News
Today’s agriculture headlines and expert perspectives serving farmers, ranchers, crop consultants, livestock nutritionists and the entire U.S. ag community.
Paul Neiffer, The Farm CPA, details some of the Biden administration’s 2025 budget plans and how they could affect farmers if approved. Of the provisions, only one would potentially help farmers, he says.
The new 45Z tax credit passed in the Inflation Reduction Act, slated to take effect Jan. 1, 2025, means a farmer’s carbon intensity score will soon be worth more, especially if your corn goes to an ethanol plant.
As we near the finish line (but not the end of our journey) we revist five of your favorite Smart Farming Week stories.
China canceled more wheat, but the grain markets seemed to shake off the negative news. DuWayne Bosse and Darren Frye make the case for why the lows in the grain markets may behind us.
A Minnesota grower asks Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, how to improve upon the soil fertility on 90 acres he is renting for the first time this year.
Take a reasoned, purposeful, and proactive approach to adding new technology.
Whether it’s planting, spraying, soil sampling or harvesting, new tools are turning the information you collect into actionable insights.
There has been a recent wave of connectivity and guidance products released for farm machinery. Here are a handful of considerations to keep in mind before buying into a system for your fleet.
Yield Optimizer is a digital tool that uses independent seed trial data to help farmers make seed selections with guaranteed yield performance. CEO Billy Rose tells how it gives farmers peace of mind.
When deciding what technology serves your goals, and to get the most bang for your buck, determine if you need to grow business revenue, increase productivity, reduce costs and/or stabilize daily operation.
Just because tar spot was mostly a no-show in 2022 and 2023 doesn’t mean that will be the case in 2024. Charting humidity levels can help predict if the disease will strike.
In a year with razor-thin margins, at best, corn and soybean growers can use a variety of new technology and tried-and-true agronomic tools to score higher yields this season.
In the West, automation is geared toward smaller, driverless equipment. In the Midwest, major manufacturers have introduced their largest horsepower combines and tractors yet, all with autonomous capabilities.
Minor space weather events have temporarily knocked out corrections signals over Canada and The Dakotas in the past. Would your farm be ready for a more severe outage?
The NewLeaf Symbiotics team says reluctance to try biologicals is often a result of feeling overwhelmed by the options available, making education key as the space continues to grow.
The 2024 AgLaunch startups bravely pitched straight to the farmer masses at the event. While truly an impressive class, only one would be chosen for the coveted top honor.
If weather stresses have you looking for ways to give your crop a stronger start this spring, consider whether a plant growth regulator could be part of the solution, especially in high-yield environments.
Being in control of your data means having full access. Do you receive a digital file of all field activity by a third party? Now’s the time to have a conversion with your ag retailer about data delivery back to you.
Planter technology once focused on acres per day, but plant spacing and uniformity have moved to the forefront and there’s been an explosion of technology to help manage the furrow. Smart investments will maximize corn yield on every soil type.
Weather and prices are dictating acreage decisions in the Northern Plains this spring. So what are producers planning to plant?
Rick Rice, AMVAC director of application technology, says grant programs aren’t meant to forever subsidize a particular practice, but instead act as a catalyst for new participants to see its benefits.
The latest Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor projects a major drop in net farm income this year. Economists are also growing more pessimistic about the potential for interest rate cuts in 2024.
Babe Didrikson was talented in the game of basketball as well as baseball, track and field and golf. It’s been nearly a century since she passed away, but her accomplishments still astound Texas visitors today.
India and four European countries, namely Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, have finally signed a free trade pact after 16 years of negotiations. The impact could come in job creation.
“It’s in these challenging markets farmers need to think about driving more efficiency using technology,” says Darryl Matthews, a recently retired tech executive. Certain technologies can provide a short-term ROI.
“Smart farming means making your life more efficient, so you don’t have to focus on the mundane but instead on making the best product possible,” says Nebraska farmer Lukas Fricke. “We only have so many hours in a day.”
Farm Journal Test Plot research proves practices that reduce soil disturbance and sequester carbon perform best in a vertical farming system, as opposed to horizontal tillage, which creates yield-limiting soil layers.
Two new studies from Locus Ag and Pivot Bio found the use of biological products consistently increased yields in a variety of crops across a range of growing conditions.
USDA cut its estimate for Brazil’s soybean production by 1 MMT in the March WASDE report, which was less than what the trade expected. USDA didn’t make any cuts to Brazil’s corn.
Biome Makers said it pairs artificial intelligence with its soil database to decode soil biology and provide growers with more actionable information.