Author: staff

We’ve all heard it said: farming makes up 10 percent of America’s greenhouse gas emissions. It’s been repeated so often, folks take it as gospel. And sure enough, if you dig into the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s reports, you’ll find a tidy number — about 600 million metric tons of CO2e a year, or 10.8 percent of the total. But here’s the catch. That number only tells half the story. It counts what’s coming out of the barn, but not what’s going into the ground. And it treats cow burps like they stick around forever, when in reality they vanish…

The Department of Government Efficiency has removed additional USDA offices from its lease termination list, further trimming the more than 100 ag department offices originally listed on the DOGE Wall of Receipts. In total, 18 more termination listings have been removed since Successful Farming first reported the original list had been shortened. Those 18 terminations were projected to save $9.92 million.  Now, just 31 USDA agency offices are listed for lease termination, with a total savings listed as $9.83 million. The 18 offices no longer listed include three Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices, 10 Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices,…

After weeks of discussion and an overnight “vote-a-thon” session rolling from Monday morning into Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a budget reconciliation bill late Tuesday. The bill passed with a 51-50 vote after Vice President JD Vance broke the tie on the floor.  The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where it will have to pass a vote in the lower chamber before heading to the desk of President Donald Trump. Large segments of the bill will have an impact on agriculture and rural families. One of the most contentious portions of the bill is a cut to…

Editor’s note: This article was written by my grandfather several years ago before he passed away. I recently found it and made a few modifications to his original manuscript. He left a note on it stating he hoped to have it published. Today’s high horsepower, 4-wheel drive, track units, and front-wheel assist have replaced all but memories of the tandem tractor era. This new wave of power came late in the 1950s and early 1960s. My farm life had been interrupted by a two-year stay in the U.S. Army, one year of which I spent in Korea as a tank…

In its Crop Progress report released Monday, the USDA offered a first look at the progress of soybeans setting pods across the country. Nationwide, progress reached 3% during the week that ended June 29, just ahead of the five-year average of 2%.  Just under half of the 18 top growing states have soybeans at the setting pods stage, with progress ranging from 1% to 41%. Here’s a closer look. Arkansas USDA reported that 41% of the soybean crop in Arkansas had reached the setting pods stage as of June 29, an increase from 33% the week prior. That’s ahead of…

In 1984, I teamed up with former Successful Farming Editor in Chief Loren Kruse to write the textbook “Charting for Profit,” which had some of the first-ever seasonal price pattern studies. The concept was simple: Look back five or 10 years and study price changes, month by month. This method showed when prices usually peaked for the corn, soybean, and wheat markets, as well as when they usually put in lows.  Corn chart image above: This chart shows that over the last several years, selling corn in January and May has been better than in April. The lows have usually come…

As the Fourth of July nears and the calendar turns to a key section of the growing season, the state of Nebraska is experiencing some relief from a very dry spring that threatened to derail farmers’ plans.  Eric Hunt, extension educator for Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said much of the state experienced “significant precipitation” in June. Hunt said pasture conditions in particular were improved after the rainfall. Parts of Central Nebraska, in particular, received more than 7 inches above the average historical rainfall for June. Grand Island had the second-wettest June in its history. Iowa Environmental Mesonet…

In its latest Crop Progress report, the USDA rated more than 80% of the corn crop in three of the top 18 corn-growing states good/excellent. What’s more, that percentage in a third of the 18 states is at least 75%. Nationwide, 73% of the corn crop was rated good/excellent, the highest percentage all season. Take a look at the six states that boosted that percentage during the week that ended June 29. Pennsylvania With 86% of its crop rated good/excellent — 30% of that falling into the excellent category — Pennsylvania has the best corn in the country. Just 12%…

CattleCon 2026 is heading to the heart of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, Feb. 3-5, along with opportunities to join the largest cattle industry event of the year. Applications are being accepted for the NCBA National Anthem Contest, sponsored by Norbrook, internships, and scholarships. National Anthem Contest The 13th annual NCBA National Anthem Contest, sponsored by Norbrook, is accepting entries through Oct. 15. The contest winner will perform the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the event’s Opening General Session and will receive round trip airfare to Nashville, a hotel room for three nights, complimentary convention registration, plus a pair of boots, jeans and a…

Image by zimmytws, Shutterstock Farm Credit East, the Northeast’s largest agricultural lender, recently awarded $88,000 in higher education scholarships to 40 student recipients. Farm Credit East’s scholarship program supports students with diverse career aspirations in agriculture, commercial fishing, forest products and related fields from across the association’s eight-state territory. “This year’s scholarship recipients aspire to make a difference in their communities and are well on their way to becoming future industry leaders and entrepreneurs,” said Farm Credit East CEO Mike Reynolds. Farm Credit East Board Chair John Knopf commented, “The Farm Credit East Board of Directors congratulates these deserving students…