Farm country voted heavily for Donald Trump last November. Now many farmers are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the Republican president’s disputes with China and other international markets. More than half of U.S. soybeans are exported internationally, with roughly half of those going to China, so it’s a critical market.
The New World screwworm is endemic in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean — and its northward spread into Mexico has alarmed U.S. officials. It can kill a full-grown cow in one to two weeks.
The group American Rivers says the Mississippi faces threats including increased flooding and inadequate disaster prevention and response. In Minnesota, one environmental advocate says not much has been done to move the needle on the biggest source of pollution in the river — agriculture.
As the Trump administration sets the stage for faster processing speeds at pork and poultry plants, meatpacking workers at JBS Foods in Worthington are demanding safer work conditions in a new contract
Mark Anema and Kate Ritger met at a garlic harvest party, started a farm, got married and had a kid. For Anema, it meant a huge change from a life in finance to farming. It isn’t easier or more profitable, but he says changing his life has changed him for the better.
The median net farm income for Minnesota farms statewide dropped to $21,964 in 2024, marking the lowest level this century. Crop producers had some of the worst financial difficulties, with net farm incomes for crop farmers at almost zero dollars.
The first Trump administration spent $28 billion bailing out farmers during a trade war with China. The White House has said it's starting to look at how to help this time around.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled almost half of food shelf orders from Minnesota farmers under the federal Commodity Credit Corporation. Organizations providing nutrition programs say they are concerned about how to provide for their clientele.
When it comes to staying informed in Minnesota, our newsletters overdeliver. Sign-up now for headlines, breaking news, hometown stories, weather and much more. Delivered weekday mornings.