Top Agriculture News

Ag employers took a big sigh of relief after the Department of Labor revised the methodology for determining the H-2A program’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate. Northwest Horticultural Council’s Senior Vice President, Kate Tynan, says it’s great news because tree fruit growers are spending nearly every dollar they make on labor costs. “We did conduct a […]

With the U.S.–Mexico–Canada trade deal facing a 2026 review, ag leaders say farmers must have a strong voice.  Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith recently hosted USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg to hear from Nebraska producers. Top of mind for corn growers is the dispute they’ve had with Mexico, which had rejected […]

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. It looked like it was going to be a quiet week last week until China released new restrictions on rare earth minerals and related mining equipment on Thursday. Trump reached an agreement with President Xi in May […]

The 2025 growing season was a favorable one for many commodities across states like Idaho; however, the high cost of doing business continues to result in struggles for farmers and growers across the state. Brett Wilder, an ag economist at the University of Idaho, says not only is labor difficult to find, but it also […]

There is growing awareness of the threat New World screw-worm can pose to our nation’s livestock, particularly beef cattle, as this invasive pest, once decades removed from our country, travels closer to the U.S.-Mexican border. “This one’s particularly problematic because the maggot will infest living tissues and consume those on a living animal. It’ll get […]

We all want resilient plants for our landscape. Frankly we want something that is cost effective. A plant which fulfills that description and expectation is “Ironweed” (Vernonia noveboracensis). This seems to be the most common variety grown in North Carolina. Anne Clapp used to say: “A weed is a plant you don’t want in your yard,” but you definitely will want Ironweed! It is a popular and hardy herbaceous perennial that you’ll find in a lot of landscapes in North Carolina. Herbaceous means it does not have a woody stem and dies back to the ground after it flowers. By the way, “Ironweed” was named for the English botanist William Vernon who traveled extensively in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s.

Well, as we get deeper into October, the fall weather is starting to grab hold here in the Carolinas. We’ve got state Assistant Climatologist Corey Davis here. Corey, is this cooler weather here to stay, or are the days of 80-plus-degree weather in the rearview mirror? “Well, Kyle, you know, you wouldn’t have thought so […]

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. Yesterday, Thursday, Oct. 9, we were supposed to get the USDA October Supply and Demand report. Due to the government shutdown, it has been delayed officially, but in all likelihood it will be canceled. This was the […]

With the government shutdown in full effect, there won’t be any export sales reports until Congress can pass a budget resolution. However, we can still look at the estimates this week for a rough idea of what the sales might look like. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride talked about this week’s estimates for both corn […]

If you enjoy the fall flavors of apples — not just in autumn, but anytime — USDA research economist Katherine Weber notes this year’s projected U.S. apple production. “The 2025 U.S. apple crop is forecast at 11.5 billion pounds, according to the August USDA mass crop production report. The 2025 apple crop marks the third […]