Author: staff

A bee attack in Comanche, Texas, left a family grieving the loss of three of their rodeo horses. The attack, which occurred on May 9, involved an aggressive swarm believed to be Africanized bees that targeted both animals and their owners: Baillie Hillman and her partner, James. “This was the scariest day of my life,” Hillman wrote in a viral Facebook post. “It was a day you see only in horror films and made-up nightmares. A day that only the devil would enjoy.” The morning started routinely. The couple turned out a few horses near their home to graze. Hours…

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of four articles highlighting the contributions farmers and their tractors made to winning World Wars I and II. This story first appeared in Ageless Iron Almanac. The shell-pocked muddy morass of World War I’s battlefields offered the ultimate performance test for a pioneering tractor originally designed to traverse the soft peat soils of California farms. Holt’s massive model 75 crawler proved so effective at pulling large artillery pieces and supply wagons across the war-wrecked landscape of Europe’s Western Front that over 3,000 Caterpillars would eventually see use during the Wars To…

By Cami Koons More than half of corn and soybean acres are planted, which puts Iowa farmers more than a week ahead of last year’s pace, according to the crop progress and condition report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Thirty percent of corn and 16% of soybean acres have emerged as of Monday.  Stu Swanson, president of Iowa Corn Growers Association, said despite weather delays last month, his fields, and those in his north central region are “sitting in a really good spot.” “Farmers tend to be worriers,” Swanson said. “We worried that we weren’t going to get back in, and…

1. Grains, Soybeans Lower in Overnight Trading Grain and soybean futures were lower in overnight trading after the USDA issued a lofty production outlook for corn.  USDA forecast corn production for the 2025/2026 marketing year at 15.82 billion bushels on yield of 181 bushels an acre. That’s up from a February outlook for 15.585 billion bushels, though the yield outlook was unchanged.  If realized, that would be up from the 14.867 billion bushels forecast for the 2024/2025 season, according to government data. Yield in the current marketing year is pegged at 179.3 bushels an acre.  Corn stockpiles at the end…

By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, May 13 (Reuters) – A surprising tariff pause between Beijing and Washington will not help U.S. farmers gain soy sales in China without additional concessions, producers said, because top-supplier Brazil still has a competitive price advantage. Under the truce announced on Monday, the U.S. will cut extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145% for the next three months, while Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125%. Soybean export premiums fell in Brazil on the de-escalation, reflecting expectations that China could buy more from the U.S. But American farmers said the tariff pause isn’t enough.…

Performance Food Group Company has opened a new facility in West Salem, Wisconsin — a $32 million investment that they say will significantly enhances the company’s regional meat processing capabilities. The new Grand Western Upper Midwest facility replaces the former La Crosse Meat Plant and stands as a modern, 60,000-square-foot operation designed to streamline production and bolster distribution across the region. “This new facility is a game-changer for our operations and customers,” said Tyler Zimmerman, General Manager of Grand Western Upper Midwest. “The increased capacity and advanced automation allow us to deliver the high-quality products our customers expect—more efficiently than ever…

Georgia has become the second state to pass a law shielding pesticide manufacturers from certain types of lawsuits, specifically those alleging a failure to warn users about potential health risks. The legislation, which was signed into law Friday by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, aims to protect Bayer from lawsuits that claim its widely used weed killer, Roundup, is linked to cancer. It more broadly applies to any pesticide company that complies with federal labeling requirements. Georgia joins North Dakota, which enacted such a law last month as Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed House Bill 1318. At least nine other states have…

The Iowa Senate voted Monday night to pass a bill that one trade association said “essentially bans” carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) pipeline projects in the state.  Iowa House File 639 passed with 27 yea votes. An Iowa Capital Dispatch report said the bill limits the ability of CCS pipeline projects to use eminent domain.  “HF 639, as written, changed definitions of a common carrier, increased insurance requirements to cover any damages to property and reimburse landowners for increases in premiums due to the pipeline, set requirements for the [Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC)], and expanded who can intervene in IUC…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reversed course and agreed to restore content related to climate, conservation, and farm support tools that had previously been removed from its public websites. Many argued that this purge of information had hurt communities across the country by depriving farmers and researchers of the resources they need to make time-sensitive decisions and participate in highly consequential debates about USDA funding and policies related to climate change. The reversal comes after a lawsuit filed by advocacy organizations Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute, in which they alleged the USDA unlawfully took down materials that…

The U.S. agricultural machinery market is staying troubled, as seen from the April 2025 tractors and combine sales, which were released by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Both year-to-date and month-by-month sales reports show precipitous declines in nearly all classes of tractors from April 2024. 2WD Farm Tractors experienced an overall decrease of 11.7 percent in April sales and 12.8 percent YTD: < 40 HP tractors dropped 10.4 percent in April (15,387 units vs. 17,177 in 2024) and 11.8% YTD (38,244 vs. 43,374). 40–100 HP tractors fell 7.3 percent in April and 10 percent YTD, with 14,131 units sold YTD…