Author: staff

ABZ Innovation, a drone innovation and manufacturing company based out of Hungary, has unveiled an advancement for its agricultural sector machines that incorporates LiDAR-based situational awareness sensors. LiDAR generates a high-resolution 3-D map of the field in real time and is vital to accurately following terrain and avoiding obstacles such as electrical wires, poles, and trees, while maintaining the right distance from crops for efficient spraying. “This allows ABZ drones to detect obstacles with unforeseen accuracy and continuously adjust their height to meet the specific needs of each treatment,” the company said in its announcement. “The result is a safer,…

March corn is up less than a penny this morning. January soybeans are up 3¼¢. March wheat contracts are also higher. CBOT wheat is up 4¼¢. KC wheat is up 5¾¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 6¾¢. Naomi Blohm, senior market advisor at Total Farm Marketing, said grains have a tendency to rally in December but that rally can be limited when ending stocks are perceived to be sufficient. February live cattle are up 83¢ this morning. January feeder cattle are up $2. February lean hogs are up 88¢. January crude oil is up $1.39. The U.S. Dollar Index December contract…

By Cami Koons Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, along with governors from 16 other states, signed a joint letter Monday urging Congress to reauthorize the Farm Bill and to provide “immediate financial assistance” to the agricultural sector. “Our nation’s agriculture industry is in trouble and if meaningful support is not provided soon, the well-being of the nation is at risk,” the letter read. The Farm Bill was last authorized in 2018, and after failing to reauthorize it on the typical five-year schedule in 2023, Congress extended the 2018 bill through the 2024 fiscal and crop year. Congress failed again in the 2024 regular session to…

By Nick Evans The past year hasn’t been good to many Ohio farmers. In August, a handful of southeastern counties received drought disaster designations. Before the month was out, that list had ballooned to 22 counties throughout Appalachian Ohio. As of early November, the total has risen to 52 counties, cutting a diagonal swath from Northwest Ohio to the Southeast. The U.S. Drought Monitor ranks drought conditions on a five-point scale running from D0 (abnormally dry) to D4 (exceptional drought). At that highest level, you can expect “exceptional and widespread” crop or pasture losses, and water emergencies stemming from shortages…

He’s a fifth-generation farmer. She’s a fourth-generation rancher. Those are the roles Jordan and Jacki Christman know and love, and when they got married in 2010, they decided there was no need to change them. Now, in addition to raising their daughter, Citti, 10, and sons Cahan, 11, and Conway, 8, they manage their own areas of expertise within JC Farms but help each other when needed. Jordan grew up farming with his dad and grandpa in southwest North Dakota’s Adams County. The county diagonally to the southwest is Harding County, South Dakota, where Jacki grew up on her family’s…

When Ray Gaesser watches land auctions near his Corning, Iowa, farm, he sees a growing share —up to 25% — of ground going to investors. Local buyers still make top bids on more parcels, the smaller ones. “The larger farms, investors tend to buy those,” he says. “It takes a lot of money to buy 500 acres at $12,000 an acre.”  He’s not a buyer. “The last few years, it didn’t pencil out,” he says. Gaesser, 71, and his wife, Elaine, have shifted 88% of their 5,000-acre operation to their son, Chris, and his wife, Shannon. The family rents about four-fifths…

Tractor Supply Company has kicked off its second 4-H Paper Clover campaign of 2024. Beginning on Black Friday, customers began to be able to donate at checkout, which will help strengthen 4-H educational programs and increase hands-on opportunities for young people nationwide. The biannual fundraiser, now in its 14th year, generates millions of dollars in scholarships for 4-H youth. “During our biannual Paper Clover fundraisers, our customers always show up for our 4-H partners. Their donations have made it possible for thousands of young people to take advantage of life-changing learning opportunities,” said John Ordus, chief stores officer at Tractor…

Joel Salatin, the self-proclaimed “Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer,” has used a recent podcast episode to categorically deny rumors that he might be taking a role within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In true Salatin fashion, his tone oscillated between bemused and exasperated as he dismantled the notion that he’d ever trade in his pitchfork in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley for a desk job in D.C. Yet while he was quick to point fingers at social media run amok, the confusion seems to stem from a November 6 blog post where Salatin himself teased: “I’ve been contacted by the Trump transition…

By Brooklyn Draisey As Iowa and the U.S. begin to rely more heavily on renewable energy sources, the greenhouse gas emissions from industries like agriculture are starting to take on greater significance. Michael Castellano, an agronomy professor at Iowa State University, and a team of researchers are hoping to lower emissions from a previously unexplored area of agriculture through research into soybean planting and production. “We have great interest in making sure all of our crops have low greenhouse gas emissions footprints, and we felt like the first step to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from soybean production was quantifying those…

The NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” initiative highlights the charitable passions of its players, with hundreds of athletes donning custom-designed cleats to bring attention to causes close to their hearts. This year, over 1 million FFA members will have their eyes on Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who has chosen to support the National FFA Organization, emphasizing the importance of agricultural education and leadership development for youth. Carter, who’s family owns Lucky Charm Family Farm, a small 40-acre operation in Georgia that raises sheep, chickens, cattle, and an assortment of crops, enjoys working on the farm when football isn’t…