http://www.toledoblade.com The Latest News from Toledoblade.com (v5) Sun, 26 Apr 2026 05:09:29 GMT en-us hourly 1 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/04/21/northeast-flower-fruit-farmers-grapple-with-whiplash-weather/stories/20260421088 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/04/21/northeast-flower-fruit-farmers-grapple-with-whiplash-weather/stories/20260421088#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:28:45 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/04/21/northeast-flower-fruit-farmers-grapple-with-whiplash-weather/stories/20260421088 BRIDPORT, Vt. — An abrupt swing from hot weather to cold across the Northeast is frustrating some flower and fruit farmers who have had to either harvest blooms extra early or fear they could lose some crops altogether. Gregory Witscher, owner of Understory Farm, harvests tulips April 21 in Bridport, Vt. Tulips are pictured at Understory Farm on April 21 in Bridport, Vt. Farmhand Samantha Martin harvests tulips at Understory Farm on April 21 in Bridport, Vt. A tulip is pictured at Understory Farm on April 21 in Bridport, Vt. Gregory Witscher, owner of Understory Farm, harvests tulips April 21 in Bridport, Vt. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/04/20/financial-pressure-midwest-soybean-farmers-squeezed-tariffs-iran-war/stories/20260418009 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/04/20/financial-pressure-midwest-soybean-farmers-squeezed-tariffs-iran-war/stories/20260418009#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:24:06 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/04/20/financial-pressure-midwest-soybean-farmers-squeezed-tariffs-iran-war/stories/20260418009 WAHOO, Neb. — Strong winds whipped around Doug Bartek, a fifth-generation farmer, as he headed into a grain bin to shovel soybeans onto a conveyor chute. The 60-year-old was anxious at the onset of the spring planting season, rattling off the long list of issues affecting his family’s livelihood at their 2,000-acre farm near Wahoo, Neb.. Soybeans from last year's harvest are loaded into a truck at Doug Bartek's farm near Wahoo, Neb., on April 6. Doug Bartek talks about high production costs and tough market conditions for the soybeans he grows on his farm near Wahoo, Neb., on April 6. Doug Bartek shovels soybeans in a bin on his farm near Wahoo, Neb., on April 6. Dalton Bartek works a field to prepare for planting soybeans on his family's farm near Wahoo, Neb., on April 6. Doug Bartek transfers soybeans from a storage bin to a truck on his farm near Wahoo, Neb., on April 6. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/30/war-in-iran-sparks-a-global-fertilizer-shortage-and-threatens-food-prices/stories/20260330079 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/30/war-in-iran-sparks-a-global-fertilizer-shortage-and-threatens-food-prices/stories/20260330079#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:35:46 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/30/war-in-iran-sparks-a-global-fertilizer-shortage-and-threatens-food-prices/stories/20260330079 HANOI, Vietnam — Farmers around the world are feeling the squeeze of the Iran war. Gas prices have shot up and fertilizer supplies are waning due to Tehran's near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli bombing. A bag of fertilizer is ready to be used on Elizabeth Wangua's land in Limuru, Kenya March 25. Elizabeth Wangua applies fertilizer to her land in Limuru, Kenya March 25. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/23/iran-war-has-u-s-farmers-worried-about-the-cost-and-availability-of-fertilizer/stories/20260321010 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/23/iran-war-has-u-s-farmers-worried-about-the-cost-and-availability-of-fertilizer/stories/20260321010#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2026 10:31:46 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/23/iran-war-has-u-s-farmers-worried-about-the-cost-and-availability-of-fertilizer/stories/20260321010 BISMARCK, N.D. — Tennessee farmer Todd Littleton expects to pay $100,000 more for fertilizer this season, a 40 percent spike from his bill last year thanks to the war in Iran — and he is scrambling to cover that extra cost. Tom Waters, a seventh-generation farmer, stands next to his planting machinery March 13 in Orrick, Mo. