THOUGHT PIECES

Among the many politically polarizing issues of the day is climate change. A multitude of claims — many unsubstantiated — are made by both the “doom and gloomers” as well as the deniers. Alan Rotz is an agricultural engineer with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service based in University Park, Pa. He proposes we follow the science… Climate change may boost alfalfa yields

James and Deaver Traywick are head high — and then some — in a late-spring field of broom-bristle-thick cover crops on their farm, near Cope, South Carolina. They are just days from planting the acres to cotton and will have to flatten a mix of rye, crimson clover and tillage radish to do so. In… Farm Climate Smart – 7 The New Cash Crop: Farmers Venture Into Carbon-Sequestration Market

Skye Root named 2022 Professional Farm Manager of the Year: syngenta-us.com Farm Manager of the Year: Built to Serve As a Bridge: thedailyscoop.com Farm Manager of the Year: Built to Serve As a Bridge: agweb.com Congratulations to our very own Skye Root, founder of Root Agricultural Advisory, who was named the 2022 Professional Farm Manager of… 2022 ASFMRA Farm Manager of the Year – Skye Root

INDIANOLA, Iowa (DTN) — Despite rising interest rates and higher input costs, the farmland market across the Midwest remains strong, although not quite as robust as last fall. “You can still have a record land sale, but not every sale will set a record,” said Doug Hensley, president of Hertz Real Estate Services based in… Farmland Values Set Records Farmland Prices Expected to Stay Strong in 2023

On an early August morning in California’s Imperial Valley, tractors rumble across verdant fields of alfalfa, mowing down the tall plant and leaving it to dry in shaggy heaps under the hot sun. Here, in one of the oldest farming communities in the Colorado River basin, the forage crop is king. One out of every… It’s the thirstiest crop in the US south-west. Will the drought put alfalfa farmers out of business?

Farmers will need to feed an estimated 9.8 billion people worldwide by 2050, and to help in that effort, Oregon State University researchers are trying to expand the use of robots in agriculture. Joe Davidson, Assistant Professor of Robotics, said nearly all fruit is harvested by humans because robots don’t operate efficiently in unstructured environments.… OSU LOOKING TO EXPAND ROBOTICS IN FARMIN

The North American Monsoon hit the southwestern United States this past week, bringing a modicum of drought relief, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and eastern California saw some relief, as did central Montana. Meanwhile, in the Heartland, localized heavy rains brought spotty improvement and record disastrous flooding in St.… Drought conditions hold steady across the U.S. with some spotty relief

1870 was the first US Census in which farmers were in the minority (47.7%).Today, only 1.3% of Americans are still farming and increasingly do so on operations of over 2,000 acres. Even so, family farms still make up 98% of our agricultural sector. Farm ownership still reflects the legacy of the Homestead Act of 1862 as a great deal of current farmland still belongs… Who Owns America’s Farmland? And What Is Their Role In The Response To Climate Change?

Supplies of Idaho potatoes continue to be extremely tight and will likely gap before fresh crop potatoes come on later this summer. “We’re at the end of the storage crop and supplies have become much tighter,” says Ryan Wahlen of Pleasant Valley Potato in Aberdeen, Idaho. “The current crop is also about two weeks behind… Later start on smaller crop of Idaho potatoes this summer

All eyes are on the weather as Washington makes its way towards the upcoming cherry season. “We’re in the bloom season right now and so far, it’s a trying time,” says Dan Davis with Starr Ranch Growers based in Wenatchee, Washington. “We’ve had a lot of freezing temperatures and a host of cold weather issues.… Washington will likely see smaller 2022 cherry crop