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Ag economy barometer drops in May
The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped in May. Michael Langemeier, director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, talked about the decline. Farmers appeared to be deeply concerned about current conditions. Langemeier said caution is also showing up in investment behavior. Breakeven prices are expected to climb in 2026. About two-thirds of producers in the survey say they expect war in Iran to impact their bottom lines this...
Grassley questions increased used cooking oil imports
There is a lot on the line for the future of biofuels as United States farmers are hopeful that demand for biofuels continues to climb with U.S. crops helping to provide the feedstock to help power U.S. trucks and cars. However, one of the issues standing in the way...
First USDA trade mission dedicated to indigenous products
Alexis Taylor, USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, is in Vancouver, Canada, for a first-of-its-kind trade mission. The mission is intended to develop export markets for Tribal and Native Hawaiian businesses and products. “This historic...
Don’t hold your breath on a new Farm Bill in 2024
The lines are in the sand and the differences are glaring as we approach what could be one of the greatest exercises in futility the federal government has seen in quite some time. Of course, we are talking about the Farm Bill, which seems to carry all the optimism of...
Food Bank of Iowa receives generous grant from State Farm
Earlier this week the Food Bank of Iowa received a grant from State Farm to support their goal of mobile food distribution and to help Iowans recover from last month’s tornado outbreak. The funds will provide the equivalent of tens of thousands of nutritious meals,...
Nominations open for FSA local county committees
Nominations are now being accepted for farmers and ranchers to serve on local USDA Farm Service Agency county committees. The committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2024 election must...
Ag producers facing a record trade deficit
The U.S. is facing a record-large agricultural trade deficit in 2024. Betty Resnick, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the deficit has deepened significantly in the last two years. Resnick said there are many challenges contributing to the ag...
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Supporting veterans who are in need of food
On this Veterans Day, take a moment to think of the veterans who may be living in less fortunate conditions. Nearly 1.5 million veterans in the U.S. are living below the federal poverty level, and veterans living in poverty are at higher risk than nonveterans for food...
Nebraska rancher Steve Hanson elected as USMEF chair
Steve Hanson, a rancher and cattle feeder from Elsie, Nebraska, was elected chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) at the organization’s Strategic Planning Conference in Tucson, Arizona on Friday. Hanson said one of his priorities will be to highlight the...
A November soybean surprise
In most years the USDA November WASDE report does not make significant changes to the yield and production forecast for soybeans. That’s USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer. He says that last Friday’s WASDE report provided a November surprise by cutting the previous...
Updated estimates of renewable diesel through 2026
University of Illinois analysts looked into the future of renewable diesel production in the U.S. and saw some headwinds. Renewable diesel production capacity has exploded in recent years, increasing by more than three billion gallons. This substantially impacted fats...
AI’s presence continues to grow in agriculture
It seems like every time that we blink, artificial intelligence, or AI, has found a new way of helping us do our tasks a little bit better. Sometimes, it can also be a little scary. We harken back to some classic movies where AI has become too smart and has put...
