Author: staff

Problem A conversation isn’t a contract. It’s time to put your farm succession plan in writing. Submitted by email from W.M. My parents own all the assets of the farm: the land, the machinery, and the livestock. Twelve years ago, they invited me back to the farm to work with them. Since then, I’ve assumed most responsibilities for the grain and cow-calf operations. My parents help with labor at peak times. Dad and I do the marketing together, and Mom does the bookkeeping. There is mutual respect and appreciation. Because of my role, my parents have been able to take extended vacations,…

Problem How do you create a new farm succession plan when half of every deed is tied up in a trust? From R.B., via email My wife died 12 years ago. Her half of every deed went into a testamentary trust, per her will. When I die, her trust simply divides everything equally between our four kids with no provisions for farm succession planning. Our son started farming full time just before she died. I promised him we’d make it work, so he could continue to farm after I’m gone. Our goal was to get him the 80-acre home farm,…

The hard reality of the 1950s and 1960s was the farm population was declining … rapidly. The previous decade had experienced renewed interest in agriculture, as farm-boy veterans returned from war. However, the profits, so rich for farmers during the war years, leaned out as the 1950s progressed. This, in turn, forced more farmers to head to town, looking for jobs. The farm population had been on the decline since its 1935 peak of 6.8 million operations in the United States. By 1964, that number had plummeted to about 3 million. In those three decades, 4 million potential buyers for…

Jon and Marcia Kinzenbaw, of eastern Iowa, are beginning to downsize their extensive collection of antique tractors, with an online auction scheduled Nov. 4. A lifelong inventor and builder, Jon Kinzenbaw has been an avid collector for decades, but this is the first time any of this collection has been offered for sale. Many of these tractors have been stored indoors, include like-new tires, and have been started regularly. Offerings range from pre-World War II iron to mid-20th century icons. About 35 non-running-parts tractors and several lots of original tires will be sold as well. The catalog also includes about…

Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “the Trump administration has pushed back its plans to roll out economic aid for farmers this week due to the government shutdown, according to four people familiar with the talks.” “The Office of Management and Budget has readied between $12 billion and $13 billion to be allocated from an internal USDA account, some of which could be used to fund the bailouts for farmers hurt by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other economic headwinds, according to the four people with knowledge of the decision, all granted anonymity to share private details,” Yarrow reported. “No final…

Syngenta Crop Protection and Taranis are expanding their partnership to provide agricultural retailers across the Midwest with AI-powered crop monitoring tools. The program aims to help retailers identify field issues earlier and support more timely crop protection decisions for customers. “AI is agriculture’s next transformative breakthrough,” said Vern Hawkins, president of Syngenta Crop Protection and regional director for North America. “Our collaboration with Taranis showed how combining AI crop intelligence with agronomic knowledge and crop protection products can create value for both retailers and growers.” Efficiency Gains From Early Detection In 2025, participating retailers used the Taranis AI Crop Intelligence…

About a month ago, I got to check something off my bucket list. The Successful Farming crew invited me to spend two days talking tractors with Jon Kinzenbaw, one-on-one. He took me through his entire collection, answered all my ridiculous questions, told me stories, and walked me through the machines he’s selling at auction this fall. Hang on. Jon Kinzenbaw is having an auction? Yep, you read that right. Now, before anybody loses their mind: It’s not the whole collection. The Kinzenbaw auction is more of a “paring back” deal. I mean, when you’ve got more than 600 tractors in…

The government is still shut down amid a congressional stalemate. On this week’s episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., discussed which farmer-facing programs she’s worried could be affected. She also expressed concern the U.S. is losing export markets because of trade disruptions. Then, American Soybean Association CEO Steve Censky took a look back at what the first Trump administration learned from delivering two rounds of Market Facilitation Program payments, and how that experience could guide the upcoming economic aid payments ag groups are requesting. Farmers for Free Trade executive director Brian Kuehl also joined the show to discuss…

When it comes to mastitis treatment in dairy cows, advances in understanding the course of the disease have changed antibiotic recommendations for the better — not only for the animal’s well-being but also the producer’s bottom line. Distinctions between infection and inflammation, different classes of pathogens, and short- and long-duration therapies are important parts of the conversation. At the 2025 World Dairy Expo, Boehringer Ingelheim veterinarian Jen Roberts spoke with us about how knowing those distinctions can lead the way toward more responsible antibiotic use in the parlor. SF: When a cow has mastitis, how can a producer tell if…

By Tom Polansek, P.J. Huffstutter, and Karl Plume CHICAGO, Oct. 9 (Reuters) – U.S. data vital to global grain and soybean trading has gone dark during the federal government’s shutdown, leaving commodity traders and farmers without crop production estimates, export sales data and market reports during the peak of the autumn harvest. The data blackout comes at a particularly difficult time for farmers, who are grappling with low grain prices and uncertainty over damage to corn and soy fields from dry weather and crop diseases. GRA/ Previous shutdowns during President Donald Trump’s first term were less disruptive because they happened after harvest season, analysts said. Trump is…