Pivotal Issues Blog

Vilsack says announcement is “a significant step forward in strengthening our bond and broadening agricultural trade between the United States and Cuba.” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced several measures that will foster collaboration between the U.S. and Cuban agriculture sectors during his second visit to Cuba. While in Cuba, Vilsack announced that USDA will allow […]

Nebraska winter wheat is off to a good start, but stripe rust and other rust diseases are showing up in southern states. By Tyler Harris Nebraska’s winter wheat crop had a rough go round last year. Following severe winterkill and disease pressure from stripe rust and fusarium head blight, Nebraska saw some of the lowest […]

Kentucky grower spends big to reap more bushels: By: Chris Bennett   Come early spring, Phillip Meredith is running like he’s stolen something, desperate to get into his fields and scratch northern Kentucky With abundant water supply and 1,650 acres under pivot irrigation, Kentucky farmer Phillip Meredith is able to zero-in on every detail of […]

How four farmers found the right cover crop to fix their soil’s problems: Without question, cover crops can improve soil health—and better soil health means more efficient use of resources and the potential for higher yields. But failing to select the right cover crop will waste money as surely as dense, crusted soil wastes rainfall. […]

By Holly Spangler Former anti-GMO activist says science supports biotechnology for food production, and says mandatory labeling would give activists ‘nothing left to fight.’ Published on: Jan 12, 2016 Once upon a time in the not-so-distant past, Mark Lynas would crawl through mud, clandestinely seeking to destroy European GMO crops. “Machetes and all that,” he added […]

Article from www.k-state.edu The High Plains Aquifer provides 30 percent of the water used in the nation’s irrigated agriculture. The aquifer runs under South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. | Download this photo. MANHATTAN — A new Kansas State University study finds that the over-tapping of the High Plains Aquifer’s […]

By: nbergin@journalstar.com Groundwater levels in most, but not all, of Nebraska are on the rise after years of decline during the 2012 and 2013 drought, according to an annual report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. On average, water levels throughout the state rose by just more than half a foot from spring 2014 to spring […]

By Larry Dreiling The U.S. House Jan. 13 approved a joint resolution to block the controversial Waters of the United States rule in the Clean Water Act. The resolution, which passed the House by a 253-168 vote had passed the Senate in November by a vote of 53-44. The votes were for naught, as President […]

Two Farm Journal polls reveal farmer priorities Tight margins for 2016 are pushing farmers to sharpen their pencils and punch their budgets into shape. “Bankers are going to be looking very closely at [debt to asset] ratios,” says Matt Bennett of Bennett Consulting, based in central Illinois. “We’re going to have to be better businessmen […]

By Alison Rice Combined seed and chemical company to grab more market share than any competitor The proposed $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont, announced in December, would create a seed and chemical company with $19 billion in revenue, making it larger than Monsanto Company, Syngenta, Bayer or BASF Crop Protection. It would […]