Latest News From Missouri

Missouri Show-Me-Select Heifer Prices Up 20%
Missouri Show-Me-Select Heifer Prices Up 20%

Despite a state-wide drought and market challenges into fall, average prices for Show-Me-Select heifers posted healthy prices at six sanctioned sale locations.

Latest in Ag Innovation to be Featured at Feb. 13 Forum
Latest in Ag Innovation to be Featured at Feb. 13 Forum

The latest ideas in cutting-edge technology for agribusiness will be featured at a Feb. 13 Forum in Kansas City. Here's more information about who will be there.

US Treasury Dept. Moves to Limit Foreign Land Purchases Near Military Bases
US Treasury Dept. Moves to Limit Foreign Land Purchases Near Military Bases

The Office of Investment Security proposed a rule on Friday that would require foreign entities to garner U.S. government approval before they are able to purchase land within 100 miles of eight military bases.

Missouri Moves to Tighten Reins On Foreign Land Ownership
Missouri Moves to Tighten Reins On Foreign Land Ownership

The Missouri Senate on Wednesday backed a plan to amend the state's foreign land ownership threshold. The bill also includes a provision that would limit foreign countries from acquiring farmland in Missouri by Sept. 1.

MU Breaks Ground on $30 Million Laboratory Expansion and Renovation
MU Breaks Ground on $30 Million Laboratory Expansion and Renovation

Ground has broken on a $30 million renovation and expansion at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

$80M in Funding Awarded to Roeslein Alternative Energy Partnership for Climate-Smart Project
$80M in Funding Awarded to Roeslein Alternative Energy Partnership for Climate-Smart Project

Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE) and partners will use funding in a five-year pilot project to demonstrate a climate-smart future for corn, soybean, livestock and renewable natural gas production.

AFG Breaks Ground on Missouri Beef Plant
AFG Breaks Ground on Missouri Beef Plant

Once operational in late 2024, American Foods Group's new beef facility in Warren County, Missouri, will process 2,400 head of cattle per day.

First Trial For Man Accused of Killing Wisconsin Brothers Set
First Trial For Man Accused of Killing Wisconsin Brothers Set

The first of two trials for a Missouri man accused of killing two Wisconsin brothers is scheduled for Sept. 26, 2022. Garland Joseph Nelson has been held without bond since his arrest in July of 2019.

CAFO Rules Made While Violating Open Meetings Laws, Lawsuit Filed
CAFO Rules Made While Violating Open Meetings Laws, Lawsuit Filed

A central Missouri county health board faces lawsuit after violating the state’s open meetings laws when making rules regarding CAFOs.

Missouri Governor Issues Executive Order for Drought Assistance
Missouri Governor Issues Executive Order for Drought Assistance

Missouri Governor Mike Parson issued Executive Order 22-04 calling upon the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to activate the Drought Assessment Committee and the associated drought impact teams.

T Bar S Cattle Company Named American Gelbvieh Association Breeder of the Year
T Bar S Cattle Company Named American Gelbvieh Association Breeder of the Year

“I wanted to be a part of something bigger than me. I wanted to raise what I thought were the best cattle in the cow-calf industry and that led me to the maternal qualities of the Gelbvieh breed,” says Tom Vehige.

Oetting Homestead Farms Receives Missouri Leopold Conservation Award
Oetting Homestead Farms Receives Missouri Leopold Conservation Award

Oetting Homestead Farms of Concordia, Missouri, located in Lafayette County, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Missouri Leopold Conservation Award®.

Cattle Fraud Charges Added To Diemel Murders
Cattle Fraud Charges Added To Diemel Murders

A Missouri man accused of the murders of two Wisconsin brothers in 2019 now faces additional federal fraud charges relating to his business dealings with the brothers.

Officials searched this Missouri farm for Nick and Justin Diemel last July.
Change Of Venue Sought In Diemel Brothers Murder Case

A Missouri man accused of murdering two Wisconsin brothers last year is seeking a new judge and a change of venue for his trial.

Nick and Justin Diemel went missing July 21, 2019.
Diemel Remains Possibly Found In Nebraska Stock Trailer, Sheriff Says

In a bizarre twist, Nebraska authorities say human remains found in a recently purchased stock trailer may belong to one of the brothers murdered in Missouri last summer.

Officials searched this Missouri farm for Nick and Justin Diemel.
Diemel Brothers’ Suspect Faces New Charges

Additional charges have been filed against the Missouri farmer currently held without bail after the disappearance of Nick and Justin Diemel.

