An Iowa teacher is being recognized for teaching her students about agriculture. Kerri Bell, a second-grade teacher at Mid-Prairie Elementary School in Kalona, recently received the Iowa Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture award presented by the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. “Teaching about agriculture comes easily for me because it’s just something I grew up with…… Continue Reading

U.S. farmers and agricultural groups are closely watching developments around the Panama Canal. Mike Steenhoek is with the Soy Transportation Coalition. He says, “Soybeans are the number one agricultural customer of the Panama Canal. We typically ship at least 600 million bushels of soybeans through the Panama Canal every year en route to our customers…… Continue Reading

One of the big priorities for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in 2025 is state cooperative agreement funding. The farm bill, food systems, pesticide regulations, and PFAS round out the organization’s list of priorities. RJ Karney is NASDA’s senior director of public policy. “The federal and state cooperative agreements are designed to…… Continue Reading

Researchers are studying the taste preferences of deer to help mitigate crop damage. Michigan State University’s Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center Director James DeDecker tells Brownfield linking bear damage in corn silage trials to sugar levels has opened the door for more wildlife mitigation research. “The bears were preferring the sweeter, more sugary hybrids, and…… Continue Reading

The director of the Michigan FFA Foundation says the demand for agriscience grants has significantly increased. Alex Schnabelrauch tells Brownfield, “Since 1994, the Glassbrock grants have been awarded to chapters, and this year we had 31 schools across the state apply for just nine awards.” The $22,500 in funding will support educational resources for experiential…… Continue Reading