Waterhemp watch
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•Facing lawsuit, USDA says it will restore climate change-related webpages
•Celebrating America’s farm dogs
•Farmers weigh in on trade war
•and more...
Facing lawsuit, USDA says it will restore climate change-related webpages
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to restore climate change-related webpages to its websites after it was sued over the deletions in February.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group, argued that the deletions violated rules around citizens’ access to government information.
The USDA’s reversal comes ahead of a scheduled May 21 hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the agency’s actions in federal court in New York.
The department had removed resources on its websites related to climate-smart farming, conservation practices, rural clean energy projects and access to federal loans related to those areas after President Donald
Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
At the same time, the Trump administration was working to pause or freeze other funding related to climate change and agriculture, some of which was funded by the Biden-era 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
In a letter filed May 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Justice Department said the USDA “will restore the climate-change-related web content that was removed post-inauguration” and that it “commits to complying with” federal laws governing its future “posting decisions.”
The lawsuit was filed by Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
Earthjustice attorney Jeffrey Stein said scrubbing the websites of information relevant to programs it was undoing “made it really difficult for farmers
to fight for the funding that they’re owed, for advocates to educate the public and members of Congress about the specific impacts of freezing funding on ordinary Americans in their districts.”
“I think that the funding freeze and the staff layoffs and the purging of information, they all intertwined as a dangerous triple whammy,” Stein said.
A USDA spokesperson referred The
Associated Press to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Stein said USDA had committed to restoring most of the material within about two weeks. He said he hoped the agency’s reversal would be a “positive sign” in other cases brought against the administration over agencies purging information from websites.
AP PHOTO
The U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Celebrating America’s farm dogs Who’s a good boy?
Farm dogs play a special role on farms and ranches across the country. These animals are more than beloved pets for farm families.
Zippy Duvall American Farm Bureau
Farm dogs take on important jobs, pitching in and lifting spirits. That’s why Farm Bureau is a proud partner with Nestlé Purina PetCare on the Farm Dog of the Year contest for the eighth year in a row. This contest has become a highlight of the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention every year, and for good reason. This is a chance for us to celebrate our four-legged friends who show up, day in and day out, tails wagging and eager to help.
From rounding up and protecting livestock to opening gates and chasing off pests, there’s a broad range of jobs, which farmers and ranchers rely on their trusted dogs for.
Some dogs are even trained to sniff out crop diseases. Dogs like my red heeler, Ziggy, can also serve as the welcoming committee to the farm.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year contest, and I cannot wait to see who gets named top dog next January.
AFBF PHOTO
Farmers are invited to submit nominations for the Farm Dog of the Year contest, which comes with cash prizes and bragging rights. The contest celebrates farm dogs and the many ways they support farmers and ranchers.
I know for each farm and ranch family, though, your dog will be “farm dog of the year” every year for the help and joy they bring.
Because it is so hard to pick just one winner, we also have the People’s Choice Pup contest. Stay tuned for that popular social media contest this September when profiles of several dogs from the running for Farm Dog of the Year will be shared for the public to vote on.
This contest is important for families off the farm, as well. Shining a spotlight on our dogs and their special place on our farms and in our hearts helps us connect with folks outside our fencerows.
Affection for our furry, four-legged friends is something we hold in common with folks from urban, suburban and rural areas alike. With that common ground, this contest offers folks who have never been on a farm another way to connect with agriculture.
You might even say that we could add another farm job to the list for our dogs, agricultural ambassador. But if your dogs are anything like my Ziggy, they might need a bath first.
I’ve never seen a dog happier than when he is caked in mud and ready to join in to help with farm chores. Truly, farm dogs are some of the hardest workers around, and they are up
to any task.
So, does your farm dog have what it takes to be the next Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year? You can encourage your friends and neighbors to apply, too. Just get those nominations in by July 11.
The grand prize winner, selected by a panel of judges, will take home $5,000 in prize money and a year’s worth of Purina Pro Plan dog food.
For more on the contest, to learn about past winners, and to submit a nomination, visit our website at www. fb.org/initiative/farm-dog-of-the-year.
Zippy Duvall is the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
LOCAL BUILDING EXPERTISE
You can trust Ryan Hartman and Hartman Statewide
Waterhemp watch
Herbicide used on early weeds
By MARTHA BLUM mblum@shawmedia.com
ASHTON, Ill. — Sidedressing anhydrous ammonia and herbicide applications are the focus for the Henert family now that they are almost done with planting.
