A sign of the times on today’s Bottom Line report, the National Agricultural Aviation Association is asking drone operators to be mindful of low flying aircraft this time of year. The Aviation Association says agricultural aircraft treat an estimated 140 million acres, cropland, pasture land, and timberland each year, and much of it happens this time of year. Drones share the airspace below 400 …
By Clint Thompson The cotton jassid has been noticeably absent in recent months. That is positive news for Georgia’s cotton growers who are on the cusp of planting this year’s crop. “We’ve been looking and cannot find them right now. We’ve been monitoring sticky cards, we’ve got potted cotton plants out, we’ve looked at winter weeds, and we can’t find …
A Foundation of American Agriculture Farmers markets have played an essential role in the story of American agriculture. Long before modern grocery stores and global supply chains, these markets served as vital hubs where farmers and consumers connected directly. Their influence stretches back centuries, shaping how food was distributed, sold, and enjoyed across growing communities. Origins in the 1600s Farmers …
While drought conditions are keeping some growers out of the fields, growers in other parts of the country have made progress on this year’s planting. USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey provides an update on corn planting so far this season. “Getting into the state numbers, Tennessee is showing some remarkable progress again this week. 64 percent of the corn acreage planted, …
The drought continues in the southeast, especially in Georgia, South Georgia, northern Florida, and lower Alabama. The drought has closed all peanut operations, just about it, and nobody can get the peanuts planted in the ground, and that’s going to delay everything moving into the 2026 crop. USCA predicted from last year’s crop an 11% increase. That’s also keeping the market down as far as increases, …
Now that the USDA has released the revised New World Screwworm Playbook (.pdf), we caught up with Sigrid Johannes with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to get their impressions of the playbook. “We’re extremely encouraged, frankly, by this second draft and this second round of documents we’ve seen out from USDA. I think when the first draft of the playbook and …
A longtime axiom in the grain trade is follow oats. Oats knows. Well, if that’s true, there are struggles ahead for all grain producers. USDA’s March acreage report showed oat acres to be the third lowest on record, just 2.4 million acres. It would seem to follow them, fewer acres, reduced supply, that prices would be improving. July oat futures have been range …
A Turning Point in American Agriculture The history of seed planters is closely tied to the broader evolution of agriculture in the United States. Before mechanization, farmers relied heavily on manual labor to plant crops—an approach that was time-consuming, physically demanding, and often inconsistent in seed placement. The introduction of seed planters marked a pivotal shift, transforming the way crops …
Addressing non-tariff barriers have been central to agricultural trade negotiations and we sat down with Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg to learn more. Under Secretary Lindberg said, “To me it’s actually one of the best stories of the past year. We have had a remarkable shift in the way in which our team at the U.S. …
It looks like the peanut industry is going to get a three million dollar grant. It’s a two-year implementation window and because of export promotion program. The Trump administration announced this week the recipients of the America First trade promotion program. The grant was 285 million dollars but only 165 million was awarded at this time. And they said the peanut industry and …
