Author Archives: tanya brown

West Virginia farmers near the Chesapeake Bay watershed have turned to several conservation programs in order to comply with clean water regulations. The state has been told by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it must reduce the amount of … Continue reading →

A new web-based mapping tool that captures a range of demographic, economic and agricultural data on rural America is now available. The Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America provides county-level information and allows users to geographically compare select states and … Continue reading →

Corn growers are tired of being blamed for everything. That was the sum of Rick Tolman’s speech this week at the CornVention in Fargo, ND. Tolman, chief executive of the National Corn Growers Association, spent much of his remarks correcting … Continue reading →

Net farm income for 2011 is expected to jump to $94.7 billion, up $15.7 billion from 2010, according to a report by the USDA. Despite a $20 billion hike in production costs, the 2011 forecast is the second highest inflation-adjusted … Continue reading →

Ranchers with a small number of cattle infected by brucellosis won’t have to risk losing their whole herd thanks to new federal rules. Sanctions are being eased against states bordering Yellowstone National Park that have cattle infected with brucellosis — … Continue reading →

A young advocate for agriculture urged farmers to use social media to combat negative publicity such as animal cruelty and factory farming. Speaking at the World Ag Expo, Amanda Radke, 23, a former National Beef Ambassador and editor of Beef … Continue reading →

A record 4.95 billion bushels of corn will be used to make ethanol, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That estimate is up from 4.568 billion from last year. The ratio of U.S. corn inventories to usage is expected … Continue reading →

Orange crop production across the U.S. is down 1 percent from Jan. 1, but remains 6 percent above the 2009-10 forecast, according to a USDA Crop Production report. The Florida orange forecast also is down 1 percent from Jan. 1, … Continue reading →

The Farm Service Agency will not issue partial 2010-crop counter-cyclical payments to producers of certain covered commodities because market price projections exceeded levels that would trigger these payments. The payments provide a safety net for producers during periods of low … Continue reading →