On Friday, May 22, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Indiana State Board of Animal Health will again co-host a conference call for those in the agricultural sector to discuss the current coronavirus situation.

WARSAW — Jamie Garriott, director of the Kosciusko County Farm Service Agency, admitted she kind of fell into the work of the Farm Service Agency. A family friend knew about a FSA training opportunity and thought Garriott would be perfect. Garriott attended Ball State University where she earned a degree in marketing and fashion merchandising. …read more.

WARSAW—The Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Soil and Water Conservation Districts  of Kosciusko and Wabash counties are hosting a contractor’s meeting for those who install or complete projects and practices for these agencies. The meeting will be held in Manchester University’s Jo Young Switzer Center (formerly the Union), in the Hoff Room at …read more.

PIERCETON — Pollinators like honeybees can be beneficial in many ways, from producing honey to pollinating many different kinds of crops. Tuesday evening, June 28, area residents gathered at Koinonia Environmental Center, Pierceton, where representatives from the Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District, Farm Service Agency and other local agencies, as well as a …read more.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that the nomination period for farmers and ranchers to serve on local Farm Service Agency county committees begins Wednesday, June 15. “Through the county committees, farmers and ranchers have a voice. Their opinions and ideas get to be heard on federal farm programs,” said FSA Administrator …read more.

By KELLY HECKAMAN Extension Educator ANR & CED, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County WARSAW — You and your family can celebrate the diversity of Kosciusko County agriculture on April 12 at “A Taste of Agriculture in Kosciusko County: A Family Affair.” The event will be 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds. All attendees receive …read more.

By KELLY HECKAMAN Extension Educator ANR & CED, Purdue Extension Kosciusko County WARSAW — You and your family can celebrate the diversity of Kosciusko County agriculture on April 12 at “A Taste of Agriculture in Kosciusko County: A Family Affair.” The event will be 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds. All attendees receive …read more.

By LATAWNYA DIA Indiana Farm Service Agency, USDA WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated eight counties in Indiana as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred during the period of May 1, 2015, and continues. Those counties include Fulton, Clark, Morgan, Owen, …read more.

Heavy rains and flooding have destroyed as much as five percent of Indiana’s corn and soybean crops, potentially causing approximately $300 million in damage this month according to experts. “We went from a well above-normal crop to a very discouraging, below-normal crop,” stated Chris Hurt, Purdue Extension economist. “This was a very devastating period.” Losses …read more.

Jamie Garriott from the Kosciusko County Farm Service Agency office would like to remind producers of the requirements for reporting failed acreage and prevented planting. Prevented planting must be applied for and reported within 15 days after the final planting date. The final planting dates are June 5 for corn and June 20 for soybeans. …read more.

By KENT POLITSCH Farm Service Agency The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency announced that nearly 2,700 applicants will begin receiving disaster assistance through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program for losses experienced from Oct. 1, 2013, through Sept. 30, 2014. The program, re-authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, provides …read more.

EDITORS NOTE: This is the start of a series of essays leading up to the celebration of the  Indiana Bicentennial In December 2016. The essays focus on the top 100 events, ideas and historical figures of Indiana, in chronological order, tying each to a place or current event in Indiana that continues to tell the …read more.

On Dec. 10, Secretary Tom Vilsack declared 54 counties in the State of Michigan as primary natural disaster areas and 27 as contiguous counties. This action was based on damages and losses caused by excessive snow, freeze, frost, high winds, cold temperatures, snowfall, ice and blizzards that occurred Jan. 1, 2014, and ending May 17, …read more.

Kosciusko County, and most of Indiana and the Midwest, has experienced one of the worst droughts in recent memory. Until the last couple of weeks, rainfall since May usually consisted of quick pop up showers evaporated by the hot summer sun. Recent rain showers have helped, especially considering they either occurred overnight or the sun …read more.

Julia A. Wickard, state executive director for the USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Indiana announced that contracts for the General Conservation Reserve Program signup for fiscal year 2013 have been awarded. In Indiana, 646 offers totaling 12,893.1 acres have been accepted. During the 43rd General CRP signup conducted this spring, more than 47,900 CRP offers …read more.