Author: staff

A new economic analysis released by the Meat Institute shows just how critical meat and poultry processing is to the U.S. economy, especially in rural communities that depend on the industry for jobs, tax revenue, and local investment. According to the report, the meat and poultry processing sector directly contributes $57.3 billion in value to the national economy and supports nearly 584,000 jobs. When accounting for ripple effects across the supply chain — including livestock production, feed manufacturing, transportation, equipment, and other supporting industries — the total economic contribution climbs to $347.7 billion, supporting more than 3.2 million jobs nationwide.…

What if everyday cameras (the same ones in our phones) could reveal the hidden chemistry of crops? Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are making that a reality, turning low-cost RGB cameras into powerful tools that can read plant nutrients, assess crop stress, and even predict growth. Today, farmers and manufacturers rely on expensive multispectral cameras to understand what’s happening inside their crops. These tools can cost upward of $10,000, putting them far out of reach for many operations. By contrast, most people already own an RGB camera — but these only capture visible colors. That’s where the Illinois…

Synthetic dyes, a byproduct of petroleum, give food the enticing colors that consumers have come to expect. Yet, their association with ultra-processed food (UPF) and allegations of links to hyperactivity in children have driven advocacy groups to call for them to be removed from our food. The movement to ban dyes has recently transitioned from the state to the federal level, and businesses are scrambling to change their formulas ahead of the artificial-dye deadline. There are nine synthetic food dyes on the market in the United States — one is approaching its deadline to be removed from the food supply,…

Experts say cost, logistics, and limited state funding could all be contributing to the disadoption of cover crop use. When Levi Lyle was just 6 years old, his father was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. With treatment, his father survived his diagnosis. The ordeal changed how he farmed. “It created an openness in his approach to farming to start doing things differently,” Lyle said. His father started no-till farming when the practice was still rare in Iowa. A decade ago, when Lyle, now 47, moved back to the family farm, he and his father jumped into organic farming. “My…

Not long past 9:30 a.m. CT, March corn was down 2¾¢ at $4.38¾ per bushel. January soybeans were down 3¾¢ at $11.32½ per bushel. March CBOT wheat was down 4¾¢ at $5.44¾ per bushel. March KC wheat was down 5¢ at $5.26¾ per bushel. March Minneapolis wheat was down 2¾¢ at $5.83. “Buy the rumor; sell the fact,” said Naomi Blohm, senior market advisor with Total Farm Marketing. “Soybean prices fell lower yesterday in spite of two days of export sales announcements to China. The news and expectations had already been priced into the market last week.” This morning, USDA…

At dawn, the first thing most farmers do is open a gate. It’s a simple act. An act that makes way for possibility. Cattle move to fresh pasture. Tractors roll toward the field. Hands and technology meet to start another day’s work. But in agriculture’s newest frontiers — automation, sensors, and artificial intelligence — too many gates remain closed. Not to the land this time, but to opportunity. When we talk about the future of farming, we talk about technology, such as the sensors in the soil, drones in the sky, or data in the cloud. Agriculture is evolving faster…

Previously for AGDAILY, Rebuilding trust and opportunity in rural and working-class America, we made the case that our communities still have the skills, the values, and the grit to shape our own future. That article was the rallying cry. This one is the proof — the real-world examples of what it looks like when rural America puts its shoulder to the wheel and builds from within. Because behind every statistic about rural decline, there are places writing a different story. They’re not waiting for Washington or Wall Street to figure them out. They’re finding their own solutions, building with what…

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Thanksgiving dinner survey shows that a classic holiday meal for 10 will cost $55.18, a 5 percent decrease from last year (though still above prices from four years ago). While consumers may appreciate the modest savings, several items on the menu also reflect the mounting financial pressures facing America’s farmers and ranchers. Each year, volunteer shoppers across all 50 states and Puerto Rico track the cost of common Thanksgiving staples. Since 1986, the survey has captured the prices of turkey, cubed stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie…

DAILY Bites Less Scrutiny of Foreign Food: American inspections of foreign food facilities have plummeted to historic lows this year, a ProPublica data analysis shows. Trump Cuts to Blame: About two dozen current and former FDA officials blamed the drop in foreign food inspections on staffing cuts under Trump. Food Safety Undermined: Food safety experts said there’s an increased risk of outbreaks. “It’s only a matter of time before people die,” one said. DAILY Discussion American inspections of foreign food facilities — which produce everything from crawfish to cookies for the U.S. market — have plummeted to historic lows this…

This month, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the nation’s largest meatpacking companies for potential collusion and price fixing.  “Action must be taken immediately to protect consumers, combat illegal monopolies and ensure these corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American people,” Trump said in a social media post.  On Nov. 7, the White House published four claims in support of the investigation. Investigate Midwest fact-checked those claims.  Claim: The Trump administration stated, “The ‘Big Four’ meat packers — JBS (Brazil), Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef — currently dominate 85 percent…