About 80 jobs will be lost as Valley Oaks closes.
Missouri Feedlot Closes Under Strain Of Legal Battles

Valley Oaks Steak Company, Lone Jack, MO, announced Monday it was closing operations immediately after a lengthy battle seeking permission from the state to expand operations.

Bruce and Tracey Mershon of Mershon Cattle LLC received the BIF Commercial Producer of the Year Award.
Mershon Cattle Receive BIF Commercial Producer Award

Beef Improvement Federation names Bruce and Tracey Mershon as BIF Commercial Producer of the Year.

The MU program brought fixed-time artificial insemination (AI) to Missouri beef-cow herds. All heifers are synchronized to be bred in one morning. This simplifies AI breeding. It also permits use of semen from top sires in a breed.
Reputations Help Heifer Prices Average $1,857 At Palmyra Sale

Short supply plus strong demand restored prices for Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifers selling Saturday, June 1. The 87 head of bred heifers averaged $1,857 at F&T Livestock Market. High lot sold for $2,100.

Duo Pleads Guilty to Kansas-Oklahoma Interstate Cattle Theft

Anthony Francis Whittley and Jasmine A. Boone, both 28, have entered guilty pleas after stealing cattle from Kansas and attempting to sell them across state lines at the Oklahoma National Stockyards Co.

Anthony Francis Whittley and Jasmine A. Boone, both 28, have entered guilty pleas after stealing cattle from Kansas and attempting to sell them across state lines at the Oklahoma National Stockyards Co.
Duo Pleads Guilty to Kansas-Oklahoma Interstate Cattle Theft

Anthony Francis Whittley and Jasmine A. Boone, both 28, have entered guilty pleas after stealing cattle from Kansas and attempting to sell them across state lines at the Oklahoma National Stockyards Co.

Settlement Talks Under Way Over Missouri Meat-Labeling Law

Settlement discussions are under way over a lawsuit challenging a Missouri measure making it a misdemeanor crime to promote plant-based food products as “meat.”

Flooding Leads to Cattle Rescues Around the Country

Farmers and ranchers from South Dakota to Louisiana have been enduring record rainfall and flooding to care for their cattle.

Flooding Leads to Cattle Rescues Around the Country
Flooding Leads to Cattle Rescues Around the Country

Farmers and ranchers from South Dakota to Louisiana have been enduring record rainfall and flooding to care for their cattle.

Fescue pasture that has seeded out.
Regrowth Fescue Offers Potential Hay Baling Time for Beef Cow Herds

A long-delayed spring grass-growing season with frequent rains didn't give days for making hay. Regrowth season just ahead holds promise, says a University of Missouri forage specialist.

Conservationist Warns of Missouri's Disappearing Prairie

Missouri’s prairies are disappearing and the loss is hurting the state’s ecosystem, according to a conservation expert.

Native prairie with flowers
Conservationist Warns of Missouri's Disappearing Prairie

Missouri’s prairies are disappearing and the loss is hurting the state’s ecosystem, according to a conservation expert.

Missouri Farmers and Ranchers Warming up to Warm-Season Grasses
Missouri Farmers and Ranchers Warming up to Warm-Season Grasses

Cattle grazing on lush green pastures tell the tale of why southwestern Missouri producers are warming up to warm-season grasses.

$4.7 Million Cattle Ponzi Scheme Sends Missouri Man to Federal Prison
$4.7 Million Cattle Ponzi Scheme Sends Missouri Man to Federal Prison

A Missouri man will spend eight years in prison without parole after leading $4.7 million investment fraud that involved the resale of cattle that were never actually purchased.

Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to $2.4 Million Cattle Wire Fraud Scheme

More than $2.4 million worth of cattle were never bought in wire fraud scheme that spanned Missouri and Texas.

Missouri’s Clean Water Commission has rejected the proposed expansion of Valley Oaks Steak Co.’s feedlot near Lone Jack, reversing earlier state approval.
Missouri Denies Feedlot Expansion Request

Missouri’s Clean Water Commission has rejected the proposed expansion of Valley Oaks Steak Co.’s feedlot near Lone Jack, reversing earlier state approval.

Surviving the Next Four Months in Three Steps for Cattle Producers
Surviving the Next Four Months in Three Steps for Cattle Producers

Test forage, study nutrient needs, and sort cattle to get through the next four months.

Show-Me-Select Sales Offer Records on Quality Beef Heifer Replacements
Show-Me-Select Sales Offer Records on Quality Beef Heifer Replacements

Replacement heifers to upgrade cow-calf herds will be offered in six Show-Me-Select sales this fall. Also, owners can restock cow herds culled in the drought.

 

A nice set of Show-Me-Select Heifers.
Show-Me-Select Bred Heifer Sale is Nov. 16 at Joplin Stockyards

The sale offering will consist of 330 heifers due to calve from late January to late April.

The BNSF Railway Company is being sued by a rancher after more than 50 cattle went missing and died following flooding that is being blamed on a railroad berm.
Missouri Rancher Blames Railroad Company for Cattle Deaths, Sues BNSF

The BNSF Railway Company is being sued by a rancher after more than 50 cattle went missing and died following flooding that is being blamed on a railroad berm.

Meeting protein requirements of cattle eating low quality forage through supplementation is one point of leverage in a cattle operation.
In Drought, Byproduct Feeds Help Cow Herds on Short Pastures, Hay

In the 2018 drought forages for cow herds are short. Without rain, pastures didn’t grow and stored hay for winter feeding fell short. But feed options are at hand that were not available before.

A nice bunch of Charolais cross feeder calves.
Marketing Feeder Cattle for One More Bid

A part of the beef cow-calf enterprise a producer may not feel so comfortable with is marketing according to Eldon Cole, a field specialist in livestock for University of Missouri Extension.

Cows in Missouri graze on a fescue pasture with legumes mixed into the forage.
Missouri Beef Farmers Learn Genetic Science Guides

Science to develop Show-Me-Select replacement heifers keeps growing.

Drought is taking a toll on crops in Missouri. This photo was taken in July 2018 in Ray County, Missouri. A new USDA crop progress report comes out this afternoon, but as of last week 45% of Missouri's corn was poor to very poor.
Drought Takes Toll on Missouri Crops, Cattle

Much of the western U.S. is also experiencing drought. But Missouri is the only Midwestern state with such severe conditions with suffering corn crops and hay in short supply for cattle.

Young Angus bulls grazing Bermuda.
Show-Me-Select Rules Require Genetically Tested Bull EPDs

New sire selection rules for Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifers improve reliable calving-ease genetics.

Valley Oaks Steak Co. was ordered to halt expansion of its Missouri feedlot and processing facility until the Commission reaches a full decision.
Missouri DNR Grants Stay on Feedlot Expansion

Valley Oaks Steak Co. was ordered to halt expansion of its Missouri feedlot and processing facility until the Commission reaches a full decision.

Drought Stays as Beef Farms Plan on Fall Rains to Make Winter Pasture
Drought Stays as Beef Farms Plan on Fall Rains to Make Winter Pasture

Stunted, stemmy pastures unable to support grazing cattle have potential. Depend on fall rains to bring fall regrowth, says University of Missouri Extension forage agronomist Craig Roberts.

Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to $4.7 Million Cattle Ponzi Scheme

A Missouri man admits to running a $4.7 million Ponzi scheme involving a cattle investment fund where no cattle were ever bought.

A Missouri man admits to running a $4.7 million Ponzi scheme involving a cattle investment fund where no cattle were ever bought.
Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to $4.7 Million Cattle Ponzi Scheme

A Missouri man admits to running a $4.7 million Ponzi scheme involving a cattle investment fund where no cattle were ever bought.

MU Extension Offers Four-Day Tour For Cattle Producers

University of Missouri Extension will offer cattlemen a bus tour of cattle operations in Kansas and Oklahoma Aug. 6-9.

Stops along the tour include Kansas State University Southeast Research-Extension Center, AGCO facility, feedlot and purebred cattle operations.
MU Extension Offers Four-Day Tour For Cattle Producers

University of Missouri Extension will offer cattlemen a bus tour of cattle operations in Kansas and Oklahoma Aug. 6-9.

Drought Cuts Pasture Growth; Farmers Face Culling Cow Herds
Drought Cuts Pasture Growth; Farmers Face Culling Cow Herds

In dry weather with short pastures, Missouri cow-herd owners face tough culling decisions. One way to match cows' needs to available grass is to sell cows.

Missouri Farmers Seek Forage Options as Drought Cuts Grass Growth
Missouri Farmers Seek Forage Options as Drought Cuts Grass Growth

Shortage of cattle forage forces some Ozark herd owners to chop trees to feed leaves. That method was used in big droughts of the 1930s and 1950s.

Show-Me Select Heifers Average $1,752 at Sale on May 18
Show-Me Select Heifers Average $1,752 at Sale on May 18

The 38th sale of Show-Me-Select bred heifers averaged $1752 for 191 head on May 18. The sale was held at Joplin Regional Stockyards, Carthage.

Show-Me-Select Heifers Average $1,787 in Second Sale of Spring
Show-Me-Select Heifers Average $1,787 in Second Sale of Spring

The 135 bred heifers averaged $1,787 with a top of $2,400 at the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer sale, Friday, May 4.