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Ecuador agrees to reciprocal trade agreement with U.S.
On March 13, Ecuador became the ninth country to sign an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade with the United States. The agreement will take some time to implement, but once in place it will remove both tariff and non-tariff barriers for U.S. beef and pork exports. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Vice President for Economic Analysis Erin Borror has the details. The agreement also calls for recognition of all USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspected facilities as eligible for...
Farm income forecast is a tale of two farm economies
New data from the Department of Agriculture predicts farm income to increase in 2025. The latest Net Farm Income Forecast from USDA’s Economic Research Service predicts farm income to increase in 2025. However, Bernt Nelson, an economist for the American Farm Bureau...
California E15 approval estimated to absorb 200 million bushels of corn
The California general assembly’s approval of E15 sales last week is expected to boost corn demand at a time growers are preparing to harvest a record crop. The law is expected to be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom and will be a big breakthrough for the ethanol...
Soybean producers face uncertainty in ongoing trade fight
U.S. soybean producers are once again caught in the middle of a trade war. China has been slow to make purchases, leaving farmers worried about where demand will come from. This marks the second Trump administration and the second time American agriculture has been...
Iowa soybean fields need to end the year strong
It may feel like there isn’t much of a choice for seed genetics anymore, but companies like BASF are making an effort to provide new genetics that stand out from the competition and give farmers some unique choices. Colin Rogers, BASF seed agronomist, said Xitavo...
Yield results from Allendale survey lower than USDA estimates
The Allendale brokerage firm has released yield results collected from a recent survey of farmers. The numbers are not particularly far off from the USDA August Crop Production estimates. Rich Nelson of Allendale said they’ve done this survey for a long time. Nelson...
Nationwide E15 sales can boost demand and help move “mountain of corn”
At this point of the fall, we can analyze the data and debate the final corn yield number but until the crop is in the bin, we won’t have our final answer. What we do know is that this fall’s corn crop is going to be very large and possibly even a record crop. Geoff...
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More Ag News
Navigating tough decisions on fertilizer this fall
The discussion on fertilizer this fall has put a lot of farmers between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand prices for commodities are low but on the other hand fertilizer prices are elevated. That leaves the grower often wondering if they should cut back on...
U.S. Export Sales Estimates (10-16-25)
As the government shutdown persists, we still don’t have any official export numbers to look at. We can, however, look again at the weekly estimates. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride said the corn numbers are still projected to be well above the average. On the...
Falling oil prices should indicate cheaper fuel
For the past several weeks and even several months, oil prices have held fairly steady, remaining in the mid-$60 per barrel range. But, thanks to OPEC’s increased production, that trend is no more. Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said banks...
Secretary Naig announces eight additional abandoned mine land reclamation projects
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is beginning construction on eight additional abandoned mine land (AML) reclamation projects in southeast Iowa. The eight projects, which represent...
From the mine below to the fields beyond
In our previous story on Nutrien’s Allan Facility, we heard how Environmental Engineer Curtis Ferguson and his team work to protect the land, air, and water surrounding one of Saskatchewan’s largest potash operations. Today, we delve beyond the surface to explore how...
