As U.S. farmers and ranchers get their hands on the technology, its labor-saving, climate-friendly benefits are becoming clear — and so are its shortcomings. 

Virtual Fencing Will Change How We Raise Livestock, Fight Fires, and Support Soil Health

Funding for the water quality sensor system that monitors ag-related pollution has been axed, making it harder to hold the industry accountable, and nearly impossible for citizens to check the quality of their drinking water.

Iowa’s Water Crisis Isn’t Drying Up Anytime Soon

The Securities and Exchange Commission wants broader emissions reporting up and down the supply chain. Trade groups are claiming it will break the small family farm. 

Why Are Farm Groups Opposing Climate Disclosures?

Animal waste accounts for 11% of farming’s greenhouse gas emissions. Advocates are looking to the Farm Bill for help. 

Can the Farm Bill Fix Agriculture’s Methane Problem?

Public seed breeders, often academics who work to help farmers and gardeners, are rapidly disappearing. All the while, commercial breeders with patented, expensive seeds are consolidating.

We’re Losing Our Seed Breeders

Washington State University used CRISPR technology to produce pigs that were sold in sausage form. Is this a one-off, or a sign of things to come?

Genetically Edited Pork Has Entered the Food Supply

By integrating trees and pasture, farmers can increase their bottom line and protect livestock from hotter summers.

Silvopasture Is an Ancient, Climate-Smart Farming Practice. Can the Farm Bill Help Spur its Renaissance?

On the Experimental Farm in temperate North Carolina, research growers are cultivating tropical plants like taro, cassava, and chayote — crop options for a changing climate.

The Small Southern Farm Working to Forecast the Crops of the Future

The new law gives hope to farmers in other states that costly downtime and repairs could cease to be the norm.

Colorado Became the First Right-to-Repair State — Who’s Next?

Climate change is making agricultural labor more dangerous. The Farm Bill can add key protections.

How a Climate-Smart Farm Bill Can Save Lives

If you’re a struggling producer without local mental health services, remote therapy seems like a promising option. But how do you overcome distrust of the unknown?

For Farmers in Crisis, Could Online Therapy Be the Answer?

Small farmers and their workers sometimes clash over what comprises fair wages and true educational opportunities.

Are Farm Apprentices and Interns Getting Paid What They Deserve?

A group of 150 USDA canines is tasked with sniffing out potentially dangerous meat and produce before it enters our borders. Their funding is far from secure.

Meet the Elite Squad of Beagles Keeping U.S. Agriculture Safe

And what Idaho researchers are doing to prepare the state’s top crop for a smokier future.

How Wildfire Smoke Shrinks and Shrivels Potatoes

Nutrition experts say this year’s bill should give more funding and focus to farmers who grow the food we should be eating.

Why Does the Farm Bill Consider Fruits and Vegetables “Specialty Crops?”

New research investigates how nitrogen in farmland soils responds to recharge floodwaters.

Farmland flooding could help with both extreme weather and depleted aquifers. But will it contaminate drinking water?

A new study shows that bald eagles have landed on Northwest Washington dairy farms to feed on placenta and calf carcasses. It’s a symbiotic relationship.

Washington Dairy Farmers Love Bald Eagles, and Vice Versa

Xylazine, one of the most common sedatives in large-animal veterinary care, is increasingly being mixed with fentanyl for human use. The results are disastrous. 

“Vital” Sedative for Cattle and Horses Is in DEA Crosshairs

The federal government created an uproar by slaughtering New Mexico’s “feral” cattle via helicopter. Ranchers and animal advocates aren’t happy, but disagree on the best path forward. 

Is There a Better Way to Deal With Wild Cattle?

Last year, the DOJ exposed a price- and wage-fixing conspiracy by some of the largest U.S. poultry producers that they said “harmed a generation.” Will the government follow through on holding them accountable?

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