Extension

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow earlier this week, meaning six more weeks of winter, but there is an upside to that prediction…there are only six more weeks of winter!

Spring will be here before we know it, and the pests that come with it will be sure to make their presence known as well.

At the end of the month, do you wonder what happened to your money? Are you regularly tempted to spend when you have a few extra dollars in your pocket? Spending and savings habits are directly linked to financial stability. Understanding how and where you spend money is important for financial success, especially in tough economic times.

One important step for managing your household budget is to formulate a spending plan for your money. Use the following steps to develop your family’s spending plan:

Cold weather is louse weather for livestock. Inadequate nutrition, compromised immune response and shipping stress also favor outbreaks, if there are any infested animals in the herd.

Biting and sucking lice have been associated with reduced weight gains and general lack of thriftiness during periods of greatest winter stress. These small external parasites can spread quickly through a herd as animals bunch for warmth or when feeding.

The deadlines are quickly approaching for producers with base acres to make decisions regarding new coverage programs under the current Farm Bill.

The two new programs that have been created through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the 2014 Farm Bill are Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC).

ARC and PLC are commodity farm safety net programs that offer farmers protection when market forces cause substantial drops in crop prices and/or revenues.