A new change has impacted one of the long-standing responsibilities of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, which monitors the agricultural economy across the Midwest. The Chicago Fed's district includes some of the nation's most agriculture-intensive states: Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Each quarter, the bank releases survey results from agricultural lenders through its AgLetter publication. These responses provide a snapshot of land values and credit co

Farmers could learn within the next month whether additional lawsuits may move forward about claims that agricultural pesticides cause cancer. The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case in April that could have broad implications in the search for answers about what is causing an increase in cancer diagnoses in certain parts of the country. It would also impact companies that make pesticides and herbicides, and agricultural producers who rely on weed and pest killers on their farms.

Newer generations of cattle ranchers may have never envisioned that they are now searching for whatever information they can about New World Screwworm, a highly infectious parasite that had largely been eradicated in the United States for more than 60 years. And it has triggered tension between local and state leaders in Texas and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. A calf near La Pryor in South Texas – about 50 miles from the border with Mexico – has ignited the na