We raise and butcher our own chickens. We cut some of the chickens into pieces, but mostly we freeze them whole. That means for most recipes I start with a whole chicken. For our size family it makes two meals.

Days of negotiations between the Trump administration and Congress — and fierce lobbying by industries eager for assistance dealing with the coronavirus outbreak — has yielded a rescue package worth more than $2 trillion in spending and tax breaks.

Cattle markets began the year dealing with large beef supplies, and now they are trying to sort out the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.

Editor's note: This article is part of a series featuring members of the Soil Sisters, an official program of Renewing the Countryside. The community of women farmers advocate for family farming and locally produced food.

TABOR, Iowa — Like high school students throughout the country, Chloe Johnson and Alex Perrin were shocked when they learned their school was going to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two things are for certain at every meeting about cover crops. First, researchers and experts will show the benefits of cover crops and no-tilling to prevent erosion and improve soil health. And then farmers will ask about the economics of the practice in the short- and long-term.

AMES, Iowa — With planting season just weeks away, news of the coronavirus has farmers wondering what to expect in the marketplace and how it might impact the recently announced phase one trade deal with China.

The University of Wisconsin-Division of Extension in Winnebago County is offering resources to help during the coronavirus crisis – or at any time.

It’s a little too early to give a final report on how cover crops fared over the winter, said Dustin Paulson.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum at Mansfield, Missouri, gives visitors the chance to see where the famous author lived and wrote her stories about growing up and homesteading with her family.

AMBOY, Minn. – The arrival of a novel strain of coronavirus increased the workload at Fox Premium Beef.

HATLEY, Wis. – Cleanliness, milker training, frac-sand quality, milking-equipment maintenance and cow comfort. They’re five keys to overall success with milk quality, says David “Mike” Fischer of Fischer-Clark Dairy Farm. He and his family recently earned a platinum award in dairy quality from the National Mastitis Council.

MADISON, Wis. – An order from Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, made March 24, will shut nonessential businesses for a month. The order goes into effect at 8 a.m. March 25 and continue through 8 a.m. April 24, shuttering many businesses across the state. Exempt from the order are farms, farm businesses and agricultural supply-chain businesses.

The 2020 WPS Farm Show was cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, but Agri-View is working to bring its information to producers and farm businesses alike. We’re creating a special publication that will include information from equipment businesses, highlights of new equipment available, new technology and much more. Our “Virtual Farm Show” will be inserted in our April 9 issue of Agri-View. It will also be available online.

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota provides many services to state residents who wish to conduct their business online instead of in person.

DAWSON, Minn. – Kami and Mark Schoenfeld gave their March 17 report on their way home from Harvey and Gladys Hastad’s farm. The Schoenfelds did cattle chores and dropped off their two boys, Colton, 8, and Braxton, 5, at the Hastads to stay overnight.

Member-stockholders of CentralStar Cooperative recently elected several dairy and beef producers to the board of directors.

CentralStar Cooperative, which serves dairy and beef producers in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, has hired 18 employees in the past three months.

LA CROSSE, Wis. – A good farmland lease helps both landowners and land seekers. Farmland leases also can help launch beginning farmers who don’t have large lines of credit. Best practices for farmland leasing was the subject of a workshop held at the recent Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service’s Organic Farming Conference.

The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association is one of more than 20 organizations asked that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers exempt farming, agriculture and agribusiness from his “shelter in place” order, which was made March 24. These exemptions were made part of the order.

Residents of Illinois have a shelter-in-place order, but agriculture is not staying home.

The National Aquaculture Association requests that the U.S. aquaculture community – farms and allied businesses – participate in a 15-minute survey developed by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and The Ohio State universities. The survey is intended to assess the direct and indirect effects of coronavirus disease COVID-19 on U.S. aquaculture and to gather input on types of assistance that will be most useful. The results will be shared nationally to assist farms, allied businesses and trade associations in communicating the impacts of COVID-19 to public and private decision makers.