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AG trade deficit drops 42 percent
New numbers from USDA show progress in reducing the U.S. agricultural trade deficit, but officials say there is still more work ahead to return to a long-standing trade surplus. USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg says when the administration took office, the U.S. was facing a significant ag trade deficit after years of declining market access opportunities. Lindberg says while the U.S. is not back to a trade surplus yet, the improvement shows there is...
Bayer offers multiple modes of action against corn rootworm
Every year, corn rootworm finds a way to cause problems in the fields of farmers across the country. As a highly adaptable pest, it?s a challenge every year to find the best ways to manage and prevent the damage the worms cause. That?s why it?s so important to have...
$2 million investment from soy checkoff aims to lower transportation costs
The United Soybean Board (USB) and the Soy Transportation Coalition recently celebrated the success of the checkoff?s infrastructure investment in research, planning, analysis, and design to help dredge the lower Mississippi River. Farmer-leaders presented Louisiana...
Dairy is riding the wave higher
We know that it has been a very volatile marketplace over the past couple of years. However, nobody has suffered more than the dairy producers of our country. Whether it has been depressed prices, trade disagreements, or the actual dumping of milk due to poor markets,...
Feenstra talks farm bill legislation
Especially in a farm bill year, our Iowa representatives are working hard to fight for farmers across the state. Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra said one of the bills he?s working on is the Crop Insurance for Future Farmers Act, which will help new farm owners get...
The importance of international markets to U.S. pork producers
International markets are very valuable to the producers of United States pork and the industry has committed a lot of resources to developing overseas markets.Bill Luckey is a producer from Nebraska and a National Pork Board member. He says that while export numbers...
USMEF ready for this year?s Cattle Industry Summer Business Meetings
Beef producers from across the nation will gather in San Diego this week for the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meetings. One key focus of the conference will be industry efforts to bolster global demand for U.S. beef. These efforts are funded in part by the Beef...
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U.S. Export Sales Report (2-9-24)
A lot of the buzz yesterday was focused on the February WASDE, but we saw the release of the weekly export sales as well. Now, the report didn’t contain any real market movers, but it’s still important to keep an eye on the export situation. Allendale commodity broker...
Farmers encouraged to attend Iowa Farm Bureau’s conference
Beginning farmers know the substantial initial investment it takes to farm, and those who currently farm are facing a projected 25% cut in their net farm income compared to last year. These situations have prompted interest in niche opportunities that require less...
Net farm income forecasted to see a record-setting decrease in 2024
The Economic Research Service forecasts that farm income will decrease by 25 percent in 2024. Danny Munch, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said it’s the largest year-to-year dollar decrease in net farm income on record. Munch said there are two...
Be mindful of mycotoxin risks in feed grains
After the weather challenges we saw during the 2023 growing season, we need to be vigilant about the quality of the grain we feed our livestock. Different weather patterns bring different risks. The folks at Alltech have completed their analysis of the 2023 harvest...
Market reactions didn’t match February WASDE numbers
Today’s WASDE report was very bearish, particularly in the soybean markets, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at how the market prices closed. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride detailed the numbers from this month’s report. Those numbers would normally...
