News, Insights & Interviews Archive

New analysis from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) raises questions about whether the USDA’s staffing changes will be able to meet the needs of local farmers.

Two U.S. Supreme Court rulings last week could affect farmland owners in two different ways: fertilizers and workforce. One involves a top priority for the Trump administration, and the other could prevent numerous lawsuits across the country. The Court ruled 7-2 in Monsanto v. Durnell that federal law overrides state-level claims that require pesticide makers to include cancer warnings on their products. The decision could protect pesticide manufacturers like Bayer (the comp

Every now and then, something comes along that sounds like it belongs in a science fiction movie. It goes something like this: Hydrogen is trapped 8,000 feet beneath Iowa farmland. Private developers extract it. Landowners have a new source of income. Their neighbors have new protections. Eventually – maybe, just maybe – residents across the state could see lower income taxes. They might not pay income taxes at all.

Farmers and tech companies are working together to build a system that can sell carbon intensity (CI) scores. For over a decade, farmers like Mitchell Hora, founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, believed they would be able to make a profit from their conservation practices. Now, the market could open early next year, pending an update from the IRS on its Section 45Z federal tax credit proposal. Hora has been pushing to make 45Z happen and help farmers profit from it. He has worked

A new product may soon emerge for farmland owners across the United States: their data. At the 2026 TopSoil Summit June 10 in Riverside, Iowa, speakers emphasized the importance of watching updates on the Section 45Z federal tax credit. By using conservation practices and keeping good records, farmers and landowners can tap into an emerging asset. Mitchell Hora, who created the summit and is also founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, said there was a lot of uncertainty when he fir

Mitchell Hora, an Iowa farmer and soil health consulting company owner, will soon have a decade of experience putting on his TopSoil Summit. The question is whether he will have a vital answer in time for the 300-500 farmers and investors from across the country who will show up.

Midwest states’ renewable fuels industries also received promising news with the long-awaited vote by the U.S. House of Representatives that approved nationwide, year-round sales of E15, which followed years of battling between ethanol supporters and leaders from other states that prioritize continued focus on the oil industry. Ethanol supporters believe the expansion could bring new markets, grow existing ones, and allow the industry to make better use of its surplus product

The proposed $9 billion multi-state carbon capture pipeline that has led to disagreements over its potential, fights over its path, and disputes about its future is now headed for a different journey. Summit Carbon Solution -- the Ames, Iowa-based company -- has a new plan to shorten its path, travel through a different combination of states, and no longer focus solely on carbon sequestration. The project’s original path would link biofuels facilities through a pipeline that

Sure, farmers like John Delmotte would like to get more than $4.50 per bushel for his corn. But that figure isn’t really the reason why his operations in Monroe, Michigan, have a math problem. Delmotte is president of the Michigan Corn Growers Association where farmers expect to harvest more than two million acres this year in the state. Delmotte explained to Bridge Michigan why many farmers can’t make a profit with input costs that keep getting worse after the U.S. war with

First came the fast-moving wildfires, damage, and agony. Then came the help from fellow farmers who always seem to rise to the moment to help another farmer in need. High winds and dry conditions fueled some of the worst fires in the history of Nebraska this month, burning more than 800,000 acres and reshaping the outlook for farmers and ranchers heading into the growing season. At the center of the devastation was the Morrill Fire. That fire scorched more than 640,000 acres

As renewable energy projects expand across rural America, many landowners are weighing the benefits of wind and solar leases against concerns from neighbors and local officials. For farmers looking for financial stability in a volatile agricultural economy, the conversation increasingly centers on how to find reasonable compromises that allow development while addressing community concerns. That balancing act is at the heart of the work being done by the Renewable Energy Farm

Missed deadline led to another missed deadline, which is only fueling frustration from agricultural industry groups and farmers who keep waiting for the Trump administration and Congress to approve year-round sales of E15 fuel nationwide. Previously, both the Trump and the Biden administration have approved temporary E15 sales through the summer, bypassing decades-long restrictions that claimed smog concerns from the use of higher ethanol fuel over the summer months. But the

President Donald Trump is trying to protect glyphosate, one of the most widely used and effective herbicides. Meanwhile, Bayer is trying to protect its business interests by offering billions of dollars to settle a class action lawsuit that claims that Roundup is making people seriously ill. President Trump’s executive order invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure continued U.S. production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, arguing that both are es

For rural landowners, renewable energy remains one of the most talked-about — and misunderstood — developments shaping the countryside. Waylon Brown, Regional Policy Manager for Clean Grid, sees both the promise and the growing pains facing wind, solar, and battery storage across the Midwest.

Excitement rippled across the agriculture community this week after the IRS released long-awaited proposed rules for the 45Z tax credit . “Oh, it’s a good day,” said Mitchell Hora, founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, in a news conference to respond to the announcement. RELATED: Hora told American Farmland Owner last July that 45Z would lead to a surge in carbon awareness for landowners. The Biden administration created the 45Z credit under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to e

Soybean farmers and the various people connected to their industry are asking themselves, “Could it finally be true?” They want to know if a deal really is close in Congress to finally extend E-15 – the 15% ethanol fuel blend – for year-round sales across the United States. They have been hoping that a campaign pledge would turn into action when Donald Trump returned to the White House. President Trump gave them hope this week when he addressed several hundred supporters in a

Sharon Krause believes that the future of agriculture is close to home. “From an environmental perspective, the more food that we can grow closer to home, the more we reduce our costs between transportation and storage,” Krause told American Farmland Owner.

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcast For many farm owners today, the question isn’t whether change is coming; it’s how to respond to it without jeopardizing everything they have built. Commodity markets remain volatile, input costs stay stubbornly high, and consolidation continues to squeeze margins. Virginia farmer, author, and outspoken agricultural thinker Joel Salatin offers a significantly different perspective for thinking about growth, resilience, and transition. Joel S

Opposition may have succeeded in stopping a wind farm project in Iowa and delaying unrelated data center proposals in Indiana. MidAmerican Energy, a subsidiary of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has worked over the past four years to develop the wind farm in northwest Iowa. Wind is already a significant commitment from the company, which provides service in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Illinois. MidAmerican has turbines in roughly one third of Iowa’s counties

“Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) has splashed around in various forms depending on the political party of the current president and court rulings. The administration of President Donald Trump, a Republican, has proposed the latest form of the longstanding guidelines that have previously impacted – and sometimes frustrated – farmers, ranchers, energy producers, and other landowners. On November 17, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), together with the U.S. Army C