This morning a reader tagged in a Tweet for a Bloomberg story which finds that the farmer bailouts – the aid packages the Trump administration and Congress have deployed as a way to cushion the economic harm caused by the trade war with China – are now larger in terms of dollars than the Detroit…
What Happens if the Ethanol Bubble Pops?
I’m not sure many people in the general public realize just how much of farming today is in service of the ethanol industry. I got to thinking about this thanks to a recent (and fascinating) article from Bloomberg about land use in the United States of America. The representation of land dedicated to ethanol caught…
Podcast: Burgum Backs Trump on Trade
Governor Doug Burgum, fresh off a White House meeting with Donald Trump on trade issues, said on my radio show today that he likes what the President is doing. “This administration, they’re listening to the people,” he said. “They’re listening to the plain states.” “We’ve got a White House that’s pro-agriculture,” he added. Asked specifically…
Are North Dakota Farmers Double Dipping on Federal Subsidies?
According to a new report from the Environmental Working Group – a somewhat infamous organization in agriculture industry circles thanks to their online database of farm subsidy recipients – there are lot of producers double-dipping on federal subsidies. North Dakota is one of the states where it’s happening the most. I had Don Carr, a…
Audio: Ward County Farmer Suggests Weather Modification Efforts Are Keeping Rain From Falling
Darin Langerud, director of the North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board (the state agency in charge of cloud seeding programs in North Dakota), has said that weather modification efforts have suppressed crop-damaging hail by 45 percent and increased rain fall by 5 to 10 percent. But that’s news to Ward County farmer Nathan Smith. “Every time…
Why Not Just End North Dakota's Corporate Farming Law?
Today the state House will finally take up SB2351 which would ease the state’s restrictions on corporate farming for swine and dairy farms (Senator Joe Miller had a guest post here on SAB about the bill last week). Currently North Dakota does not allow a corporation to own farm land unless it is a corporate…
Joe Miller: Corporate Farming Ban Reforms Would Save Swine, Dairy Farms
North Dakota agriculture is an industry of prosperity in our state. It can and does feed the businesses of our region and the people of the world. North Dakota leads the nation in the production of several different crops; we now have the opportunity to take a lead position in the production of livestock and…
Val Wagner: Conservation Measure Is A Wolf In Geese Clothing
November is sneaking up on us…which means that it’s time to start thinking about what’s going to happen at the ballot box. And, let me tell you, as a North Dakotan, there’s a few things that have me concerned. Let me take a minute to explain to you one of my largest concerns: The “Clean…
Rep. Kevin Cramer: "I will not sit idly by and watch this President steal the jobs, hopes, and dreams of my constituents."
“I will not sit idly by and watch this President steal the jobs, hopes, and dreams of my constituents,” Rep. Kevin Cramer said today on the floor of the House of what he described as President Obama’s war on coal. “Nor will I sit idly by while he and his EPA impose their mediocrity on…
Kevin Cramer: We Have To Pass A Farm Bill Because The Free Market Is Scary
Back during campaign season I did an interview with Rep. Kevin Cramer, and we talked about the farm bill. Then, as now, the legislation was stuck in the midst of partisan bickering and I asked Cramer if there was really a lot of urgency to pass a farm bill (I quoted a NDSU farm management…
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