Top Agriculture News

The National FFA Organization elected its new leadership team for the next year during the recent national convention. Thaddeus Bergscheider of Franklin, Illinois, was elected as the new President. He talks about his family background in agriculture. “I was raised on a corn, soybean row-crop operation, and then we also have 200 head of cattle. […]

It’s been five years since USDA’s Risk Management Agency first offered the crop insurance product known as Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index. “That product is what’s called a weather index policy. So it’s a little bit different than your own individual underlying multi-partial policy in that we use weather data, and that doesn’t require that you […]

Despite market head winds, land values continue to be strong, particularly in the Midwest. Paul Schadegg is Senior Vice President of Farm and Ranch Management and Real Estate for the Farmers National Company, and says the market in the “I” states continues to display resiliency. “Good quality, high productive soils are still bringing a premium, […]

While the farm economy seems to have stabilized in the Midwest and Northern Plains, it weakened in the rest of the U.S. this fall. Producers are dealing with high costs and lower commodity prices. “Agricultural activity was flat to down modestly, with some crop prices remaining unprofitably low,” reported the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. Farmers […]

Bird flu has been detected in a pig in the US for the first time. It was found in a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon. The US Department of Agriculture says it has no concern about the safety of the nation’s pork supply and there’s nothing to suggest the bird flu is getting […]

A North Carolina grower has made history, becoming the first woman to be named the Sunbelt AgExpo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. Faylene Whitaker of Climax, North Carolina, has been farming since she was 19 and married her teenage sweetheart Richard, but told Spectrum News it was tough starting out. “We had a hard time […]

Foreign animal diseases and ag trade were among the topics during the Tri-National Agriculture Accord hosted last week by NASDA, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. The meeting brought together ag leaders from across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. “What we’re after is a quest to make certain we have that trust and […]

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Autonomous tech is coming to farming. From self-driving tractors to fruit-picking robots, a growing number of technology companies are bringing automation to agriculture. Advocates of the technology say it will ease the sector’s labor shortage, help farmers manage rising costs, and provide workers with respite from extreme weather — issues that are closely related to climate change. But despite a hot automation market, many small farmers and producers across the country aren’t sold on whether a slate of often-costly technologies could shape the future of farming.

South Carolina has been identified as a top-five most dangerous state for rural motoring. Wyoming tops the list with a worrying 19.76 rural crash fatalities per 100,000 residents. This rate starkly contrasts with Massachusetts, which recorded the safest rate at just 0.43 fatalities per 100,000. These results are from a recent study conducted by Lucky […]

Commissioner, I understand you went to Sunbelt Ag Expo recently for the Southeastern Farmer of the Year Awards in support of a South Carolina farm family. Yes, Mike. Every October we head to Moultrie, Georgia, for Sunbelt and for the Farmer of the Year awards.   South Carolina was runner-up this year. Faylene Whitaker of […]