By Gracy Olmstead | February 13, 2017 Current farming methodologies aren’t just bad for land, community, and ecology—they’re increasingly bad for business. Something’s gotta give. The Wall Street Journal is predicting a farm bust on the horizon, as America’s role in the global grain market shrinks, and the price for corn continues to drop. Reporters…
by Christopher Leonard / February 15, 2017 Inside Agri Stats, the poultry business’s secretive info-sharing service. On Dec. 8, 2009, Joe Sanderson, the chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms, held a routine earnings call with bank analysts. His aim was to reassure them that the company’s recent profits weren’t about to disappear, as the chicken…
Feb 14, 2017 They’re concerned about risk to economy and environment. Nearly 325 advocacy groups have signed a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation into the proposed mergers of the Dow Chemical with DuPont, Monsanto with Bayer AG and Syngenta with ChemChina. The groups urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions…
by Tom Philpott Feb. 9, 2017 So says the former Obama USDA appointee who helped create national organic standards. The Freedom Caucus is a rowdy band of GOP US House members most famous for triggering government shutdowns, pushing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and driving former GOP Speaker John Boehner from his post on…
Lincoln Journal Star Feb 9, 2017 Farmers, who don’ t need any more bad news, got a double dose this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted that net farm income nationally will drop to $62.3 billion this year, down nearly 9 percent from last year. If that prediction proves accurate, it will…
By Joe Wertz & Harvest Public Media Federal authorities are investigating the alleged embezzlement of $2.6 million dollars from an obscure Oklahoma board that promotes the beef industry. The investigation and related lawsuits add to questions about oversight of a national program funded by fees charged to ordinary farmers and ranchers. To listen: click here….
Shared by Tom Giessel – Honorary Historian, NFU Why So Little Thinking? My Dear Editor, Perhaps some of our brother farmers will think I am a crank on this subject, as I referred to it somewhat extensively in the August 15th issue of the Union Farmer. I have observed that every great movement has been…
-by Stephen Anderson Back in 2014, all the experts, referred to as specialists nowadays, were predicting fantastic cattle prices through 2018. Years of low cattle prices, extended drought and ranchers retiring or just giving up, had reduced the cowherd to near 70 year lows. Farm and ranch publications were packed with rosy predictions by everyone…
To: R-CALF USA Members and Affiliates From: Bill Bullard Date: December 12, 2016 Subject: R-CALF USA Wins First Round In Beef Checkoff Case Status: On May 2, 2016, R-CALF USA filed a lawsuit against the national beef checkoff program. The lawsuit alleges it is unconstitutional for the government to allow private beef councils, like the…
Over the past three years, the organizers of the Faith, Food & Environment project have worked with farmers, theologians, sustainable agriculture advocates and agribusiness leaders to develop a faith-based reflection entitled The Vocation of the Agricultural Leader. Farmers and ranchers face the challenges of turbulent weather and a changing climate, market competition on a global…