Author: staff

Global plant genetics company GDM is set to acquire 100% of the shares in AgReliant Genetics. The acquisition looks to combine GDM’s soybean breeding expertise with AgReliant’s market leadership in corn breeding and genetics.  “The GDM and AgReliant teams share a commitment to helping growers get the highest yield for their fields, and we are excited to welcome them into the GDM family,” said Ignacio Bartolomé, CEO for GDM, in a news release. “This acquisition is a significant development for both companies and a major milestone in GDM’s growth strategy in North America. It will allow us to serve farmers…

By Ryan Hanrahan Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley reported that “the Supreme Court on Monday denied an Iowa Pork Producers Association petition on California’s Proposition 12. The petition came about after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last year rejected the IPPA’s constitutional challenge to the law.” “Prop 12 makes it a criminal offense and civil violation to sell whole pork meat in California unless the pig it comes from is born to a sow that was housed within 24 square feet of space and in conditions that allow a sow to turn around without touching an enclosure,”…

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced risk-based port re-openings for cattle, bison, and equines from Mexico will begin as early as July 7, 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, following collaboration between USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service experts and their counterparts in Mexico to increase New World Screwworm surveillance, detection, and eradication efforts, are set to begin a phased reopening of the southern ports starting with Douglas, Arizona. According to the USDA, progress has been made in several critical areas since the ports were closed on May 11th, including: resolution of challenges with conducting flights in…

Farmer sentiment weakened in June following two months of improvement, as tracked by the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The barometer dropped 12 points to 146 from the previous month. A change in producers’ expectations for the future served as the primary factor in the shift, with the Index of Future Expectations sinking 18 points to 146. The Current Conditions Index, however, lost only 2 points, standing now at 144. A drop in optimism about future agricultural exports seems to have influenced producers’ weakened outlook. Even with the June declines, all three indices persist at higher levels than a…

One North Carolina farm is encouraging its visitors to linger over a good book while they enjoy freshly picked strawberries, blueberries, and other farm products. My boys and I visited Smith’s Nursery in Benson to pick strawberries. While watching them pick three boxes of berries, I found a spot in the shade. Settling in a rocking chair on the back porch of the ice cream shack with a few scoops of chocolate, I noticed a Little Free Library.  I looked through the books in the library box at Smith’s Nursery and found a novel to read while my boys were busy picking…

By Jason Franken The June 1 inventory of all hogs and pigs, at 75.1 million head, is up 0.52% from last quarter and 0.33% higher than a year ago, and just above the upper range of pre-report estimates (0.2% lower to 0.3% higher). Likewise, market hog inventories are up 0.57% from last quarter and 0.40% from a year ago, again landing just above the upper range of expectations (0.5% lower to 0.3% higher). Meanwhile the breeding herd is the smallest in a decade, down 0.02% from last quarter and 0.47% from last year, just within the bottom range of pre-report…

Hurricanes can often be forecast days, or even weeks in advance, thanks to global weather models and international cooperation among meteorologists. But for one farmer on a small island in Northern Germany, even a few centimeters of tide change in the span of hours can mean the difference between safety and disaster. Nommen Kruse lives on the Halligen — low-lying, mound-based islands off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where land barely rises above sea level and is shielded from regular tides by manmade seawalls. On the Hallig of Noordstrandischmoor, 18 people live in four homesteads. The island has a schoolhouse…

By Ryan Hanrahan ABC News’ Allison Pecorin reported that “Senate Republicans announced Sunday that they planned a brief pause on the precession of events toward a final vote on the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ Senators will begin their vote-a-rama at 9 a.m. Monday, instead of the original early morning start time that was anticipated. In the meantime, debate of the bill will continue on the Senate floor until senators finish or their time expires.” “Once the vote-a-rama kicks off, senators will be allowed to offer an unlimited number amendments to the bill,” Pecorin reported. “When this ends, they’ll take a…

In junior high, Tyler Worthey discovered “Hot Ones,” a YouTube show where guests are challenged to eat spicy chicken wings. Although Worthey thought the show’s concept was hilarious, he found himself connecting to host Sean Evans, a fellow Illinois native. Evans’s ability to connect to his guests through his hot sauce inspired Worthey to create his own sauces to share, noting he doesn’t like “almost all condiments besides the ones I make.”  At the same time, in a biology class, he was learning about capsaicin, a chemical compound found in chili peppers that influences heat level. Worthey’s family didn’t farm,…

It has been said that the only constant is change. This is true except if you’re hoping for change from a $20 bill after filling your car’s gas tank. Tremendous changes have taken place on the farm where I launched my dairy farming career 46 years ago. When I first rented that bedraggled little farm, the city of Brookings was a mile and a half away. The city has since, in an amoeba-like fashion, gradually engulfed the entire farm. The day I lost my lease on the farm, my elderly landlord’s son informed me that the entire half-section would soon…