Totally unrelated:
Did you know almost 100% of corn planted is pre-treated with neonicotinoid insecticides?
Did you know neonicotinoid seed treatments aren't regulated by the federal pesticide law?
Did you know most studies (even from ag schools!) show little yield benefit from neonic treatments?
Week one and Trump’s war is hitting pocket books.
www.startribune.com/us-iran-conf...
There are over 750 companies that sell paraquat globally. Syngenta ending their production of paraquat likely won't mean much for how much is used in the U.S. Paraquat exposure increases the risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 64%. www.ewg.org/news-insight...
This is absolutely wild. Some farmers are getting offers over $120,000 an acre to sell their land to data center developers. Just for comparison, Iowa State says average price for an acre of farmland in Iowa is around $11,500. farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2026/03/farm...
New reporting shows that we are still going to have 407 ICE agents in Minnesota in March. Much above the 150 agents that Homan claimed in his announcement a few weeks ago. Immigrants here are still terrified to leave their homes every day. www.mprnews.org/live-updates
"The hazards of confined spaces on farms and dairies are a well-known and persistent cause of death in agriculture across the U.S. — often from exposure to odorless and colorless noxious gases, or due to asphyxiation in closed spaces where oxygen has been depleted" apnews.com/article/colo...
The MN Dept of Ag is requesting comments by March 12 on if our Groundwater Protection Rule is adequately protecting water from nitrate. @ewgofficial.bsky.social knows the rule is not adequate, so we will be submitting comments. I invite others to comment as well! www.mda.state.mn.us/groundwater-...
Just one of the MANY recent papers that connect low dose exposure to Glyphosate and to a higher risk of developing cancer.
Glyphosate-based herbicide as a potential risk factor for breast cancer - ScienceDirect share.google/H6v0d587sELT...
I don't think anyone is doing better journalism on Midwest agriculture than @ninaelkadi.com.
Her latest, on biodigesters: sold as “climate-smart,” but subsidize factory farm expansion, pollute rural water, and address only ~11% of ag emissions.
cornbeltconfidential.substack.com/p/digesters-...
80% of agricultural land is used for livestock (and textiles), yet this huge land use provides only 17% of our calories and 38% of our protein.
16% of the land used for crops provides 83% of our calories and 62% of our protein. It's past time we rethink what we eat.
Pretty sure this administration has no idea where phosphorus actually comes from. You can't just create new phosphate rock mines... Think they should have read Dan Egan's book 'The Devil's Element' first. farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2026/02/trum...
What a great story!
It shows that biodigesters are super subsidy-dependent, and that they may cause consolidation and so negate their alleged GHG benefits, while increasing other types of pollution. Once again, here’s a big ag tech fix that doesn’t fix anything instead of eating less meat and dairy.
Congressmen from a party that claims to care about states' rights attempts to make a voter-approved state law illegal. www.farmprogress.com/farm-policy/...
Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu
AG Keith Ellison: "The surge is contributing to violent crime. Two of the three homicides committed in Minneapolis in 2026 have come at the hands of federal immigration agents."
This is spot on, from @michaelhapp.bsky.social. "NRCS needs to demonstrate that the RAI will meaningfully increase the implementation of regenerative practices rather than package existing policy in a way that merely sounds like progress." www.iatp.org/new-regenera...
The Farm Bureau's own chart shows that the number of farm bankruptcies in 2025 was much lower than in 2016-2020. The chart also shows that many more farms went bankrupt during the first Trump Admin compared to the Biden Admin.
The Farm Bureau says that farm bankruptcies "increased 46% in 2025." This may seem like a huge increase, but the actual number is 315 farm bankruptcies across the whole year. Given that we have 1.88 million farms in the U.S., 315 farms filing for bankruptcy is a tiny %. www.fb.org/market-intel...
"The National Cattlemen's Beef Association said it 'cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices.'"
Agricultural exceptionalism manifests itself in many ways in the US. Amping up the “poor farmer” narrative is consistently one of them. Ignoring logic is another: this is the president the farm lobby wanted, and his policy* approach was clear.
*I really hesitate to call any of this mess “policy”.
A lot of comments this week about how bad farm income will be this year, when USDA's numbers show that farm income will go down... (checks notes) 0.7% in 2026. Still above the 20-year average and a less than 1% decrease vs 2025 farm income. Sky falling? farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2026/02/farm...
I have a lot of thoughts about this, but surprising to see this many 'ag leaders,' including commodity groups, actually being publicly critical of Trump Admin policies. farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2026/02/ag-l...
This piece does a really good job describing the fear that parents and kids are feeling every day in the Twin Cities. Constant worry that anytime we leave the house we could encounter ICE, and that kids will be traumatized witnessing the violence. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/o...
It was great talking with @byng.bsky.social for this @sentientmedia.org piece. Sales of antibiotics for use in livestock went up almost 16% between 2023 and 2024, which was the largest increase in many years. And no one seems to be able to explain why.
It was a good experience giving a presentation at the Great Northern Winter Festival in Minneapolis this weekend. I spoke about agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions and the conservation practices that can reduce emissions during the festival's Climate Solutions Series. thegreatnorthernfestival.com
Next time someone asks you about energy and land use, maybe remind them that the ~35 million acres that currently grow corn for ethanol in the US could produce ~15 PWh per year of electricity from solar photovoltaics. That's ~3.5 times more than *total annual generation from all US power plants*.
He "applauds Trump and Rollins," but writes an entire op-ed about how their policies are bad for farmers. www.foxnews.com/opinion/im-a...
please remember that no matter how many “ICE is losing in MN” articles you read today, there is still a very real, urgent, ongoing crisis in Minnesota.
people need food and they need rent money. that has not changed.
They are using ICE's occupation of Minnesota to distract us from other terrible decisions they are making about our state.
