Fiber Optic Internet Access

The net neutrality battle moves to the states, and to 2020

Net neutrality suffered a significant blow on Tuesday as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Trump administration’s rollback of Obama-era consumer protections. Because the court upheld the repeal, it remains legal for internet service providers such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon to block or throttle any sites they want, and […]

Corn in the field

Monthly grain crop review for September, 2019

September had several warmer than normal days, breaking records in some parts of the state. The high temperatures helped the corn crop dry. However, harvest progress is trailing last year’s pace and the five-year average. The late-planted corn is still too wet to combine unless there are dryers available. Nationally, 11 percent of corn has […]

A field of soybeans

USDA lowers corn and soybean estimates

The USDA has lowered its 2019 corn and soybean production estimates. As of September 1st, corn is projected at 13.799 billion bushels, down 1% from August, a smaller cut than what some analysts were expecting, and 4% lower than the 2018 total of 14.420 billion bushels. The average yield is expected to be just over […]

USDA Sign

Useful USDA resources available for farmers hurt by 2018, 2019 disasters

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced that agricultural producers affected by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019, including Hurricane Dorian, can apply for assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). Signup for this U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program began Sept. 11, 2019. “U.S. agriculture has been dealt a hefty […]