BROOKVILLE, Ohio — Join the Montgomery Soil & Water Conservation District office at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 to discuss the options available for preserving land as a productive farm for future generations.

Larry Frimerman, executive director of the Three Valley Conservation Trust, along with Dan Jackson, resource conservation technician, will make sure attendees are familiar with several different methods, allowing for different lengths of time and economic circumstances. These include Agricultural Security Areas, the Agricultural Easement Purchase Program and the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program.

The office is located at 10025 Amity Road, Brookville, Ohio, 45309. For details, call Kristen Lauer at 937-854-7645.

ANKENY, Iowa — The Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) is pleased to announce the addition of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council as a member organization. Minnesota becomes the 11th state soybean board to join the STC.

The Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council decided to join the STC at its recent summer board meeting. A large volume of Minnesota soybeans are transported via barge, rail and truck. Farmers, therefore, need to be actively engaged in promoting a transportation system that works for agriculture, according to Joel Schreurs, a soybean farmer from Tyler, Minn., and member of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Assoc.

Established in 2007, the STC is comprised of 11 state soybean boards, the American Soybean Assoc. and the United Soybean Board. Its goal is to position the soybean industry to benefit from a transportation system that delivers cost-effective, reliable, competitive service.

CoBank-U.S. AgBank merger approved by stockholders

DENVER, Colo. — CoBank and U.S. AgBank announced their voting stockholders have approved the proposed plan of merger between the two banks.

Ballots for the merger vote were formally tabulated at special meetings Sept. 7 at the banks’ headquarters in Colorado and Kansas. Regulations issued by the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) prohibit the disclosure of exact vote tallies to preserve voter confidentiality; however, the stockholders of both organizations approved the merger by substantial majorities.

CoBank and U.S. AgBank executed a Letter of Intent to merge in December 2010. The merged bank will continue to do business under the CoBank name and be headquartered in Colorado, but will maintain U.S. AgBank’s existing presence and operations in Wichita, Kan., and Sacramento, Calif.

The FCA has already granted preliminary approval to the transaction. Final approval is expected following a statutorily required 35-day reconsideration period.  The merger is currently scheduled to close on Jan. 1, 2012.

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Blount County farm has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Samuel Henry Farm is just south of Maryville. The farmhouse was put on the register in 1974. The new designation recognizes the farm’s role in the settlement and agricultural development of Blount County, according to The Daily Times.

Samuel Henry arrived about 1792 and built a fort, Henry’s Station, on land he was granted, planting crops around it. The house was built in the 1830s by Henry’s son, James, and his wife, Narcissa. The farm still contains about 90 acres with the home and outbuildings, including a barn believed to date to the 18th century.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On Jan. 12, 2010, a catastrophic earthquake devastated Haiti, ending the lives of more than 315,000 and leaving millions more homeless in the already-struggling country.

Nineteen months later, three Kentucky-based companies – Alltech, Texas Roadhouse and Consumers Choice Coffee – are partnering to ensure the plight of Haiti’s people is not forgotten. Texas Roadhouse has become the first Louisville company to adopt Alltech Café Citadelle in its corporate offices, through the partnership of its coffee supplier, Louisville-based Consumers Choice Coffee.

In selecting Café Citadelle, Texas Roadhouse and Consumers Choice are directly providing hope to the 6,700 Haitian families who cultivate the coffee and two Haitian elementary schools, all of whom the companies say receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the coffee being used at Texas Roadhouse’s corporate offices. Café Citadelle funds the Alltech ACE Foundation, classified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Working with RECOCARNO, a union of eight coffee cooperatives in northern Haiti, Alltech launched the Alltech Café Citadelle brand. Organically grown and Fair Trade Certified, the coffee beans are hand-picked, ensuring a consistent and flavorful coffee at the peak of its richness.

Companies interested in turning a conventional office ritual into an opportunity to provide hope for Haiti can email coffee @alltech.com for more information on Alltech Café Citadelle.

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. — Michigan’s first “Free Groceries for a Year!” sweepstakes was so successful that Michigan Farmers Feed US is back with another opportunity for a Michigander to win a $5,000 gift card good toward filling grocery bags with locally grown and processed food and other meal staples.

All contestants have to do is watch short online videos to learn about Michigan’s caring farmers and the state’s agricultural diversity. Through Oct. 12, Michigan residents can go online to register to win and learn how local farmers produce safe, healthy and affordable food.

The Michigan Farmers Feed US sweepstakes showcases ten Michigan farmers who, through online videos, guide consumers through the simple registration process, dish out some agricultural trivia and open up their farms for a virtual tour. One winner will be randomly selected from all the registered contestants and announced in early November. The sweepstakes sponsors will determine the winner’s preferred grocery store for the prize gift card.

The program is supported by local farmers represented by the Michigan Ag Council, Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan Milk Producers Assoc., Michigan Pork Producers Assoc., Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee and GreenStone Farm Credit Services.

To learn more, follow Michigan Farmers Feed US on Facebook or Twitter or visit www.farmersfeedus.org/mi