New Horizon was formed in 2006 as a merger of the Miami County Cooperative Association and United Cooperatives, Inc., of Garnett. It had eight elevators throughout eastern Kansas, and 58 employees. Beachner plans to take possession by June 1 and be ready for wheat harvest. All employees will be retained, according to an article in the Ottawa Herald...

The Kansas Hard Red Winter Wheat Tour was completed about 10 days ago, with reports of a better-than-average wheat crop expected for Kansas. The predicted yield is 379.1 million bushels, for a 43.3 bushel-per-acre average…

Kansas Agriculture Statistics conducted its own tour in late April; it expects a 357.2 million bushel average…

The state's best wheat, according to tour participants, is in western Kansas, with a 0-108 bushel per acre range reported. North central Kansas can expect 15-94 bushels per acre, while the stretch from Wichita to Kansas City is expected to yield from 28-64 bushels per acre…

A Buzz salute to Lang Diesel, which is celebrating its 20th year in business this year. The Agco dealer has locations near Hays, Smith Center, Ellinwood and Sabetha. A new showroom is under construction in Colby. Lang Diesel has grown steadily in its two decades and believes in giving back to the community, by providing scholarships for high school graduates pursuing an education in diesel mechanics…

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released its quarterly ag credit survey last week. In a nutshell, farm incomes were strong in the first quarter of 2008, but high input costs among farmers and losses among livestock producers will cause income to drop dramatically, the survey of 269 banks reports…

Credit conditions are healthy, but continued improvement will slow, bankers believe. Farm interest rates have dropped, and farmers have paid much of their loans. The report is available online at www.KansasCityFed.org/agcrsurv/agcrmain.htm. The seven-state 10th Federal Reserve includes Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming, western Missouri and northern New Mexico…