The Emmy-award-winning America's Heartland has been introducing non-farm viewers to the men and women who provide the food, fuel, and fiber we use and consume since 2005. The series is available in 20 of the top 25 television markets on more than 240 PBS stations covering 60 percent of the United States. Including its RFD-TV viewership, the series reaches more than 40 million viewers each season. The seventh season was underwritten by the United Soybean Board, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and Farm Credit, with the latter announcing it also would underwrite the series' eighth season. The National Cotton Council is among six organizations that provide in-kind production support. Visit AmericasHeartland.org to view episodes and access educational resources and complementary video series offerings.

　

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NCC UPDATE

Environmental Task Force Takes on Honey Bees and Cotton Pesticides

(Farm Press) The NCC's Environmental Task Force (ETF) met in Washington, D.C., to address pollinators and their impact on cotton pesticide registrations.

U.S.COTTON

New Varieties, Better Weather May Help Cotton Rebound in 2012

(Farm Press) 2011 was not a year for the faint of heart in much of the Cotton Belt.

WASHINGTON UPDATE

Crop Insurance Rule Offers Flexibility in Cover Crop Termination

(Farm Press) Farmers have been given more time to terminate their cover crops after the excessively wet spring of last year prevented many of them from doing that in time to meet a crop insurance deadline.

　

Sign-Up Begins for DCP and ACRE

(Farm Progress) Enrollment for the 2012 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program begin Monday.

　

USDA Announces Assistance for Disaster Recovery

(Farm Progress) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Jan. 18 an important package of disaster assistance to help farmers, land owners, communities and others recover and rebuild after a year in which a wave of natural disasters swept across all regions of the United States.

OF INTEREST

National Summit to Address Herbicide Resistance Problem

(Farm Press) The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) has announced it will co-sponsor an upcoming scientific summit on how to manage herbicide-resistant weeds — a costly and growing problem threatening crop production across the U.S. and around the globe.

　

Permanent Damage Caused by 2011 Flooding

(AgWeb) When the water in the Mississippi River rose to 58 feet with a forecast of 60 feet or higher in May 2011, the emergency plan to naturally or intentionally breach the levees, established over 80 years prior, was put in motion.