USDA made slight changes to its October crop production forecasts, but as expected, it still predicts record soybean and near-record corn crops. USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer said the October crop forecasts, after adjustments, had no surprises. As for the soybean...
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Grassley discusses timeline for potential new farm bill in 2025
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says that it is looking more and more likely that a new farm bill is not passed in time in 2024. With a time crunch for Congress following the presidential election in early November, and still no farm bill compromise in place, another...
U.S. corn production up while soybean production drops
Friday’s USDA Crop Production Report showed corn production is forecast at 15.2 billion bushels, up less than one percent from the previous forecast, but down one percent from last year. Soybean growers are expected to increase their production by ten percent from...
A Christmas miracle amid a September hurricane
For a few weeks, we have been focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia. We have stories of loss and destruction. The disruption of lives has been breaking our hearts and leaving us all struggling to find ways to...
Chefs across Vietnam gather for Porkstars competition
Chefs from across Vietnam recently competed in Porkstars, a cooking competition designed to promote creative uses of U.S. pork. Now in its third year, the livestreamed event is a collaboration between the U.S. Meat Export Federation, the National Pork Board, the...
Gas prices should remain mostly unaffected by Hurricane Milton
Back-to-back hurricanes in the southern United States are taking a tremendous toll on everyone involved. One of the few places that likely won’t feel as big of an effect is the price of gas. Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy.com said Milton, the latest hurricane, likely...
Ag trade deficit continues to grow
The ag trade deficit continues to grow, based on USDA’s latest trade figures for fiscal year ’24 through August. USDA Economist Bart Kenner says US farm exports continue to decrease. Imports on the other hand are on the upswing. That’s nearly twice the farm trade...
Scientists examining corporate influence over food and farm bill
The Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a report analyzing the influence of lobbying on food and agriculture systems. The report finds that agribusinesses, industry associations, and other interest groups have spent more than US$500 million to influence...
Crop protection doesn’t end in the field
We talk about what we need to do to protect our crops in the fields. We use various tools meant to protect our hard work from weeds, disease, and insects. We invest a lot of money into the plants we grow in the field and don’t want to see that investment endangered....
Small changes make the October WASDE report “neutral”
USDA published the October WASDE report at 11am on Friday morning and made slight changes to the numbers that can cause a reaction in the ag markets. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride says the report was not far off from industry expectations going into Friday,...