Mary Swander: Taking Farm Succession Conversations on the RoadMary Swander’s show is back on the road with the same mission: to use a unique way to get farm families across the country thinking about their succession plans. Her approach is really unique and for a good reason.Only 56% of the farms in the United States were involved in some level of succession planning, according to the 2017 USDA Census. “Yeah, no, no, it’s something no one wants to talk about, because it’s money,” ...| AmericanFarmlandNews
Agriculture producers had warned the Trump administration for months, along with members of Congress, that deportation raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) could devastate food production and processing. Many workers in the industry are immigrants. Some of them have legal status, while others do not.Last week, they thought that their industry might be spared from the administration’s attempts to deport millions of people. But on Monday, The Washington Post was among the n...| AmericanFarmlandNews
American Farmland Owner provides thoughtful, thorough agricultural insight, news, and analysis regarding the latest research, land trends and sustainable practices.| AmericanFarmlandNews
A development in Jacksonville, Florida, with the code name, “Project Pan,” received an overwhelming vote of support by council leaders...| American Farmland Owner
The Cost of Tariffs: John Deere Expects to Lose Hundreds of Millions They put off buying a new combine. They decided that a tractor can...| American Farmland Owner
John Giebenhain is a LandProz agent who primarily sells agricultural and recreational land through Central and West Central Minnesota....| American Farmland Owner
There are the pressures of commodities sinking even lower, the reality that input costs seem to keep getting higher, and the uncertainty...| American Farmland Owner
Pike County, IL | August 5, 2025 The Godwin Farm in Pike County, Illinois, sold at public auction on August 5, 2025, through Curless...| American Farmland Owner
After roughly one in eight U.S. farms disappeared or became part of someone else’s farm in the past quarter century, it could make a...| American Farmland Owner
American Farmland Owner tracks announcements for meat processing operations that could bring new or expanded facilities in key places...| American Farmland Owner
Martha Stewart is one of the country’s most well-known farmland owners even though farming is only one aspect of her multi-layered...| American Farmland Owner
The Great Western Ranch, a massive property on the west edge of New Mexico, has been sold to new owners. It is one of the largest single...| American Farmland Owner
Climate Land Leaders: How to Conserve and Protect Your Land with Teresa OpheimCorn is growing in parts of North Dakota where it didn’t used to grow. Citrus production has fallen 90% over the past two decades in Florida. Other areas have dealt with record rainfall, higher heat, or drought like they have never experienced before. Has the behavior of humans caused permanent alterations in the planet’s weather systems? Is this somehow just an extended weather pattern that will subside? There ...| AmericanFarmlandNews
U.S. farmland values climbed again this year, marking the fifth consecutive annual increase, according to the USDA’s newly released 2025...| American Farmland Owner
Record yields may spread far and wide and won’t be limited to just corn or soybeans. The USDA predicted that both commodities could see...| American Farmland Owner
A firm focused on finding alternative investments in the global food value chain has reached agreement to buy an emerging online platform...| American Farmland Owner
Supply has been down, while demand has remained strong. Those two forces helped keep farmland values up nationally, Randy Dickhut believes. Relying on his 30 years of farming experience and 20 years in farm management and land brokerage work, he thinks that interest will remain strong in the final months of 2025.| American Farmland Owner
Arkansas is seeing a sharp rise in Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies—more than almost any other state. Dr. Ryan Loy, ag economist at the University of Arkansas, warns the financial stress is deeper than reported, as farmers struggle with high input costs, weak commodity prices, and fading pandemic-era support. With 15 bankruptcies from April 2024 to March 2025—the most in nearly a decade—experts are calling for stronger financial tools and policy support to help farmers stay afloat.| American Farmland Owner
A new $300 million bio-based chemical plant in Eddyville, Iowa, is turning locally grown corn into QIRA®—a renewable alternative to petroleum-based 1,4-butanediol used in everything from clothing to cars. Developed by Qore, a joint venture between Cargill and HELM, the plant is the first of its kind globally and will produce 66,000 metric tons annually. With major brands like LYCRA and BASF already on board, the innovation promises new markets and stability for Iowa corn farmers.| American Farmland Owner
Bayer continues to manage the legal fallout from its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, with CEO Bill Anderson announcing the company has recently settled or dismissed 17,000 glyphosate-related cases. Of the 192,000 total claims filed, 61,000 remain unresolved. Bayer has already paid over $10 billion in settlements but maintains that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is safe and backed by decades of research.| American Farmland Owner
Clemens Food Group is investing $130 million to expand its Hatfield, PA pork processing facility by nearly 70%, boosting production of bacon, sausage, and value-added pork. The Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council calls the expansion a major win for the state’s 2,700 hog farmers, strengthening the supply chain and aligning with growing consumer demand. The project is expected to enhance food safety, improve product flow, and create broader economic benefits across rural communities.| American Farmland Owner
Taxpayers could save $4 billion following a major restructuring of the USDA, which includes shifting workers from Washington, D.C. to...| American Farmland Owner
Several factors can weigh down farmland values, said Tim Koch, Farm Credit Services of America Executive Vice President - Business...| American Farmland Owner
