Farm News & Views

Cow calf producers saw a significant price increase at the Corn Belt Classic sale, with steers trading up to $35/hundredweight more than in 2023, driven by past drought-induced herd culling.

Farmers and ranchers are concerned about passing a new farm bill this summer, a complex process involving eight legislative steps with only one completed so far. Meanwhile, H5N1 bird flu has spread to poultry and dairy herds, prompting efforts to develop an avian flu vaccine. A recent poll shows that American farmers strongly support conservation funding to address climate change impacts.

Virtual fencing systems for livestock use GPS-enabled collars to define grazing areas without physical fences, transforming how ranchers manage pastures.

The U.S. Drought Monitor Map continues to show fewer areas of the country impacted by drought, ways to reduce skin cancer cases in farmers and ranchers, and why branding cattle is still a common practice on many ranches.

Hay stocks improve across some of the Four Corners states, mental health resources are available for farmers and ranchers who need help, and a new version of the Farm Bill seems destined to fail in Congress.

Farmers in the upper Midwest hit by a solar storm that affected GPS receivers used to plant spring crops, Americans flower-buying habits generate big business, and agriculture is likely to take another direct hit from tariff increases on Chinese imports.

The controversy over the gray wolf appears to be far from over in the West and in western Colorado, solar energy companies are paying farmers to lease their ground for solar energy production, and some insight into the use of water from the Colorado River for irrigating alfalfa.

H5N1 bird flu continues to be in the headlines, a local Weed Management Workshop will help farmers and landowners deal with undesirable plants, the U.S. Interior Department to install solar panels above irrigation canals in California, Oregon, and Utah, and U.S. cheese remains the least expensive in the world.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza continues to cause problems with dairy cattle in the U.S. as the virus spreads, a virus is attacking cacao trees in the West African countries of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, the world has added 398 million harvested acres of feed grains, food grains, and oil seeds during the 21st century, and the EPA reports that while U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased from 2021 to 2022 by 1.3%, agricultural emissions dropped 1.8%.

The research into how Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is being spread to dairy cows shows a link to cats, the House Agriculture Committee Chair indicates that committee members might be close to finalizing a new farm bill, and some online gardening tips for spring planting.