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/15/michigan-disappearing-farmland/stories/20260314004 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/15/michigan-disappearing-farmland/stories/20260314004#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/03/15/michigan-disappearing-farmland/stories/20260314004 Carl Druskovich, a seventh-generation southwest Michigan fruit farmer who still has to work full-time as a dentist to make ends meet, is tempted by the frequent offers to buy pieces of his land for as much as $20,000 an acre. Apples hang from a tree, Oct. 4, 2022, at the Wittenbach Orchards in Belding, Mich. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/25/from-lease-to-legacy-tatum-park-a-landmark-of-black-land-ownership/stories/20260205131 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/25/from-lease-to-legacy-tatum-park-a-landmark-of-black-land-ownership/stories/20260205131#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:41:29 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/25/from-lease-to-legacy-tatum-park-a-landmark-of-black-land-ownership/stories/20260205131 Sonia Flunder‑McNair now owns Tatum Park, home to what is believed to be Lucas County’s only Black woman-owned, USDA‑registered urban farm. Sonia Flunder-McNair now owns Tatum Park and the surrounding land, transforming once-leased ground into a permanent home for urban agriculture, an operation believed to be the only Black woman-owned, USDA-registered farm in Lucas County, as of Feb. 6 in central Toledo. Sonia Flunder-McNair now owns Tatum Park and the surrounding land, turning once-leased ground into a permanent home for urban farming on Feb. 6 in central Toledo. Sonia Flunder-McNair stands beaming in the snow on Feb. 5, celebrating the purchase of the land she once leased, now the permanent home of Tatum Park and her Black-led urban farm, believed to be the only Black woman–owned, USDA-registered farm in Lucas County. Sonia Flunder-McNair now owns Tatum Park and the surrounding land, turning once-leased ground into a permanent home for urban farming Feb. 6 in central Toledo. Sonia Flunder-McNair now owns Tatum Park and the surrounding land, turning once-leased ground into a permanent home for urban farming on Feb. 6 in central Toledo. Sonia Flunder-McNair now owns Tatum Park and the surrounding land, turning once-leased ground into a permanent home for urban farming on Feb. 6 in central Toledo. Sonia Flunder-McNair now owns Tatum Park and the surrounding land, turning once-leased ground into a permanent home for urban farming Feb. 6 in central Toledo. Founder Sonia Flunder-McNair minds the flock at Urban Holistics on Feb. 11 in central Toledo. The approximately 3-acre commercial farm features greenhouse plants, livestock, offices, and a classroom. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D., Youngstown area), then a candidate for U.S. Senate, meets with Sonia Flunder-McNair at Tatum Park on Sept. 12, 2022, in Toledo. Founder Sonia Flunder-McNair and manager Dijon McLendon stand at the fenced entrance to Urban Holistics on Feb. 11 in central Toledo. The approximately 3-acre commercial farm features greenhouse plants, livestock, offices, and a classroom. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/22/egg-prices-plummeted-great-for-consumers-crisis-for-farmers/stories/20260222089 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/22/egg-prices-plummeted-great-for-consumers-crisis-for-farmers/stories/20260222089#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2026 12:30:55 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/22/egg-prices-plummeted-great-for-consumers-crisis-for-farmers/stories/20260222089 NEW YORK — Egg prices have been plummeting. A chicken stands next to stacks of eggs at Sunrise Farms on Feb. 18, 2025, in Petaluma, Calif. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/17/bayer-agrees-proposed-settlement-thousands-roundup-cancer-lawsuits/stories/20260217094 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/17/bayer-agrees-proposed-settlement-thousands-roundup-cancer-lawsuits/stories/20260217094#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2026 20:05:28 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/02/17/bayer-agrees-proposed-settlement-thousands-roundup-cancer-lawsuits/stories/20260217094 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.— Agrochemical maker Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25 billion settlement Tuesday to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer. A woman walks in front of a logo of Bayer AG at the Financial News Conference in Leverkusen, Germany, in 2020. Containers of Roundup are displayed on a store shelf in San Francisco in 2019. A billboard supporting legislation that would provide legal protection to manufacturers of pesticides is shown in Jefferson City, Mo., in 2024.