As CattleCon 2026 kicked off this week in Nashville, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced its 2026 policy priorities following approval by the organization’s Executive Committee. NCBA’s focus centers on policies that directly impact producer profitability, including reducing regulatory costs, defending free markets, expanding trade opportunities, and maintaining strong beef demand. NCBA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan …
Saski Receives Cotton Genetics Research Award
At the recent Beltwide Cotton Conferences, Dr. Christopher Saski, Professor in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Clemson University, was presented with the 2025 Cotton Genetics Research Award. Saski also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia, the University of Arkansas, and Colorado State University, and has also directed the Clemson University Genomics Institute and …
U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol Appoints Co-Directors
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has announced the appointment of Marjory Walker and Liz Hershfield as co-directors to accelerate the program’s growth by advancing market adoption, developing new market-driven offerings, and fostering greater collaboration across the entire cotton value chain. Walker and Hershfield will oversee distinct but complementary pillars of the program. Walker will lead the operational and programmatic framework, …
Western Ag Network and Ag Information Network Announce Merger
Western Ag Network (WAN) and Ag Information Network (AIN) announced a strategic merger this week under Nemetz Communications, Inc., bringing together two respected agricultural media organizations to create a comprehensive ag broadcast platform focused in the West and Southeast. “This merger reflects a shared commitment to elevate the accessibility and depth of agricultural information across the West and beyond,” said …
Cropin Launches AI-first Agrifood ‘Ecosystem’
Cropin, the world’s largest deployed AI platform for food and agriculture, has launched a unique agrifood ‘ecosystem’ connecting agriculture and the digital world by combining data from the field onwards with artificial intelligence. Cropin founder Krishna Kumar says Cropin Ecosystem will provide a plug-and-play model to help agri-food businesses at every stage in the chain better navigate the complex challenges …
Acre Blitz Launches ESA Compliance Platform
Acre Blitz has launched a new platform to help growers and advisors comply with complex Endangered Species Act (ESA) requirements on pesticide labels. Acre Blitz has created two products that work together: the ESA Field Exchange, where growers document their field-level mitigations, and the ESA Check API, which delivers that data to applicators, retailers, cooperatives, and crop consultants at the …
Trump Spotlights Deere Announcement in Iowa
When President Donald J. Trump spoke in Iowa yesterday, he made the announcement that John Deere is building two new major factories in the United States, a state-of-the-art distribution center near Hebron, Indiana, and a cutting-edge excavator factory in Kernersville, North Carolina, both set to open in the next year. “We got the chairman of John Deere here…it’s a great …
Drought and Heat in Cotton Belt Outlook
While much of the southern Cotton Belt is in a deep freeze right now, the big concern in the forecast for this season is drought and heat. Eric Snodgrass of Nutrien Ag Solutions told cotton growers at the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences that much of the weather risk facing the Cotton Belt in 2026 can be traced to the Pacific …
Cotton Trust Protocol Grows Sustainability
The U.S. cotton industry’s voluntary sustainability program has achieved significant success in just five years, according to an update from the National Cotton Council at recent Beltwide Cotton Conferences. Marjory Walker, Vice President of Council Operations, says the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has grown rapidly since it launched in July 2020. “We actually have 2,500 global members representing 25 brands …
Congress Devastates Supporters as it Punts on E15
Supporters of nationwide, year-round E15 were once again kicked to the curb by Congress, after weeks of negotiations between farm, ethanol, oil and refinery interests to craft wording that would have included it in the funding bill. Instead lawmakers have opted to create a new “Rural Domestic Energy Council” to develop potential legislative proposals on E15. It’s just too much …