The US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Chairman John Boozman released the text of the budget reconciliation package known as the Big Beautiful Bill. Chairman Boozman said, “This bill takes a commonsense approach to reforming SNAP—cutting waste, increasing state accountability, and helping recipients transition to self-sufficiency through work and training. It’s about being good stewards of taxpayer dollars …
Evolution of Corn Planting in the U.S. In this edition of American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold takes us back to the late 1700s and early 1800s, a period when corn planting was a labor-intensive, hands-on process. Early American farmers used a method known as cross-check planting, where hills of corn were planted in evenly spaced rows running north-south and …
Livestock groups and producers are applauding the confirmation of newly confirmed USDA and EPA officials. Earlier this week, the US Senate confirmed Judge Stephen Vaden as Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture and David Fotouhi as Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. NCBA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane said, “The cattle industry is thrilled …
Health conditions of the 2025 U.S. winter wheat crop were described as the “second-worst ever” last Fall. As harvest ramps up, Reuters says winter wheat ratings now sit at a six-year-high point for early June. It’s precisely what U.S. exporters need to continue and possibly grow their impressive sales numbers into next year. As of last weekend, the USDA rated …
Cattle feeders continue pushing the pencil hard looking at risk management options out into summer. Cattle and feeder cattle futures outperformed our expectations last week but are seeing that pullback that we expected and after contract highs we’re now keeping an eye on recent lows that are very important to hold for cattle feeders and their hedging replacements. August live …
Peanut farmers invest each year on a checkoff program to promote peanuts around the world. In the USA, the National Peanut Board is officially the sponsor of the program, and they just checked off a new program called the 2025 Health Nut Club. It’s a campaign which was held in April and May on the campus peanut days. One was …
The Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson, has announced that the State of Florida has preserved approximately 2,600 acres of Florida farmland. The Tumlin Terwillegar Properties Project, located in Alachua, Bradford, Clay and Putnam Counties, is a three-parcel pine plantation preserved through the approval by the Governor and Cabinet, serving as the Board of Trustees of the internal Improvement Trust …
The House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing earlier this week to receive testimony from US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. During the hearing Secretary Rollins highlighted the work conducted by the department since coming into office including the reduction in egg prices, efforts to eradicate New World Screwworm, reducing regulations for producers, processing disaster payments and opening new markets …
Georgia Pecan growers look to increase exports of pecans through the support of the Georgia Congressional Delegation. The delegation, including Representative Rick Allen, Buddy Carter, Sanford Bishop, Lucy McBath, Rich McCormick, Austin Scott, David Scott and Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, urged the US Department of Agriculture to expedite the process of obtaining market access for more Georgia pecans …
American Agriculture History Minute: Deere and Mansour’s Breakthrough in the 1800s In the mid-1800s, the American agricultural industry faced a critical need: a more accurate corn planting solution. Rising to meet this challenge, Charles Deere—son of the legendary John Deere—and Alva Mansour, a family business partner, joined forces to form the Deere and Mansour Company. Operating out of a modest …
