Pivotal Issues Blog

No pesticides. No herbicides. No chemical fertilizers. No harmful growth hormones or needless antibiotics. What’s not to like about organic food? Well, maybe the price tag.  While estimates can vary depending on the season and area of the country, the USDA estimates that organic food can cost anywhere from 10 to 30 percent more than […]

By now we’ve all heard of the serious drought underway in the Western United States. Actually, a lot of the country is abnormally dry, according to the United States Drought Monitor, but only California and Nevada have so far hit the “exceptional drought” levels that top the charts. Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Peurto Rico and […]

When it comes to agricultural colleges and universities, the United States boasts an abundance of highly acclaimed educational institutions. Below, we highlight some of the country’s best agricultural schools from entrepreneurial programs to agribusiness training centers. College of the Ozarks The College of the Ozarks relies on student labor across its agricultural work spaces. These […]

July has been a busy month for farming. From Midwestern flooding and California drought to robotic tree-tapping and new EPA ozone rules, we’ll take a look at everything happening in our industry and how it affects our market and bottom line. Chicken Recall – On top of the record number of deaths from bird flu, […]

While much of the nation’s Corn Belt continues to suffer from an overabundance of rain, it’s a different story on the West Coast where California agriculture continues to fall victim to the state’s worst ongoing drought in over four decades. Hyped-up drama over Hollywood celebrities caught hoarding water may be capturing headlines, but the most sobering story coming out […]

Storing grain is not a new concept; arguably it is the idea on which civilization was built. However, it takes on new significance in our modern age as farmers and agricultural economists work to determine whether new grain storage is really a necessity or simply a glittery fad that will prove unnecessary after costing untold […]

We believe the Internet is an incredible resource for today’s farmers. It provides opportunities for farmers to educate themselves and to connect with other farmers locally and around the world. These are some of Twitter’s top farming resources you might want to follow. Farmer Resource Network @FRNspotlight Farmer Resource Network is dedicated to helping farmers […]