7 ag stories you might have missed this week - Jan. 4, 2019

<p>Facing a labor shortage and an aging workforce, <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/01/01/national/agriculture-innova... style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">Japan’s agricultural industry</span></a> is striving to make its business more attractive to newcomers. Farms are reforming work practices, nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit, automating with robots and taking advantage of evolving information technology. – Japan Times</p>

<p>New <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-01-02/brazilian-ministry... style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro</span></a> issued an executive order making the Agriculture Ministry responsible for “identification, delimitation, demarcation and registration of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people.” The land claim decisions were formerly controlled by the indigenous affairs agency. – U.S. News and World Report</p>

<p>3. In <a href="https://www.farmprogress.com/market-news/growers-say-2018-crops-are-smal... style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">Farm Futures latest survey</span></a> of growers, farmers say corn and soybean crops are smaller than the government’s previous estimates. Weather and harvest delays that cut acreage and yields also frustrated plans to increase winter wheat seedings. – Farm Futures</p>

<p>A new study finds that Midwest agriculture is <a href="https://www.thedickinsonpress.com/business/agriculture/4549468-climate-c... style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">increasingly vulnerable</span></a> to extreme weather shocks because the region has become more reliant on a handful of crops. – The Dickinson Press</p>

<p>The USDA Crop Production report estimated a <a href="https://www.farmprogress.com/soybean/what-were-top-yielding-soybean-vari... style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">46-bushel-per-acre yield for soybeans</span></a> in Missouri for 2018. That is down 3.5 bushels from 2017. – Missouri Ruralist</p>

<p>How did you select your <a href="https://www.farmprogress.com/cover-crops/burn-it-down-or-harvest-forage-... style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">cover crops</span></a>? Certified crop adviser Eric Rosenbaum advises focusing on four things: increased production, reduced production costs, better efficiency and improved sustainability when deciding which cover crops to plant. – American Agriculturalist</p>

<p>Milk prices for 2019 are forecast to improve, but will depend on milk production and dairy exports. The December <a href="https://www.farmprogress.com/dairy/higher-milk-prices-expected-2019" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">Class III milk price</span></a> averaged $13.85, which put the average milk price for 2018 at $14.60, the lowest average price in the past four years, according to USDA data. – Wisconsin Agriculturalist</p>

<p>The USDA <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/02/under-radar-usda-lending-... style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#0563c1">Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan program</span></a>, which was authorized in the Rural Development Act of 1972, allows federal agencies to lend money to ‘community facilities’ deemed essential. The loans have helped small, rural colleges stay afloat. – Inside Higher Ed</p>