Over the past few months, the agricultural economy faces challenges with predicted drops in crop receipts and government payments. However, net farm income projections for 2024 have increased by $3 billion. Tractor sales are down, and economists are concerned about retreating crop prices. Meanwhile, demand for beef remains strong, and lower grain prices benefit livestock producers. A Farm Progress Magazine survey shows high demand for graduates in various agricultural majors due to their practical, hands-on education.

On this week's episode of Farm News & Views, Bob Bragg talks about dry weather affecting parts of the U.S. and a report concerning what people in a study think about higher food prices at grocery stores and restaurants.

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.