First-day candidate filings
(02/26/08)
A list of people who've filed for office in Southeast Missouri's Aug. 5 primary on the first day of the filing period.
Filing closes March 25.
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Agriculture
Unable to make hay, cattle farmers look for ways to get through winter
(11/20/07)The drought conditions that hampered Southeast Missouri this summer have been gone for weeks. But for livestock producers, the effect of that drought, coupled with the late freeze in April, will be felt throughout the coming winter. The spring freeze and the subsequent summer drought dramatically slowed the growth of pasture grasses used to make hay -- an important feed during the winter months when pasture grass is scarce. ...
Corn harvest looks large, thanks to ethanol demand
(09/17/07) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Waiting to unload corn at a grain elevator this week, Kyle Winkelmann took a few minutes to marvel at how rain had fallen on his central Illinois fields at just right times this season. Before he could finish talking, though, Winkelmann was headed back to his fields near Tallula, a dozen miles northwest of Springfield, trying to keep up with the combines... 
Farm tests solar-powered irrigation system
(08/08/07)An experiment conducted by the Cape Girardeau County office of the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service is capturing the power of sunlight to provide fuel for irrigation. So far, the results have exceeded expectations, a local NRCS engineer said... 
Organic farm has long history
(07/30/07)ST. LOUIS -- John Wilkerson frequently wears a pair of torn-at-the-knee khakis and a well-worn button-down white dress shirt as he works the land at the Mueller Farm in Ferguson, Mo. The attire is fitting for a former information technology worker at the old McDonnell Douglas Health Information Systems, but Wilkerson also has deep roots in farming. ... 
Area fruit crop wiped out
(07/02/07)Most years David Diebold would have plenty of peaches and apples to sell to the customers who visit his Benton, Mo., store every summer looking for the fresh fruit. The fruit would be as fresh as possible, coming from his own orchards in the gently rolling north Scott County hills... 
Irrigation goes underground
(06/18/07)A lot of growing season remains, but already some farmers are a little concerned about what the summer will hold. So far rains have been spotty, and some soil is starting to get too dry for comfort. A few years ago Gordonville-area farmer Mark Wessell would have been one of them...
After freeze, Mo. orchard owners buying fruit from other states
(06/04/07) SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Owners of Missouri orchards hit hard by an Easter freeze are looking to other states to provide peaches, blackberries and blueberries for their customers. David Murphy knows customers will be hankering for fresh peaches this summer, so he has vowed to provide a harvest. But with the peach crop at his Marionville orchard non-existent because of the freeze, Murphy is looking for affordable peaches in South Carolina, Georgia and Michigan so he can resell them...
Stray herbicide hits corn, rice near Advance
(06/02/07) ADVANCE, Mo. -- Stray herbicide is causing a dust-up between a Charleston, Mo.-based crop-duster and farmers in the Advance area, but agronomists say the farmers probably have nothing to worry about. The conflict began when Jason Thompson, owner of Thompson Flying Service, started contracting his services with farmers in the Advance area for the first time. ...
Missouri farmers fighting infestations of armyworms
(05/20/07) NEVADA, Mo. -- After coping with a severe spring freeze and days of torrential rain, farmers in parts of southern and western Missouri are confronting yet another enemy: armyworms. No one can say yet if voracious caterpillars will cause destruction of grasses and wheat on the scale of infestations that hit Missouri in 2001 and, to a lesser extent, again in 2004... 
Missouri letting winemakers use more grapes from out of state
(04/24/07)Due to the crop loss from this month's freezing weather, the acting director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Matt Boatright, is allowing Missouri wine producers to purchase up to 95 percent of grapes and juices from outside of the state to be used for making wine...
Cold endangers wheat crop
(04/10/07) Area crops are being hit hard by a recent cold snap. Overnight temperatures Monday were projected to dip below freezing for the sixth consecutive night before finally warming up mid-day today. Sunday morning's low of 18 degrees broke a 34-year-old record of 27 degrees. Monday morning's low of 22 degrees broke a 6-year-old record... 
Freeze threatens grapes
(04/05/07)An unusual weather pattern may put the squeeze on Missouri's grape growers. Vines have budded a few weeks ahead of schedule as a result of last month's warm weather, but low temperatures in the 20s this week may mean a smaller crop. Meteorologist Rachel Trevino with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said the beginning of April is 15 to 20 degrees colder than normal and that Cape Girardeau may see record lows...
Industry opposes plan to grow modified rice in Kansas
(04/02/07) WASHINGTON -- The U.S. rice industry wants the federal government to reject a plan to grow genetically modified rice in Kansas, saying the country's growers would suffer "financial devastation" if modified crops contaminate the commercial supply...
