Author: staff

By Ryan Hanrahan Reuters’ Jeff Mason, Andrea Shalal, and David Lawder reported that “U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on Tuesday, along with an extra 10% duty on Chinese imports because deadly drugs are still pouring into the U.S. from those countries.” “The fresh China tariffs, in addition to the 10% tariff levied on February 4, coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday, a setpiece political event where Beijing is expected to unveil its main economic priorities for 2025,” Mason, Shalal and Lawder…

1. Soybean Futures Higher in Overnight Trading Soybean futures were higher in overnight trading as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimate for planting came in below industry expectations.  USDA said at its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum it expects U.S. producers in the 2025/2026 marketing year to plant 84 million acres with soybeans, missing trade forecasts for 84.4 million acres.  That’s also down from the baseline set in October for 85 million and last year’s 87.1 million acres.  Corn planting in 2025/2026 is seen at 94 million acres, above trade forecasts for 93.6 million. The government in October estimated planted area…

As shops have improved and gotten much nicer over the years, many have just about everything but the kitchen sink,” joked Andrew Haataja of Fergus Falls, Minnesota.  Haataja’s shop does have a kitchen sink — but his has been converted to handle waste oil. When Haataja switched from using oil in jugs to bulk containers, he still had to stand on a stool to pour used oil into the empty containers. A sink became available during a home remodel, and he knew exactly what to do with it. His father welded a frame to mount the sink to the shop…

Today, at USDA’s 101st annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, the agency released the 2025/2026 Grains and Oilseeds Outlook. The outlook pegged U.S. corn and wheat acres higher year-over-year while soybean acres were expected to decrease. The outlook assumed normal weather conditions.  Combined, USDA estimated U.S. farmers will plant 225 million acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat, up less than 1% from the previous crop year. Corn  In the report, USDA attributed corn’s boosted acres to “favorable prices relative to competing crops such as soybeans, cotton, and sorghum.”    2024/2025 Planted Acres  2025/2026 Planted Acres Projection  Corn  90.6 million  94 million “The…

DAILY Bites Dairy farmers averaged only 6 hours and 15 minutes of sleep per night during peak calving season, below the recommended 7–9 hours. Despite expectations, once-a-day milking did not significantly improve sleep duration due to additional farm tasks. High heart rate data indicated increased physiological stress, raising concerns about health and safety risks. DAILY Discussion Dairy farming is a physically demanding profession with long hours and early start times, particularly during the high-workload spring calving season. Sleep deprivation has well-documented consequences, including increased risk of accidents and negative health effects, yet little quantitative data exists on how much sleep…

The 2024-25 National FFA Officer Team recently returned from the National FFA Officers International Experience Program in Japan, where they experienced Japanese culture and agriculture in partnership with the sister organization Future Farmers of Japan. This annual trip allows National FFA Officers to experience firsthand how agriculture transcends geographical boundaries and strengthens a partnership that dates back to 1950. The NOIEP develops the national officers’ language skills, business practices, and communication techniques to build cross-cultural cooperation while providing an opportunity for them to practice peer leadership on an international scale, explore the complexities and implications of agriculture as part of…

According to data compiled by the Successful Farming team, more than 5,400 acres of Nebraska farmland are set to be auctioned in March 2025. Listings range from single tracts of 20.5 acres to two auctions of over 1,100 acres. Here’s a closer look at the farmland expected to change hands across 12 Nebraska counties. Garden County Agri Affiliates The largest Nebraska farmland auction is set to take place in Garden County where a single tract of 1,264 acres will be available in an online-only auction that runs from March 11–12, 2025.  Agri Affiliates will handle the auction on behalf of…

As the 2025 corn planting season gets underway in Texas, corn growers in the state are facing drastically different planting conditions depending on their operation’s location.  Planting Progress Put on Pause in the Coastal Bend Colin Chopelas, a corn grower in Mathis, Texas, said he was able to get started planting his corn crop in mid-February, however freezing overnight temperatures towards the end of the month put a pause on planting progress.  The corn that Chopelas was able to get into the ground managed to emerge prior to the freezing conditions that initially brought planting progress to a halt. Chopelas…

If you take a drive through America’s Corn Belt in mid-summer, you’ll see endless fields of maize stretching to the horizon, each plant standing tall like a miniature green skyscraper. These plants owe much of their success to nitrogen — a nutrient as critical to their growth as oxygen is to ours. In most cases, that nitrogen comes from synthetic fertilizers, but what if there was a way to supplement or even replace some of it using nature’s own microscopic chemists? A 2024 study published in Agronomy Journal explored that possibility, evaluating whether nitrogen-fixing bacteria could step in to help…

Just before 9:00 a.m. CT, May corn was down 6¢ at $4.87½¢ per bushel. May soybeans were 4¢ stronger at $10.45¼¢ per bushel. Jamey Kohake, Senior Risk Manager with Pinion said, “Really, the big news is from the [USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum], 94 million corn acres are expected to be planted. Corn was trading sharply lower off of it.” May wheat contracts saw a sharp decrease at the open. CBOT wheat was down 10¾¢ at $5.69 per bushel. KC wheat dropped 10¢ at $5.88½¢ per bushel. Minneapolis wheat was 6¢ lower at $6.11¾¢ per bushel.  Livestock saw mixed trade in…