Top Agriculture News

January and February months are what I call “Meeting Season.” Before farmers put seeds in the ground for the year, they head over to meetings that concern the industry. Here are a few important ones coming up. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn and network within your corner of the ag industry: Have a Happy […]

Demand continues growing for farm labor through the H-2A program. John Walt Boatright, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, says that even though the increase in positions certified was small, it still demonstrates how important the program is. “We saw H-2A positions increase by two percent at 384,900 H-2A positions certified […]

The USDA’s H5N1 Monitoring Program set the lofty goal of eradicating the virus from U.S. dairy herds. Lucas Sjostrom of the government affairs team at Edge Dairy Cooperative says the average producer shouldn’t feel much impact from the program. “Unless, of course, their herd is positive, and they wouldn’t have found that before. That’s maybe […]

Romance scams are well known among many people under 50, but did you know they can hit seniors, even in rural areas? Michelle Reinen is the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture’s Administrator of the Division for Trade and Consumer Protection. She says regardless of age, romance scams can cost large amounts of hard-earned money. “This might […]

What will the commodity markets look like early in the new year? Ben Brown, a University of Missouri Extension Ag Economist, says he’s not especially bullish on soybeans. “I think in the short run, and by short run here, I mean, the next couple of months, I’m not overly bullish on the soybean market. Are […]

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. Looks like the bulls had Christmas and New Year’s in the grain and oilseed markets. Corn finally managed to break through the resistance and trade back to levels we have not seen since June. March corn closed […]

You know, it seems like we’re seeing just more and more of one side of the spectrum or the other. At least, it seems like that’s becoming more and more the norm these days. “Yeah, we’ve got a term for that at the state climate office. We call that “weather whiplash” because it really does […]

On December 21, Congress passed a bill to keep government running and added some needed funding for farm aid. Commissioner Weathers: Yes, Mike. I’m thankful that our leaders in Washington were able to broker a bill before Christmas that offers some relief for farmers. It includes close to $21 billion in disaster assistance for farmers. […]

As 2024 comes to a close, we celebrate a record year for the Farm to School program thanks to a Local Food for School grant from USDA that benefited small N.C. farms and businesses and for reaching 36,000 acres of farmland preserved through the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, plus other milestones. Work in these areas […]

The world population increased by more than 71 million people in 2024 and will be 8.09 billion people on New Year’s Day. Estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday show that the world population increased by almost 0.9% in 2024. That’s a slight slowdown from 2023, when it increased by 75 million people. In January 2025, 4.2 births and 2.0 deaths were expected worldwide every second, according to the estimates. The Census Bureau says the United States grew by 2.6 million people in 2024. The U.S. population will be 341 million people on New Year’s Day.