Mo. public defender system backs off plan to refuse cases
(03/02/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The state Public Defender Commission on Friday backed off a proposal that it refuse to accept new clients because of a heavy caseload. The commission narrowly rejected the idea last week, but it met again Friday with some members who did not attend the earlier session. However, after passionate debate among commissioners, they decided to let their earlier decision stand... 
Ethanol boom driving corn prices, acreage
(03/01/07)Gordonville farmer John Lorberg sees the immediate future of farming in a more optimistic way than he did just a few years ago. Back then, planting many acres of corn was a risky proposition. The yellow crop just wasn't very profitable. "It's been slim for the last I don't know how many years," Lorberg said. "With $2 corn, you can't make any money."...
Bad news for citrus turns out to be good news for other fruits
(01/22/07) FRESNO, Calif. -- It took just five nights of bitter cold to ruin nearly $1 billion in citrus and other produce, but some crops thrived in the frigid temperatures. Peaches, cherries, apples and grapes are maturing nicely thanks to the ongoing chill, which helps trees and vines bloom properly to produce quality fruit... 
Prices for California citrus soar after temperatures plummet
(01/18/07)FRESNO, Calif. -- From Valentine's Day bouquets to Superbowl spreads, shoppers soon will be feeling the sting of higher prices from a wave of icy weather that has hit California farms. As much as three-quarters of the state's citrus crop withered in the field during the cold snap, but nearly every winter crop, from avocados to fresh-cut flowers, has suffered severely... 
Grape expectations: New study shows Illinois' wineries ripening
(01/15/07)As retirement neared, Illinois hand surgeon David Conner knew exactly what he wanted to do once he put away his scalpel for good: hit the bottle. And the barrel. And the vineyard. The 65-year-old Conner parlayed a mind for chemistry, thick wallet and sprawling acreage into his Kickapoo Creek Winery near Peoria, joining a growing number of winemakers in a state better known for Abe Lincoln, corn and coal...
Farm bill divides lawmakers, president
(01/15/07) WASHINGTON -- As lawmakers begin work on a new multibillion-dollar farm bill, they are at odds with President Bush over whether big changes really are needed. The two sides are far apart. Just how far, farmers saw for themselves during the American Farm Bureau Federation's recent meeting in Salt Lake City...
Hay shortage prompts cattlemen to sell at low prices
(01/12/07) SEDALIA, Mo. -- A severe shortage of hay is forcing some farmers to sell their cattle early, causing depressed cattle prices and driving some cattlemen out of business. Years of dry weather and drought are the main cause of the hay shortage, which extends through much of the Midwest and into Texas, industry spokesmen said... 
Boom in ethanol industry fuels divide between farmers, ranchers
(01/08/07)SALT LAKE CITY -- From corn fields to Wall Street, enthusiasm for ethanol is at an all-time high. But not everyone is enthusiastic. Demand for the corn-based fuel is driving up the cost of feed corn, making it more expensive to feed cows, chickens and pigs... 
Shrimp harvest shows possibilities of aquaculture
(01/08/07)CHAFFEE, Mo. -- It's been four years since Bill Crites, 37, of Chaffee looked at his muddy back yard and thought it would make a nice place to raise crustaceans. Four long years since his friends thought he'd gone a little crazy. But now, with an annual harvest of 2,200 pounds of Pacific white shrimp, which he sells to private customers and out of his newly opened convenience store, Crites believes he's found a good way to supplement his income... 
Animal fat becomes key biodiesel ingredient
(01/03/07)DEXTER, Mo. -- Jerry Bagby is typical of the oil men who are prospecting for a fortune in the Midwestern biofuels boom. He's convinced there's oil in these hills -- and he's found a well that no one else is using. Bagby and a longtime friend have cobbled together $5 million to build a new biodiesel plant on the lonely croplands outside this Stoddard County town. ...
Crop management conference slated
(01/03/07) WHITTINGTON, Ill. -- The latest perspectives on critical crop production issues for corn, soybean and wheat growers will be discussed at the Southern Illinois Crop Management Conference Jan. 30 and 31 at the Rend Lake Resort and Conference Center, Whittington, Ill...
Cattlemen concerned about ethanol growth
(12/26/06) LINCOLN, Neb. -- The men and women who shepherd cattle from birth to the slaughterhouse door like the idea of ethanol -- just not so much of it so fast. A jump in corn prices -- fueled largely by the demand from ethanol refiners -- has made it more expensive to feed cattle...
