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If you’d like more information about the subjects covered in the show, check
the list below for details about recent programs.
July 25: During a recent Farm Foundation Forum webinar, Dr. Alan Morgan--CEO of the National Rural Health Association--talked about the real reasons that rural hospitals are having
such a difficult financial time. Morgan was one of four panelists who discussed the theme Reviving Rural: Agriculture as the Heartbeat of Healthy Communities.
July 24: I interviewed Dr. Jay Thelen, a biochemistry professor at the University of Missouri and one of the coauthors of a paper on some research on the biofuels potential of a plant
called Arabidopsis.
July 23: Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, said the blueberry industry has a $9.1 billion impact on the U.S. economy annually and pays about $278
million in business taxes every year. (July is National Blueberry Month.)
July 22: In a recent edition of Farm Policy Facts Unscripted, host Tom Sell talked with Dr. John Newton, former Chief Economist for the Senate Ag Committee and now the Executive Head
of Terrain, about the impact on American farmers of the recently-passed budget reconciliation bill.
July 21: Detecting heat stress in plants with North Carolina State University Extension’s Minda Daughtry.
July 17-18: The Dairy Excellence Foundation’s Adopt-a-Cow program for younger school students has been a big hit for students, teachers, and for dairy farmers. By connecting
classrooms with real dairy farms and farmers--and real dairy calves--the program creates a strong bond between the participants. In short, the kids are huge fans of dairy, as a result.
July 16: I spoke with Dane Hague, cofounder and CEO of MyLand, about his company’s efforts to use microalgae to jumpstart microbial activity in crop soils. He says their system helps
increase organic matter in soils, leading to production gains. They’ve worked mostly on irrigated land so far, but are moving into non-irrigated scenarios, as well.
July 15: Agritourism is a growing phenomenon in the U.S., according to Audrey Comerford of Oregon State University Extension.
July 14: USDA’s chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aubrey Bettencourt, says data collected by her division are used (in part) to create and fund incentives for farmers
to participate in voluntary conservation programs that serve all Americans.
July 11: Extension staff at the University of Wyoming are involved in a case study that uses burros brought in from Bureau of Land Management property in California to keep predators
from injuring or killing sheep in Wyoming rangelands. Early indications are that sheep losses are lower with the burros than they are with traditional sheepdogs monitoring the flocks.
