Farm prices are on a wild ride. Beef is breaking records while corn is sinking to multi-year lows. Today, it takes roughly the value of four acres of corn to buy just one fed calf. What does this price gap mean for cattlemen, ranchers, and the future of herd expansion?
In 1972, the Farm Progress Show came to my hometown of Galesburg, Illinois and even to the farm of my family’s closest friends. That year’s show was the biggest in history, drawing over 360,000 people and marking the dawn of U.S. farming’s golden age. Looking back, it was a front-row seat to agriculture’s past, present, and future.
Corn Records Without Rewards U.S. corn growers are smashing records in acreage and yield, but instead of golden returns, many are facing low prices and soaring input costs. Record bushels don’t always mean record profits.
A heartfelt reflection on a simple summer dish of homegrown vegetables, honoring the resilience, self-reliance, and enduring legacy of Fred's grandparents who lived through the Great Depression.
#NationalFarmersMarketWeek: The Shortest Distance to Better Eating What is food really grown for: nutrition, taste, or just to survive a long supply chain? The truth may surprise you. This National Farmers Market Week, we explore why much of our food is grown to be shipped, not savored, and how local farmers' markets offer a fresh, flavorful, and community-powered alternative.
Just as all politics are local, all farming is local. Terrain, soils, weather patterns, market access and cultural production practices vary dramatically across the Fruited Plain, as do the issues and concerns shaping ag policy. So it only makes sense for the entity that combines politics and farming to go local. Because in an urbanized city located on the banks of the Potomac, run by elephants and donkeys, you don’t see many cows, pigs or chickens, much less corn, wheat or almonds.
Just step outside. It's brutal. You’ll instantly know it’s “sweating season” across the South and much of the Midwest. Sure, temperatures are hot, consistently now in the upper 90s across the Delta. But it’s the humidity that instantly gets your attention and triggers sweat glands overload. The dew point - aka "the misery index" - indicates the temperature where dew forms: the higher the dew point, the more moisture is in the air. The National Weather Service defines dew points above 75 degrees as “oppressive.” That’s where we’ve consistently been across the Delta; most days reaching the upper 70s.
This Week In Ag #124: Live Aid: Music That Fed the World (and Filled My Parents’ Basement) This past Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the greatest PR and musical event in history. It was held at Wembley Stadium in London. And at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. It was viewed by nearly 40% of the world’s population. The event was Live Aid, a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for famine relief in Africa. It was the event that forged a generation, my generation, Gen X. I’ll never forget that day. Dad was among the first in our neighborhood to purchase a satellite dish. I threw a party that day, attended by seemingly every college-aged aggie in the county (or at least dad seemed to think so)
The Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4. At 887 pages, it certainly is big. As for being beautiful, that will be in the eyes of the beholders. Like most budget bills, depending on your point of view, the contents may resemble that famous Clint Eastwood film, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” But what does BBB specifically mean for agriculture?
This Week In Ag #122: A Farmer's Fourth of July: The Fireworks Waited For many Midwest farm families, the Fourth of July wasn’t about fireworks or cookouts—it was wheat harvest season. In this personal reflection, Fred recalls a time when the combine came first, soybeans followed close behind, and the only bangs came from the grain bin, not the sky.
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