Top Agriculture News

After several years of rapidly rising farmland values, 2024 saw things begin to cool off. Randy Dickhut, farmland sales expert with Agricultural Economic Insights, says the cyclical up-and-down nature of farmland prices is normal. That’s correct, and that’s very typical. Listening or visiting with brokers and agricultural people around the country and reading the data, […]

U.S. agriculture is still waiting for an updated farm bill after the 2018 bill was extended twice. Pieces of a new farm bill are moving through the budget reconciliation process. While it’s not the whole farm bill, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is glad to see at least some progress. “I know that Senator Chairman John […]

Labor challenges are among some of the most difficult issues facing farmers and ranchers, especially for those who utilize the H-2A program. John Walt Boatright, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, explains how the program works. “The H2A Program is the temporary and seasonal guest worker program that many farms and […]

Although it is not officially summer YET, it definitely feels like it in South Carolina. When it feels like summer, we all know it is time for summer produce! SCDA and the State Farmers Markets they operate are hosting some summer tasting events!

For the first time, the destructive spotted lanternfly has been detected in Rockingham County, making it the third county in the state where the pest has been found. Other sites are in Forsyth and Guilford counties.  

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. Bulls need to be fed and there has not been much for the grain bulls in a while. Corn crop conditions came out this week at 69% good/excellent which was right in line with expectations. That is […]

While the Trump Administration is touting American exports and manufacturing, an unusual provision in the Big Beautiful Bill singles out one ag export for what amounts to a tax increase. Ray Starling, General Counsel of the North Carolina Chamber and a former Trump White House advisor, says tobacco is in the crosshairs. “One that singles […]

More tightening of cattle and beef supplies per USDA’s latest Cattle on Feed Report. Livestock analyst Michael McConnell says, for the period ending May 1… “We have relatively smaller inventories and feedlots relative to a year ago, with fewer placements and fewer marketing that’s reflective of the overall tighter cattle situation than what we’ve seen […]

The May Rural Mainstreet Index fell below the growth-neutral reading of 50.0 for the 19th time in the past 20 months. The ten-state region covered by the Index came in at 44 during May, up from 40 in April. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with 50 representing growth neutral. “According to the bank CEOs […]

After several years of USDA hearings with the dairy industry, changes to the Federal Milk Marketing Orders took effect over the weekend. Danny Munch, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, says the FMMO structure is intended to protect farmers. “The primary purpose of the federal order system is to set minimum prices milk […]