Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Field Crops”
The USDA Planted Acreage report shows more corn and fewer soybeans, wheat, and cotton acres. Corn planted area is estimated at 95.2 million acres in 2025, up by five percent or 4.61 million acres from 2024. That’s the third-highest planted acres in the U.S. since 1944. The area harvested for grain is expected to be five percent higher than last …
How Corn, Beans, and Squash Worked Together to Feed a Nation In today’s American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold highlights one of the most enduring and ingenious agricultural systems brought to the New World—the Three Sisters. Early settlers adopted this ancient Native American farming method, where corn, beans, and squash were grown together in harmony. Each crop played a vital …
As peanut growers have their crop in the ground, the threat of white mold and leaf spot are a constant concern against bringing in their best crop. BASF’s Abraham Fulmer shared an overview of Provysol along with the best practices for its use. To learn more about Provysol Fungicide from BASF, click here. Dale Sandlin with Southeast AgNet. Sponsored ContentWhat …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA/NASS) has released the 2025 cotton acreage estimates. Becky Sommer with USDA NASS explains. Growers planted 10.1 million acres in 2025, down 10 percent from last year. Upland area is estimated at 9.95 million acres, down 9 percent from 2024. Compared with last year, Upland planted area decreased in 15 of the 17 major cotton-producing …
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2025 – The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its annual Acreage Report today, showing key shifts in U.S. crop planting for 2025. Corn continues to dominate the landscape, while soybean and cotton acreage fell compared to last year. According to the report, U.S. farmers planted 95.2 million acres of corn in 2025, marking a 5% …
From Peanuts to Crop Rotation: Carver’s Lasting Legacy In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold shines a spotlight on one of the most transformative figures in American farming—George Washington Carver. As agriculture expanded from the Carolinas into Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, early Southern farmers grew peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. However, finding a profitable market for …
Today we honor Dr. Bill Branch, a leading figure in agricultural innovation at the University of Georgia Tifton campus, for his election as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Branch has made extraordinary contributions to the peanut industry, having developed 30 novel and licensed peanut varieties, including two of the most disease-resistant cultivars: Georgia Green and Georgia-06G. …
The Crop Exchange That Built American Farming In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold revisits a pivotal moment in agricultural development—when cultures collided and crops crossed continents to shape what we now know as American agriculture. As settlers expanded westward, Native Americans played a crucial role in introducing farm families to vital crops like sweet potatoes, …
From Columbus to the Cotton Gin: The Crop That Changed a Nation In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold shares a pivotal chapter in American farming—how cotton became one of the nation’s most transformative crops. When Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, he discovered cotton growing wild. It wasn’t long before the crop …
Long before tractors revolutionized American agriculture in the 1930s, a different machine was already transforming the harvest: the threshing machine. In 1847, Daniel Massey launched the Newcastle Foundry in Ontario, Canada, producing some of the world’s first mechanical threshers. These devices separated grain from stalks—an essential but once backbreaking task. Above: A vintage threshing machine at work during a historical …
