Farmers Dig Deep To Weather Slumping Ag Economy, But Don’t Call It A Crisis
Farm income has taken a long, hard fall, dropping 50 percent since hitting a high point in 2013. Add to that near-record levels of farm debt, and you…
How Ag Programs Fare Under Trump’s Proposed Budget For 2020
President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposal is getting a lot of attention for its call for more border protection, but it also makes major changes to…
Can Hacking Plants Feed the World? The Research Looks Good
Plants are good at what they do — turning sunlight into food. However, some researchers have found the leaf world could improve, and that could have a…
Federal Government’s Shutdown Ripples Through Farm Country
The ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government, now into its third week, is reaching ever deeper into the lives of people far from the…
Experts: Dicamba Will Come For Trees, Specialty Crops In 2019
Dicamba, the controversial herbicide used on soybeans and cotton, is responsible for thousands of acres of damaged crops in recent years. Experts say…
The Fate of Illinois Farmland, An Intergenerational Effort
The fertile soil of Illinois farmland has defined the state for 200 years (hello, bicentennial). And current farmers and aspiring ones are wondering who gets to carry on the legacy for the next 200. If you’re not in the farming industry, the issue is more complicated than you think. Older generations are farming for longer,…
Final Farm Bill Shows Hemp’s In, Food-Aid Work Requirements Are Out
The long-awaited final version of the farm bill was unveiled Monday night, and it hews somewhat closely to the previous piece of massive legislation —…
A Hands-On Look At Gene-Editing Technique CRISPR, Which Could Be A Game-Changer For Ag
In a lab at George Washington University, painted lady butterflies flutter in mesh houses. This is where assistant professor Arnault Martin and his…
Beyond The Farm: A Look At The Wide World Of Ag Degrees
Fields, crops and farm animals are part of the agriculture-industry landscape, but an increasingly small one. The number of farm and ranch managers…
Cargill’s New Robot Herds Cattle So Workers Don’t Have To
Brad Churchill, a slaughter operations manager at Cargill Meat Solutions, has worked in the cattle industry for more than 30 years. He’s seen many…
Rural America is Growing, But Only Near Big Cities And Scenic Areas
For the first time in seven years, rural America’s population is growing. The annual U.S. Department of Agriculture report “Rural America at a Glance”…
Ag Co-ops Are More Than Seeds And Sales, They’re Boosting Rural Economies
Farmers started forming co-ops nearly a century ago, primarily to get better prices for their crops. They pooled their resources, put up storage bins…
Trump Signs Water Infrastructure Bill
President Donald Trump signed America’s Water Infrastructure Act on Tuesday, which authorizes work on many projects around the U.S., ranging from water…
Costco Becomes First Retailer To Control Its Entire Chicken Supply Chain
A handful of companies — think Tyson and Perdue — all but control poultry production in the U.S. They’ll soon be joined by a retailer known more for…
Hog Producers Brace For Trouble Due To China’s Tariffs On Imports
Updated April 4 to clarify the export percentage — China matters to the U.S. pork industry, as more than a quarter of all hogs raised here are shipped…