Agriculture

The Michigan Supreme Court sided with state regulators this week in a dispute with industrial livestock farms.

Drones flying over Midwestern fields are likely to become a more typical sight. Farmers are finding that the remotely piloted aircraft can do everything from spraying fields to monitoring livestock.

Soil science is a relatively new field and becoming more critical in the work to keep soil healthy and productive. The discovery of century-old soil samples at a land-grant university could offer big clues into how soil has changed over time. (This story first published July 22, 2024.)

With bird flu spilling into dairies across the U.S., several Midwestern states have ramped up efforts to curb the virus. Few have expanded testing requirements like Iowa.

A warm, wet spring is causing problems for northern Michigan’s cherry growers. The weather is ideal for a tiny fly that can destroy fruit crops.

One year away from a federal deadline to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico by 20%, increases in tile drainage, livestock and fertilizer use have made success unlikely.

Michigan leads the nation in bird flu cases in dairy herds and people as health experts caution that the virus may be more widespread than official reports.

It’s National Pollinator Week, an annual event created to bring attention to the sharp decline in pollinator numbers due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. Butterflies often capture people’s attention and help spark interest in pollinator conservation, something butterfly farms are helping promote.

Biosolids are a cheap, nutrient-rich fertilizer that have been applied on millions of acres of farmland across the country, but toxic “forever chemicals” are creeping their way into the fertilizer. A proposed federal provision aims to better protect farmers from PFAS contamination.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development presented the potential transmission pathway during a joint state Senate and House committee meeting earlier this week.