Author: staff

Researchers out of North Carolina State University have developed a new model that can suggest the optimal conditions for farmers to plant cover crops to help ensure long-term cash-crop success. The findings could help improve farm budgets and serve as aids to farmers making decisions about their land. The model, based on an examination of 35 years of available data on an experimental cotton farm in west Tennessee, accounts for local conditions — including current prices of cash crops and fertilizer as well as the health and fertility of the soil — and then suggests whether an investment in cover…

By Ashley Murray WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs can go forward while the administration fights to overturn a lower court’s trade decision that ruled the global import taxes unlawful, according to a U.S. appeals court order late Tuesday. The two cases filed by a handful of private businesses and a dozen Democratic state attorneys general will be consolidated and heard by a full panel of active circuit court judges in July, according to the four-page order from the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit. Democratic state attorneys general who brought the suit represent Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New…

By Ryan Hanrahan Reuters’ Mike Scarcella reported that “agriculture equipment giant Deere must face a lawsuit by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission accusing the company of forcing farmers to use its authorized dealer network and driving up their costs for parts and repairs, a U.S. judge has ruled.” “U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston in the federal court in Rockford, Illinois, on Monday ruled for now to reject Deere’s effort to end the lawsuit, which was filed at the end of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration in January,” Scarcella reported. “The lawsuit alleges Deere is violating federal antitrust law by controlling too…

July corn ended the day down 1¾¢ at $4.37 per bushel. July soybeans closed down 7¼¢ at $10.50½ per bushel. July wheat contracts closed mixed. CBOT wheat ended the day down less than a penny at $5.34¼ per bushel. KC wheat was down a penny at $5.26¼. Minneapolis wheat was up 4¢ at $6.17¼. “The grain markets [had] a day of positioning ahead of the USDA WASDE [World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates] report coming at us tomorrow,” said Aaron Huebner, senior market analyst at CHS Hedging. “News was limited as most will wait for tomorrow’s numbers and any updated…

As extreme weather intensifies across the U.S., a growing body of data shows the staggering human and economic toll it’s taking on agriculture and communities alike. A recent study found Arizona to be the state with the highest weather-related fatality rate, with 1,405 deaths over the past five years. Meanwhile, states such as Louisiana and Hawaii face astronomical per-person costs from storms, floods, and wildfires, with damages exceeding $6,000 per resident in some cases. Image by Your Insurance Attorney This state-level analysis — done by property and casualty damage firm Your Insurance Attorney — aligns with new data from the…

By Cami Koons Gov. Kim Reynolds Wednesday vetoed a controversial bill pertaining to eminent domain and carbon sequestration pipelines in Iowa. House Republican leaders initiated an effort to reconvene the Legislature to override the veto, but Senate GOP leaders indicated that was unlikely. House File 639 would have increased insurance requirements for hazardous liquid pipelines, limited carbon pipeline permits to one 25-year term and changed the definition of a common carrier for pipelines, making it more difficult for the projects to use eminent domain.  Reynolds, in a statement, said she shared the bill’s goal of “protecting landowners” but the bill lacked…

Under what conditions would it be right — or is it never acceptable — to eliminate a harmful species from our planet? That’s what an international team of researchers, including Professor of Philosophy Dr. Clare Palmer from Texas A&M University, explores in a study published in Science. In the study, Deliberate extinction by genome modification: An ethical challenge, researchers examine the controversial idea of using genetic engineering for local and full species extinction as a conservation strategy. They conducted case studies on three species: the New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax); the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, a vector for malaria; and invasive…

The United States has lost 90 percent of its large-animal and livestock veterinarians over the past 80 years, despite a dramatic increase in the production of food animals, according to a 2023 Johns Hopkins study. As the shortage worsens, farmers are struggling to access veterinary care for their livestock and poultry, jeopardizing both animal health and the security of our food supply. To address this national challenge, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges have selected the seventh cohort of FFAR Veterinary Student Research Fellows. This year-long fellowship provides 15 students with…

The start to the 2025 growing season has been varied for the Corn Belt, and dynamic weather conditions have states and regions in a range of situations crop-wise heading into key summer months.  Progress on corn and soybean planting and emergence among the top 18 growing states is in line with years past, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Corn condition sits at 71% good/excellent condition and soybeans are at 68% good/excellent condition nationwide, per the latest Crop Progress report from the USDA. State climatologists in Illinois and Tennessee are still cautious as critical stages of the season are…

Farmers in Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are still waiting for more than a quarter of their corn to emerge. The latest Crop Progress report published by USDA indicated 87% of the national corn crop has emerged. Colorado As of the week ended June 8, 71% of Colorado corn had emerged. This is 3 percentage points behind the five-year average. However, 2025 corn emergence is well ahead of the 62% out of the ground at this time last year. USDA rated Colorado corn 1% very poor, 2% poor, 19% fair, 59% good, and 19% excellent. Kentucky The latest Crop Progress…