It’s part of a larger agency push to promote more traditional foods and help with Native food sovereignty.

USDA Is Buying Bison From Small Native Producers

A visit to California’s Outlaw Valley Ranch gives a peek into the production of truly natural fiber.

Shearing Sheep, Grazing Green

Amid the carnivore diet’s viral surge, farmers grapple with profit and principles.

Keeping Up With the Carnivores

An Ambrook tech worker leaves Brooklyn for hands-on training in hog slaughter and butchery — as it was practiced in the 16th century. 

Requiem for a Pig

Built on years of research, the federal agency’s new tool aims to help farmers reduce heat stress in the world’s most widely consumed animal.

Pigs Can’t Sweat, and It’s Costing Us Billions — Can USDA’s ‘HotHog’ App Keep Them Cool?

The grocery aisle makes a lot of promises, but are industrial meat farms living up to their claims?

The Illusion of Antibiotic-Free Meat

Millions of male chicks are killed, needlessly, every year. The tech sector is ready to act, but is the egg sector ready to change?

Can Silicon Valley Save These Chicks?

There’s a common belief among ranchers that if you throw a livestock guardian dog into a pasture, instinct will kick in and they’ll know what to do. That’s rarely true.

When Guardian Dogs Attack

A natural mutation found in Puerto Rican dairy cows might keep them healthier in extreme heat.

Farmers Are Breeding Heat-Resistant Cows

On Long Island, a snail farmer explores the limits of niche agriculture.

Slow Food

Named for leading their fellow livestock into slaughter, these betrayers aren’t as common as they used to be. But they’re still around.

Whatever Happened to the Judas Goats?

Consumers have shown they are willing to pay more for meat from happy livestock. New technology bears the promise of accurately assessing animal emotions.

AI Could Hold the Key to Improving Animal Welfare

You’ve likely heard about the benefits of eating bugs for the health and sustainability of our planet. But is the American palate ready?

Insects for Dinner: Separating the Hope from the Hype

The state will now pay livestock producers for their animals‘ indirect, wolf-related stress.

California Is Spending Millions to Compensate Ranchers for Living Near Wolves

We’re living through the largest outbreak of avian influenza in U.S. history — the stakes have never been higher.

The Complicated Case for Vaccinating Chickens

Along with chemical inputs like glyphosate, Eric Williamson uses grass-fed cows as a tool, to improve the soil health on his Washington farm.

Why Would a Conventional Vegetable Farmer Bring Someone Else’s Cattle Onto His Fields?

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?

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

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?

For 40 years, a group of wild cattle have grazed the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. In efforts to remove them, the Forest Service is using lethal measures — leaving many in the ranching community upset.

Shooting Feral Cattle From Helicopters

A new study by the University of Florida shows human contact can reduce certain oral behaviors in dairy calves, but does that mean they are happier?

More Human Contact Could Benefit Dairy Calves — Maybe

A reintroduced bill in Congress might help with a shortage of meat processing plants. Experts say there’s a lot more to the problem.

Will More Money for Small Meat Processors Fix the Supply Chain?

Consumers are thirsty for raw milk, and more states are looking to legalize its place on grocery store shelves. But is it safe?

The Growing Movement to Liberate Raw Milk

Farmers have been feeding food scraps to poultry for centuries as a way to reduce costs and waste — but a new study shows the practice could also improve gastrointestinal health.

Upcycling Apple Waste Could Give Chickens a Gut Health Boost

Trimming rail staff and service in the name of profit is leaving poultry producers in a lurch.

Playing Chicken With Farm Feed

How ranchers prepare cattle to sustain extreme temperatures and winter storms.

When the Cows Get Cold

Bovine respiratory disease is deadly, costly — and famously difficult to detect. A new pilot study charged dogs with tracking down the elusive illness.

Using Hound Dogs to Sniff Out Cattle Disease

New research highlights the steadily increasing scarcity of food animal vets — and what that could mean for our supply chain and the rural economy.

There’s a Shortage of Livestock Veterinarians and It’s Making Our Food Less Safe

The first generation of emissions-reducing feed additives has started to come online — but not in the U.S.

Feeding Seaweed to Cattle Could Reduce Methane Emissions up to 80%. Don’t Expect to See it Here Soon.

An FDA decision will come to fruition soon, meant to help prevent antibiotic resistance in both humans and animals. How will it affect farmers and ranchers?

The Age of Over-the-Counter Antibiotics for Livestock Is Ending

After years of inaction — and outside pressure — the agency is proposing sweeping new changes to how it handles the foodborne bacteria. It starts on the farm.

Poultry Farmers Are on the Front Lines of USDA’s New War on Salmonella

California’s Proposition 12, mandating 24 feet of space for pigs, has ramifications for pig farmers — and commerce — everywhere.

Should California’s Animal Welfare Laws Affect National Pork Production? The Supreme Court Is About to Decide.

“The cattle are ready but the lockers are full.”

Diversifying Meat Markets After The Pandemic

A raw milk logistics operation helps keep small farms afloat.

Livestock