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Swine industry remains cautious about NWS
Earlier this week, the USDA announced that there was an official detection of New World Screwworm (NWS) in the U.S. The pest was found in a three-week-old calf in South Texas. Since NWS is an indiscriminate parasite, all warm-blooded mammals are at risk of infestation if they have an open wound. That’s why the swine industry is remaining vigilant. Todd Marotz, vice president of the National Pork Producers Council, said they have been monitoring NWS since November of 2024. Even though there are...
U.S. Export Sales Report (9-13-24)
With September being the beginning of the new marketing year, the export sales can be deceiving. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride said this week’s numbers look better than they actually are. With all of that being said, though, McBride said the export sales...
House passes foreign US farmland ownership bill
The U.S. House passed legislation to protect U.S. farmland from ownership by foreign adversaries. The Protecting U.S. Agriculture From Foreign Adversaries Act would give USDA’s Secretary a permanent seat on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. or ‘CFIUS’,...
Growers critical of tariff announcements
The National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association expressed frustration with a recently released recommendation from the Department of Commerce. The Department is recommending an imposition of preliminary countervailing duty rates on imports...
Farm Bureau releases answers from Presidential Candidates on Ag
We are less than two months away from the Presidential election in November. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are both going at full throttle to earn votes, especially in the swing states. While debates and global issues are high on the...
September WASDE makes changes to corn ending stocks and yields
This month’s WASDE report comes to us as many farmers are preparing to enter the fields very soon- in fact, some have even been able to start already. As a result, not many changes have been made to the crop numbers since the USDA seems to have gotten a pretty good...
What will it take to pass a farm bill?
With the current partisan stalemate in Congress in Washington D.C. it is going to be difficult to get a new farm bill passed. That’s according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. On Monday Ag Secretary Vilsack told a group of visiting farmers union members that...
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Ag industry still seeking some more clarity from USDA
The recent USDA guidelines on climate-smart ag practices for biofuel feedstocks has been generally received positively, but there are still some areas that need clarification. Fortunately, there is now a 60-day window for farmers to speak up about what they would like...
Tariff war is the last thing beef producers need
The North American beef cattle herd size is at a 40-year low, after several years of drought and feed shortages in primary cattle regions have taken a heavy toll on cow and heifer numbers. While cattle producers are seeing record-high prices, the beef processing...
EPA nominee Zeldin vows clarity in WOTUS rules, timeliness on RVOs
Former Congressman Lee Zeldin was recently questioned at his Senate confirmation hearing for the post of EPA Administrator. At the hearing Zeldin vowed to provide more clarity on WOTUS rules, timeliness on renewable volume targets, and cooperation with USDA. Zeldin...
U.S. agriculture dominated by family farms
In 2023, roughly 86 percent of all farms were small family farms. A USDA report says these farms have a gross cash income below $350,000 and operate on 41 percent of all U.S. agricultural land. The family farms produced 17 percent of the total value of U.S....
La Niña has brought drier trends back
After a double-dip La Niña in 2022 and 2023, we were relieved to see El Niño return to start 2024, bringing us back a mild winter and more moisture. After a few years of heavy drought, farmers breathed a sigh of relief. However, it was soon announced that we were...
