Author: staff

Prominent animal-rights activist Zoe Rosenberg was sentenced this week to serve 90 days in jail for stealing four chickens from a Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in Sonoma County, California. Rosenberg, who did not deny taking the animals, was one of multiple Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) activists involved in the incursion at the facility in 2023 and led to misdemeanor charges. In a post on social media, Rosenberg, 23, said she also has to pay over $102,000 in restitution, spend two years on supervised probation, maintain employment or remain enrolled as a student, stay away from Perdue facilities in Sonoma County, and…

Many rural Coloradans, especially in agricultural communities, feel looked down on by their urban counterparts. One cattle rancher I spoke to put it plainly. “It’s an attitude … we are the idiots … we are the dumb farmers … we don’t really matter.” The sentiment is also portrayed in popular culture such as the hit TV show Yellowstone. “It’s the one constant in life. You build something worth having, someone’s gonna try to take it,” says patriarch John Dutton. He was facing repeated threats by developers from “the city” to annex his land for a luxury hotel and resort development.…

As farmers face historic headwinds and market hardships, calls to the national Farm Aid hotline and the Iowa Concern hotline — where farmers can get support in times of mental health crisis or need — are increasing. This fall the Iowa Concern hotline saw four to five times the number of calls it had in the same months last year, said Tammy Jacobs, the hotline’s manager. The Farm Aid hotline is also seeing a change in the urgency of calls. “We’re seeing more established farmers calling in — people who know how to play the game and how to access…

As of 9:01 a.m. CT, March corn was down less than a penny at $4.46¾ per bushel. January soybeans were also down less than a penny at $11.19¼ per bushel. March CBOT wheat was down 1½¢ at $5.38¾ per bushel. March KC wheat was unchanged at $5.34 per bushel. As of 8:59 a.m. CT, March Minneapolis wheat was up 3½¢ at $5.76½. This morning, USDA announced China is buying 462,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 2025/2026 marketing year. Shortly past 9 a.m. CT, January feeder cattle were up $2.50 at $339.08 per hundredweight (cwt). February live cattle were up…

You can pry cookie dough out of my cold, dead hands. I ignore every warning label regarding consuming raw, undercooked eggs like I ignore the various indicator lights on my car’s dashboard. I’ll admit, this isn’t because I don’t believe there’s a risk — it’s really as simple as, “I’ve eaten it all my life and never had an issue.” Yet this stubborn, probably witless ideology isn’t something that should be encouraged; there are gobs of memes that reinforce the belief that enjoying a chunk of cookie dough should be guilt-free. So, why is it that when someone consuming raw…

By Peter Goldsmith. Guy Allen, and Mike Doherty Introduction The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) introduces readers to the question whether Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) presents a new market opportunity for US soybean growers. This article wraps up a three-part series on the topic of Africa as a potential export market for US soybeans. The African market presents a very complex landscape. While it is large, diverse, and growing rapidly, there exists great uncertainty, significant business risks, and demand for soybean and associated products are just beginning to emerge. This first article in the series focused on the larger food and…

Cover crops improve soil health and water quality, prevent nutrient loss, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they’re grown on only about 5 percent of U.S. agricultural lands. That’s despite billions in annual federal investments, primarily in the form of cost-share and incentive payments to farmers who adopt conservation practices. With a new, first-of-its-kind study, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say investments in farm demonstration networks may be the key to faster, more widespread adoption. Their work links the implementation of a Wisconsin farm demonstration program with a 50 percent increase in cover crop adoption over baseline levels within just…

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations officially launched the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 today with an opening ceremony live from FAO Headquarters in Rome and online. Held during the 179th Session of the FAO Council, the event officially kicks off the United Nations observance and is intended to set the stage for global action in 2026. The United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer to spotlight the essential roles women play across agrifood systems — from production to trade — while often going unrecognized. Women farmers are central to food…

By Cami Koons The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has awarded more than $3.6 million in “pass through” loans and grants to local utilities to benefit community businesses and emergency services.   Iowa’s Rural Development Deputy State Director Henry Kummerer announced the grants Thursday, which will impact Butler, Carroll, Decatur, and Webster counties.  The funding comes from USDA’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program, which helps local utilities establish revolving loan funds to support projects that will create or retain jobs in their communities. According to USDA, the loans to the local utilities are interest-free. USDA awarded $1 million each…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has conditionally approved fluralaner topical (Exzolt Cattle-CA1) solution for the prevention and treatment of New World screwworm larval infestations in cattle. The product is also indicated for the treatment and control of cattle fever tick in beef cattle over 2 months of age and replacement dairy heifers under 20 months old. Under FDA’s conditional approval pathway, the agency determined the product is safe and has a reasonable expectation of effectiveness for its intended use. Intervet Inc., based in Rahway, New Jersey, has up to five years to submit additional effectiveness…