Some Iowa farmers are putting a new spin on an age-old animal behavior.

They're using goats to remove weeds, overgrown brush, and non-native grasses - while helping some landowners restore native habitat to their acres at the same time.

Goats are pretty well known for producing milk and cheese. They're even used to help practice yoga these days.

Matt Vermeersch is a member of Practical Farmers of Iowa who farms about 170 acres near Red Oak - near the Nebraska state line - and operates Goats-On-The-Go, a side business stocked with herds of goats hungry for woody vegetation.

"A lot of really what we refer to as weeds, or pain-in-the-butt plants," said Vermeersch. "Things that they love are things like poison ivy, nettles, wild berry species with their thorns - then more woody species like Honeysuckle or buckthorn."

Vermeersch estimated his three Goats-On-The-Go herds cleared about 120 acres of various vegetation this year, and could have done more had it not been for Iowa's severe spring and summer weather.

There are ecological benefits to the practice, too. People hire Vermeersch's goats to clear land where native species once grew, and where farmers want it to return.

Vermeersch said while Iowa landowners are often trying to clear overgrown brush and reintroduce native species, sometimes they just need stands of troublesome weeds and brambles removed.

At which, Vermeersch said, the goats have no equal.

"It almost looks like a wildfire went through there the day after you take the goats off," said Vermeersch. "We refer to it as a grazing line - and pretty much anything under 6 feet tall all that will be left are sticks and stems. All of the leafy material underneath that is usually consumed."

Vermeersch said the goats are used for different reasons across the country.

In western states, for example, they are dispatched to clear brush that can serve as wildfire fuel, reducing the chances that a fire can become catastrophic by keeping the underbrush down.

Members of a Texas House committee this week will consider a bill that would limit the number of permits farmers must have to participate at farmers markets.

Currently in Texas, growers must have a permit from both the state health department and their local jurisdiction. House Bill 5459 would make it so they only need one permit.

Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, said extra permits add expenses that cut into farmers' profits.

"And it's particularly damaging when you think about smaller markets, especially those in food deserts where people have less access to healthy food," she said, "because the reality is, when farmers markets set up, odds are those farmers are making even less money."

McGeary said the bill would expand opportunities for farmers and increase access to healthy food across Texas.

Several other bills designed to help small growers are being considered by state lawmakers. One bill would allow farmers to sell ungraded eggs to restaurants and retailers. Another bill being considered is called the "cottage food law," which allows Texans to make foods in their home kitchens and make up to $50,000 annually by selling it.

McGeary said everyone benefits if these bills are passed.

"It is valuable to the entire community to make it easier for our farmers to grow and get healthy food to the consumers," she said.

The legislative session ends on June 2. McGeary encouraged anyone interested in these bills to reach out to their legislators.


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Frozen federal grants have thrown a South Florida farm training program into chaos, leaving a nonprofit scrambling to salvage it after sudden funding cuts and delayed payments.

The nonprofit Urban Oasis Project's $2.5 million federal grant was abruptly frozen in January, then partially restored months later, after a federal judge ordered the immediate release of climate and infrastructure funds.

Art Friedrich, executive director of the project, explained the grant was to reimburse the project for money already spent but said now, with the government as an unreliable partner, there is a lot of uncertainty.

"Basically by mid-February, they owed us $36,000, and we had no idea if we would ever get paid through them or not," Friedrich recounted. "We had to furlough the co-directors of the project and just put everything on pause. We've been doing a little bit to maintain readiness in case we did get access to the funding."

Friedrich added he learned just this week the grant to purchase farmland for training disadvantaged farmers is now unfrozen. His organization continues its mission to support local food systems. Urban Oasis pioneered a program to double SNAP benefits spent at farmers markets, a model later adopted nationwide.

In addition to trying to rehire staff, who have had to find other jobs, Friedrich pointed out land prices have doubled since the grant was written and the delays have forced Urban Oasis to reassess everything going forward.

"Trying to switch everything to requesting advances," Friedrich outlined. "We're really looking at how we can modify the program to be maximally effective and probably just not do the land purchase, but try to find someone whose land we can use and operate on."

As some funds trickle back, Friedrich is advocating not just for his program but for other farmers still in limbo. He sees it as unfair for the government to "cherry-pick" programs, and thinks it is important to honor its contracts.

Friedrich's grant was part of the Inflation Reduction Act farm-access program. It is among hundreds frozen nationwide, including some from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.


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Mississippi State University Extension launched its annual soybean variety trials last week. It is a way to evaluate crop performance as farmers confront their toughest market conditions in five years.

The 15-year-old program tests maturity groups and herbicide technologies across close to three dozen farms statewide, beginning in Bolivar and Sharkey counties. The trials begin as lingering trade tensions and low commodity prices squeeze growers.

Justin Calhoun, soybean specialist for the Extension Service, said he is advising farmers to conserve resources.

"We're in survival mode," Calhoun explained. "Cut back in every way we can. Try to make sure we're sustaining our yield potential but cut back on the extra unnecessary expenses. Just to try to make it through the next year. And hopefully we have a better market situation going into the '26 season than we do the '25 season."

Mississippi is still the nation's fifth-largest soybean producer, planting more than 2 million acres annually, despite a slight dip this year. Growers face compounding crises, from China's reduced U.S. soybean purchases and the ongoing effects of the Trump tariffs, to the spring floods excluded from federal aid programs.

Calhoun is in his first year leading the program. He assured despite market challenges, the trials will provide critical data for farmers making planting decisions.

"For the most part, we're down in acres but we're still going to be a heavy soybean state," Calhoun emphasized. "It is the number one row crop commodity in the state and it's going to continue to be that by a long shot. But it has our growers asking questions about what inputs can we cut back on."

The soybean trials will continue through the growing season and the results will shape recommendations for 2026, as farmers hope for market recovery. Mississippi's soybean industry contributes nearly $1 billion annually to the state's economy.


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