News, Insights & Interviews Archive

How widespread is the opposition from people who don’t want farmland converted to data centers, are concerned about the water use from those facilities, oppose taxpayer subsidies for data centers, or a combination of those three complaints? It is so much so that nearly one in four states have considered moratorium legislation on new data centers, according to Good Jobs First , a nonprofit organization that tracks government subsidies, actions that it considers corporate misco

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

In the years ahead, America will need far more power generated than we currently produce. Our ever-increasing hunger for technology – and the power that it takes to operate that technology – demand it. Wind, solar, natural gas, coal and nuclear could be all among the options to produce some of that additional capacity. Data centers could be an integral part of the nation’s economy for the infrastructure to provide the storage, processing, internet, and distribution system to

When an 86-year-old farmer along the Route 81 corridor in central Pennsylvania was offered roughly $60,000 an acre for his land, the math was staggering. At 261 acres, the total approached $15 million.

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

A critical part of the rural economy – manufacturing – has continued the slide that began in 2025 and has stretched into 2026, according to Creighton University economist, Dr. Ernie Goss. Goss, who has held his position for 34 years, helps conduct a monthly survey of supply managers to measure the economy in nine states: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. The manufacturing sector got some recent relief, Goss said i

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

Technology has consistently influenced farming, from the steel plow to GPS tractors. But as global pressures around food security, energy, and water intensify, the next wave of innovation may not just improve yields; it could redefine where and how food is grown.

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

A new chapter in Iowa’s biomanufacturing story is officially underway. Earlier this month, BioMADE, state leaders, and Iowa State University celebrated the groundbreaking of a pilot-scale bioindustrial manufacturing facility near Ames. The $40 million project, set to open in 2027, is expected to produce everything from national defense products to consumer goods like fabrics and detergents. The company and state leaders say it will boost Iowa’s rural economy and at the same t

Jon Kinzenbaw has been a tractor guy for most of his life. The founder and CEO of Kinze Manufacturing in Williamsburg, Iowa, has a lot of them in his personal collection — more than 600, to be precise. But he decided it was time to let some of them go. On November 4, Kinzenbaw held a long-awaited auction, handled by Sullivan Auctioneers, a BigIron company, marking the first time he had ever sold part of his collection. The tractors up for grabs were mostly duplicates, but tha

Global seafood demand is rising. So are tariffs on imports. Karlanea Brown sees opportunity for others to join the business that had never been her life’s plan.

As American soybean producers look toward a record fall harvest and wonder where future buyers will be if China continues to no longer...

For some communities, they lay out a choice: grow food or produce solar energy. But why not both? The first year of an Iowa State...

Farmer optimism reached the highest level in four years as they assess current conditions, future trade prospects, and their own bottom...

An anonymous donor has come forward to save some of the work that the Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) planned after the Trump administration...

Solar energy’s piece of farmland technology in Ohio has been hampered by opposition on several recent projects. Some locals don’t want...

“Unleash energy” has become a popular and frequently used political phrase by Republicans as they prioritize energy production in 2025....

Data centers and demands from increased reliance on artificial intelligence will further strain energy production across the country. For...