U.S. Department of Agriculture

Under a 40-year-old law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture can withhold subsidies, like crop insurance and disaster payments, from farmers who clear, drain or convert wetlands. A company that owns farmland in the Midwest says it’s unconstitutional.

Soil science is a relatively new field and becoming more critical in the work to keep soil healthy and productive. The discovery of century-old soil samples at a land-grant university could offer big clues into how soil has changed over time. (This story first published July 22, 2024.)

The rules will affect new residential construction projects funded by the federal Housing and Rural Development agency. Now, lawmakers are pushing the agency that oversees the nation’s two largest mortgage backers to adopt similar measures.

As the country tries to meet its climate goals, tackling emissions from farming will be key. Biochar, one climate-smart agriculture strategy, sequesters carbon while recycling agricultural waste and improving soil.

The average farmer in the U.S. is now 58 years old, according to the Census of Agriculture, released Tuesday. There are also fewer farms in the country than there were in the last census.

Missouri applied for the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture after two straight years of drought forced some livestock farmers to reduce their herd size because they did not have enough food or water.

Lincoln University in Jefferson City and Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla are two of the 33 campuses nationwide that will be part of a $262 million effort to recruit and train the next generation of agriculture workers.

Huge swaths of Missouri and Kansas have continued to be stuck in a months-long drought.

The Farm-to-School movement is out to revolutionize the humble school lunch with food grown on local farms. But the path from cropland to cafeteria is full of complicated twists and turns. A new wave of federal funding is trying to smooth the way.

Recent heat and drought have fueled concerns about this year’s corn crop, as producers in the Midwest see a wide range of conditions.