The US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released a statement last week supporting the US Environmental Protection Agency’s volume requirements in the Renewable Fuel Standard for American Grown Biofuels. According to an EPA press release, the EPA’s proposed volume requirements for 2026 and 2027 would be the highest ever under the program that “Sets strong growth targets for key renewable …
Twenty-Six Hundred Acres Preserved Through Florida’s Rural and Family Lands Protection
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 …
USDA Provides $1 Billion In Drought or Wildfire Impacted Livestock Producers
Last week the US Department of Agriculture announced the release of Congressionally mandated funds under the Emergency Livestock Relief Program to cover grazing losses on eligible wildfire or drought events in 2023 and/or 2024. In an effort to streamline payment calculations and quicken the arrival of relief payments to producers, the USDA’s Farm Service Agency is using the existing Livestock …
American Agriculture History Minute: Robert Doherty’s Initial Investment
Mark Oppold presents an American Agriculture History minute, focusing on the origins of Valley Irrigation. In 1946, Robert Doherty identified an opportunity in a small manufacturing company near Valley, Nebraska. He invested his life savings of $5,000 in Valley Manufacturing, which initially focused on farm elevators. A significant development occurred when Frank Ziebach created a prototype for a center pivot irrigation …
USDA Meteorologist Provides Update on Drought Coverage Acres
As ag producers are getting into the field, proper soil moisture is a key factor in their planting decisions. With the recent rains across the country, USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey provides an update on the amount of acres in drought and the impacts on certain agricultural commodities. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst …
Corn and Bean Planting Update and a Look at Drought Conditions
Drought conditions are easing for producers to plant both corn and soybeans across the country. USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey provided an update on the changes in drought status and how that’s affecting planting these two crops. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
American Agriculture History Minute: Crop Insurance, Conservation Techniques Revive Great Plains Agriculture
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Early settlers discovered that the Great Plains were not all that great. They found very harsh climate with tornadoes, blizzards, drought, hailstorms, floods and grasshoppers. It made for high risks and ruined many crops and many settlers that became financially ruined and either protested through the populist movement or went back …
Alabama Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas
(ADAI/MONTGOMERY, AL/April 1, 2025) — Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate announced that USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has designated 20 Alabama counties as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought. Eighteen additional counties were listed as contiguous disaster counties. “The drought affected over half of the counties in Alabama,” said Commissioner Pate. “We encourage farmers to …
Florida Governor and Cabinet Approve Protection of Agricultural Lands
(FDACS/TALLAHASSEE, FL/03-05-25) – Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced that the Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, have approved the preservation of nearly 6,500 acres of working Florida farms and ranches through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. Rural lands protection easements prevent …
Conservation Stewardship Program Sign-up Ends Friday in Georgia
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Georgia (NRCS-GA) wants to remind agricultural producers and forest landowners in the state looking to build on previous conservation efforts to apply by Friday, March 7th for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) to be included in this funding batch. CSP provides many benefits, including increased crop yields, decreased inputs, wildlife habitat improvements and increased resilience to adverse weather. CSP …