True Story of a Gritty Farmer Who Won the “Toughest Race in the World” I shared this story once before a few years back, but it must be recirculating because it came back across my desk. I think it’s awesome and worth sharing again. Farmer Cliff Young may best be remembered as the man most …
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Agencies Team on Next-Gen Fertilizer Competition The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have launched the Next Gen Fertilizer Challenges, a joint project designed to identify and accelerate the development of next-gen, sustainable fertilizer technologies. The first two challenges are seeking proposals for new and existing fertilizer technologies that …
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Concerns Rising as Flash Drought Conditions Intensify Summer temperatures have been through the roof across a large portion of the corn belt. Coupled with low and rapidly depleting soil moisture, some regions are experiencing or anticipating flash drought occurrences that could lead to major agricultural losses. The loose definition of flash drought is a drought …
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How Some Food Startups are Helping Fill Supply Chain Gaps Farmers across the country have watched helplessly as untold tons of food has literally been thrown out, left to rot, and worse for livestock producers. The domino effect of upended supply chains due to the Covid-19 pandemic has delivered a financially and emotionally devastating blow …
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NEW “Cash Crop” Project to Consider! A Missouri-based company is looking to recruit members for its “100 Founding Farmers Club,” which will plant the very first crop of its new pennycress variety. CoverCress Inc., in partnership with university researchers from Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are working to develop the plant into a viable cash …
Investments In Agro-Forestry Gaining Traction Startup Propagate Ventures wants to treat trees as a financial asset and is helping farmers diversify their crops through agroforestry, a regenerative practice that integrates trees and shrubs into crop and/or animal farming systems. Some of the strategies include alley cropping, silvopasture, windbreaks, and orchard bands which allow producers to …
One of the biggest commodity stories this year has been lumber, which has seen a run-up in prices to what some have called “mind-boggling” levels. Lumber futures blew past the previous record high nearly two weeks ago and haven’t looked back. They’ve more than doubled since April when the September contract was trading around $280. …
Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic can be felt everywhere and agriculture has not been spared. While some of the supply chain issues experienced early on have improved, the most recent updates from regional Federal Reserve districts shows the farm economy remains on shaky ground. Adding to the pressure is drought in some portions of the …
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Say What… Dairy-Free Cheese? Disclaimer: I certainly feel like these new companies are gunning for the traditional dairy and livestock operations, and I hate that fact, but I also don’t think we can collectively afford to ignore what is happening and the media that continues to build and circulate. I’ve met some great farm families who …
New Survey Indicates Organic Cropland Commands Higher Rents Our friends over at Mercaris have put together an awesome new report. One of the highlights shows cropland that has made the transition to USDA certified organic commands rental premiums as much as +25% higher than conventional acres. The data comes from the first whitepaper issued in …
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