Author: staff

Few topics in rural America can be as divisive as addressing the construction of data centers for artificial intelligence platforms. Critics claim they overload energy infrastructure, use too much water, and cause dangerous increases in traffic; supporters say that they can be an economic boon through tax revenue and employment in the trades. Two U.S. representatives are now hoping to sort through the noise and understand the real impact these data centers can have. Democrat Jim Costa from California and Republican Blake Moore from Utah have introduced H.R. 5227, the Unleashing Low-Cost Rural AI Act, which would require the U.S. Departments…

Net farm income in the United States is projected to reach $177 billion in 2025, a sharp increase from $128 billion in 2024. This is according to the latest update of the annual U.S. farm income and consumer food price report by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Record cattle prices and large one-time government payments have boosted 2025 income, but declines in crop prices and projected reductions in future government support raise concerns about the outlook for 2026. “Despite strong income this year, much of the…

USDA published the latest Crop Progress report on Monday, Sept. 8. Here’s a closer look at recent weather and the status of Minnesota’s most important crops as September started out. Weather Jared Goplen, agronomy manager for Wyffels Hybrids, said some areas have gotten down to about 35°F, but he hasn’t heard any frost reports. There was a heavy dew and good moisture in most fields, which he thinks helped minimize frost risk. “Otherwise the weather has been conducive to late grainfill — moderate temperatures with relatively good sunshine,” he reported. “I expect crops that have kept their green color to…

In the USDA Crop Progress report released on Sept. 8, eight states reported harvested corn. Current progress across the eight states is 4%. The five-year average for harvested corn at this time of year is 3%. Here’s a closer look at the states that reported harvest activity. Texas Texas is leading the pack with the most harvested corn reported at 69%. That’s up 7 percentage points from the prior week. Last year at this time, 74% of the crop had been harvested. Texas is 6 percentage points ahead of the five-year average at this point in the season.  Texas corn…

FULTON COUNTY, Ohio — Varroa mite wiped out almost 60 percent of the commercial beekeeping force in America during the 2024-25 winter, according to recent data from U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists. And as solutions are being accelerated to protect the pollination services that feed the American food system, the industry is increasingly pointing to a need for information and better-informed management. In June, bee scientists at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service bee research lab in Beltsville, Maryland, identified the Varroa mite as the culprit. The parasitic pest spreads viruses that attack hive health and has been a decades-long threat…

John Deere has fully acquired GUSS Automation LLC, a California-based crop autonomy company that was named to the World Ag Expo’s Top-10 New Products Competition on several occasions in recent years. GUSS, which stands for Global Unmanned Spray System, unveiled the world’s first autonomous orchard sprayer in 2017 and has since created additional agricultural technology around driverless herbicide applications. The acquisition builds on an existing venture between the two companies that was established in 2022. GUSS sprayers will continue to be sold and serviced exclusively through John Deere dealers, as they are today. The business will also retain its name, brand,…

As of 8:43 a.m. CT, December corn was up 1½¢ at $4.18½ per bushel. November soybeans were up 7½¢ at $10.32¾ per bushel. December CBOT wheat was up less than a penny at $5.15¾ per bushel. December KC wheat was down 2¼¢ at $5.04¾ per bushel. December Minneapolis wheat was down 1½¢ at $5.68. This morning USDA released the weekly U.S. Export Sales report. The Brock Report offered this analysis concerning corn and soybean sales: “Net U.S. corn export sales for the week ended Sept. 4 came in at 67.3 million bushels, compared with trade expectations that ran 35.5-67 million…

The Bureau of Land Management has begun the process of rolling back the Biden Administration’s rule allowing conservation leases on its land. The agency on Wednesday released a proposal to rescind the 2024 Public Lands Rule, which aimed to put conservation uses of land on equal footing with grazing, energy production, mining, and recreation. The rule allowed the agency to issue conservation leases to individuals, businesses, nongovernmental organizations or tribal governments for up to 10 years to protect or restore habitats and ecosystems. “The previous administration’s Public Lands Rule had the potential to block access to hundreds of thousands of acres of…

Producers have increased beef output largely by sending larger cattle to slaughter, while pork farms have boosted production largely by increasing the number and sizes of litters, according to a pair of economists. Beef production for all cattle has grown from 629 pounds per animal in 2000 to 724 pounds in 2024 even as the U.S. herd fell to its smallest since 1961.  “Increasing beef production per cow has come, largely, from increased weights. Dressed weights for fed steers and heifers have steadily increased for many years. There is less evidence of changes in calving rates boosting productivity over the…

By Joshua Haiar South Dakota is at the epicenter of this fall’s bird flu season with a total of 134,900 turkeys at three facilities already killed to contain the spread, and reports coming in about thousands more.  The only other state reporting confirmed infections in commercial flocks during the last 30 days is North Dakota, where 60,300 turkeys have been killed in response, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Detections this early in the season are troubling, according to Beth Thompson, South Dakota’s state veterinarian. The peak avian influenza seasons typically coincide with…