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farms

  • The USDA releases the 2022 Ag Census, revealing that since 2017 the U.S. lost nearly 142,000 farms and more than 20.1 million acres of productive farmland, that just over 26,000 farms account for 50% of all sales for all products, and an overall continued rise in the average age of farmers.
  • Farm economists note that farm profits weakened in 2023, farmland prices remain strong, Avian Influenza continues to impact both domestic poultry and wild bird populations, and an alternative way to dispose of your live Christmas tree that serves local birds.
  • Fallow sugarcane plantation fields may have fueled the devastating fires in Maui, a California law that sets confinement standards for pigs and poultry gets push back amid calls for changes from animal advocates, the 2023 Farm Bill is languishing in Congress, and sales of plant-based meat alternatives are slipping.
  • The number of farmers markets in the U.S. has more then quadrupled since 1994, U.S. senators announce the creation of the Senate Veterinary Medicine Caucus, a new study suggests that the world could lose half of all farms within 80 years, and global food fraud raises questions about the authenticity of certain high priced food items.
  • Lab-grown meat's carbon footprint, hay harvest yields are looking good in the Four Corners, and breaking down the cost of a 4th of July cookout meal.
  • New York may become the first state in the country to ban the use of neonicotinoid-treated seeds, Congress takes steps to prevent China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from buying U.S. farmland, drought conditions are affecting many farmers in the upper Midwest, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture begins its annual monitoring season for agricultural pests.
  • Drought in the Southwest sees big improvement, farmland prices remain stagnant, and cattle producers are optimistic about building herds back after recent setbacks.
  • Farmers in the Great Plains may abandon 85% of their wheat acres, the shift of land from agricultural production to urban uses could impact future food security, and the U.S. Supreme Court rules that a California law banning the sale of pork from pigs that were raised in tightly confined spaces was lawful.
  • A breakdown of what appropriations will be included in the new Farm Bill, the USDA boosts farm loan relief for producers, and Colorado State University is selected to run one of 12 regional food business centers as part of a new U.S. Department of Agriculture program.
  • A new Colorado bill could make it easier for farmers to repair their own tractors and other equipment, an explosion and fire at a Texas dairy farm resulted in what may be the largest single-incident livestock death toll in the U.S., and the Secretary of Agriculture Agriculture warns meatpackers and other companies that they need to take steps to ensure that illegal child labor isn't being used in their operations.