Top Stories
More details of latest U.S.-China ag trade commitment
During President Trump’s visit to China earlier this month, China agreed to purchase $17 billion worth of U.S. ag goods. USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg provides some of the details behind the recent agreement by China to purchase U.S. farm and food goods. Lindberg explains what the additional purchases by China mean in the context of the historic export numbers of U.S. ag goods that are shipped to China. That was USDA Under Secretary for Trade and...
USMEF takes deep dive into Mexican market at U.S. Red Meat Symposium
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) recently held its inaugural U.S. Red Meat Symposium in Mexico City as U.S. red meat exports are hitting record levels in Mexico. With support from USDA, the Beef Checkoff Program and the National Pork Board, the symposium...
Converting melon waste into bioplastics
Farmers and the Ag industry are always looking for innovation; both to drive demand, find ways to reduce waste products, and help the environment. We may focus a lot on things like biofuels, aviation fuels, and other products for which our corn and soybeans are used....
REAP funds available for rural renewable energy projects
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing $145 million in funding for 700 loan and grant awards through the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, to help agricultural producers and rural small business owners make energy efficiency improvements and...
Bearish Quarterly Grain Stocks and Acreage Reports stunts grain markets
The Quarterly Grain Stocks Report had a bearish tilt to it today, as most of the numbers came in higher than expected. The Acreage Report had an even greater bear effect to the grains, as both corn and beans came in differently than what was predicted. Allendale...
NCBA pushes back against lab-grown meat in the U.S. military
In one of their most recent Beltway Beef Podcast episodes, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association talked about a new project being introduced by the Department of Defense. The National Defense Authorization Act is used to fund the DoD and projects within it. The...
Cattle producers celebrate supreme court decision
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision that reins in the legal concept of Chevron deference and will reduce overreaching regulations from federal agencies that lack congressional authority. “Elected officials in Congress should...
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More Ag News
Preparing the next generation of advocates for the pork industry
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) introduced a new initiative in 2024 called the “Young Pork Advocates” for students aged 18-22. The program is intended to help young advocates for the pork industry learn more about the industry and in turn pass that...
Keeping cattle healthy by minimizing stress
Many producers are rightfully worried about managing cattle diseases from infecting their herds, but there is another part of disease management that sometimes gets overlooked- stress management. When cattle are stressed, they have a tougher time fighting off those...
Corn and soybean harvests nearly complete
As of November 10, 95% of the 2024 corn crop in the top 18 corn-growing states was harvested. This was up from 91% a week prior and ahead of the five-year average of 84%. USDA said 96% of the soybean crop in the top 18 growing states was in the bins. This was up from...
Turkeys and egg layers see greatest impact from H5N1
Since 2022, the U.S. poultry industry has been battling a particularly persistent strain of H5N1, or avian influenza, and more than 100 million birds have been affected over the last two and a half years. Bernt Nelson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, said...
BASF providing farmers with more tools to grow successful crops
Nobody in the state of Iowa would describe 2024 as normal. While it gave us more moisture than in years past, it also gave us a very dry second half of the year, which opened the door to different diseases and pests. The best we can do is learn from the lessons...
