invested nearly $52 million in 203 awards.
• Administering the People’s Garden Initiative, which celebrates collaborative gardens across the country and worldwide that benefit their communities by growing fresh, healthy food and supporting resilient, local food systems using sustainable practices and providing greenspace.
• Organizing 27 FSA urban county committees to make important decisions about how FSA farm programs are administered locally. Urban farmers who participate in USDA programs in the areas selected are encouraged to participate by nominating and voting for county committee members.
• Creating and managing a Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production to advise the secretary on the development of policies and outreach relating to urban agriculture.
• Investing in risk management education to broaden the reach of crop insurance among urban and innovative producers.
• Partnering with the Vermont Law and Graduate School Center for Agriculture and Food Systems to develop resources that help growers understand and work through local policies.

Learn more at usda.gov/urban. For additional resources available to producers, download the Urban Agriculture at a Glance brochure and Innovative Production at a Glance brochure or visit farmers.gov/urban.

Through investments in science as a solution to our greatest challenges, USDA NIFA collaborates with partners to drive research, education and Extension — improving lives, supporting livelihoods and sustaining the planet. In FY 2024, NIFA awarded more than 2,200 grants totaling $2 billion.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.

–USDA

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As it happens, where our firewood comes from matters a lot.

The U.S. National Parks Service recommends getting firewood within 10 (and never more than 50) miles of its destination. Transporting it longer distances — from your home to a campsite or from a farm to your home, for instance — significantly increases the chances of introducing invasive pests into the local ecosystem. And those pests can inflict devastating damage on local forests.

In my suburban New York region, for instance, pests like the Asian long-horned beetle, emerald ash borer, spotted lanternfly and the oak wilt fungal disease are major concerns. Moving untreated firewood from my town to yours could make our problem your problem.

To help prevent this, many states have passed laws against moving untreated wood more than 50 miles from where it was cut or across state lines, unless the package bears a state or federal stamp or seal certifying that it’s been heat-treated to kill pests.

Even seasoned wood can harbor pests, which often hide in layers beneath the bark, where they’re hard to spot. While these pests can’t travel far on their own, giving them a lift on firewood can enable them to start a new infestation in a faraway place.

This isn’t speculation. Past invaders have already decimated native species like the American chestnut, hemlock and American elm.

What’s more, buying local firewood can help protect your garden, too — and your wallet. Infested or diseased trees can have a negative effect on property values. They’re also costly to remove. Plus, no one wants to see the landscape they’ve worked so hard to create fall victim to hitchhiking pests.

The Don’t Move Firewood campaign, an outreach partnership managed by The Nature Conservancy, aims to protect North American trees and forests from invasive insects and diseases that can travel with firewood. You can do your part simply by making informed choices.

Tips from the Don’t Move Firewood campaign to help keep trees safe:

— Get firewood close to home. The best rule of thumb is to buy it within the same county, or no more than 50 miles from where you’ll be burning it. Consult the campaign’s Firewood Map for your state’s regulations.

— Don’t be fooled by “clean” firewood. Just because it looks healthy doesn’t mean it’s pest-free. Tiny eggs or fungal spores may be hidden within the wood, ready to start a deadly infestation when they’re transported to a new location. Don’t bring your backyard firewood with you, even if it looks OK.

— Aged or seasoned wood isn’t safe. Even if it’s been sitting around for a while, moving it is still risky.

— If you’ve moved firewood, burn it soon. If you’ve already transported firewood, dispose of it safely by burning it completely and thoroughly. Clean up the area afterward, then burn the debris. Going forward, purchase only from local suppliers.

— Spread the word. Tell your friends about the risks of moving firewood — no one wants to be the one who unknowingly spreads invasive pests.

Finally, before building any outdoor fires, be sure to check for local restrictions.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For her favorite tools and gear of the past year, see her 2024 gardening gift guide.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

–By JESSICA DAMIANO
Associated Press

The post Find Out Where Your Firewood Comes From to Prevent the Spread of Invasive Pests appeared first on Morning Ag Clips.

“The first thing people think is, ‘You can’t put cattle on (a solar farm). They’re just going to rub on the panels and wreck them,'” Bradley said.

But as the CEO of Calgary-based Sun Cycle Farms, Bradley believes the doubters have already been proven wrong. This fall, Sun Cycle conducted a pilot project that grazed cattle inside a grid-connected solar farm in southern Alberta — something Bradley said proves that livestock production and renewable energy can successfully co-exist.

