Opinion

Farmers and ranchers have long been leaders in adopting innovation — from integrating new technology to embracing creative solutions that improve efficiency and sustainability.

Free trade dogma suggests that more imports benefit consumers by affording them more choices and lower prices. Let’s see if this holds true in the U.S. beef market.

The Trump administration may grant U.S. agriculture special exemptions from parts of its ever-changing tariff regime, but it can’t exempt it from everyday economic reality.

On my family’s farm, we achieve Earth Day objectives throughout the year, guided by respect for the blessings natural resources provide. We must conserve and protect natural resources to grow food and sustain our farm for future generations.

Farmers and ranchers understand it can take generations to build something that lasts.

The current political news brings concerning thoughts about the economic future of farming as we are faced with higher interest rates, lower grain prices and import markets at risk due to trade wars and tariffs.

Across the country this morning, men and women in every region and every state are rising to grow the food, fiber and renewable fuel Americans depend on.

The rural version of the Golden Rule is this: Do unto your neighbors’ farms that you’d have your neighbors to do unto yours.

I talk a lot about the importance of community in this column. As destructive storms moved through the heartland, neighbors came together to help pick up the pieces and support one another in times of need.

R-CALF USA is aggressively pursuing tariffs for cattle, sheep, beef and lamb. And it seems we’re the only national livestock association that is doing so.

Plant-based and lab-grown protein products enjoyed a moment in the sun several years ago, but it didn’t take long for the free market to kick in and push these companies down a very steep decline.

Since 2006, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has been on a mission to build awareness and understanding of agriculture through education.

Medicaid looks to be one of the big corks Congress hopes will help plug an estimated $4.7 trillion flood of red ink that accompanies tax cuts Republicans plan to pass this spring.

Farmers and ranchers are committed to stewarding the land and protecting the water we depend on. We know firsthand the importance of clean water: it’s essential to our livelihoods and instrumental in providing a safe and abundant food supply.

Farmers and astronauts might seem like they have vastly different jobs, but they share a lot of common traits and skills.

In the seven weeks that global markets and U.S. farmers have been living in the uncertain trade world of the Trump administration, prices for most American ag exports have headed south faster than a Canada goose in late October.

The U.S. sheep industry reveals what happens when our nation ignores market failure for too long, and it’s a case study applicable to every livestock sector in America.

With new administrations come new leadership, new priorities and new regulatory approaches. The recent transition has highlighted policy changes throughout the federal government, including interior enforcement of existing immigration laws.

If it’s Tuesday, the White House’s long-promised tariffs against Canada and Mexico are on again, but if it’s Thursday, they — well, many that its Big Biz backers don’t want — are off again. No, wait.

R-CALF USA welcomes the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican beef and cattle — and we want more.

In her recent AgriNews piece, Matilda Charles highlights the benefits of AARP membership, but leaves out a crucial fact: AARP’s deep financial ties to UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurer.

Happy National Agriculture Week! As the old saying goes, spring has sprung. The question on the tip of the tongue of many people I’ve spoken with recently is: Do you think we are going to get any more wintry weather?

I am proud to be a farmer; it’s a genuine privilege to serve my family and yours every day. Like most farmers, I have seen life’s greatest challenges and greatest joys on the farm.

An important lesson I’ve learned over the years is that success is built on the foundation of strong relationships. We are stronger when we work together, building trust, exploring new opportunities and navigating challenges.

With the blustery cold we have seen across most parts of the country in recent days, it’s hard to believe that spring is right around the corner. Springtime brings planting, fresh blossoms and, of course, taxes.

You can kill houseflies with a shotgun, but that’s best done outdoors and away from people. Of course, drawing a bead on the indoor pests outdoors defeats the purpose of going after the little buggers in the first place.

One of the first marketing lessons offered to me, a wet-behind-the-ears ag editor, by a steely and successful ag futures trader was as simple and useful as a feed bucket.

As we bid farewell to February, I find myself aching for the warmth and promise of spring in the heart of middle America.

Though FFA Week may last a mere seven days, the state officers find it important to sport an attitude of pride and excitement for the FFA every day.

Over this past year, I dedicated extra time to celebrating our county presidents because they are the very heartbeat of our mighty federation.

Folk singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie is undergoing a welcomed revival with the success of the new Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown.”

Tariffs will not curtail imports, but they will help to rebalance trade by leveling the economic playing field between domestic cattle producers and producers from countries who enjoy less stringent production standards and lower currency valuations.

Sharing our agricultural journey is not only rewarding, but also serves as an opportunity to educate and inspire others about the importance of farming in our daily lives.

During the final stages of building the world’s first atomic bomb, scientists worried their new weapon might ignite the atmosphere and wipe out every living thing. Farmers are experiencing similar anxieties as efforts slash federal spending.

America’s farmers and ranchers are no strangers to uncertainty, but the challenges they face today call for immediate attention and decisive leadership.

Just a couple weeks ago at the American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio, Texas, I reminded Farm Bureau members that it’s going to take all of us stepping up in 2025 to drive agriculture forward.

When you push markets one way with tariffs, you should expect an equal and opposite reaction from those same markets.

During National FFA Week, many of us recall those years we spent wearing blue and gold jackets with the FFA logo emblazoned on the back. I still have mine, a hand-me-down from my sister, hanging in a closet somewhere in this old house.

The groundhog saw its shadow on the second day of February, so we are all supposed to buckle up and get ready for six more weeks of winter. Have you ever wondered why so many people trust a rodent’s shadow as the portent of winter weather?

We have officially wrapped up the 106th American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio, Texas, and I’m so thankful for another incredible week with our Farm Bureau family as we looked for ways to step up and drive forward.

Just weeks into the Republican takeover of Congress and the White House, Project 2025 is the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s governing plans.

I love living in a part of the country where we get four seasons every year. However, I would be willing to trade in a few of the colder days of winter for some extra days in spring, the season of new beginnings.

The Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, platform is generating a lot of interest in how our food is produced. Farmers and ranchers welcome a healthy discussion — we always have.

With a new Congress and administration sworn in, it’s time to get back to work in Washington. Just like there’s never a shortage of work to be done on the farm, there’s a full list of issues that our lawmakers need to tackle.

My father began retiring long before the sale of our farm’s dairy cows in 1989. Began is the appropriate word because his exit from dairy farming was “slower than molasses in January,” as he liked to say. Years slow, in fact.

The day after Congress certified Donald Trump’s election as president, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted unannounced raids throughout Bakersfield, California, descending on businesses where day laborers and field workers gather. The impact was immediate.

I have said it many times: farming is not an easy life’s work and certainly not for the faint of heart. Farming can push you to your physical and emotional limits. It can nearly kill you. It can save your life.

The new year always feels like a fresh start, a time to plan for the months ahead and think about what needs to get done.

A report on sustainable aviation fuel issued by Canada’s National Farmers Union makes a CO2-tight case that this largely crop-based, “renewable” alternative to today’s carbon-heavy jet fuel should never be produced.

Flipping the calendar year to 2025 led to the transition of our team goals to include planning for Illinois FFA State Convention.