News, Insights & Interviews Archive

DEI disdain trumped a federal program that provided funding for some beginning farmers in 40 states. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has become a target by Republican-led governmental entities across the United States over the past several years amid criticism that the efforts to aid groups that have faced discrimination are themselves racist. Supporters of DEI say that the programs help various demographic communities that have not had the same economic opportunities that o

Jackson Creek Ranch. Photo courtesy: Fay Ranches. An 800-acre cattle ranch in southern Oregon sold in February for $5,000,000. Pictures of the high-elevation ground look like something you would see on a postcard. With the Cascade Mountains in the background, rolling terrain, and abundant wildlife, the beauty of the land makes it seem less like a working ranch and more like a place you would go on vacation to get away from it all. But Jackson Creek Ranch is a busy place for t

The decision by the Trump administration to attack Iran in retaliation for that country’s previous and potential future attacks on Americans continues to raise costs for producers, especially fertilizer. The economic hardship caused nearly two dozen U.S. agricultural organizations to already reach out to the U.S. Department of Commerce to ask for reductions in tariffs that have further increased fertilizer costs. Here is how much more expensive it has become for America’s far

Mark Mueller is a fourth-generation farmer from northeast Iowa who has grown corn for three decades and serves in a statewide role with a national voice. Those credentials are likely the reason that he received a V.I.P. invite to an event at the White House.

$22,100 per acre 52.31 taxable acres in Hancock County, Illinois March 12, 2026 PI: 138.5 A Class A Hancock County, Illinois farm sold at auction on March 12, 2026, bringing $22,100 per acre and a total price of $1,156,051. Located in Rock Creek Township, about 3.5 miles northwest of Ferris, the tract included 51.97 FSA cropland acres and carried a strong 138.5 Productivity Index. The farm features Virden, Ipava, Shiloh, and Muscatune soils and was noted as being pattern tile

A northern Kentucky community has overcome the Great Depression a century ago and a poverty rate nearly twice the national average. Residents have been tested again and again. But few of Mason County’s 17,000 residents in Mayfield demonstrated their commitment to the community, their traditions, and their land more than Ida Huddleston and her daughter Delsia Bare. Because of that commitment, the mother and daughter may be the most famous residents since legendary singer and a

When a farm with strong soil and a reliable irrigation system recently sold at auction in southwest Nebraska, the final price surprised even the broker handling the sale. “We were pulling comparables anywhere from $6,500 to $8,000 an acre,” said Scott Dean of Farmers National Company. “We ended up blowing past that.” The 322.73-acre property in Keith County outside Ogallala sold for $10,100 an acre, totaling $3,259,573. The farm was offered in two tracts but ultimately purcha

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

Brian Reisinger has worked for a governor who ran for president, a U.S. Senator who ran for president, and another U.S. Senator who thought about running for president. These days, Reisinger has put politics aside as he has focused full-time on agriculture, his business, and his young family.

Purdue study finds U.S. soybean farmers face higher costs, limited land, and competition from Brazil, highlighting need for yield gains and diversification.

With the United States in the middle of a fierce debate on which immigrants should be allowed to legally remain and work in the United States, people like Sharon Krause is focused on opportunities for those committed to making a living on the farm. Should all people who entered the country illegally be forced to leave? Should only those who have violent criminal records be removed? Should everyone who overstayed a temporary visa get deported? Those questions and others have d

The family farm required the same characteristic that helped Joshua Manske thrive on the golf course: patience. Agriculture was never really something Manske left behind. But it was something that patiently waited for him to return.

Rising fertilizer prices are emerging as one of the most immediate agricultural consequences of the escalating U.S. and Israel war with Iran, creating uncertainty for farmers preparing for the spring planting season. Analysts warn that the conflict’s disruption of global fertilizer supplies could affect crop decisions, farm profitability, and ultimately food prices for consumers. It is one more political dynamic that farmers will watch as they are already waiting to see if Pr

American farmers are growing larger crops on fewer farms. While that long-term trend is clear nationwide, the factors driving farm losses vary widely by state. And there are still a couple years until the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases its next Census of Agriculture. Danny Munch, an American Farm Bureau economist, said this shows a couple trending factors. “The long-term decline in farm numbers alongside a decline in farmland shows consolidation, productivity gains,

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

Regardless of whether you believe that she was fired or transferred to another position, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is leaving her job, a change announced by President Donald Trump on social media Thursday. Although, President Trump announced the change after Noem’s performance this week at two congressional hearings where she faced questions about a $220 million ad campaign (funded by taxpayers) that prominently featured her (that she claimed President

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

You may think better trade deals are the answer, or you may believe that American presidents abandoned the concept of much higher tariffs decades ago because of the harm they can cause our country’s families. Either way, you know that the past year has been volatile and unpredictable. American agricultural producers now wait, most likely with little optimism, that the court system could deliver them refunds on the higher prices they paid because of President Donald Trump’s hi

Listen and subscribe on Spotify | Apple Podcasts The farmland may be paid off and generating income. But looming capital gains taxes can make a straight sale financially painful. Or maybe an heir isn’t so sure that owning a farm is really what he wants to do in the years ahead. That is where a 721 exchange could be an option. “We're one of the few firms that have ever done it or tried it in the farmland space,” said Ethan Branscum, Director of Investments at Sower Farmland, w