Agriculture

Gov. Jay Nixon has asked the federal government to declare 114 Missouri counties agriculture disaster areas because of drought conditions.

Nixon's office says in a release that if the counties are designated as agriculture disasters, farmers in those counties would be able to receive assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency. The federal aid would also include emergency loans for losses to crops and livestock from the ongoing drought.

"Hack” isn’t a word usually associated with agriculture, but that might be starting to change. A group of small farmers across the country has started to come together to pool their ideas for solutions to small-farming challenges, just like computer hackers working together to solve computer issues. They call it Farm Hack.

High heat and a lack of rain have taken a big toll on Missouri corn and soybean crops, with nearly half of both reported in poor to very poor condition.

And it’s time again to get out your frog net -- Missouri frogging season opens at sunset Saturday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the public comment period is ending for the Jameson Island project near Arrow Rock – the project is intended to improve Missouri River wildlife habitat at a site in central Missouri. The public comment period ends Saturday.

Inside a new facility in Blair, Neb., north of Omaha, a gleaming maze of steel tubes connect a line of giant fermentation tanks that will cultivate some of the most advanced biotechnology in the ethanol industry.

The Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency is beginning an assessment of damages inflicted upon Missouri livestock and crops by recent high temperatures across the state.