Author: staff

Jace D. Young’s plans for a future on the family farm in Kansas were shattered when his grandfather declared bankruptcy. That loss shaped his mission to help farmers master their numbers, protect their future, and build a true legacy that lasts beyond the land. 15 Minutes With Jace D. Young See more episodes of 15 Minutes With a Farmer. Please rate and review us! Lost Legacy Young’s family farm near Tribune, Kansas, was started by his grandfather in the 1950s. By the early 2000s, it was a $10-15 million operation with a 14,000-head feed yard, 5,000 acres, and a grain…

For years, small creators, hobby earners, and side hustlers in the UK have quietly benefited from a generous yet often overlooked tax break — the £1,000 Trading Allowance. Whether someone was selling handmade jewellery on Etsy, digital artwork, cakes, crochet items, or offering freelance services, they could earn up to £1,000 a year from self-employment without needing to register or pay tax. But now, this financial comfort blanket has an expiry date. From 6 April 2026, the UK government plans to withdraw the Trading Allowance entirely — meaning thousands of side hustlers, gig workers, and micro-business owners will be pulled…

By Mónica Cordero It’s pumpkin season — from spiced lattes to Halloween decorations on the porch — and chances are it was grown in Illinois. Just over a third of all pumpkins in the United States, 485 million pounds, come from Illinois, according to annual USDA surveys. Much of that production centers on Morton, a village in Tazewell County that proudly calls itself the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.” About 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin is packed at the Nestlé/Libby’s plant in the middle of town. Indiana ranks second in production, but Illinois grows roughly three times as many…

When I headed out with Jordan, Successful Farming’s videographer, to look at Jon Kinzenbaw’s collection, I already had a few tractors in mind. The easy layups, so to speak. Still, I’d never seen the full list of what he was selling, and the team from Sullivan Auctioneers wasn’t done taking photos yet. I knew he had a few 4020s and a clean 1206 on the sale — the usual suspects in a collection like Jon’s. But I was really hoping we’d stumble across something different. Something with a story. As it turns out, we did … and I just about…

National FFA Alumni and Supporters doled out its chapter- and state-level FFA awards to selected organizations on Thursday afternoon as part of the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo. The Outstanding FFA Alumni Chapter Awards are judged on chapters’ work in the areas of: business operation, alumni and supporter member development, advocacy for agricultural education, agricultural education in program development, and student development. The National FFA Alumni and Supporters Outstanding State Association Award is judged on a state’s efforts and support in the areas of local chapter development, FFA Alumni member development, advocacy, Team Ag Ed and business operations. “We…

INDIANAPOLIS — What started as one donation has grown into a massive effort that’s helping people across the country. The South Iredell FFA Chapter received 30,000 pairs of brand-new socks and made it their mission to distribute them to those most in need. The students delivered thousands of pairs to a homeless shelter in North Carolina and have brought the rest of their supply to Indianapolis, where members are assembling care bags for individuals experiencing homelessness throughout the week of the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo. “Living to Serve” projects turn compassion into action, and the FFA chapter at…

By Cami Koons Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird sent a letter to federal regulators Thursday urging an investigation into refineries that receive exemptions for renewable fuel blending standards.  Bird, who was joined by attorneys general from Nebraska and South Dakota in the letter, said some of the small refineries that are eligible for renewable fuel exemptions are “manipulating” the program and feigning they face “disproportionate economic harm” while publicly telling investors they are “financially thriving.”  “The possibility that refineries are gaming the system to receive government handouts when they don’t need them hurts Iowa farmers,” Bird said in a statement. “They…

According to local agronomists, corn and soybean harvest is nearing completion across Illinois, though conditions and yields remain mixed as farmers wrap up a long, weather-challenged growing season. Nationally, a Reuters poll of analysts put the U.S. soybean harvest at 84% complete and the corn harvest at 72% finished. Looking back at the 2024 season, as of Oct. 27, 2024, 87% of corn was harvested and 90% of soybeans had been harvested, versus five-year averages of 73% and 80%, respectively. Corn Harvest “Corn harvest slowed a bit this week as everyone went after beans,” said Phil Krieg, an agronomy service…

The roar of blue corduroy filled Lucas Oil Stadium as thousands of FFA members rose to their feet to welcome U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, an FFA alumna herself, to the stage at the National FFA Convention & Expo’s Session 2 on Thursday afternoon. Rollins delivered a keynote that was equal parts patriotic address, call to service, and testimony of faith. “The world consumes our food,” Rollins began. “They are not worried about who produced it or where it came from. They only want to know that we have the healthiest (which we do) the most abundant (which we…

A study appearing this month in Nature Microbiology analyzes soils sampled across the state of Kansas to determine the importance of “legacy effects” — or how soils from a specific location are influenced by microbes that have evolved in response to the specific climate at that site for many years. “The bacteria and fungi and other organisms living in the soil can actually end up having important effects on things that matter, like carbon sequestration, nutrient movement, and what we’re particularly interested in — the legacy effects on plants,” said co-author Maggie Wagner, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology…