Free Republic

President Donald Trump rebuked cattle ranchers after they criticized his idea to import Argentinian beef, writing on Truth Social on Wednesday they “don’t understand” his policies—as the proposal has prompted criticism from Republican lawmakers in farm states while consumers face record-high beef prices.

I'm in Washington D.C. with about 200 farmers lobbying against the Food Security and Farm Protection Act (aka EATS Act in the Senate) or the Save Our Bacon Act (SOB in the House). This legislative effort at the federal level seeks to overturn California Prop 12 from seven years ago and Massachusetts Question 3. These two states went beyond what 11 states have done in outlawing gestation crates in hog factories. Sows lives in these crates all their lives. They can only stand up and sit; they can't walk or turn around. While 11 states have outlawed this protocol, California...

The Trump administration threw Argentina a financial life raft this week, and Argentina promptly responded by offering China an enticement in the form of untaxed soybeans. Why it matters: It's a harsh blow to already struggling U.S. soybean farmers, and illustrates the complex implications of rescuing a close ally. Driving the news: On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced concepts for broad financial support to stabilize Argentina's economy, including potential loans, currency purchases and debt buying. Argentina's currency, the peso, rallied on the news. Argentina, looking to rake in more capital, suspended its export taxes on several products Monday, including...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will use tariff revenue to offer cash bailouts for farmers who are struggling with trade uncertainty and other economic headwinds. “We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are, for a little while, going to be hurt until the tariffs kick into their benefit,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “So we’re going to make sure that our farmers are in great shape, because we’re taking in a lot of money.” Trump officials expect that Congress will need to...

Wisconsin farmers face a major threat to their livelihoods, as the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is pushing a radical fee hike that could devastate auction barns, livestock dealers, and farm families statewide. The proposal would increase licensing fees for auction markets by an astonishing 1,700 percent — from $420 to $7,430 — placing enormous burdens on those who work tirelessly to keep Wisconsin’s agricultural economy alive.As U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) warned, this is not merely a matter of dollars and cents: “Democrats cannot manage a budget, so they shift the burden onto you.” “Not...

Hundreds of employees are losing jobs at a grape nursery owned by Wonderful Co., one of the state’s biggest agricultural operations. The company says it is unrelated to a contentious battle by the United Farm Workers to unionize workers at the nursery in Kern County. One of California’s largest agricultural employers plans to close a Central Valley grape nursery by the end of the year after laying off hundreds of employees, including many supportive of a United Farm Workers effort to unionize the workforce. Wonderful Co., owned by billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, plans to shut down the majority of...

The Maude family has maintained a grazing allotment with the U.S. Forest Service Buffalo Gap National Grasslands since the inception of the agency. Charles and Heather Maude have carried on the practices implemented by generations before them, including irrigating the river bottom to grow a feed crop. After the USFS alerted them that a small segment of land might be fenced incorrectly for ownership, they were indicted for theft of federal property. Those charges have been dropped, but a solution to the original issue has not yet been determined. ... Charles and Heather Maude no longer face the threat of...

If you watched Donald Trump's cabinet meeting on Wednesday, you may have seen Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins hold up a photo of the Maude family of South Dakota. I'd heard a little bit about the fifth-generation ranching family before that, but I decided to learn more because I couldn't believe the story Rollins told about how the Joe Biden administration treated them. It's unbelievable. Or maybe it's not, given all we're learning about the last four years. ... Trump Admin is reversing Biden-era failures in 100 days! The U.S. Gov has dropped charges against the Maude family, victims of...

Would you look at that? Trump's tariffs are having their intended impact for American businesses. At least for now. In Alabama, farmers are showing their gratitude for President Trump's tariffs which are making business boom in the produce world. It's only been two days now and we've actually had a lot more calls of people having interest in doing business and the price hasn't even changed. So, this leveling the playing field with international trade actually ... levels the playing field? A 17% tariff was all it took?? From NBC 13 in Birmingham: Many are concerned this will mean higher...

Western Slope ranchers and elected officials urged Colorado Parks and Wildlife and its commission on Thursday to take more aggressive action in mitigating the impacts of the Copper Creek wolf pack on local livestock operations. The Copper Creek pack was recently tied to four livestock attacks in eight days at ranches in Piktin County, leading Parks and Wildlife to kill one of the pack’s male yearlings. The attacks took place at McCabe Ranch at Old Snowmass, Crystal River Ranch and Lost Marbles Ranch. “The one thing you guys can do for us is we need to remove this pack,” said...

A new lidar survey of Michigan's Upper Peninsula revealed evidence of extensive farming by Native Americans that has stunned archaeologists, according to a statement released by Dartmouth College. The region's climate and short growing season has traditionally made it a difficult area for farming. However, researchers studying the Sixty Islands archaeological site near the Menominee River detected a huge network of raised garden beds spread across 330 acres, where the ancestors of the Menominee Tribe used to grow crops such as corn, beans, and squash. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal uncovered during preliminary excavations indicates that the agricultural system was used...

Why is it that the organic apple must wear a label, pay a certification fee, and carry a price premium—while the conventional apple, grown with chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, is simply called an apple? What if we flipped that?What if the organic apple was just an apple—and the one grown with chemical inputs had to be labeled chemically grown? Why does the burden fall on the farmer doing the right thing, while the one using harmful practices skates by without warning, cost, or consequence?Why does the farmer who’s working with nature—protecting our water, preserving our soil, and nourishing our...

Illinois’ unpredictable weather is throwing a curveball to the state’s farmers. Some areas of the state are significantly behind in rainfall and early indications are that the conditions will persist this summer. “It has just been super dry from Springfield and Peoria up to Rockford and especially over the Chicago area we have had half of our normal rain, a third of our normal rain,” said CBS Chicago meteorologist David Yeomans during an Illinois Soybean Association webinar. According to the latest crop progress and condition report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly a fifth of farmers who responded said...

Vladimir Putin is demanding urgent potato imports from Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, while he delays supplying the ally with promised notorious Oreshnik horror missiles. Putin has made the shameful admission that he has run out of spuds - one of his country’s leading food staples - amid economic meltdown during his war with Ukraine. It now appears Belarus will not get the lethal missiles until after Lukashenko supplies Putin with new exports of potatoes which have spiralled in prices in Russia. The Minsk tyrant has even cancelled sanctions against imports from the EU to stock up to supply Russia. -snip-...

Russian president Vladimir Putin has acknowledged crop shortages as pressure on the country’s economy continues to mount. Pressure is mounting on Russia amid labour shortages, international sanctions, record interest rates, and inflation, but Putin’s admission of shortages of key crops marks a milestone in the nation’s woes. Speaking yesterday in a televised meeting, he said: “Yesterday, I met with representatives from various business sectors, including agriculture. It turns out that we don’t have enough potatoes. “I spoke with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko. He said, ‘We’ve already sold everything to Russia’.” Potato shortages have become a serious problem in neighbouring Belarus, with...

According to an email sent May 13, 2025, by Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Gibbs, Nicole Rosmarino is the sole finalist for the director of the State Land Board, which is the state’s second largest landowner with 2.8 million surface acres and 4 million mineral estate acres. Gibbs said, per statute, the board provides public notice for 14 days prior to a formal appointment which will occur at the next regularly scheduled public board meeting, which is June 11 and 12 in Denver. An email sent to DNR confirmed the hire Friday. The mission of the State Land Board...

These photos of a South African farm show the effects of the country’s land reform. I got these two photos from this link:Original: https://martinplaut.com/2024/09/02/the-utter-failure-of-the-south-africas-agricultural-reforms/Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20240902055937/https://martinplaut.com/2024/09/02/the-utter-failure-of-the-south-africas-agricultural-reforms/This is the first photo. The caption says, “Irrigated fields of potatoes and other vegetables at Dawn Valley farm in 2002, six years before the land claim settlement. (Source: Google Earth Pro).”This is the second photo. The caption says, “A satellite image of the same fields in 2022, shows few signs of any cultivation. (Source: Google Earth Pro).”

American farmers are behind President Donald J. Trump and his relentless push to restore fairness in global trade and secure new markets for homegrown producers.According to the latest Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer:70% of farmers expect the President Trump’s tariffs to strengthen the agricultural economy in the long-term.Farmer sentiment improved in April, marked by rises in current and future expectations.The Farm Capital Investment Index rose to its highest reading since May 2021. “This month, one out of four respondents said it was a good time to make large investments, nearly double the percentage of respondents who said it was...

Carolyn Jones never thought it was controversial to herd her cattle to different parts of her 200-acre ranch in northeastern Mississippi to give the grass time to grow back between grazing. “This is really simple stuff we have been doing since the beginning of time,” said Jones, a lifelong farmer and the head of the nonprofit Mississippi Minority Farmers Alliance. About 40 percent of U.S. cattle ranchers already use this technique. It helps ranchers keep their grass healthier, but it also helps the environment. Last year, the Alliance won a USDA contract to educate other farmers about these long-standing conservation...

What was America like before rapid industrialization and suburbanization, which dramatically altered the way of life in the United States? Critical race theory and DEI proponents look down on this period in American history, which stretched through much of the early to mid-20th century, saying it was an era marred by “white supremacy” and the “KKK.” That couldn’t be further from the truth, argues Victor Davis Hanson on this edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” “But what I'm getting is, everybody got together, they were ethnically and racially diverse, there was no prejudice. Or if there was,...