Author: staff

Driving east on Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota was just another Sunday drive, until we spotted the bright yellow fields. A few turns later — and down a gravel road or two — we came upon a sign, “Sunflowers on the Cotter Farm Open to the Public.” I’d seen sunflower fields near central Iowa, but believed them to be relatively small and sought after for family photography sessions. I thought these sunflower fields in Minnesota had to be different; the acres upon acres of flowers had to be production ag fields.  The Transition to Regenerative Ag  Over the past 31…

Imagine a family at their local grocery store checkout, their cart filled with staple food items and fresh produce, but with fewer familiar comfort foods and snack options than before. As their SNAP benefits are scanned, they navigate new restrictions shaping what counts as “eligible” purchases — putting more and more products back on the shelf. They just can’t afford to make those products work in their budget without them being paid for with SNAP. For many low-income and BIPOC households, these evolving rules aren’t just about what’s on the shelves, they’re about access, choice, and dignity in how they…

I’m an avid reader, and so are my boys. We are always looking for new books, and while I have discovered many agriculture-accurate books for my sons, finding books about ag for grown-ups has proven trickier.  Many books I’ve found have been too technical for a nonfarming audience, or for farmers in a different field. I have started a collection of books I’ve found that are about agriculture and written to appeal to farmers and nonfarmers alike. Here are nine books that would be great for any personal library or Little Free Library: “Growing Slow” by Jennifer Dukes Lee shares…

By Ben Blanchard TAIPEI, Sept. 29 (Reuters) – A senior U.S. Department of Agriculture official is visiting Taiwan this week, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei said on Monday, amid ongoing tariff talks with Washington. Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer, runs a large trade surplus with the United States. The island’s exports to the United States are currently subject to a 20% tariff. In a statement, the American Institute in Taiwan, which handles the unofficial relationship between Washington and Taipei, said Luke J. Lindberg, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is visiting Taiwan…

By Jacob Orledge North Dakota’s agriculture commissioner warned lawmakers this week that federal trade and health policies are exacerbating concerns of farmers already worried about low ag commodity prices and high production costs. In order to keep up, the average farm in North Dakota is borrowing 12 to 20 times more than the average farm did in the 1980s, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said.  “We’ll have to ride through this and see what happens,” Goehring told members of a legislative committee on Wednesday.  That borrowing could be a ticking time bomb, according to Rep. Mike Brandenburg, a Republican from Edgeley who…

On this episode of 15 Minutes With a Farmer, Jessie Jarvis shares her work building a platform to connect job seekers with ag careers, her mission to tell authentic stories that connect rural and urban audiences, and life on her family’s Idaho ranch. Listen to the Podcast Subscribe to 15 Minutes With a Farmer on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please rate and review us! Meet Jessie Jarvis Jarvis grew up on her family’s southern Idaho ranch. She made plans to pursue a life outside of ag as an anesthesiologist. “Six weeks into that journey of…

Top Third Ag Marketing helps farmers become better agricultural marketers with the goal of marketing crops and livestock in the top third of prices. Mark Gold and his team provide AGDAILY.com with the latest information and a look ahead in their audio commentary. Listen here! https://www.agdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/agdaily-top-third-2025-09-29.mp3 The post Markets in Minutes: Top Third looks ahead for week of Sept. 29, 2025 appeared first on AGDAILY.

Nationwide is introducing a new tool designed to help farmers get ahead of the increasing tide of extreme weather that continues to disrupt agricultural operations across the United States. The insurer has partnered with a third-party provider to launch a weather alert system for its farm policyholders, offering timely text notifications and prevention tips whenever damaging hail or high winds are in the forecast. The goal is to give farmers an early warning so they can proactively protect property, equipment, and livestock. Farmers who sign up for the program will receive alerts when sustained winds exceed 50 miles per hour,…

December corn ended the day down less than a penny at $4.21½ per bushel. November soybeans closed down 3¼¢ at $10.10½ per bushel.  December CBOT wheat closed down less than a penny at $5.19½ per bushel. December KC wheat was up 2¾¢ at $5.08¼ per bushel. December Minneapolis wheat was up 1½¢ at $5.69¼. December live cattle ended the day down 48¢ at $233.83 per hundredweight (cwt). November feeder cattle closed down 60¢ at $353.88 per cwt. December lean hogs were down 70¢ at $90.35 per cwt. Ahead of 2:30 p.m. CT, November crude oil was down $2.53 at $63.19…

In a dual set of announcements, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies unveiled a new Memorandum of Understanding on competition enforcement and a major round of food assistance purchases that will deliver relief to U.S. producers. On September 26, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and USDA signed an MOU that they say strengthens collaboration on antitrust enforcement in agricultural markets, from feed and fertilizer to fuel, seed, and farm equipment. The goal, an announcement reads, is to ensure farmers and ranchers have competitive access to essential goods while protecting consumers from inflated prices. Image by…