http://www.toledoblade.com The Latest News from Toledoblade.com (v5) Thu, 30 Jul 2026 06:35:24 GMT en-us hourly 1 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/19/the-nation-is-craving-protein-but-vermont-dairy-isn-t-cashing-in/stories/20260718005 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/19/the-nation-is-craving-protein-but-vermont-dairy-isn-t-cashing-in/stories/20260718005#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:35:37 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/19/the-nation-is-craving-protein-but-vermont-dairy-isn-t-cashing-in/stories/20260718005 Dozens of dairy farmers from across the state drove to Grand Isle on July 2 with the intention of talking about a recent dairy plant closure. Instead, a larger issue emerged: Some dairy processors are giving up on Vermont, and the state is failing to cash in on a national investment in dairy amid a craze for protein. The WhistlePig whiskey distillery occupies the site of a former dairy farm April 6 in Shoreham, Vt. Dairy cows feed at Blue Spruce Farm on March 28 in Bridport, Vt. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/11/specialty-farmers-adapt-harvests-protect-crops-extreme-heat/stories/20260711014 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/11/specialty-farmers-adapt-harvests-protect-crops-extreme-heat/stories/20260711014#comments Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/11/specialty-farmers-adapt-harvests-protect-crops-extreme-heat/stories/20260711014 BROOKSVILLE, Ky. — Even as the sun started to set, the day’s heat was still hanging in the air as Annie Woods walked back out to harvest squash and zucchini on her 50-acre farm. Annie Woods harvests eightball, a type of zucchini, as the sun sets July 1 at her farm in Brooksville, Ky. The sun sets July 1 over a farm in Brooksville, Ky. Annie Woods takes a drink of water while harvesting July 1 at her farm in Brooksville, Ky. Annie Woods harvests squash July 1 at her farm in Brooksville, Ky. A poblano pepper grows inside a greenhouse July 1 at a farm in Brooksville, Ky. Crops grow inside a greenhouse as fans run to keep the temperature down July 1 at a farm in Brooksville, Ky. Heat-damaged celery rests in a tray inside a greenhouse July 1 at a farm in Brooksville, Ky. Trays of seedlings sit inside a cabinet to keep cool July 1 at a farm in Brooksville, Ky. Celery grows inside a greenhouse July 1 at a farm in Brooksville, Ky. A cat pauses between rows of crops waiting for planting July 1 at a farm in Brooksville, Ky. Annie Woods inspects herbs while harvesting July 1 at her farm in Brooksville, Ky. Annie Woods lifts a crate of squash and zucchini while harvesting July 1 at her farm in Brooksville, Ky. Japanese beetles damage okra plant leaves July 1 at a farm in Brooksville, Ky. Annie Woods holds zucchini while harvesting produce July 1 at her farm in Brooksville, Ky. Annie Woods loads a crate of harvested produce into her farm vehicle July 1 in Brooksville, Ky. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/08/neighbors-speak-out-against-proposed-210-000-hen-poultry-operation/stories/20260708083 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/08/neighbors-speak-out-against-proposed-210-000-hen-poultry-operation/stories/20260708083#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:15:52 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/07/08/neighbors-speak-out-against-proposed-210-000-hen-poultry-operation/stories/20260708083 DEFIANCE — Nearly every time a new plan emerges to build a major livestock facility in northwest Ohio, residents band together to raise concerns about anything from stench to potential impacts on water quality, air quality, roads, and property values. Some of the nearly 100 people who attended. Shirley Gebers, 89, lives in a house across the street from the proposed CAFO site. She has concerns about the ODA letting Mark and Diana Wachtman house 210,000 egg-laying chickens there. Deb Peter, Shirley Gebers' daughter, grew up in a house on Flory Road, across the street from the proposed CAFO site. She and her brother, Craig Gebers, of Toledo, said they want to maintain the area around the house they grew up in for their mother, who still lives in it. Jason Rickenberg, who lives along Flory Road less than a mile from the proposed CAFO site, provides his comments. Some of the nearly 100 people who attended. Sam Mullins, Ohio Department of Agriculture chief of livestock environmental permitting, talks with an attendee after the event. Sam Mullins, Ohio Department of Agriculture chief of livestock environmental permitting, talks with an attendee after the event. Sandy Bihn, Lake Erie Waterkeeper founder, delivers her testimony in the case as Sam Mullins, Ohio Department of Agriculture livestock environmental permitting chief, listens. Sandy Bihn, Lake Erie Waterkeeper founder, delivering her testimony in the case. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/06/25/supreme-court-ruling-blocks-lawsuits-roundup-weedkiller/stories/20260625089 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/06/25/supreme-court-ruling-blocks-lawsuits-roundup-weedkiller/stories/20260625089#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:28:38 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/06/25/supreme-court-ruling-blocks-lawsuits-roundup-weedkiller/stories/20260625089 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court sided with the maker of the Roundup weedkiller Thursday in a ruling expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people the product could cause cancer. The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on June 5 in Washington. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/24/professor-team-grant-surplus-sweet-potatoes-milk/stories/20260524120 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/24/professor-team-grant-surplus-sweet-potatoes-milk/stories/20260524120#comments Sun, 24 May 2026 17:26:28 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/24/professor-team-grant-surplus-sweet-potatoes-milk/stories/20260524120 BOONE, N.C. — Surplus North Carolina sweet potatoes that were usually left to rot in the fields and cost farmers millions of dollars are now being put to good use, thanks to an Appalachian State University professor and his research team. Onions, sweet potatoes and potatoes are piled high at the Toledo Northwest Ohio Food Bank in 2016. Surplus North Carolina sweet potatoes that were usually left to rot in the fields and cost farmers millions of dollars are now being put to good use, thanks to an Appalachian State University professor and his research team. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/24/kansas-farmers-weather-costs-wheat-crop-worst-since-1972/stories/20260524060 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/24/kansas-farmers-weather-costs-wheat-crop-worst-since-1972/stories/20260524060#comments Sun, 24 May 2026 11:03:52 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/24/kansas-farmers-weather-costs-wheat-crop-worst-since-1972/stories/20260524060 MONTEZUMA, Kan. — Orville Williams has had a healthy wheat crop on his 2,600-acre farm in Montezuma, Kan., every year since he was a teenager. Farmer Orville Williams sifts powder dry soil as he checks the moisture in a drought-stressed wheat field May 16 on his farm near Montezuma, Kan. Storm clouds build in the distance beyond a drought-stressed wheat field May 15 near Cimarron, Kan. Farmer Orville Williams looks at drought-stressed wheat in one of his fields May 16 near Montezuma, Kan. Farmer Orville Williams looks at drought-stressed wheat in one of his fields May 16 near Montezuma, Kan. Drought-stressed wheat plants stand adjacent to parched ground in a field near Macksville, Kan., on May 16. Cattle graze in a field of abandoned wheat May 15 near Cimarron, Kan. A drought-stressed stalk of wheat lies on a parched field May 16 near Macksville, Kan. Wheat plants struggle to survive in a drought-stressed field near Macksville, Kan., on May 16. Farmer Vance Ehmke checks a wheat field decimated by wheat streak mosaic virus May 15 on his farm near Healy, Kan. Drought-stressed wheat plants stand in a field near Macksville, Kan., on May 16. Farmer Vance Ehmke checks soil moisture in a wheat field decimated by wheat streak mosaic virus May 15 on his farm near Healy, Kan. Farmer Vance Ehmke looks at wheat damaged by a late freeze in one of his fields May 15 near Healy, Kan. Farmer Vance Ehmke checks a wheat field decimated by wheat streak mosaic virus May 15 on his farm near Healy, Kan. Drought-stressed wheat is silhouetted against the setting sun May 15 in a field near Cimarron, Kan. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/04/solar-ranch-grazing-cattle-panels-farming/stories/20260504007 https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/04/solar-ranch-grazing-cattle-panels-farming/stories/20260504007#comments Mon, 04 May 2026 10:16:27 GMT https://www.toledoblade.com/business/agriculture/2026/05/04/solar-ranch-grazing-cattle-panels-farming/stories/20260504007 CHRISTIANA, Tenn. — From a distance, the small solar farm in central Tennessee looks like others that now dot rural America, with row upon row of black panels absorbing the sun’s rays to generate electricity. A cow, back right, scratches on a support beam of a solar panel April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. Solar panels operate on a farm with cattle April 28 in Christiana, Tenn. Anna Clare Monlezun, left, a rangeland scientist, chats with Loran Shallenberger, right, vice president of regenerative energy and agrivoltaics at Silicon Ranch, on April 28 in Christiana, Tenn. Cattle rest under solar panels April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. A cow grazes near solar panels April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. Crimson Clover grows in a field under solar panels April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. A calf stands under solar panels April 28 in Christiana, Tenn. Loran Shallenberger, vice president of regenerative energy and agrivoltaics at Silicon Ranch, clears weeds out from under solar panels April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. Cattle graze under solar panels April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. Anna Clare Monlezun, a rangeland scientist, connects a hose while working near solar panels April 28 at a solar farm in Christiana, Tenn. Cattle graze under solar panels April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. Cattle graze under solar panels April 28 at a farm in Christiana, Tenn.