Chicago hog futures rose nearly 7% in the past four sessions to reach the highest since October, while U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed U.S. pork prices prior to the New Year’s Day holiday jumped 8.2%, the most since September.

Move over John Wayne, there's a new sheriff in town. Noam Azran, a cowboy from Israel, says his autonomous technology will bring cattle ranching "into the 21st century." His start up, BeeFree Agro, uses patented autonomous drone technology to scan terrain and plan the best possible route for cattle herding.

For the most part, poultry and livestock are not picky eaters, but they are often discerning enough to turn up their noses or beaks at spoiled feed. That’s a good thing, because eating bad feed not only leaves a bad taste in an animal’s mouth, it can be extremely dangerous to their health.

Thanks to the government paying nearly 40% of their income, U.S. farmers are expected to end 2020 with higher profit than 2019 and the best net income in seven years, the Department of Agriculture said in its latest farm income forecast.

There were 27 farm bankruptcies in Iowa in 2019 — more than double the 13 bankruptcies in 2018, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported. This was despite the $1.58 billion the federal government paid Iowa farmers in Market Facilitation Program payments to ease losses because of the trade dispute with China.

Some farm groups criticized a long-delayed competition rule the Trump administration announced Thursday as favoring big meatpacking and poultry processors and leaving small farmers and ranchers vulnerable to unfair treatment in selling livestock.

Every five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) release the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a set of "science-based" guidelines offering advice on "what to eat and drink to promote health, reduce risk of chronic disease, and meet nutrient needs."

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pushed out a proposed rule change suggesting that they take over the regulatory oversight of gene-edited animals from the FDA. According to the proposed rule change, regulatory oversight of gene-edited animals for human consumption would be transitioned almost entirely to the USDA. 

The presidential signature means that, as part of the provisions in the bill, there will be more aid to farmers and a 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the next six months.