Agriculture

How farmers and livestock producers are using drones, another tool in the toolbox

Drones are an important tool on Jeremiah Gebhardt’s farm in rural Salisbury, Missouri.For the last few years, he’s used them to spray his corn, soybean and wheat fields.Since adding the new farm equipment came with a large up-front cost, it was not a decision he made overnight.“I came up with, if we applied our own aerial spraying fungicide on our ground, plus I could do some for some other farmers in the area, I thought it’d be worth it,” said Gebhardt.Midwest farmers like Gebhardt are increasingly using drones to lower production costs and for their convenience.

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Kansas farmers face a higher risk of suicide; high school initiates help

The Clay Counts Coalition is launching a program aimed at raising awareness and improving access to mental health services for its rural agricultural community.When Isabelle Blackwood was in middle school, her Kansas farming family was devastated when her oldest brother Ian died by suicide.Blackwood, who is now a high school senior in Clay Center, responded by learning about the mental health struggles among agricultural professionals, especially men.

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