Sara Schafer

Sara (Muri) Schafer, editor of Top Producer magazine, grew up on a family farm where they raised hogs and cattle, along with soybeans, corn, wheat, milo and hay. Since joining Farm Journal Media in 2008, she has covered a broad range of topics pivotal to the success of U.S. farmers. In addition to being an award-winning journalist, she has played several key roles with the transformative relaunch of AgWeb.com and spearheaded the Farm Journal Legacy Project expansion. Sara graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in agricultural journalism and a minor in agricultural economics. She resides in Columbia, Mo., with her husband and daughter.

Latest Stories
With continued uncertainty around trade, sizeable stocks, flooding in the Midwest and fertilizer costs, will corn and soybeans keep all of these projected acres?
Uncertainty on trade issues and the subsequent price movements associated with speculation on the topic added a degree of difficulty to acreage decisions this year.
Corn and soybeans in good-to-excellent condition fell a few percentage points in the last week.
Months of planning precede each planter pass on Joe Zumwalt’s farm. He knows his in-furrow program can set the stage for a healthy and high-yielding crop.
As the bullies of the plant world, weeds cost you time, money and energy. You need a comprehensive weed management plan that includes all the tools at your disposal.
The farmland market continues to be stable in Wisconsin.
Healthy demand for a thin farmland market props up values.
Cash rents in Iowa are down 1.4% to an average of $219 per acre for the 2019 crop year, according to an annual survey conducted by Iowa State University.
Farmers continue to face declining farm income in the Midwest and Mid-South regions, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Meanwhile, after holding steady farmland values have edged lower.
Despite continued, several factors are pointing to some downward pressure on farmland markets.