Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Janet Kubat Willette Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack looked ahead and backward in a Wednesday press conference where he announced an additional investment in beginning farmers. Vilsack, who has served as agriculture secretary during the entire Obama administration, said USDA has set up a framework to invite new people into the business of farming. It’s important […]

By: Farm Progress, Western Farmer-Stockman Noxious weeds are simply trouble, sometimes breaking the lifecycle of native grassland areas by crowding out important plants vital to a local ecosystem. Dalmation toadflax is an escaped ornamental weed that has found its way into Colorado pastures, meadows, roadsides and rangland. This is an aggressive plant, producing up to […]

By: Farm Progress, Western Farmer-Stockman The wind can whip at 60 miles per hour across the Klein family farm near Pavillion, Wyo., and their sandy loam soil goes with it. Because of this, Garrett Klein, and his dad, Richard, and their respective families, decided to minimum till their malt barley and sugar beet fields, and […]

By: Farm Progress, Western Farmer-Stockman The life of a plant is more complicated than many originally thought, as researchers delve into a range of factors that can influence growth and development. Scientists at the Weed Science Society of America notes that plants can sense and communicate in ways that may surprise you. Originally, it was […]

By: John Hart Very few Georgia farmers use advanced irrigation scheduling techniques to manage irrigation on their farms because they often find it overwhelming or too costly to implement. “The people that use advanced irrigation techniques are usually consultants in Georgia. There is a lot of data and you have to interpret that data and […]

By: Kylie Kinley Today, a business promotion might involve a video or a hashtag. In the 1940s and ’50s, Behlen Manufacturing suspended tractors from its plant’s ceiling and tested its buildings with an atomic bomb. Behlen Manufacturing, whose headquarters is in Columbus, celebrated its 80th anniversary in June. The company’s huge contributions to the agriculture industry, […]

By: PJ Griekspoor More than 200 people turned out for an Aug. 2 demonstration at T&O Farms LLC, that focused on irrigating effectively from a depleting water source. T&O Farms is the Water Technology Farm in Kansas. The Water Technolgy Farm concept was developed as an action item within the Kansas Water Vision which Gov. Sam […]

By: Brad Robb Nestled next to County Road 397, northwest of Tillar, Ark., a multi-generational row crop operation continues the family farming tradition started in 1941. “My grandfather, who worked as a mule master for R.A. Pickins, bought the initial 60 acres of this farm after he moved out of an area called The Gourd,” says […]

By: Ron Smith Agriculture is on the cusp of another revolution as farmers and their key suppliers of goods and services tap the potential of rapidly changing technology. At the recent Winfield US Answer Tech Summit in Dallas, leaders from across a wide spectrum of industries that interact with agriculture offered short-and long-term analyses of […]

By: Farm Progress, Dakota Farmer The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have jointly finalized standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that will improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution, while bolstering energy security and spurring manufacturing innovation. The final phase two standards were […]