Top Stories
Bessent: deal set for China to begin importing U.S. Soybeans
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects that China won’t impose export controls on rare earth mineral exports, and the U.S. won’t impose 100 percent tariffs on China. During separate interviews over the weekend, Bessent said trade negotiations with China have gone very well. The talks were in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping this week. ”President Trump gave me maximum leverage when he threatened 100 percent tariffs if the Chinese put...
Less downtime leads to getting more done
The new 5000 series planters from Kinze, available for the 2024 season, are designed to help farmers make changes and adjustments on the fly and minimize maintenance and downtime in the field. The quicker the seed discs are changed, or an adjustment is made, the...
Time to rebuild the U.S. cattle herd
With small inventory numbers, it’s time to try and revitalize the U.S. cattle herd. Cattlefax CEO Randy Blach said that, in the latest Cattle Inventory Report released by USDA, the July beef cow numbers are the smallest on record going back to around 1970.“Beef cow...
Iowa and other Midwest states pushing for year-round E15
Ethanol groups welcome efforts by Nebraska and Iowa prompting the Environmental Protection Agency to create regulations to allow for year-round sales of E15 in at least eight Midwest states. Earlier this year, the governors of Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin,...
EATS Act: Could an “unintended consequence” be a benefit to China? (Part 3)
We have been talking about the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act for several weeks now and we have discussed with Iowa lawmakers about the benefits it could have. But are there unintended consequences that could outweigh the benefits?Mike Schultz is VP...
Grassley optimistic farm bill will be completed by end of year
There is saber rattling taking place from both sides of the aisle as the farm bill reaches the stretch run and questions arise as to if it will be completed by the end of the year. Some Republicans want reform for SNAP benefits with new work requirements. Democrats...
South American Weather and Crop Update (8-8-23)
The forecast is still very open for harvest to make good progress in Brazil and Argentina. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride provided an update on the latest South American weather conditions.McBride said Brazil’s harvest progress is slightly behind, but they’re...
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More Ag News
Finding positivity in a bearish ag marketplace
The January WASDE report typically moves the market with traders reacting to the final year-end numbers for production and supply. After a bearish report was released last Friday, the commodity markets have seen price movement to the downside in both corn and...
2024 farm equipment sales are looking to be a mixed bag
Combine sales closed out the year ahead of 2022 levels, while almost all tractor segments saw declines in both the United States and Canada. The latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers shows total U.S. farm tractor sales fell 5.1 percent in...
USDA: Large family farms account for bulk of commodity production
Large-scale family farms accounted for a majority of the value of commodity production in 2022, according to a new report from USDA’s Economic Research Service. Specifically, these farms accounted for 51 percent of cash grains and soybeans, 56 percent of hog...
Looking at your farm budget with a different perspective
We know the story. It’s been the top of mind subject in farming for the past few years. Grain prices are slowly declining and crop inputs are slowly rising. That intersection is different as each farm has a different break-even level. As we enter this year, that...
Mom’s Meals continues to help Food Bank of Iowa fight food insecurity
Today, Mom’s Meals donated 4,000 shelf-stable meals to the Food Bank of Iowa to support its school pantry program. 2023 was a year of unprecedented demand for nutritious meals- in fact, 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 8 children face hunger in Iowa. Chris Choi, CEO of Mom’s...