“We finished planting our commercial corn in April and started right on planting the seed corn during the last week of April,” said William Henert, who farms together with his wife, Lea, and his parents, Nolan and Linda Henert.
The family grows seed corn for Wyffels Hybrids.
“We work together with Wyffels for planting the seed corn and it depends on the germ of the corn,” William explained. “We have one field of seed corn left to plant and hopefully it will
be done this week.”
“It’s a non-GMO hybrid so we wait for everything else to be planted around it before we plant the corn,” Lea added.
The order of planting the male and female rows of the seed corn varies by hybrid.
“Some are male first, some are both at the same time and some are female first,” William said.
A flamer is used is some situations.
“Instead of planting the male rows twice with the planter, we put all the
male rows in at once,” William said. “Then we come back with a flamer and flame half of the rows to get the pollination delay they want.”
So far this spring, William said, rainfall has been adequate for his crops, although he did rotary hoe some of the corn he planted first.
“I did that right before the rain, just to make it rain,” he said. “All that early heat really moved things along nicely and so far with the seed corn we haven’t had any emergence issues.”
AGRINEWS PHOTO/MARTHA BLUM
William Henert makes adjustments on the sidedress toolbar in front of his farm’s shop before returning to the eld to apply anhydrous ammonia in Lee County in north-central Illinois.
In most years, there are typical wet spots in their fields that don’t usually get planted.
“We might put some soybeans in there for ground cover in June,” William said. “But this year we have nice stands even in those spots, which is really rare.”
The Henerts sidedress the commercial and seed corn with anhydrous ammonia.
“We have all the commercial corn done and now we started on the seed corn sidedressing,” William said.
Spraying herbicides will start now since William is already finding waterhemp in his fields.
“I’m surprised to see the waterhemp
From the Fields:
We’ve been lucky
Rainfall has been enough. We got about 1.5 inches with the last rain. It was colder than ideal last week, but it didn’t hurt anything. So far, we’ve been lucky.
It sounds like we’re in a really nice area. Looking out our backdoor, it’s about as good as we could ask for. The corn stands are about the best we’ve ever had.
The new planter looks like it did better than our old one, so we’re happy about that. William Henert ASHTON, ILL.
so early, but with the early heat, that pushed it,” he said. “Three days of 80 degrees and the waterhemp will germinate so it was expected.”
The Henerts have started teaching their two sons, Wilson and Roy, weed identification.
“The boys know the difference between a couple of different major weeds,” Lea said. “So, they think that’s pretty fun and they will be good help this summer as we’re chasing waterhemp.”
The kids are excited to start their summer break from school.
“It’s really hard for them when the weather is nice and we get in the fields,” Lea said. “Because they feel like they’re missing out on all the things, so next week it will be all hands on deck.”
Mowing road ditches and waterways was completed on the Lee County farm in May.
“That’s something we like to get done before Memorial Day weekend,” Lea said.
Spring is a busy time for Lea as the technology applications specialist at GRAINCO FS.
“It’s been full this time of the year making sure our tablets are talking to our dispatching system,” she said. “Also keeping the internet up at all locations and the mixing systems running which for the most part has been fine.”
Lea is on-call to assist her coworkers whenever something breaks or somebody needs help with technology issues.
“Most of our people have laptops,”
said. “So, if the internet is out at one location, they can take their laptop to
she
another location which works out pretty nicely.”
AGRINEWS PHOTO/MARTHA BLUM
Nolan Henert applies anhydrous ammonia to a eld of seed corn that is grown for Wy els Hybrids. The family has been growing seed corn since 2015.
Farmers weigh in on trade war
Tariffs, weather, other uncertainty
WAVERLY, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota farmer Dan Glessing isn’t ready to get too upset over President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
Farm country voted heavily for Trump last November. Now Glessing and many other farmers are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the Republican president’s disputes with China and other international markets.
China normally would buy about one row out of every four of the Minnesota soybean crop and took in nearly $13 billion worth of soybeans from the United States as a whole last year.
More than half of U.S. soybeans are exported internationally, with roughly half of those going to China, so it’s a critical market.
Trump last month raised U.S. tariffs on products from China to 145%, and China retaliated with 125%. But the an-
nouncement May 12 of a 90-day truce between the two countries backed up the reluctance of many farmers to hit the panic button.
