Welcome to the end of another week, or Week Two of the government shutdown.  In an effort to distract from the shutdown, here are some other interesting bits of information:

A helpline is established for anyone impacted by the South Dakota blizzard.

Volunteers are helping pick up fields after the tornadoes in northeast Nebraska, southeast South Dakota, and northwest Iowa to assist in the harvest.

Information on the Affordable Care Act as applicable to agriculture is in Cornhusker Economics.

Following up from last week, additional information on Monsanto’s buy of Climate Corporation is here.

Perhaps land values will remain steady and perhaps increase?

Combining the fun and food portion of this post, check out this recipe for pumpkin soup, using the pumpkin as the soup bowl.