Land Grants: An Early Incentive That Strengthened a Young Nation During the American Revolutionary War, the newly forming United States faced enormous challenges, including building an effective military to fight for independence. According to Mark Oppold’s American Agriculture History Minute, one unique solution connected military service directly to the nation’s agricultural future. Rather than offering a traditional cash enlistment bonus, …
Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, for the week ended July 24, 2026, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for all three states. AL Livestock Market Report: At Alabama Livestock Auctions, for the week ended July 24, 2026, receipts at 16 markets totaled 8,454 head compared to 9,843 last week and 10,226 last …
The battle against the new world screwworm isn’t being fought with insecticides or fences. Instead, USDA is deploying an unusual weapon, millions of sterile flies. It sounds like science fiction, but it’s a proven strategy called the sterile insect technique or SIT. The idea is simple. Scientists raise screwworm flies in specialized facilities and expose them to gamma radiation, making …
The American Farm Bureau and other agricultural organizations have sent a letter to Washington urging them to help farmers currently. They said a combination of poor commodity prices, record high production costs, and shrinking margins have left many farm families with substantial uncovered losses and little working capital to fall back on for the next year. Farmers are still contending …
This afternoon’s cattle on feed report could at least stabilize cattle futures at recent lower levels. As if the extended heat were not enough for cattlemen to battle across the country, open interest in live cattle futures has plunged to the lowest level of the year. Feeder cattle index is now the lowest since mid-January. Heavy selling reappeared around midweek, …
A Simple Invention That Made a Lasting Impact Many people recognize agricultural inventors such as Cyrus McCormick, John Deere, and Eli Whitney for revolutionizing farming through innovations in harvesting, equipment, and cotton processing. However, another inventor deserves recognition for creating a tool that transformed life on farms and in communities around the world. English engineer Edwin Budding invented the first …
The U.S. dairy industry is applauding the Trump administration’s latest effort to challenge Canadian dairy trade practices and defend market access promised under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. The White House announced this week it will impose a 50% tariff on dairy imports from Canada, invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Administration officials say the action is …
Good news on the peanut market according to the analysis by USDA. Farmers have planted 1.5 million acres of peanuts this season. That is down 22 percent from last year, mainly due to suppressed prices from large carry-on stocks from last year. They said as a result the peanut stocks and processing is revising their numbers. They said food use …
Grain traders have shown reluctance to build additional weather premium into futures at this point, but temperatures returning to 100 degrees or more this weekend and into next week can certainly change that. Bottom line analysts say December corn needs consecutive closing over $4.76 to keep the upward momentum in place. August is soybean month, but another forecaster is holding …
Water has always been one of agriculture’s most valuable resources, but the methods used to deliver it to crops have changed dramatically over time. From ancient civilizations to modern center pivot irrigation systems, the history of irrigation reflects farmers’ constant drive to improve crop production and adapt to challenging growing conditions. According to Mark Oppold’s American Agriculture History Minute, the …
