After burning for more than six days, the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma was only 15% contained Sunday morning. Drifting sand now poses a threat to rural roads.
Just as American steakhouses are recovering from the first wave of COVID shutdowns, the Delta variant threatens to diminish the appetite for a sector seen as a barometer for full U.S. economic recovery.
Federal officials announced this week mandatory water cuts to the Colorado River, marking the first federal water cuts, and it's the first-ever water shortage for a river that serves 40 million people in the West.
Shipping issues continue to surface. The latest is in China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan container port, which is the third-busiest in the world, and has been partially shut down for six days, with no sign of reopening yet.
A big increase in benefits is on the way for Americans receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The average SNAP benefit will increase for FY 2022 beginning on Oct. 1, according to the agency.
Western wildfires continue to rage in the west, as California's biggest wildfire is leading to widespread evacuations of livestock. And now there are efforts underway to care for animals left behind.
The Senate passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill Tuesday, and transportation could receive more than half the new funding slated in the bill, but the plan is expected to hit a major roadblock in the House.
The drought in the West is producing many firsts, as farmers and ranchers grapple with dire decisions including pulling their cattle off federal lands early. Now many worry they won't source enough feed for winter.
July proved to be a scorcher in the West, but the weather story flipped to start August, with much of the eastern half of the country enjoying cooler and dryer air during the first few days of the month.
Heat and drought aren't the only issue farmers in drought-stricken areas are dealing with. Grasshoppers are also destroying pastures and crops. Producers say it's finishing off what's left of an already dire crop.
EPA announced it's creating a durable definition of WOTUS by reverting back to the pre-Obama era rule as a framework. EPA is encouraging farmers and ranchers to weigh in during a series of public meetings in August.
The Senate cleared a key procedural vote on a bipartisan infrastructure deal Wednesday, which could set Biden’s infrastructure focus into action. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called it “a very big moment."
U.S. and Chinese officials met face-to-face for high-level talks, and the meeting had a tense tone as the countries remain at odds over issues from cyber security to human rights.
After President Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order late last week, NCBA and other livestock groups praised the President's focus on meat, poultry. However, not every ag group is on board with the President's plan.
“We like to say that the program isn’t about the cow, but the how,” says Lauren Miller, VP Carbon Footprint Solutions at Grassroots Carbon. “Our aim is to scale up the restoration of prairie grasslands..."
After more than a decade of legislative proposals, the Biden Administration is preparing plans to allow equipment owners to have the right to repair their own equipment. AEM and John Deere responded to the planned order.
U.S. President Joe Biden wants the Federal Trade Commission to limit the ability of farm equipment manufacturers to restrict tractor owners from using independent repair shops or complete some repairs on their own.
Patrick Montgomery is in the business of delivering customers the best steaks they'll ever eat. Along the way, he may have just created the best hot dog anyone has ever tasted as well.
Emergency haying and grazing on CRP land is now allowed in 32% of the counties in the U.S., according to USDA. In June alone, emergency haying and grazing was authorized in 196 counties.
An investment company with ties to the Mormon church has the high bid for land that belonged to the now bankrupt Easterday Farms and Easterday Ranches.
A plan to help farmers and ranchers reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while gaining more clarity on carbon markets, is moving through Congress. The Senate approved the "Growing Climate Solutions Act," with a 92-8 vote.
After months of negotiations, President Biden and announced Thursday a deal was reached on an infrastructure spending plan. The news came after a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators Thursday.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 10% of the contiguous U.S. is now under an "exceptional drought," which is the highest the rate has been since 2011.
A federal judge announced Friday a decision to halt payments in a USDA loan forgiveness program designed to help farmers of color. USDA has until Friday to respond to the court’s temporary restraining order.
The EPA and Department of the Army announced a plan on Wednesday to initiate a new rulemaking process to restore the protections that were in place prior to the 2015 WOTUS implementation.
One week after a cyberattack shut down meat packing plants in three countries, U.S. officials seized the cryptocurrency payment that was made during the Colonial Pipeline hack less than a month earlier.
The United Nations issued a warning this week as world food prices are rising at their fastest pace in a decade. Global food prices have risen for 12 consecutive months and now sit at their highest level since 2011.
The dire drought situation is one USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey thinks could last through at least the remainder of 2021. Forecasts also point to a drier weather pattern returning for Texas and the Plains.
Calls for change came to a head this month, as cattle groups held an industry-wide meeting made history. And the groups say the first meeting is just the start.
The plan is now called "America the Beautiful," and is a 10 year, locally-led and voluntary nationwide effort to conserve, connect and restore 30% of the nation's lands and waters by the year 2030.
“We know rural areas are different from urban areas, people are more spread out, it's not always as easy to travel to one location that's close to everyone to get a vaccine," Dr. Murthy says.
Secretary Vilsack flatly denied there is any effort by President Biden to reduce meat consumption to meet proposed cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. "Sometimes in the political world, games get played," he said.
Ryan Yates, managing director of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), says while the plan sounds simple, there are still a lot more questions than answers regarding what the plan truly means.
Details of a U.S. land and water related executive order could be unveiled soon. Known as the ’30 by 30’ plan, it would place 30% of U.S. lands and 30% of U.S. waters under federal jurisdiction by 2030.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows from North Dakota to Texas, all the way west to California, the most severe levels of drought didn’t ease across the U.S. this past week.
The chase to capture carbon continues. It’s a possible new source of income for farmers and ranchers, but it's also bringing a set of challenges and questions. The answer could be both public and private programs.
North Dakota just endured its driest September to March ever on record. On Thursday, Governor Doug Burgum declared a state of emergency due to drought. Farmers are now forced to make tough decisions, early.
The Nature Conservancy and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announce a five-year cooperative agreement to increase private land conservation in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
Senators John Hoeven and Michael Bennet reintroduced the Modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act, bipartisan legislation to reform the Hours of Service and Electronic Logging Device regulations at the U.S. DOT.
President Biden is preparing to announce a $2.25T infrastructure plan on Wednesday. It's aimed to fuel funding for America’s roads, waterways, broadband and the electric grid, but there's also a focus on climate.
Problems at ports are magnifying a surge in container shipping costs. And those costs are now showing up as farmers and ranchers source farming supplies.
The Biden Admin. is readying a $3T infrastructure and economic plan. While officials say the plan centers around roads and infrastructure projects, critics say that’s only a small piece of the potential proposal.