Researchers build better apple, but face uphill battle
(12/04/06) BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- Schuyler Korban knows the apple has come a long way since Adam and Eve. People have cultivated such a love for apples that only the tastiest, crunchiest and most blemish-free make it to supermarkets. Now Korban, a University of Illinois plant geneticist, believes he and colleagues at Rutgers and Purdue universities have hit upon something that could shake the industry to its core: They've developed a variety resistant to apple scab...
Biotech firm blames farmers, act of God for rice contamination
(11/23/06) Bayer CropScience says rice farmers and an "act of God" are to blame for the contamination of local rice crops with an unapproved genetically modified strain -- contamination that led to class action lawsuits filed in federal court in Missouri. The company, based in Research Park Triangle, N.C., cited those reasons in a response to a lawsuit filed earlier this year after contaminated crops were discovered this summer...
Too much rainfall keeps farmers out of the fields
(11/21/06) COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Harvesting of row crops and planting of winter wheat are almost finished everywhere in Missouri except the Bootheel, where rainfall has kept soybean and cotton farmers out of the fields, the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday... 
More Midwestern businesses get boost in China markets
(11/20/06)GREENVILLE, Ohio -- Eight years ago, China was just another foreign country on the map to farmer Bill Funderburg. Now, the Chinese buy nearly half of the 3,000 breeding hogs he raises each year on his western Ohio farm. "They're our No. 1 customer," he said. "Lately, it's been very, very good."... 
Grain prices shoot up
(11/10/06)Farmers will reap a good harvest of cash this year as heavy foreign demand and the prospect of strong corn sales to new ethanol plants push prices well above recent averages. And the prospects are good that the prices enjoyed by farmers this year will help set a stable, profitable floor for prices in the future, according to farm economists... 
Can-do attitudes: Disabilities not stopping Missouri farmers
(11/06/06)NEW LONDON, Mo. -- In April 2005, Andy Leake was repairing a tractor when he slipped and fell flat on his back on a concrete slab. Two days later, when he leaned over to pick up a 50-pound bag of seed corn, his life changed. "I was in agonizing pain. It was terrible," said Leake, who uses a powered wheelchair as he runs a family farm of 2,800 acres in Ralls County, about 100 miles northwest of St. Louis. "I had pain across my chest. It was like a belt, all the way around."... 
Plight of the humble bee
(11/04/06)By MARK BLISS Southeast Missourian Grant Gillard carefully pulls out a wooden frame from a box crowded with bees. The frame, one of several in the box, is covered with a honeycomb. Even on a cold November day, some of Gillard's bees fly in and out of the entrances to the hives at a grassy site east of Interstate 55 near Fruitland. The box is one of about 120 hives the Jackson man maintains at about 10 sites in Cape Girardeau County...
Rainy days slow Missouri's harvest
(10/31/06) The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Several rainy days hindered the harvest of fall crops last week but helped replenish topsoil moisture in much of Missouri. In its weekly crop-weather report Monday, the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service said 3.2 days were suitable for fieldwork last week...
Storm cuts power, delays harvest
(10/28/06) About 2,000 customers in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties were without electricity for a few hours. By MARK BLISS Southeast Missourian A lightning strike caused a power outage Friday morning while steady rain frustrated farmers trying to harvest their crops...
New biodiesel plant in Mexico, Mo.
(10/25/06) MEXICO, Mo. -- Missouri's largest biodiesel plant opened here Tuesday, with farmers and politicians calling it a boon to the rural economy and small step toward the goal of reducing oil imports. The $30 million plant will produce about 30 million gallons annually of biodiesel, a fuel made from vegetable oil and other additives...
Low-water situation keeps Corps' dredge busy
(10/24/06) During 28 years on the Mississippi River, Jim Pierce has seen the river rage and he's seen it act lazy. When the river gets lazy, Pierce gets busy. The river is in one of its lazy periods now, with low water on the stretch from St. Louis to Cairo, Ill., limiting the number of barges towboats can push and the amount of cargo in each barge...
Biotech firm to build rice processing plant in Kan.
(10/09/06) JUNCTION CITY, Kan. -- A California company that has faced criticism for growing and processing genetically engineered rice is planning to open a processing plant here and contract with area farmers to grow the crop. State and local officials have embraced Ventria Bioscience's project, and they and the Sacramento, Calif.-based firm's leader tout it as a major boost for Kansas' emerging biosciences industry...
Clear skies help speed statewide harvest; fields in Southeast Missouri still flooded
(10/04/06)
Farmers across much of the state took advantage of dry weather last week to continue harvesting row crops, but farms in Southeast Missouri are still assessing the damage from flooding rain, the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday. "It's a devastating type of event," said Dickie Jordan, di... |