A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

It has long been a misconception -- by those in the general public -- that all corn growing in a field is the same. This confusion is generally fueled by the mixed messages consumers have received about the corn ethanol industry's feedstock of choice. Despite what strong opinions some have, the truth is, there are many varieties of corn with ...
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Currently, 36% of global crop yield is consumed as animal feed and nearly 70% of all arable land is used for animal agriculture. The trouble is, the livestock industry is now being targeted in the media as doing major damage to our planet. This is further opening the door to meat and protein alternatives. Whether you agree or disagree with the ...
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The USDA is estimating that average farm labor costs have risen +6% since last year. The all-hired worker annual average gross wage rate during 2021 was $16.38 per hour, versus $15.49 in 2020 and $14.91 in 2019. At the same time, the total number of workers declined by -3.6%, with USDA estimating an average of 672,000 hired workers in 2021 ...
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Seaweed has long been touted as a human "superfood" but more attention has recently turned to its possible use as a feed additive to reduce methane emissions from ruminant livestock, particularly cows. Headlines have claimed as much as -80% reductions in the amount of methane released by cow burps. I know, like me you are probably laughing but this is ...
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Livestock producers have been hit hard during the pandemic with the blows starting right at the outset when processing capacity nosedived, and has since only deepened right along with supply chain logjams. Left scrambling to find an outlet for their products, groups across the country have cropped up to sell beef, pork, poultry, and more directly to consumers. It's hardly ...
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We are very close to Sold Out! This is going to be our best conference ever and I am extremely excited to kickoff the New Year with lots of friends and great thinkers from inside our industry. Like I always say, it's tough to gain different perspectives from within my own office or our own backyard. This is a great ...
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One of the most quintessential Thanksgiving foods is arguably pumpkin pie. While it is extremely popular in the U.S. and Canada, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the rest of the world that has ever had it. The ancient cultivar that became our modern-day pumpkin has been traced to Central America in a region that is believed to have ...
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There is something a little magical and distinctly American about a Fall afternoon spent picking apples and other fruits of the season. And many would argue there is no place better to fully enjoy the changing of the seasons than the countryside. I always assumed this tradition dated back to the earliest days of agriculture, and to some degree that ...
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Back in early September, Brazil confirmed two cases of so-called "atypical" Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE), aka mad cow disease, at two separate meat plants in the country. The cases are considered “atypical” because they occur spontaneously and sporadically and are not related to the ingestion of contaminated food, according to Brazil authorities. Now, Brazil has reported two cases of a ...
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The chicken industry grows two different breeds: Broilers which are optimized to provide as much meat as possible, and layers which are optimized to lay as many eggs as possible. In modern-day poultry farming, the layer males are often considered useless since they cannot grow up to lay eggs, and they are not the fast-growing breeds that are sold as ...
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