Author: Brad Doyle It’s spring planting season for farmers like me, but this year, it’s also a time of growing concern. The costs of fertilizer and fuel – two key inputs that farmers rely on – are rapidly rising due to the conflict in Iran and its repercussions on global shipping. Some agrochemical suppliers, including my own, have started adding extra fuel surcharges to deliver pesticide products, further increasing farmers’ costs. Arkansas, where I farm, is also in the midst of a severe drought, and if this continues, high diesel fuel prices will greatly increase the cost of pumping water for irrigation. About one-third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer trade and 20 percent of global oil and liquified natural gas supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has been blockading since the start of the conflict in late February. U.S....

I never planned to be in a documentary film, but, as a farmer, I am not one to shy away from sharing my story. Not even when it comes to topics as complex, and, unfortunately, as divisive as climate change. I hesitated only a second when Dominic and Nadia Gill, the independent filmmakers behind Encompass Films, reached out to me looking for a farmer to participate in their documentary film, “The [Conserv]atives.” We started with a phone call, and I shared with them my beliefs: It doesn’t matter to me what or who caused climate change. Finger pointing gets us nowhere. But, as people who live on the earth, I believe we have a responsibility to take care of the earth. As I see it, farmers have always dealt with difficult weather. But today’s demands are different. We are expected to produce more using less in a competitive, ever-changing global market. We receive less consistent rains....

As a woman deeply rooted in agriculture, both on my family farm and in my off-farm career, the persistent question of how to enhance the quality of life for U.S. farmers weighs heavily on my mind. My focus often narrows to the unique challenges faced by women farmers who skillfully juggle the demands of their land, homesteads, careers, families, and communities. Understanding the existing support systems, identifying areas for improvement, and recognizing unmet needs is crucial to fostering a more sustainable and fulfilling life for these essential individuals. American farmers, the bedrock of our nation's food system, navigate a complex web of challenges that significantly impact their well-being. Economic instability, the escalating threat of climate change, increasing regulatory burdens, and the pervasive issue of social isolation demand a comprehensive strategy. This approach must...

Recently, a letter, signed by 150 Nobel Prize Laureates and World Food Prize Laureates, was sent to the governments of the world making an unprecedented plea for financial and political backing to develop “moonshot” technologies with the greatest chance of averting a global hunger tragedy in the next 25 years.  The signatories warned that the world was not even close to meeting future food needs with an estimated 700 million people today, out of a world population of 8.2 billion, going hungry and an additional 1.5 billion people to feed by 2050. The letter predicted humanity faces an even more food insecure, unstable world by mid-century, unless the international community ramps up support for the latest research and innovation in agriculture. As one of the global leaders in agricultural R&D, the United States must play an important role in this “call to action.”  America...