More good news came in an updated forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that projected higher corn exports and only slightly lower corn prices.
The report also predicted somewhat lower soybean exports, but higher domestic consumption, resulting in higher prices. Soybean futures surged.
After he finished planting his soybean crop, Glessing said he was excited by the news and hopes to see more progress. But he said he wasn’t really surprised.
On a bright, sunny day, as he began planting soybeans, Glessing said tariffs were only one of the things he’s worried about — and not necessarily the biggest.
Farming, after all, is an enterprise
People.
built on loose soil, the whims of weather and other uncontrollable factors.
“Am I concerned about tariffs? Yeah. I mean, there’s uncertainty that comes with that,” Glessing said. “Is that the No. 1driving factor in these poor commodity prices the last two years? No.”
As he steered his 25-year-old Case
IH tractor over a gently rolling field near the town of Waverly, he towed a planter that inserted his seeds through the stubble of last year’s corn crop. As he laid down the long rows, he rumbled past a pond where wild swans paddled about.
Riding shotgun was Georgie the
AP PHOTO
Dan Glessing and his corgi, Georgie, are shown in his tractor as they prepare to take a break from planting soybeans.
Corgi, who alternated between roaming around his cab and half-dozing at his feet.
Perhaps more skeptical than Glessing is Matt Griggs, one of many soybean farmers in Tennessee paying close attention to the trade war. He said the ripple effects on farmers might still be coming.
“We’re only on a 90-day pause,” Griggs said. “Who knows what is going to come after that?”
Joe Janzen, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois, said the commodity markets have largely shaken off the initial shock of the trade war, including Trumps’ declaration of “Liberation Day,” when he announced stiff worldwide tariffs.
“Our markets have largely rebounded and are back where we were around April 2,” Janzen said. “Tariffs have not had a major impact on prices yet.”
Even something that might seem like good news — ideal planting conditions across much of the Midwest — has its downside.
The potential for bigger crops sent prices downward, Glessing noted. High interest rates, seed and fertilizer costs pose additional challenges.
“There’s so many other factors besides just tariffs and my market price,” Glessing said.
LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF PROGRESS
But Glessing said he was encouraged by that morning’s news of a trade deal with the United Kingdom and said he hopes the current uncertainty in talks with China and other countries ultimately leads to better trade deals going forward.
Glessing had finished planting his corn the day before on the other half of a field that he rents from his father’s cousin, split between 45 acres of corn and 45 acres of beans.
It’s at the farm where his grandfather grew up, and it’s part of the approximately 700 acres he plants on average.
He locked in those planting decisions months earlier as he made deals for seeds, fertilizer and other supplies.
Back on his “home farm” closer to Waverly — where his late grandfather’s house, made of local brick, still stands and a cacophony of house sparrow songs filled the air — Glessing was pleased to spot the first signs of corn he had planted there about 10 days earlier poking above the soil.
Waverly is about an hour west of Minneapolis. Its most famous resident was Democratic former Vice President Hubert Humphrey. It’s in the congressional district represented by Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. Glessing’s post as president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau puts him in close touch with other influential politicians, too.
He and his wife, Seena, were Demo-
cratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s guests at the Capitol for Trump’s inauguration in January. Glessing declined to say who he voted for.
The Glessings have four kids, milk about 75 dairy cows and grow corn, soybeans and alfalfa on a combination of parcels they own or rent. He uses the alfalfa and corn primarily to feed his cows.
He sells his soybeans to a processing plant in Mankato, where some of them become soybean meal he adds to his animal feed. The milk from his cows goes to a co-op cheese plant in Litchfield that sells internationally.
Because Glessing has local buyers locked in and doesn’t directly export his crops, he’s partially cushioned from the volatility of world markets. But he’s quick to point out that everything in the agricultural economy is interconnected.
LESSONS LEARNED
On his farm near Humboldt, Tennessee, roughly midway between Memphis and Nashville, Griggs weathered the 2018 trade war during Trump’s first term and said he feels more prepared this time around.
“Back in 2018, prices were about the same as what they are now, and due to the trade war with China, prices dropped around 15%,” he said. “They dropped significantly lower, and they dropped in a hurry, and due to that, we lost a lot of demand from China.”
Griggs said exports to China never fully rebounded. But he doesn’t think the impact of the current dispute will be nearly as drastic.
