Agriculture

Citrus greening disease has ravaged Florida’s citrus industry since it was first discovered there 25 years ago, with citrus production having since dropped nearly -80%. The devastating disease has also spread to citrus groves in California, Louisiana, and Texas, as well as over 30 other countries around the world. After over two decades of desperately …

USDA Researchers Believe They’ve Found a Treatment for Citrus Greening Disease Read More »

US cotton producers are warily eying Brazil where the country’s production is expected to top the US for the first time, according to the USDA’s most recent projections. Meanwhile, strained US supplies due to a drought-stricken crop in Texas could allow Brazil to surpass US exports and become the world’s top cotton supplier, dealing yet …

Brazil Close to Unseating US as Top Global Cotton Exporter Read More »

A huge white 4-and-a-half-year-old Nelore breed cow named Viatina-19 FIV Mara Imóveis, has sold for the highest price ever, making it the most expensive cow in the world. One-third of the ownership of the cow, was sold for over +$1.4 million at an auction held in Arandú, Brazil,  placing its total value at a staggering …

The Most Expensive Cow in the World… Read More »

The Dow Jones futures index, the first modern American stock index, was created by a not-well-educated farm boy with little money named Charles Henry Dow. When the young Charles Dow left the family farm for the big city, there was exactly no one predicting he would go on to become one of the most famous …

How a Farmer From Connecticut Became the Most Well-Known Name in Finance Read More »

Livestock producers all across the US are dealing with a serious shortage of large and food animal veterinarians. According to the USDA, in 2023, the shortage or rural veterinarians has reached an all-time high, with 500 counties in 46 states deemed as having a critical shortage of large animal vets. The shortfall poses risks to …

America’s Large Animal Veterinarian Shortage is Barreling Toward Crisis Levels Read More »

It was this week back in 1785 that a Baptist teacher and preacher named Elijah Craig founded a distillery in Kentucky using corn to make whiskey. Craig has sometimes been claimed to have been the first to age the whiskey in charred oak casks, “a process that gives the bourbon its brownish color and unique …

CORN… The Magic Behind Bourbon Whiskey!  Read More »

Bird flu, aka highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), is making an appearance already this fall with several cases now confirmed on several Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. The risks of the disease are heightened now as migratory birds make their way south, a danger that will likely repeat in the spring when they head back north. The …

Bird Flu Season Has Arrived… What You Need to Know Read More »

It was on this day back in 1952 that Clarence Birdseye marketed his first frozen peas to the public consumer. During the summer after his freshman year of college Birdseye worked for the USDA in New Mexico and Arizona as an “assistant naturalist”, at a time when the agency was concerned with helping farmers and …

How a Former USDA Worker Made Millions! Read More »

Along with a kaleidoscope of changing leaf colors, acorns are a staple of fall across the United States. The strange little nut is actually the fruit of an oak tree and is sometimes referred to as an oaknut. While they can be found in abundance all across the country, they oddly enough play little to …

Did You Know People Used to Regularly Eat Acorns? Read More »

Over the next 30 years, the regions suitable for growing coffee are expected to decline by some 50%, according to some climate models. The decline is primarily the result of an expected increase in annual temperatures in key coffee-producing countries like Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Colombia. The world could be spared a future in which …

With The Future of Coffee Production in Question… Here comes “Beanless Coffee” Read More »