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The La Niña phenomenon that has fueled flooding, drought, and other weather extremes is set to stick around for a third winter but could fade away as early as this upcoming Spring. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration says there is a 71% chance the status will switch to neutral status sometime between February and …

End of the La Niña Weather Pattern Could Mean a More Typical US Planting Season Read More »

Rural America has been a magnet for solar energy companies for the same reasons that farmers seek out the wide open spaces. The mostly flat, well-draining soils and unobstructed sunshine that make the US an agricultural powerhouse are also ideal for large installations of solar panels. This has raised much debate and concern about solar …

“Agrivoltaics” Allows Food Growth and Solar Energy Production on the Same Piece of Land Read More »

Just 50 years ago, some 1,000 small and family-owned seed companies were producing and distributing seeds in the United States but by 2009, there were fewer than 100. From the Big Bang of agriculture around 10,000 B.C. until a hundred or so years ago, farmers saved their seeds to plant for the next season, meaning …

“Row 7” Changing the System by Changing the Seed… Breeding for Flavor Read More »

Autonomy continues to be a key focus for farm equipment manufacturers as increasingly tech-savvy farmers seek solutions to any number of issues that plague the agriculture industry. Among the still small but growing list of options is Illinois-based farm autonomy startup “Sabanto.” The company’s technology automates small farming equipment such as tractors with between 60 …

Illinois Startup “Sabanto” Wants Autonomous Technology to be More Accessible and Affordable Read More »

Roquefort cheese could be bundled with any other blue cheese as its moldy appearance and strong smell is certainly a giveaway, but Roquefort isn’t just any French blue cheese. According to legend, a young shepherd, perched on the Combalou plateau, spied a beautiful shepherdess in the distance and determined to woo her, he hastily left …

700 Years Later… The Process Hasn’t Changed for the King of Cheese Read More »

This year’s “Rural America at a Glance” places a heavy emphasis on the shrinking rural workforce as small-town America’s population continues to age at a faster clip than its urban counterparts. That’s despite the fact that nonmetropolitan areas grew at a faster rate than metropolitan areas during 2020–21 due to a sharp turnaround in migration flows …

America’s Rural Workforce Continues to Shrink as Small Towns Get More Grey Read More »

Most Americans are very familiar with the Pillsbury Company which has given us a host of iconic products, including the company’s Classic Yellow Cake Mix, every flavor of pre-made frosting, and those addictive Crescent Rolls. Pillsbury’s marketing efforts for its various brands also generated iconic characters like the Doughboy and Jolly Green Giant. The company …

How Charles Pillsbury Transformed the Wheat Industry Read More »

Poultry farmers across the globe remain under threat from an unusually long and lethal bird flu outbreak that has led to the loss of nearly 53 million birds in the US and at least 50 million in Europe. The outbreaks involve a Eurasian H5N1 strain that experts say is behaving differently than anything they’ve seen …

Could Year-Round Bird Flu Dramatically Change the Chicken and Egg Business? Read More »

It has been over two decades since broadband started replacing dial-up internet connections. While broadband has since become a virtual necessity in our modern age, wide swaths of the US still don’t have access to high-speed internet. Until recently, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has collected limited information on broadband coverage from internet providers, …

Why Rural Americans Should Weigh In on New FCC Broadband Maps Read More »

Most have probably heard by now that New Zealand is planning a so-called “cow burp tax” that would charge the country’s livestock farmers for the greenhouse gasses that their animals emit. The belch tax, which would be the world’s first, is controversial to say the least, and could have implications for livestock farmers across the …

What You Need to Know About New Zealand’s Cow Burp Tax Read More »