Top Agriculture News

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 […]

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. Friday’s trade has fit the pattern of the last few weeks where we saw a lot of pre-hedge pressure come into the market before the weekend. Harvest continues on a blistering pace. On Monday, USDA reported corn […]

North Carolina Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler joining me now, and the North Carolina State Fair just in the rearview mirror, and oh so close to a million people through the turnstiles. “The final tally was 998,926, so we were that close. But a million is a number to shoot at. We gave the success of […]

The Worker and Farmer Labor Association, along with several agricultural groups, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor to protect farmers from recently issued H-2A regulations. WAFLA CEO Enrique Gastelum says this suit follows a recent ruling in Georgia that found in favor of agriculture in 17 states. “While my group that I’m, […]