Agriculture

Beef lovers will soon feel the effects of the worst drought in 50 years as the price of meat rises sharply in the coming months. The ongoing drought gripping two-thirds of the country has caused crops to wither and sent the cost of feed soaring. Experts say this will cause meat prices to skyrocket.

A free night of family fun will begin at 4 PM on Tuesday at the Albany County Fairgrounds with Family Night at the Fair. Albany County Fair Board President Linda Johnson says that every booth will be offering something free for people who stop by.

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, designated two more counties as primary natural disaster areas due to drought. This brings the total number of primary designation counties to eight while eight other counties qualify for assistance as contiguous to the primary counties.

The Wyoming Stock Growers Association presented two awards last week during the Wyoming Cattle Industry Convention in Jackson. JoAnn Wade was named the Outstanding Range Professional and Dr. Frank Galey  was honored as Guardian of the Grasslands...

On June 5, Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack  named the members who would be on the advisory committee for guiding and making recommendations to the U.S. Forest Service in implementing the recently adopted Planning Rule. Wyoming Stock Growers Association Executive Vice President Jim Magagna will be representing private landowners and grazing...

Beef cattle prices are high right now, but not quite as high as had been expected. U. S. Department of Agriculture Outlook Chairman, Gerry Bange says beef processors are complaining of negative processing margins, so they aren’t bidding as high for cattle. As a result, Bange says, the price forecast for steers has dropped by a dollar to $125.82. That’s still $11.00 higher than in 2011, mainly because of very low cattle inventories.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The economy remains strong in rural areas of 10 Midwest and Plains states because of the health of agricultural businesses there. The overall economic index on the new monthly Rural Mainstreet survey rose to 58.5 in May from April’s already healthy 57...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Reserve says the average value of farmland in several Midwest and Western states grew more than 25 percent in the first quarter as farm income remained strong. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City., Mo...