Author: staff

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…

For more than 30 years, Kawasaki side-by-sides have been useful for work and recreation. In that tradition, the company has released new models in its Mule and Mule PRO-FXT lines. Mule 4000 Trans and 4010 Trans 4X4 The Trans Cab system allows these machines to quickly convert from a two-row, four-seat vehicle to a one-row cargo hauler, without the need for tools. A variety of accessories include a hard cab, soft cab, winches, windshields, and skid plates to customize the machines for many uses.  The 4000 and 4010 models start at $11,449. Mule SX Available in four configurations, starting with…

Things have been going to pot at our place lately. This isn’t necessarily a bad development. In fact, some would argue that it’s a welcome outcome. My wife, for one, would likely say, “It’s about time!” The pots that I’m referring to are the kind that have to do with plants. Specifically, the type of plants whose main features are flowers that my wife has objectively and scientifically classified as “pretty.”  It’s the time of year once again when I often have potting soil beneath my fingernails. We’re talking about enough dirt in the nail bed to grow a crop…

“This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” In the United States, farmers have access to federally subsidized crop insurance — a backstop that affords them some peace of mind in the face of extreme weather. When droughts, floods, or other natural disasters ruin a season’s harvest, farmers can rely on insurance policies that will pay out a certain percentage of the expected market value of the food, saving them from financial ruin. But that insurance program could become strained as global warming worsens, bringing more uncertainty to the agricultural sector. A new study…

By Ryan Hanrahan Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported Wednesday night that “the House Agriculture Committee voted 29-25 along party lines to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 billion in food aid spending to pay for Republicans’ domestic policy megabill and some farm bill programs.” “The Wednesday vote sends the measure to the House Budget Committee for consideration before a full floor vote in the chamber on the bill,” Yarrow reported. “The GOP proposal would create the largest overhaul in decades to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 42 million people in the U.S. pay…

In The Last of Us, a television and video game series, survivors of an apocalyptic fungal pandemic struggle to survive after the collapse of society, fighting other survivors and the feral humans who have been infected with cordyceps, a mind-altering fungus that turns those it infects into murderous zombies. In real life, an insect-infecting relative of cordyceps might save Virginia farmers from an “apocalypse” of another kind. Hadi Farrokhzadeh, a visiting scholar at Virginia Tech’s Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC), is conducting new research using a fungus in the Cordycipitaceae family to control populations of corn earworm…

By Jonathan Coppess, Gary Schnitkey, Nick Paulson, Bruce Sherrick, and Carl Zulauf Budget reconciliation has begun in the House of Representatives, with multiple committees releasing text and holding business meetings to mark-up the legislation. As part of that process the House Agriculture Committee released legislative text on Monday, May 12, 2025, and began its mark-up on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 (House Agriculture Committee, Business Meeting; Yarrow, May 12, 2025). This article provides an initial overview of its provisions.  Further analysis will be provided as more information becomes available, including official information from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on changes in Federal outlays…

The used baler market is affected by many things, not the least of which is herd size and forage production conditions. Currently, drought in parts of the U.S. has made baler sales slow down as producers are evaluating the next steps for their operations. This can mean deals for those in the market, if you know what to look for. Carefully inspecting used machines can uncover great opportunities at auction. Timing is also important as certain pieces of equipment, like balers, tend to follow predictable seasonal sales patterns. Andy Campbell and Dave Mowitz discuss factors affecting used baler sales, as…