Lewis and Clark

From Barren to Breadbasket: Lewis & Clark’s Agricultural Reality

A Historic Mission Beyond Exploration In this edition of American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold revisits the journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark—a mission that extended far beyond simple exploration. Commissioned by Thomas Jefferson, the expedition had a critical agricultural objective: assess the farming potential of lands west of the Mississippi River. At the time, America’s future expansion depended …

Florida Cattle Enhancement Board

Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Opportunities to Develop Preliminary Data For Future Grant Projects

The Florida Cattle Enhancement Board provides opportunities for researchers to develop preliminary data for future grant projects funded by other sources. We recently sat down with Dr. Brad Daigenault with the University of Florida who provided insights on how the enhancement board funding provides an impact for further research studies. “Okay, so how do you make sure that yours gets funded? …

House

House Passes Farm Bill 2.0

From Washington, good news. The House of Representatives have passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. The final vote this week, 224 in favor, 200 against. The statement from the Chairman of the Committee said, Working in Congress on behalf of our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities is an honor, even when we have to debate the Farm Bill through …

Helena Agri-Enterprises

From Small Arkansas Startup to National Ag Leader: The Helena Story

Humble Beginnings Along the Mississippi River In 1957, a small chemical manufacturing company quietly opened its doors in West Helena, Arkansas, a town situated along the Mississippi River just south of Memphis, Tennessee. At the time, the agricultural landscape of the United States was rapidly evolving, with increasing demand for crop protection products and chemical solutions to improve yields and …

Endangered Species Act

NCBA Pushes For Delisting Efforts and Changes to Endangered Species Act

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association highlighted delisting efforts and changes to the Endangered Species Act during last week’s legislative conference. We caught up with Garrett Edmonds with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to learn about these efforts. Edmonds said, “The Pet and Livestock Protection Act. Back in December, the House passed this legislation to reinstate the gray wolf delisting rule. …

Trade discussions between the US and China may have significant impacts to agriculture. Agricultural markets across the Southeast are continuing to react to last week's summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where trade and agricultural purchases were major topics of discussion. Following the meetings in Beijing, reports indicated China may expand purchases of US agricultural products as part of broader efforts to stabilize trade relations after last year's tariff escalation disrupted export markets and commodity prices. That is especially important for Southeastern agriculture because commodities like cotton, peanuts, poultry, soybeans, and timber products all depend heavily on international demand and export movement. Market analysts say cotton producers in Georgia and Alabama are watching particularly closely since export sales remain one of the biggest drivers of cotton prices. Peanut growers are also monitoring negotiations because trade stability can influence global commodity movement and overall market confidence heading into harvest planning later this year. While no major new tariff rollbacks have been formally announced yet, agricultural groups are looking for signs that China could increase long-term purchasing commitments for American farm products in the coming months. Growers across the Southeast remain cautious, however, because many trade uncertainties that impacted commodity prices over the past two years remain unresolved. /audio Audio Reporting by Josh McGill for Southeast AgNet.

Fed Meeting Review and China Trade Talks

To no one’s surprise, the Federal Reserve Board expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of their meeting. Looking at CME’s FedWatch tool shows a better than 90% chance rates will not change at the June meeting or July meeting. There is no meeting in May. There’ll be a new Fed chairman when the board does meet in June …

Lewis and Clark

Lewis and Clark: Discovering Agriculture in the American Frontier

More Than Exploration: Agricultural Discovery I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. While the expedition of Lewis and Clark is widely remembered for charting unknown territories and seeking a passage to the Pacific, their journey revealed much more than new land. It also uncovered sophisticated agricultural systems already thriving across the American frontier. Observations Along the Missouri River …

Alabama Cattlemen’s

Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Foundation Provides Record Amount Of Scholarships to Students

The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Foundation is providing a record amount of scholarships to students this year and we caught up with Erin Beasley with ACA to learn more. Beasley said,” Well this week we are honored to have our Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation Scholarship Banquet. This annual event takes place to award all of the scholarship winners for the year and so I’m …

nppc

National Pork Producers Council Focusing on Farm Bill 2.0 Passage

The National Pork Producers Council is focusing on the passage of Farm Bill 2.0 to address some of the pork industry’s concerns. We caught up with Todd Marotz with the National Pork Producers Council to learn how the bill would benefit the pork industry. “We’re looking forward to a farm bill to get across the finish line and to make …

Disaster Relief

Secretary Rollins Approves Second Round of Disaster Relief Funds

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has announced that the USDA is maximizing disaster assistance support for producers across the country by issuing a second supplemental disaster relief program. That payment is eligible by producers who have approved programs already for losses due to natural disasters. That’s all the way back to 2023 and 24. FSA has already provided 6.7 billion dollars for the supplemental …