How do producers increase income, add to their yearly production and save money for consumers? When it comes to Florida blueberries, some University of Florida researchers believe that developing the right genes could accomplish all those things.Blueberry season in Florida usually runs from February to May. But results of a new study show that researchers found a way to also grow productive berries in the fall.RELATED: Read the American Fruit Grower story on the research here. Dr. Patricio M...| AmericanFarmlandNews
Recent farmland sales include a legacy Ohio dairy farm, Illinois development ground, and premium Iowa cropland with top-tier soils and strong CSR2 ratings.| AmericanFarmlandNews
AFO Rick NaereboutListen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. This year has brought six months of uncertainty and chaos for farm producers and their migrant workers. Rick Naerebout doesn’t pretend that he thinks that he has all the answers, or that he can predict the future. But he is feeling more confident that some of the changes that he seeks for the dairy industry could happen in the months ahead.Naerebout has been in the dairy business most of his life. He grew up on his family...| AmericanFarmlandNews
Champaign Berry Farm: Owners Hope More Farmers Choose to Grow BerriesThey didn’t start with black raspberries, peaches, gooseberries, or currants. But they also didn’t know that customers would drive several hours to fill a basket fresh from the farm. Mike and Cathy Pullins adjusted their business plans for Champaign Berry Farm in Urbana, Ohio. They hope that other farmers do, too.“We’re not gonna live forever,” Mike Pullins told American Farmland Owner as he sat next to his wife, ...| AmericanFarmlandNews
The company that has already invested millions of dollars to construct a five-state, $9 billion carbon sequestration pipeline vows to try again after yet another regulatory setback. Summit Carbon Solutions -- the company based in Ames, Iowa – learned Tuesday its latest permit application was “not viable,” according to regulators with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.Summit has tried for three years to get the necessary permit to build a portion of its pipeline through the s...| AmericanFarmlandNews
Mitchell Hora: 45Z Credits Will Lead to Surge in Carbon AwarenessWhile members of Congress, lobby groups, and impacted Americans argued over the ramifications of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Mitchell Hora was making plans…and feeling optimistic.“It’s a big deal,” Hora told American Farmland Owner from his office in Washington, Iowa. Hora is the founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, an agricultural consulting company that prioritizes improving soil health for fellow farmers.P...| AmericanFarmlandNews
In September, a well-known, turn-key cattle operation in southwest Wisconsin went up for auction. The 818-acre WoodHill Farms, located in Vernon County, sold for $6,645,000. That was an average of $8,123 per acre. (Image Courtesy: Peoples Company)Travis Smock, one of the Peoples Company agents handling the sale, said there was a lot of interest from potential buyers loc...| AmericanFarmlandNews
As farmland owners thinking about selling, and potential buyers eye appealing land during the first month of 2025’s second quarter, they know that values have dropped so far this year, according to the Kansas City Federal Reserve District’s report. The report covers the country’s Tenth District, which includes Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and the Mountain States (Colorado, northern New Mexico, and Wyoming, which the report states are grouped together because of limited survey ...| AmericanFarmlandNews
A Montana Man’s Trip to Try to Save His Solar Business: Ralph WaltersSince a Wyoming farm boy who expected a longer career as a lighting technician for film and television never anticipated that he would end up owning a solar business with his wife in Montana, it is perhaps fitting that he took an expected trip to Washington, D.C. to fight for the future of the industry that he now treasures.“It's just a really neat technology,” Ralph Walters told American Farmland Owner from his office...| AmericanFarmlandNews
A New Future on an Old FarmSpotify | Apple PodcastsThis complicated life may not be what Beth Hoffman envisioned for herself decades ago when she was going to graduate school on the West Coast. But her previous career may have led her to this. So did a neighbor she met (she later married him).Now she can’t imagine doing anything else. And she hopes that what she has built will carry on far longer than she does.“We are financially sustainable,” Hoffman told American Farmland Owner from t...| AmericanFarmlandNews
Rob Taylor, Whiskey Distiller: Sourcing Local Is a PriorityDiesel engine not running right? Need help combining? Looking for help in how to master the sales industry? Rob Taylor can help with all those things. Taylor believes in being good to people in whatever way his diverse background can offer. And part of that means sourcing local, whenever possible, to expand personal relationships and enhance rural communities.Taylor and his wife, Dr. Christi Taylor, own Honey Hill Event Center in Osceola| AmericanFarmlandNews
Kevin Ross has used glyphosate on his farm, believes in its ability to control weeds better than almost anything else, and he doesn’t want to see a California requirement threaten the use of it on anyone’s farm.“Glyphosate is one of the most effective tools that we absolutely have ever had in controlling weed, weed pressure,” Ross, a rural western Iowa corn farmer, said as he joined leaders including Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, both Re...| AmericanFarmlandNews
AFO Jolene RiessenJolene Riessen lost her husband of 32 years, David, to cancer in 2019, so she understands the concerns about the state’s rising rate of cancer. But she doesn’t believe that people should speculate that pesticides family farmers like her use are the reason that people are getting ill.“When you called out pesticide use as one of the problems,” Riessen told American Farmland Owner from her farm in Ida Grove, “…to be honest with you, it pissed me off. Because having ...| AmericanFarmlandNews
Paul NeifferPaul Neiffer is a farm boy by birth. As an adult, he now owns farms in three states. So, he still believes in the future of farmland. But he also believes that the next several years could be difficult for the farmers he serves.“The psyche right now (for farmers) is this year really is not great,” Neiffer said from his office in Colorado.Neiffer is a certified public accountant who specializes in taxes and accounting services for farmers and agricultural processors. He authors...| AmericanFarmlandNews