“It was not just to prove it to ourselves — I knew it could be done in an existing solar facility,” Bradley said.

“But we had to prove to the asset owner, to the insurance company, even to investors that are looking at this and show this is a part of the solution.”

Sun Cycle Farms is an agrivoltaics company, part of a rapidly expanding field that aims to combine solar energy production with agricultural activities. Across North America, solar farm owners are increasingly deploying sheep and even pigs at their sites to keep the weeds down and reduce the need for mowing around the panels.

Researchers around the world are also looking into what types of crops can be grown in and around solar panels.

Contrary to what you might expect, many crops actually perform better when shaded by a massive solar panel than they do under direct sunlight, said Joshua Pearce, a solar energy expert at Western University.

“Most crops that we have grown outdoors normally actually get a little bit too much sun,” Pearce said.

“Underneath the solar panel, or next to it, you have almost like a protected micro-environment. There’s not as much wind, you don’t have to worry about hail, it even helps to preserve the water in the soil a little more.”

Land use issues were less pressing when solar energy was in its infancy a couple of decades ago because the fledgling industry was so small.

But the rapid rollout of renewable power in recent years means the physical footprint of solar can no longer be ignored. According to the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, there are 206 major solar energy projects producing power across the country — some of which take up thousands of acres of land.

As a result of the industry’s dramatic growth, some rural residents have become frustrated with how rapidly the landscapes around them have changed, as well as the activity that takes place on the land.

“If you’re in a rural community that takes pride in farming and producing from the land, and then suddenly you have large funders that are from outside your community buying up huge tracts of land and turning it into solar parks, you can get pretty agitated and concerned about it,” Pearce said.

In Alberta, which has seen the most dramatic growth in solar energy in all of Canada in recent years, the provincial government recently introduced new regulations that bar renewable energy installations from being built on prime agricultural land unless developers can prove their projects can co-exist with livestock and crops.

“Renewable energy is a double-edged sword because we need energy generation in our province, but we also need to maintain the integrity of good agricultural land,” said Jeff Shaw, chief administrative officer for the Town of Cardston, which is currently partnering with Sun Cycle Farms on an agrivoltaics demonstration project located at the edge of the southern Alberta community.

“We (the town) would love to be associated with a solution for that.”

Success in agrivoltaics often requires flexible thinking. Goats, for example, have been tested on solar farms but were not particularly successful because of their tendency to chew on wires.

In its cattle demonstration project, Sun Cycle used electric fencing to train the cattle to stay away from the solar panels. The company is also exploring the use of solar-powered collars — which would give the cows a little ‘ping’ as a deterrent if they get too close — as well as the use of robot tractors to safely remove weeds and cut hay around the site without damaging the panels.

While more research will need to take place before the co-existence of cows and solar panels becomes commonplace, Pearce said these kinds of projects are key to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the renewable energy sector and the ongoing productivity of the agriculture sector.

“With agrivoltaics, everybody wins — the landowner, the farmers, the solar developers, the community, the electricity grid. It’s just a good idea,” he said, adding it’s only a matter of time before the grazing of cattle among renewable energy installations becomes commonplace.

“And then we’ll have solar burgers. It’ll be quite nice.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 25, 2024.

–Amanda Stephenson
The Canadian Press

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A federal district court ruled earlier in December to halt the requirement, but today the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit lifted the injunction, meaning a Jan. 1, 2025 deadline is back in effect. Analysis from AFBF economists shows more than 230,000 farms are required to file, but as of October, less than 11% of all eligible businesses nationwide had done so.

“Farm Bureau is very disappointed in the court of appeals decision to reinstate the Jan. 1 filing deadline,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “It’s clear than many farmers aren’t aware of the filing requirement because of lack of guidance and the government’s poor public outreach.

“Farmers were given a reprieve from the filing deadline, but now, just two days before the holidays, when many families take a much-needed break from work responsibilities, the courts have reinstated the requirement. Unfortunately, thousands of farmers may unknowingly miss the deadline, putting their businesses at risk. We urge the government to grant an extension so more family businesses can comply with the rule.”

Businesses that fail to file, or do not update records when needed, could face criminal fines up to $10,000 and additional civil penalties of up to $591 per day. Failure to file could also lead to felony charges and up to two years in prison.

Farmers are encouraged to contact an accountant or attorney if they are unsure whether they are required to file their business’s BOI with FinCEN.

Read a Market Intel on the Beneficial Ownership Information requirement here.

–American Farm Bureau Federation

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