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COVID relief in Senate, ASF in Germany, derecho damage in Iowa and SDS in Missouri

Janet Kubat Willette, E-Content Editor

September 11, 2020

2 Min Read
NolanBerg11/flySnow/SteveOehlenschlager/ThinkstockPhotos

Missed some ag news this week? Here are seven stories to catch you up.

1. Senate Republicans unveiled their proposed $500 billion targeted COVID-19 relief package this week. The bill was unable to garner the 60 votes it needed to advance on Thursday. – Farm Futures

2. A slideshow of damage left by the derecho in Iowa along U.S. 30 east from Ames to Cedar Rapids. The storm left entire cornfields ragged and mostly flattened. Grain bins and sheds were damaged or destroyed. – Prairie Farmer

3. German farmers are enacting crisis measures now that African swine fever has been detected in the country. The disease poses no human health risk, but it is usually fatal to hogs. It was found in the corpse of a wild boar close to the German border with Poland. – The Guardian

4. The Federal Reserve released its Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy in late August. The update could impact everything from the interest rates farmers pay on farm loans to the value of the dollar and even farmland and perhaps commodity prices. – Farm Futures

5. Organic farmers and clean water advocates are concerned about the impacts of conventional farming in the Pineland Sands region in Minnesota. Neighbors are questioning the future of farming in the region after a farmer filed an environmental assessment worksheet outlining the potential impacts of his irrigation plan. – MPR News

Related:ASF identified in Germany

6. Sudden death syndrome is showing up in Missouri soybean fields. SDS begins in wet springs when the soilborne pathogen Fusarium virguliforme infects soybean roots. Rain during the reproductive growth stages allows the pathogen’s toxins to move from the roots to the leaves. Because SDS is soilborne, it is important to monitor fields with a history of the disease. – Missouri Ruralist

7. Virginia Tech researchers are trying to figure out how the sonification of plant movements could be used to assess plant health and aid farmers who need to monitor their greens. – Phys.org

And your bonus.

A small group of cattle in Montana wanted to see if the grass was indeed greener on the other side of the fence. The cattle slipped through a gap in the fence and wandered on to the athletic fields at Montana City school. The K-8 district is located about halfway between Helena and Clancy. – Billings Gazette

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