By Kim Kaplan January 25, 2012 WASHINGTON—The The US Department of Agriculture(USDA) today released the new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM), updating a useful tool for gardners and researchers for the first time since 1990 with greater accuracy and detail. The new map—jointly developed by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Oregon State University’s (OSU) PRISM Climate Group—is available online atwww.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA. For the first time, the new map [...]
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19
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SD Mountain Lion Hunt
2012 SEASON TOTALS Statewide Season Total = 30, Female = 19 January 24, 2012 2012 STATEWIDE SEASON SUMMARY Season Dates: Jan. 1-Mar. 31, 2012; or When a limit of 70 total mountain lions are taken; or When a limit of 50 female mountain lions are taken Statewide Season Harvest Status, this list is updated as Mt. Lions are reported. Mt Lion # Date of Harvest Sex Estimated Age Weight Location of Harvest SW-1 1/1/2012 F 2 80 Custer SW-2 1/1/2012 [...]
Jan
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NASA Finds 2011 Ninth Warmest Year on Record
January 19, 2012 – The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released an updated analysis that shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 compared to the average [...]
Jan
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Statement by the President Obama on the Keystone XL Pipeline
White House January 18, 2012 – Earlier today, I received the Secretary of State’s recommendation on the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment. As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be [...]
Jan
18
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EPA Seeks Input on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Draft Measures to Protect Endangered Wildlife from Rozol Prairie Dog Bait
January 18, 2012 -EPA is seeking comments from a wide range of stakeholders on draft Reasonable and Prudent Measures (RPMs) included in a draft Biological Opinion received from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on January 17, 2012. This draft Biological Opinion addresses the potential effects from Rozol Prairie Dog Bait on wildlife listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. EPA is encouraging input from state, tribal and local governments, pesticide users, registrants, public interest groups, [...]
Jan
13
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Corson, Harding and Perkins County eligible for EM loans.
South Dakota counties Corson, Harding and Perkins were designated natural disaster areas Jan. 12, 2012, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account [...]
Dec
27
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South Dakota Farm Service Agency Schedules Meetings.
HURON, SD, Jan. 11, 2012 – USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced that Craig Schaunaman, State Executive Director for South Dakota FSA and members of his management team have scheduled public meetings in the following counties at the dates and locations specified below. Jerauld County on January 23rd at 1:30 pm at the Ag Building (4-H Building) in Wessington Springs Jackson County on January 24th at 11:00 am at Club 27 in Kadoka Harding County on January 25th at [...]
Dec
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About
Custer Farmers Market located at Way Park in Custer, South Dakota will return in June 2012. We look forward to seeing our old friends and hopefully some new ones. All produce, baked goods, jams, jellies and produced items are grown and made by local people living on working farms and ranches within 50 miles of Custer, SD. This extra income helps them continue sustainable farming and ranching with the ability to supply locally grown produce for our customers and their [...]
