Author: staff

In the Central Valley of California, Amazon warehouses have been popping up, seemingly overnight. California even tops the charts with the most warehouses of any state. However, this is highly strategic in such a populous state, as the online retail giant’s expansion has been occurring for years. For example, in 2022, Amazon purchased 60 acres of farmland in Gilroy, California, to build a delivery center and warehouse. While Gilroy falls within the “Silicon Valley” boundaries, and Google has a presence there, the purchase was met with pushback due to environmental impacts. For those unfamiliar with this area, it is known…

Urban sprawl is a growing issue in America. According to American Farmland Trust, we lose about three acres of farmland every minute. That’s a staggering statistic, especially when only 1.5 percent of the population in North America are farmers. The question we have to ask is, what happens when we lose more farmland? What happens when local food systems vanish? Today, people are already concerned about foreign products, citing distrust in quality and safety. But as it stands, we must preserve our farmland to safeguard not only local economies but also our food security. In small towns across America, issues…

My morning routine includes sitting on the porch — hair hopelessly tangled, caffeine in-hand — scrolling through recent findings in science. Call it a desperate attempt to jumpstart my brain early in the day. It usually takes a little while for my neurons to fire up. But, a couple of weeks ago, when I read that red meat consumption is associated with type 2 diabetes, based on an analysis of 1.97 million people? I sat up, bolt-straight. You see, it’s not just that I’m an avid meat-eater — I’m also a scientist … and that’s one hell of a clinical…

By Anya Petrone Slepyan On December 18, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration honored 14 Rural Innovators during an event at the White House. The attendees had been nominated by the public for their service to their rural communities in a variety of areas including education, economic development, broadband infrastructure, and health services.  The event was headlined by three White House officials: Neera Tanden, a domestic policy advisor, Stephen Benjamin, the director of public engagement, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  “The Biden-Harris Administration is investing in rural America to create opportunity for farmers, small business owners, families, and communities,” according to a…

In late November, President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico. Despite in-person meetings between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the incoming president, the threats have not subsided, concerning many product and supply-chain industries, including horticulture. Tariffs on agricultural products are predicted to have two impacts: Canadian producers would face higher production and export costs, while American consumers would experience increased food prices. Farm and food leaders in both countries are raising alarms because the U.S. is the largest importer of horticultural goods from Canada, as well as from Mexico .…

Food deserts — areas where access to affordable, healthy food is limited — have become a symbol of the systemic inequality in our food systems. While the problem has persisted for decades, the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program is cultivating a new generation of leaders determined to address this issue and make nutritious food accessible to all. This program, launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, offers full scholarships to students at historically Black land-grant universities. Created under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, historically Black land-grant universities have played a significant role in educating Black Americans in agriculture, science,…

Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, elected four times from a swing district south of the Twin Cities, won the endorsement of the House Democratic Steering Committee on Monday to be the party’s leader on the Agriculture Committee beginning in January. The full Democratic caucus plans to vote on the post on Tuesday. The party usually follows the committee’s recommendations but success is not guaranteed. Reps. David Scott of Georgia and Jim Costa of California also sought the Democatic top spot on the committee and could be candidates on Tuesday. Published reports said Scott would drop out. “I’m ready to help us…

1. Soybean Futures Drop in Overnight Trading Soybean futures plunged overnight as expectations build for a bumper crop from Brazil.  The South American country, the world’s largest exporter of the oilseeds, is expected to produce 169 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2024/2025 marketing year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast last week.  That would be a record high and up from 153 million metric tons a year earlier.  Rainfall is expected to return to northern Brazil in the next two weeks, keeping moisture levels “stable” in the area, Commodity Weather Group said.  Wetness is southern Brazil and Paraguay…

Congressional leaders have agreed on $10 billion in financial aid to farmers to offset lower commodity prices and high production costs, said House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday. The money would be part of a must-pass bill to fund the government for the next three months. “So I think what you’ll see reflected in this final package is $10 billion,” Johnson said during a news conference. “The CR [continuing resolution] is coming together. Bipartisan work is ongoing. We’re almost there.” The package also included another one-year extension of the 2018 farm law, authorization of year-round sales of E15, and $20…

By Cami Koons The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced the highly pathogenic avian influenza had been detected in commercial and backyard flocks in Sioux, Worth, and Monona counties.  The bird flu virus impacted another egg-laying flock in Sioux County, a commercial turkey flock in Worth County, and a mixed species backyard flock in Monona County.  This comes just days after IDALS announced another detection, this time in a commercial layer flock, in O’Brien County on Dec. 14. The state has now reported 11 detections of the virus in 2024. The latest string of detections began Dec. 6 with a case in…