Author: staff

Five Black U.S. farmworkers from Mississippi have filed a federal lawsuit against prominent Mississippi Delta farmer Gregory Carr, accusing him of systemic discrimination by favoring White South African workers over local Black employees. The lawsuit alleges that Carr misused the H-2A visa program, resulting in thousands of dollars in unpaid wages for the American workers. The suit — lodged in federal court in Greenville by Southern Migrant Legal Services, a project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and the Mississippi Center for Justice — makes allegations that Carr exploited the H-2A visa program. This federal program permits U.S. agricultural employers to hire…

The U.S. Drought Monitor released its latest report Thursday, showing worsened drought conditions in Nebraska. According to the monitor, around 62% of the state is in severe or extreme drought.  Eric Hunt, extension educator for Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said getting precipitation in the next 10 days to two weeks is critical.  “If things don’t shape up here in the next two weeks, we’re staring at 2012-type conditions square in the face again,” Hunt said. “And I don’t mean to put that lightly, but I think that’s what we’re facing.”  Compared to the May 8 report, the…

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The Founding Father didn’t know it then, but sometimes those two constants happen in quick succession. For farm families, estate taxes aren’t just an abstract policy debate — they’re a very real threat to generational farms and the livelihoods they support. While tax policy tends to fly under the radar for most people, recent developments out of Washington, D.C., are once again putting the federal estate tax front and center, especially for the agricultural community. This time the story starts with the 2017 Tax Cuts and…

By Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) – The Trump administration plans to rule quickly on dozens of small U.S. refineries’ pending applications for exemptions from biofuel-blending requirements, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told lawmakers on Thursday. There are 161 applications for exemptions from the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard pending after the Biden administration refrained from acting on them. The EPA’s decision will have significant implications for the multi-billion-dollar credit market that underpins the biofuel program. “None of these were getting approved at all in the last administration,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a congressional hearing. “We…

By Sybille de La Hamaide GENEVA, May 14 (Reuters) – U.S. soybean exports may drop 20% and prices will plunge if the United States and China fail to resolve their trade dispute limiting U.S. soybeans from their largest market, agribusiness consultancy AgResource said on Wednesday. The temporary truce in the U.S.-China trade war, announced on Monday, would not help U.S. farmers revive soy sales in China as Chinese duties, even reduced to 10% from 145%, remained too high to make U.S. soybeans competitive, analysts and exporters said on the sidelines of the GrainCom conference in Geneva. U.S. soybean exports could slump to 1.5 billion…

Great Plains has introduced new sizes of its BD7410 min-till drill, and the BD7510: a brand-new box drill for no-till operations.  These new box drills are designed around narrow transport sizes for ease of navigation while moving field to field, capable of traveling through narrow gates and roadways. “Great Plains is excited to grow our narrow-transport product portfolio, making more high-performance drills available to today’s producers,” said Kale Downing, box drill product manager for Great Plains. “The BD7410 and BD7510 are game-changing drills in terms of the way they combine transportability, productivity, versatility, and precision. Switching between field and transport…

July corn ended the day up 3¢ at $4.48½ per bushel. July soybeans closed down 26½¢ at $10.51¼ per bushel. July wheat contracts closed higher. CBOT wheat ended the day up 8¢ at $5.32¾ per bushel. KC wheat was up 5¼¢ at $5.28¼. Minneapolis wheat was up 3¢ at $5.80. Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX, said soybean oil was limit down today and created a drag on soybean demand. He said this was in response to the news that EPA may not set the Renewable Fuel Standard blending requirement for biomass-based diesel as high as the industry requested.…

Every February, National FFA Week offers a chance for students, schools, and communities to rally behind agricultural education and celebrate the future of farming and leadership. In 2025, FFA chapters across the country marked the annual event with service projects, spirited dress-up days, school assemblies, and community outreach — all centered on the lasting impact of the National FFA Organization. According to a 2025 survey, 93 percent of FFA advisors reported participating in the celebration. Activities varied widely — from hosting teacher appreciation lunches to organizing public service campaigns. Seventy-seven percent of advisors used FFA toolkits and downloadable resources to…

Here’s every corn grower’s chance to show off their high yields for 2025 — and to share a bit of education with their fellow farmers. The National Corn Growers Association has kicked off the 61st annual Yield Contest today. For six decades, this event has celebrated the ingenuity, resilience, and drive of America’s corn growers — those who continuously push the limits of what’s possible in modern agriculture. It’s where we’ve seen growers top an astounding 600 bu/A on multiple occasions.  The 2025 contest is now open for entries through August 13, offering growers across the country a chance to…

This summer, the motorsports version of the “Field of Dreams” will roar back to life. Just an hour from downtown Des Moines with a large cornfield surrounding the Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa, will once again host the two largest professional motorsports series in the United States: the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. The NASCAR weekend Aug. 1-3 is especially important for the speedway and for Iowa farmers. For the second straight year, the Cup Series race will bear the name of the largest state corn grower organization — the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol. How this partnership came to be…