Griggs — who raises approximately 1,600 acres of cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat — said tariffs were just one consideration as he planned out this year’s crops.
Growing a variety of crops helps him minimize the risk that comes with weather, volatile prices and now the prospect of a trade war.
Griggs said he’s going to be watching for opportunities to sell when market volatility causes upticks in prices.
“The main thing I learned in 2018 was that if you do have a price period where prices have risen some, go ahead and take advantage of it instead of waiting for it to go higher,” he said.
“Because when it comes to the tariffs and everything, the markets can be very unpredictable. So, my lesson learned was, ‘Don’t hold out for a home run, be satisfied with a double.’”
He said a temporary subsidy called the Market Facilitation Program helped soybean farmers withstand some of the losses last time could help if something similar is revived this year. But he said no farmer wants to make a living off government subsidies.
“We just want fair access to markets,” Griggs said. “And a fair price for the products we produce.”
Winning the fight against bovine respiratory disease
ROCK ISLAND, Okla. — Limiting stress and maintaining a strong relationship with a veterinarian are vital for a rancher’s success in fighting bovine respiratory disease.
Several years ago, John Hambrick, owner of Rafter H Ranch, wanted to know how prevalent health issues like BRD and bovine viral diarrhea virus were in his cow herd, so he started implementing a testing program. Based on the results, he could make culling decisions and management changes.
“We were able to get a baseline for the herd and then develop a vaccination program based on the recommendations of my veterinarian, Dr. Kevin Fenton, which enabled us to basically eliminate our disease sources in-house,” Hambrick said.
Determining whether disease is a problem in a cow herd or from any purchased cattle through testing is something Jody Wade, senior veterinary consultant at Boehringer Ingelheim, also recommends.
“You can buy some of your problems, so testing is something that you definitely need to plan for when you’re buying replacement heifers and bulls,” Wade said.
“Screen those cattle to ensure they’re not persistently infected with BVDV or any other type of virus that they can bring into your operation.”
Hambrick is a third-generation rancher in the wooded hills of eastern Oklahoma who raises commercial Angus cattle mixed with Simmental and Hereford genetics. The herd is divided into two-thirds fall calving and onethird spring calving.
“The cattle are happy here,” Hambrick said. “And I think that we’ve matched our animals to the ecosystem they live in now.”
ROUTINE VACCINATION
Building immunity gives cattle a strong first line of defense against BRD and other diseases.
“Immunity starts with healthy cows and creating an environment in utero where calves can thrive,” Wade said.
“After calves are born, we want to make sure they get quality colostrum, so they can build antibodies against those diseases that they’re going to battle.
“Once calves get old enough, we can start a vaccination protocol with the right products at the right time, so that we can continue protecting calves through the next phase.”
Wade advises cattle producers to work with their veterinarian similarly to how the Rafter H Ranch and Fenton have collaborated on a vaccination protocol.
“The vaccines that I use to keep my cattle healthy have been recommended to me by Dr. Fenton,” Hambrick said.
“He lives in my area, so he’s familiar with our challenges. If something new comes down the road that he likes and recommends it to me, I’m all for it. I trust him 100%.”
Hambrick and Fenton work together to coordinate vaccinations with his herd’s reproductive schedule.
“The vaccine I use, PYRAMID, is wonderful for addressing respiratory disease, and we just get such a good response out of it that there’s no reason for me to change,” Hambrick said.
“I personally can see as much immunity coverage with a single dose of the modified-live vaccine we use as I was getting with two and three doses of the old killed vaccines.”
In addition to running cows, Hambrick occasionally buys preconditioned calves to run as stockers, depending on markets and forage availability.
A recent set of stockers he bought received the same vaccine protocol as his own calves, and he was pleased with the results.
“They made it all the way through the grow yard and to the feedlot with zero death loss,” he said. “That protocol not only works on a farm with a known source of cattle, but also unknown sources of commingled calves.”
Just as important as having a vaccination protocol that works is having a veterinarian you can depend on to provide you with the necessary input.
“You’ve got to have a relationship with your vet,” Hambrick said. “You’ve got to have somebody at the other end of that phone who will answer when you call. Sure, we’ve been doing this for a long time, but things still come up.”
STRESS REDUCTION
“We manage for stress because, of course, naturally, you’re going to get it,” the rancher added.
