Author: staff

The Midwest and the High Plains experienced a mix of drought improvements and degradations over the past week, according to the latest Midwest Drought Monitor. A broad band of rain stretched from Missouri through Illinois, Indiana, and into parts of Michigan, bringing widespread one-category improvements.  https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.aspx Nebraska Avoids Extreme Drought — for Now Nebraska’s drought conditions have improved considerably in recent weeks, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. As of early June, no part of the state is classified in extreme or exceptional drought — marking the first time since last summer that Nebraska has avoided…

On June 11, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry released text for its proposed budget reconciliation package. John Boozman (R-AR) is the committee chairman.  “Our farmers and ranchers are facing real challenges, which have been unaddressed for too long,” said Boozman in a statement alongside the release of the text. “This legislation delivers the risk management tools and updated farm bill safety net they need to keep producing the safest, most abundant and affordable food, fuel, and fiber in the world. It’s an investment in rural America and the future of agriculture.”  Boozman also said the bill…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Friday morning its proposed 2026/2027 rules for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The proposal included a rise in biomass-based diesel mandates as part of an overall proposed rise in the amount of biofuels that must be blended into the U.S. fuel mix. Initial feedback from ethanol and biofuels groups has been almost entirely positive. According to an article from Reuters, RFS rules require refiners “to blend large volumes of biofuels into the nation’s fuel supply or purchase credits, called Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs).” The EPA’s report proposed an increase in total biofuel blending volume…

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released proposed biofuel blending volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The agency proposed that refiners must blend 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels in 2026 and 2027. The agency is also proposing several regulatory changes to the RFS program, including reducing the number of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) generated for imported renewable fuel and renewable fuel produced from foreign feedstocks and removing renewable electricity as a qualifying renewable fuel under the RFS program (eRINs). The EPA will hold a virtual public hearing on July 8 for the proposed rule. An additional session will be…

Michigan farmers are seeing signs of recovery after a chilly and cloudy May put early-season stress on crops. While fields are beginning to green up again, the season is running notably behind — and whether crops can catch up depends heavily on what kind of summer the region sees. “We had a cold snap mid-May that set things back,” said Nicolle Ritchie, Michigan State University (MSU) Extension field crops agronomy educator. “For a couple of weeks, crops were very yellow and stressed. They’re starting to rebound now in color, but staging and height are definitely behind where they’d normally be…

The debt was never supposed to be the point. A farmer walks the frozen stubble of a picked-over field, wondering whether next year’s crop will justify the loan he took out to buy a tractor that already costs more than his father’s whole farm once did. Meanwhile, in town, a student checks her phone outside the community college, doing the mental math on a 10-year repayment plan that will outlast her car, her job, and maybe even her marriage. Neither of them talks much about it. Neither has much choice. Somewhere along the way, debt — once an investment toward…

Mary Belle Zook grew up on a farm outside Waynoka, Oklahoma, a small town just east of the Panhandle, raising show animals and participating in 4-H and FFA. She vividly remembers the excitement of trying on her FFA jacket for the first time. “I am forever grateful for the memories, experiences, and lifelong connections I made through FFA,” she said. “It was during my time as the Waynoka FFA reporter that I realized my talent for writing and storytelling, which forever changed my life’s trajectory.” Background Bio Undergrad: Oklahoma State University, BS in agricultural communications (2015)Postgrad: Southeastern Oklahoma State University,…

Friday morning, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins asking her to develop a framework for reinstating Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef. The South Dakota Republican said that a majority of American consumers support requiring country of origin labeling for fresh meat, but the road to where we are today has been rocky. Retail-level MCOOL for fresh fruits, vegetables, beef, pork, lamb, and seafood passed as part of the 2002 Farm Bill and was implemented fully in 2008. After a number of challenges from trade partners and the World Trade Organization, Congress…

By Alistair Smout LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) – Britain is ready to implement its side of a tariff deal with the United States and is hopeful for a proclamation from U.S. President Donald Trump to put the agreement into effect in the coming days, trade minister Jonathan Reynolds said on Thursday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trump on May 8 agreed to reduce tariffs on UK imports of cars and steel to the U.S., with Britain agreeing to lower tariffs on beef and ethanol, but implementation of the deal has been delayed. Reynolds met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday and discussed the implementation of the deal.…

By Tom Foley Federal cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development assistance programs will hurt American farmers and the safety of their crops, said several agricultural research leaders at a forum hosted by U.S. Senate Democrats. “These cuts are clearly problematic for our standing in the world, our leadership in the world, our security, our trade relationships,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said. “But it also socks us here at home.” Klobuchar of Minnesota, Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member, hosted a forum to discuss the relationship between foreign…