Governments have only a limited amount of sway over markets at large but can influence investor sentiment on different sectors, such as health care or alternative energy.

Is it best, when investing, to stay politically agnostic?

Investing for Fun and Profit: Besides, how much influence do governments really have on the markets?

I began this column the day after the great Harris/Trump debate. Based on the publishing schedule, you might be reading it just before the U.S. election. A lot can happen in both politics and the markets over a six-week period, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to review how politics may or […] Read more


Photo: jevtic/iStock/Getty Images

U.S. lawmakers want risks posed by Chinese agriculture drones addressed

Reuters – A dozen U.S. lawmakers on Friday urged the Biden administration to address the use of Chinese manufactured agriculture drones, saying their use on American farms poses national security risks. The House Republicans, including Representatives Elise Stefanik, Ashley Hinson and John Moolenaar, who chairs a select committee on China, asked the U.S. Agriculture Department and Cybersecurity […] Read more

Photo: Getty Images

USDA forecasts smaller drop in 2024 farm income

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. farm income will fall for a second consecutive year in 2024, but not as much as previously expected as prices of livestock and egg products boom and production expenses ease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday. Declining farm income could ripple across the rural economy in a presidential […] Read more


Photo: File

U.S. to spend $7.3 billion on rural clean energy projects

Reuters – President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday said the U.S. will spend $7.3 billion from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act to fund clean energy projects helmed by rural electric cooperatives. The 16 funded projects will reduce energy costs and increase reliability for rural Americans, who tend to pay more for energy, the White House said. […] Read more



canola in alabama 2015

Canola in the U.S. South

Practical Research: Introducing massive acreage of new crops in established growing areas can put both new and established crops at risk

Every so often I hear about how farmers in the southern states of the U.S. will soon be growing millions of acres of canola. Of course, what would be grown would be winter canola, since crucifers such as cabbage, collard and broccoli all can survive the Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee winters. They get […] Read more



Test tubes labelled “Bird Flu” and eggs are seen in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023.
 Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File

Two dozen companies working to find bird flu vaccine for cows, US agriculture secretary says

Reuters – Twenty-four companies are working to develop an avian flu vaccine for cattle, as the virus spreads among U.S. dairy herds, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters on Wednesday. Bird flu has infected 90 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Three dairy farm workers […] Read more

Grandpa Lynn oversees one of Joseph's art projects. Grandma's walls are covered with grandkid artwork and Joseph is a proud contributor.

Two family trips before calving

Eppich News: We take excursions into Idaho and Alberta for family to meet the new baby

Toward the end of January, the weather warmed up substantially — and while the cows were on full feed, they were not due to start calving until the end of February, so we decided to try to go to Idaho to visit family. My family had not seen the kids since October of last year, […] Read more