Going into the 3-day Easter Weekend, CBOT futures closed narrowly mixed, in most cases. There’s little new for traders to act on and the spec funds already have large short positions in place. Cattle futures closed mostly higher and near the day’s highs. Lean Hog futures closed mixed with the nearby May and June LH contracts posting nice gains

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Although the agriculture department at Eastern Kentucky University is small, the program is continuing to grow with a new class of students.  Agronomy Professor Dr. John Settimi talks about the program, the growth, why students are getting involved and what he enjoys about teaching agriculture.

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The Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the classroom program is helping to teach children across the state the connection between the farm and the food they enjoy from the table.  Executive Director Jennifer Elwell talks about the program, what it teaches and shares a recent success story in Jefferson County.

For the first time the Census of Agriculture tracked some new statistics related to veteran and women farmers.  National Agriculture Statistics Service Eastern Mountain Region Director Dave Knoff says he was surprised by the number of veterans and women who operate farming operations across the state.

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Although the number of Kentucky farms decreased during the past ten years, Kentucky is still ranked sixth in the nation in the number of farms.  National Agriculture Statistics Service Eastern Mountain Region Director Dave Knoff talks about the number of farms and other interesting statistics from the Census of Ag.

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Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler spoke with farmers and state officials during a visit to the state Friday, April 12.  Administrator Wheeler says Kentucky will benefit from clean coal technology regulations and the new Waters of the U.S. rule that will soon be in place.

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Soybean, meal and soyoil futures all lost about one percent at the close. These contracts closed at/near the day’s lows.  Cattle futures closed slightly lower nearby and posted small gains in August-forward contracts. Boxed beef values were mixed. Lean Hog futures closed mixed with losses through August and dollar-plus gains in the December 2019 and beyond contracts.