Pam Lewison

Agriculture

Bankruptcies in farm country put strain on mental health

Financial stress on farms is often cited as the single biggest stressor for farmers and their families. The 2024 data shows farm bankruptcies are up 55 percent from 2023, a trend that should ring alarm bells not just for lenders. When a farm owner files Chapter 12 bankruptcy, it is ...
Agriculture

Women farmers experience farm stress differently

A little more than a third of farms in the U.S. are owned and operated by women. Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests women in ag experience the difficulties of farming and ranching differently than their male counterparts. The research further suggests additional efforts should be made to ...
Agriculture

Beef still superior to ‘Meatless Mondays,’ according to data

Research suggests Americans are paying closer attention to what they eat resulting in a slightly healthier population but climate change has not slowed in the last two decades. What has improved since the inception of Meatless Mondays is efficiency in cattle nutrition, water use, land management, and overall footprint in ...
Agriculture

Cattle can be a first line of fire defense

Research tells us cattle removed an estimated 11.6 billion pounds of fine fuels from California rangelands in 2017. Removal of fine fuels – grasses, shrubs, weeds – changes wildfire behaviors by keeping fires smaller and reducing flame length. As fire seasons continue to be a challenge for the state and ...
Agriculture

Gray wolf study arms ranchers with research in coming gray wolf battle

There’s an adage about bears in the woods. It’s a tongue-in-cheek commentary about what’s obvious in life. Ranchers have known for years that the presence of wolves near livestock has a negative effect on everything from weight gain and maintenance to overall animal stress. A recent study released by researchers ...
Agriculture

New bill in Congress revisits Prop 12

Imagine buying a house and having to adhere to the standards of a homeowner’s association five states away. In a practical sense, that is how Proposition 12 operates for pork producers across the United States. The law also outlines provisions for the house of laying hens and veal calves. Animal ...
Agriculture

Wolf management needs a regional strategy

With a daily hunting range of 30 miles or more, it is only a matter of time before wolves become a topic of conversation outside of livestock and conservation circles. Congress and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have several blueprints for the kind of predator management plan that makes ...
Business & Economics

Trade Wars Hurt Farmers

Before promising to impose tariffs on our nearest trade partners — Mexico and Canada — President Donald Trump told American farmers that they should get ready to sell more of their products domestically. The trouble with that optimism is that most farms are not corporate giants, but family operations that ...
Agriculture

Point Reyes settlement a tragic misstep

In rural areas it has recently come back in vogue to say, “Everyone wants to be a cowboy until it’s time to do cowboy stuff.” Infusions of cowboy hats, boots, and western wear in popular culture have been called the “Yellowstone effect.” Are you a Beth, a Casey, or a ...
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Agriculture

Bankruptcies in farm country put strain on mental health

Financial stress on farms is often cited as the single biggest stressor for farmers and their families. The 2024 data shows farm bankruptcies are up 55 percent from 2023, a trend that should ring alarm bells not just for lenders. When a farm owner files Chapter 12 bankruptcy, it is ...
Agriculture

Women farmers experience farm stress differently

A little more than a third of farms in the U.S. are owned and operated by women. Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests women in ag experience the difficulties of farming and ranching differently than their male counterparts. The research further suggests additional efforts should be made to ...
Agriculture

Beef still superior to ‘Meatless Mondays,’ according to data

Research suggests Americans are paying closer attention to what they eat resulting in a slightly healthier population but climate change has not slowed in the last two decades. What has improved since the inception of Meatless Mondays is efficiency in cattle nutrition, water use, land management, and overall footprint in ...
Agriculture

Cattle can be a first line of fire defense

Research tells us cattle removed an estimated 11.6 billion pounds of fine fuels from California rangelands in 2017. Removal of fine fuels – grasses, shrubs, weeds – changes wildfire behaviors by keeping fires smaller and reducing flame length. As fire seasons continue to be a challenge for the state and ...
Agriculture

Gray wolf study arms ranchers with research in coming gray wolf battle

There’s an adage about bears in the woods. It’s a tongue-in-cheek commentary about what’s obvious in life. Ranchers have known for years that the presence of wolves near livestock has a negative effect on everything from weight gain and maintenance to overall animal stress. A recent study released by researchers ...
Agriculture

New bill in Congress revisits Prop 12

Imagine buying a house and having to adhere to the standards of a homeowner’s association five states away. In a practical sense, that is how Proposition 12 operates for pork producers across the United States. The law also outlines provisions for the house of laying hens and veal calves. Animal ...
Agriculture

Wolf management needs a regional strategy

With a daily hunting range of 30 miles or more, it is only a matter of time before wolves become a topic of conversation outside of livestock and conservation circles. Congress and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have several blueprints for the kind of predator management plan that makes ...
Business & Economics

Trade Wars Hurt Farmers

Before promising to impose tariffs on our nearest trade partners — Mexico and Canada — President Donald Trump told American farmers that they should get ready to sell more of their products domestically. The trouble with that optimism is that most farms are not corporate giants, but family operations that ...
Agriculture

Point Reyes settlement a tragic misstep

In rural areas it has recently come back in vogue to say, “Everyone wants to be a cowboy until it’s time to do cowboy stuff.” Infusions of cowboy hats, boots, and western wear in popular culture have been called the “Yellowstone effect.” Are you a Beth, a Casey, or a ...
Uncategorized

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