Today, Mark Oppold takes time to review how certain agricultural commodities performed during the first month of trading in 2025. Sponsored ContentWhat Sets Provysol® Fungicide ApartJuly 8, 2025CIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024
American Agriculture History Minute: Lewis and Clark Report on Agriculture West of Mississippi River
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Any modern traveler now retracing the steps of Merriweather Lewis and William Clark after they left the Missouri River and proceeded west would likely wonder how areas of the Dakotas, Montana and Idaho could ever be agriculturally productive. After all, President Thomas Jefferson gave specific instructions to the two that he …
How Agricultural Commodities Performed in 2024
With 2024 in the rear-view mirror, Mark Oppold looks back at how certain agricultural commodities actually performed for the year. Sponsored ContentWhat Sets Provysol® Fungicide ApartJuly 8, 2025CIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024
Tariffs and Trade: Examining Potential Impacts on Agriculture
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, questions are rising about the potential impact his administration may have on agriculture, especially in the areas of trade and tariffs. Roland Fumasi, head of RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness North America, shared insights into these possible challenges and opportunities during a recent interview. “The most tangible and likely thing right now is …
American Agriculture History Minute: Becoming Stewards of the Soil
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. We like to think that early American farmers and ranchers were good stewards of the soil, like farmers and ranchers are today, but history shows they were not. From the 1770s to the 1830s, pioneers moved into new lands that stretched from Kentucky to Alabama to Texas. Most were farmers who …
FDACS Highlights Agricultural Lands to be Preserved With Recently Announced Partner Funding
(FDACS/TALLAHASSEE, FL/Nov. 20, 2024) — Following the Florida Conservation Group’s recent announcement of $47 million in state and federal funding to preserve active agriculture operations in the Peace River Valley region, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson is highlighting four proposed agricultural conservation projects that will receive funding. These agricultural operations in Southwest Florida will be permanently preserved from future development, as …
American Agriculture History Minute: Draft Horses Imported for Farm Work
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Horses and oxen provided a lot of the power on American farms until the mid -1800s. Oxen were too slow to pull some of the new machinery. Producers were using in the 1850s and 1860s. Most of the horses were fast enough, but they tired quickly. Powerful animals like the draft …
Plant Odors Offer Hope for Sustainable Agriculture
Researchers at Tokyo University of Science (TUS) have uncovered groundbreaking potential in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for sustainable pest control and enhanced crop defense. VOCs are natural chemicals plants release when stressed, such as during pest attacks. These compounds signal nearby plants to activate their defenses, forming a natural communication network. In a review published in Trends in Plant Science, …
Speculation Starts on Next Agriculture Secretary
Speculation has already begun on who the next Secretary of Agriculture will be when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. Successful Farming says Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller, former ambassador Kip Tom, and Ted McKinney of NASDA are among a handful of people viewed as potential nominees to run the Department of Agriculture. Incoming presidents typically try …
Election Results Set the Stage for New Priorities in Agriculture
The outcome of the 2024 General Election is set to bring significant changes to the agricultural landscape, according to at least one expert. With Donald Trump returning to the presidency, new dynamics will unfold, especially in the U.S. Senate, where pivotal shifts are already affecting the agriculture sector. That, according to Ethan Lane, Vice President of Government Affairs for the …