Agricultural Policy Review
A Research Publication of the Center for Agricultural & Rural Development
Fall 2025
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Predicted changes in climatic patterns will affect agricultural activity. The concept of adaptation to evolving climatic and/or economic conditions is an important aspect of the agricultural decision-making process.
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Producers across the Corn Belt increasingly face seasons when heat accelerates insect development, tightens the effective control window, and raises the risk of costly losses. A new study published in Agricultural and Resource Economics Review asks a practical question: Can farmer networks, where members share timely local observations, help producers act at the right moment and protect profits when excessive heat pushes pest pressure?
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Entrepreneurship is a key driver of economic growth. Even though only two-thirds of startups survive past two years, and only one-third last 12 years, the surviving ventures are responsible for 15% of employment growth.
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When manure decomposes under oxygen-free (anaerobic) conditions, it produces methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Many livestock producers can use an anaerobic digester to capture the methane and generate biogas, thus reducing GHG emissions in a way that also can produce energy.
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Soybean aphid has been a major problem for US soybean producers since its emergence in the early 2000s. Severe regional outbreaks in the mid‑2000s were followed by a rapid increase in foliar pesticides to protect yield. Since 2010, an equilibrium has emerged where soybean fields now encounter low to moderate aphid pressure with intermittent local outbreaks.
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The world needs to increase agricultural production dramatically through the rest of this century to accommodate increasing demands for food and biofuels without causing substantially higher food prices that will inevitably lead to worsening hunger and malnutrition. Food demand growth will come from population growth and rising consumer incomes, which cause more demand for both food and a greater diversity of foods.