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Bonnie Haugen and her family have been farming near Canton, Minn., near the Iowa border since the 1990s.

Minnesota farmers prepare for new direction from Washington

A new year brings new reasons for optimism for Minnesota's farmers, fueled by a booming export market with China and forecasts for a strong 2021 harvest. But the new administration has farmers wondering what's in store.

As Oklahoma pork plant speeds up slaughtering, workers report more injuries

February 19
Newly marked pigs at a Centerville, S.D., farm are ready to be shipped to a meatpacking facility. Some employees at slaughterhouse facilities want the
A regulatory change in 2019 is starting to make the day-to-day duties more difficult in pork slaughterhouses.
Agriculture
March 6
South Dakota, where WH Group’s Smithfield runs a massive pork plant in Sioux Falls, may not begin vaccinating food and agriculture workers until Apr

States take uneven approaches to getting vaccines to meatpacking workers

COVID-19 vaccines are making their way into the arms of U.S. meat and agriculture workers, but companies and union officials said progress needs to be…
Business
February 6
Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, said the carbon program will help users gauge how environmentally friendly practices may affect the fa

Land O'Lakes launches carbon-trading program for farmers

Land O'Lakes launched a carbon credit generation and trading program last week that it said will help crop farmers capitalize on rising demand for greenhouse…
Agriculture
January 23
Pile of soybeans

China's purchases of U.S. soybeans soared 53% in 2020, but fell short of deal target

China's soybean imports from the United States in 2020 rose by 52.8% from a year earlier, customs data showed last week, though the stepped-up buying…
Agriculture
January 23
Jewel Bronaugh, right, is commissioner of the Department of Agriculture for the state of Virginia and is nominated by President Biden to a top job at

As Biden seeks diversity on his team, the Agriculture Department becomes a flash point

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden's choice to fill the deputy secretary post at the Agriculture Department underscores the scarcity of Blacks and other minorities in…
Business
January 20
On President Trump’s last day in office, the EPA gave waivers to three unidentified refiners from biofuels standards, including the production of et

Trump administration's last-minute break on ethanol standards angers farmers

The EPA on Tuesday exempted three oil refiners from biofuels requirements.
Agriculture
January 9
A farmer planted corn at sunset near Walford, Iowa, in April. An August derecho windstorm reduced the output on 20% of Iowa’s farmland.

For Minnesota farmers, 2020 was nothing like they expected and surprisingly profitable

The continuing pandemic, a trade war and natural disaster blew apart all expectations.
Agriculture
December 21, 2020
University of Minnesota Agronomy and Plant Genetics graduate student Dorothy Kirsch (above right) and her field drone on St. Paul campus. She is worki

On the day the U remembered Borlaug's Nobel Peace Prize, another food innovator won it for 2020

It has been 50 years since Norman Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize for developing a high-yield, disease-resistant wheat that saved an estimated billion human…
Local
December 19, 2020
Lizy Bryant has raised more than $95,000 with an online fundraiser to help her buy her family farm and help Minnesotans of diverse backgrounds connect

Planting the seeds for a new generation of farmers

Lizy Bryant hopes to turn her farm south of the Twin Cities into a space where Black families can learn, create and reconnect with the land.
Business
December 11, 2020
Perdue Farms, the nation’s No. 4 poultry processor, said varying state policies could slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to essential workers at c

Meat companies seek better coordination on virus vaccine rollout

Chicken processor Perdue says inconsistent policies by states could slow the vaccination effort.
Agriculture
December 5, 2020
Jim Campbell farms out of Iowa County, Wis., and sells milk to Organic Valley. The organic dairy industry hopes to move forward under a new presidency

Minnesota organic dairy farmers hope to regain ground under Biden

Organic Valley's CEO is cautiously optimistic for industry despite the loss of powerful Rep. Collin Peterson.
Agriculture
December 5, 2020

Singapore becomes first place in world to approve sale of lab-grown meat

The meat, to be sold as nuggets, will be priced at premium chicken prices when it launches "in the very near term," the co-founder and CEO says.
Coronavirus
November 28, 2020
In simpler times last year : Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, daughter Siobhan, Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Turkey Growers Association President Paul Kvistad.

COVID-19 canceled governor's turkey meet-and-greet

Annual meet-and-greet with governor a victim of virus precautions.
Agriculture
November 21, 2020
A harvested field in Winslow, Neb. Soybean prices rose to a four-year high this fall.

At last, a year when farmers don't have to store soybeans

Brazil ran out of soybeans, creating an opportunity for U.S. farmers suffering after Trump trade war
Agriculture
November 21, 2020

Food producers complain about China's virus tests on commodity imports

BEIJING – Major food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with China’s scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for…
Agriculture
October 31, 2020
A Trump/Pence sign on a hay wagon in Freeport, Pa., on Oct. 15. U.S. farmers have received a record $40 billion in aid in 2020 from the federal govern

Farmers see record $40B in aid, but many uneasy accepting help

Farmers, who as a group disproportionately vote Republican and support President Donald Trump, are uneasy with being seen as on the dole. "Who wants to be dependent on government for everything? It just feels wrong."
Agriculture
October 26, 2020
The first measurable snow of the season hit Minnesota last Tuesday.

Some snow is no big deal because Minnesota farmers were far ahead on this year's harvest

Soybeans are mostly in, and corn is way ahead of schedule despite the early cold.
Agriculture
October 24, 2020
According to 2019 data, lettuce heads are doing slightly better against lettuce leaves than in 2017 and 2018. Meanwhile, cabbage consumption is up dur

Americans turn over a new leaf, in the produce aisle

Yes, this could be the year consumption of romaine and other leaf lettuce finally surpasses that of head lettuce.
Agriculture
October 12, 2020
A laborer carries a sack of wheat in a state food corporation warehouse, in Jammu, India in 2011.

World Food Day aims to intensify the battle against hunger

Global Minnesota will host a virtual World Food Day conference, one of several across the globe.
Agriculture
October 9, 2020
FILE -- The Kwai Tsing container terminal in Hong Kong, April 7, 2020.

Tariffs create mixed bag for U.S. farmers, builders

Some benefit, but others with no apparent ties are feeling the crunch.
Agriculture
October 6, 2020
Dairy cows wait outside of the milking parlor at Daley Farms in Lewiston.

Battle over southeast Minnesota dairy expansion drags on

The Land Stewardship Project was ordered to produce internal documents by Tuesday.