One of the best ways to reduce stress is to minimize the number of times cattle need to be worked each year, by performing all necessary practices, when possible, at a few key times.
Building calf immunity with a vaccine program can also help reduce the need to pull sick animals for treatment.
Docile cattle are also key. Hambrick has made docility one of the key genetic parameters he looks for in bulls and when making replacement decisions.
“We’re not in a situation where we’re
triggering a response to create BRD,” he said. “We’re tickled with the way things are right now. Not saying I don’t ever ‘doctor.’ Sure we do. We’ve got 450 pairs.”
AP PHOTO
John Hambrick moves cattle to a di erent pasture at Rafter H Ranch.
Self-guided driving tour of agricultural, historic
LA SALLE, Ill. — Come see the workings of agricultural sites in the I&M Canal National Heritage Area while discovering the rich history of the region.
On June 28, hop in the car for this selfguided driving tour to explore the area’s farms, barns and museums through this unique, family-friendly event.
On this one-day tour of agricultural and historic sites around northern Illinois, you will have rare, behind-thescenes access to a pumpkin farm, a centennial barn, historical museums and local food and flower producers.
You will also have opportunities to view historical farm implements, see live demonstrations and browse ag-related craft products for sale.
All along, discover the area’s agricultural history, architectural elements of the properties and what it means to be a farmer in the 21st century.
Tickets are $25 for adults and free for kids 17 and younger, and tickets may be purchased in advance at https:// bit.ly/AgTour2025. Tickets include exclusive access to nine locations open throughout the day.
“The barns and farms on this tour offer something for everyone, so it will be a great way to spend the day learning about the region’s rich agricultural history at sites only open for this tour,” said Donna Theimer, the tour’s lead organizer and volunteer with Canal Corridor Association.
Ticketed visitors should begin the tour by checking in at either the Dollinger Family Farm, the most southeastern stop at 7420 E. Hansel Road in Channahon, or The Farmacy Farmstand LLC, the most northwestern stop at 7260 Oakbrook Road in Newark, where they will receive entry wristbands and a tour map.
Tour sites will be open between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will occur rain or shine.
The CCA, the official coordinating entity for the I&M Canal National Heritage Area, is sponsoring this tour, which is designed to highlight the important connection between agriculture and the waterway that changed the course of history for Chicago, the Midwest and the country.
“The opening of the canal in 1848 had a profound impact on agriculture in northeastern Illinois and propelled corn to its preeminent status as the
major cash crop in this part of the state, a position it has held ever since,” said Ana Koval, president of the CCA.
“This tour is a great way to relive that history with exclusive access to some of the region’s most picturesque farms — plus, you can enjoy the stores, shops and cafés in canal towns across the tour.”
The I&M Canal National Heritage Area promotes the economic development, culture, heritage and stories of the region and communities that owe their growth to the canal.
Designated by Congress in 1984 as the first National Heritage Area in America, the I&M Canal follows its historic route from Chicago through 60 communities across north-central Illinois to La Salle-Peru, connecting Lake Michigan to the Illinois River.
Can’t make this tour? Not to worry — there are canal stories to discover all season long. Visitors are also encouraged to enjoy the I&M Canal this year with the CCA.
• I&M Canal Visitor Center & Boat Tour: The visitor center is open year-round in La Salle telling the canal story and enhancing the visitor experience with a café and gift shop. The Volunteer is a replica boat like those used in 1848 when the canal opened between Chicago and LaSalle, conducts over 300 tours annually, May through October, and uses the same energy source — a mule.
• I&M Canal Bike Rentals: Rent bikes at seven locations along the I&M Canal trails and explore gorgeous scenery, canal structures, historic sites and picturesque canal towns.
• I&M Canal Silhouette Program: 48 lifesize Cor-Ten steel silhouettes of historical figures throughout the area — telling their stories and the lasting impact they have had in building a strong and vibrant Illinois.
• Junior Ranger Program: Part of the National Park system, children of all ages can earn a Junior Ranger badge and learn about the history of the canal region.
• Trails: Over 75 miles rich in history and scenic views, interpretive signs and mile markers.
Those interested in exploring the I&M Canal may also visit iandmcanal.org to explore suggested day trips to the National Heritage Area, curating opportunities to engage with the region’s history, culture and recreational resources.
Seize the chance to see inside this scenic barn during the self-guided driving tour of agricultural and historical sites in the I&M Canal National Heritage Area on June 28.
