The new year began with the presence of La Niña in the Pacific Ocean. Water temperatures throughout the equator region were about 1º Celsius (close to 2º Fahrenheit) below average, and the effect of that ocean cooling is making its way into the 2018 crop prospects...

The changes in the recent tax reform legislation regarding asset purchases and trade-ins are among the most significant for ag producers. With one provision retroactive, it's important to understand all of your choices.

Keep in mind this piece was written before knowing how much of January's weather would play out. But, if late-December and early-January icebox conditions were any indication, the famed "polar vortices" of years past were nothing more than a bit chilly. Good heavens it...

Q: Do you think a fuel stabilizer works? I have a hard time starting my line trimmer after it goes unused all winter. I have heard that leaving fuel in a small engine carburetor all winter long is not good for any part of the fuel system.

Family members don't often talk about why they are estranged from one another. Perhaps they are ashamed to admit they can't get along with a relative, or maybe they feel they have failed at being a family. Some may not understand why their siblings or children or...

Q: When we had a cow that was sick, my grandfather would say, "She lost her cud." He liked to see most of the cows laying down and chewing their cud. He seemed almost obsessed with this, but I have never known why cows chew their cud, and is it as important as he...

When Thomas Waters III, Damascus, Virginia, wants to cross one of his fences, he does it with a bolt. In this simple fence-crossing fix, Waters uses 12- or 16-inch bolts, depending on the diameter of the fencepost. About 2 feet off the ground, he drills a hole through the...

Encouraging weeds to grow isn't something Andy Herring generally works to achieve. However, last year, the North Carolina farmer joined in a national effort to plant milkweed to support monarch butterflies along their migration path. That experience taught him the plant...

It's never been more important to understand the combinations of corn traits being planted. The 2018 Handy Bt Trait Table is designed to help growers do a better job of rotating traits.

Have you ever hired someone only to be sadly disappointed in your pick within the first few weeks? Farmers often get trapped between two extremes when hiring: We rely on our gut to read people through casual conversation and never dig deeper, or we rely too heavily on...

The United States is in the middle of what is now 104 months of economic recovery, much longer than the average length of 60 months. And, without an obvious shock to the system, the U.S. economy could remain in growth mode for the next couple of years.

Mike Scholting is pretty straightforward about planting corn in his part of the country.