Limited Gains on Drought Map After Weekend Storm
So, this past weekend, we had something that we had not seen around here in the Carolinas for many months: a round of good, old-fashioned rain. But did it improve any of the drought maps here in the Carolinas? We've got State Climatologist Corey Davis here. Corey, like we were talking about last week, a nice inch, two ...
What's Ahead for Fertilizers in 2026?
Fertilizer industry experts have been watching the prices for all kinds of nitrogen sources during the winter months. The question is what they're seeing as we draw closer to the start of spring fertilization and planting. Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer for StoneX, talked about what he's seeing as we head ...
Beef Flowing Between Mexico and the U.S. May Be Changing?
The southern U.S. border has been closed to livestock imports from Mexico for more than a year, thanks to the New World Screwworm marching northward through Mexico. With very tight cattle supplies in the U.S., what would be the effect of reopening the border on cattle numbers in America? Scott Varilek, a broker with Ko...
National FFA Week Celebrates Students and Changes Lives
Around the nation, FFA members are celebrating National FFA Week, February 21-28. Layten Sobieski, the state sentinel on the Wisconsin State FFA Officer Team, talked about his first FFA experience. "My FFA experience started when I was a freshman in high school by simply taking an agriculture course. While having ...
Ag Groups File Amicus Brief Supporting AEWR Interim Ruling
The Trump Administration's Adverse Effect Wage Rate interim ruling for H2-A workers is being challenged in court claiming the new calculations will harm foreign guest workers. A coalition of 25 ag groups, including the American Farm Bureau and the North Carolina Chamber, recently filed an amicus brief to the court in s...
NASCAR Names POET Official Bioethanol Partner
NASCAR is the first major U.S. motorsports series to utilize zero-carbon bioethanol, thanks to a new partnership with POET, the nation's largest biofuel producer. POET is now the Official Biofuel Partner of NASCAR. POET Founder and CEO Jeff Broin said the partnership with NASCAR is the right place to show off the new z...
Year-Round E15 Doubts Linger as Sunday Deadline for Deal Passes
Agreement on legislation to allow year-round E15 sales continued to elude farm and oil interests despite a Sunday deadline. A draft plan by the House GOP's Rural Domestic Energy Council failed to win support by the weekend from mid-sized oil refiners who killed year-round E15 in an earlier defense bill. Despite breaks ...
Still Waiting for Full-Scale Beef Herd Rebuilding
Despite high beef prices, the U.S. cattle herd remains at record low numbers. Nate Kauffman, the senior vice president and Omaha branch executive for the Kansas City Fed, said the numbers show there should be some rebuilding underway. "You might ask the question that, especially as you look at the chart on the rig...
Troxler: Farmland Preservation Funding Lags Amid Rapid North Carolina Growth
North Carolina is facing record growth, but state agriculture officials warn that expansion is coming at a cost: the steady loss of farmland and forestland. North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said the state's goal is not to stop development altogether, but to slow the pace at which agricultural land ...
Labor Costs are Still Putting Producers Out of Business
It's no secret that the cost of agricultural labor is a major expense for farmers, but it has exploded in recent years to a level that many cannot afford. Kate Tynan, Vice President of the Northwest Horticultural Council, says getting the crops picked is flat-out unaffordable for many producers. "We've done some r...