Author: staff

By Joe Janzen and Yu-Chi Wang The U.S. soybean industry has responded to the renewable diesel boom by increasing production of soybean oil, an important feedstock in bio-based diesel production. In recent farmdoc daily articles (Janzen and Wang, 2025 and Janzen, Irwin, and Wang, 2025) , we show increased U.S. soybean oil production is part of longer-run gains in soybean processing efficiency. In the past five years, these efficiencies allowed U.S. soybean processors to squeeze more oil from the crush (relative to the production of soybean meal) when demand for renewable diesel surged, especially as the processing industry dealt with short term…

The Britton family has owned farmland in west central Indiana for over 150 years—something few families in that part of the country can say. But in early September, the current generation decided it was time to open a new chapter and let others share in their family’s legacy. “This farm was well known in the community, and people really supported it. They knew the history,” said Gene Klingaman of Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company. Klingaman led the sale of the 1,420 acres located about 45 miles west of Indianapolis, near the towns of Roachdale and North Salem. The property…

By Tom Polansek, Trevor Hunnicutt, and Costas Pitas WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his administration was working to lower the price of beef in the country. “We are working on beef, and I think we have a deal on beef,” Trump told reporters at the White House. The price of beef is “higher than we want it, and that’s going to be coming down pretty soon too. We did something,” Trump added, without elaborating. Beef prices have climbed to record highs after cattle ranchers slashed their herds due to a yearslong drought in the western United…

By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, Oct. 17 (Reuters) – Archer-Daniels-Midland ADM.N, one of the world’s biggest grain merchants, is offering incentives for U.S. farmers to deliver soybeans to one of its major processing facilities this month as low prices have slowed selling by growers, a grain trader and a company employee with knowledge of the matter said. In an unusual offer during the peak of autumn harvesting, ADM is allowing farmers to deliver soy to its facility in Decatur, Illinois, and set the final sale price later, without paying for storage, the two sources said. In exchange, ADM will take ownership of the soybeans,…

By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 16 (Reuters) – The arrival of a cold front over Argentina’s agricultural heartlands next week could affect wheat yields for the 2025/26 season, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, The exchange currently predicts a harvest of 22 million metric tons. Argentina is one of the world’s leading wheat suppliers and the exchange’s prediction, if it proves true, would make this season’s crop the country’s second-largest in its history. “Weather forecasts warn of a cold snap next week which, depending on its intensity and distribution, could affect the crop during its critical stages,” the exchange said. Argentine…

It’s been a year of shakeup for international assistance after the abrupt closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Agri-Pulse Newsmakers asked former Ag Secretary and current World Food Prize Foundation CEO Tom Vilsack about how the approach to international aid can be reinvented, the feasibility of moving the Food for Peace program to USDA, and whether he’s concerned President Trump’s tariff policy could affect long-term market access for U.S. farmers. Plus, 2025 World Food Prize Laureate and Embrapa Soybean researcher Mariangela Hungria joined the show to discuss her life’s work advancing soil microbiology, how Brazilian farmers have embraced…

Ryan Britt combines conservation practices, adaptive grazing, and dairy-inspired efficiency to improve both soil resilience and beef performance on his family farm in north-central Missouri. His focus on patience, testing, and data-driven management is boosting ROI across the entire operation. Watch our Conversation Meet Ryan Britt Britt grew up farming with his father, Randy, and is the fifth generation on the family farm in north-central Missouri. He grows corn, soybeans, and wheat, and has a cow-calf to finish beef operation. Conservation is a key motivator for Britt’s farming decisions, which earned him a Leopold Conservation Award from the Sand County…

The federal government shutdown has continued, resulting in another week without the USDA publishing a Crop Progress report. The Economics, Statistics, and Market Information System website, which houses the Crop Progress reports, “will not be updated during the funding lapse,” according to a site notification. According to a Reuters poll of 10 analysts on Monday, the U.S. corn harvesting progress lagged behind last year’s pace. On average, the analysts estimated that 44% of the U.S. corn crop had been harvested as of Sunday, with estimates ranging from 35–55% for corn. Without the USDA Crop Progress report, the Successful Farming team…

By Carl Zulauf and Jonathan Coppess This article compares economic loss with safety net payments for the nine large acreage crops that USDA, ERS (US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service) reports a cost of production. This comparison is important in part because ad hoc assistance was provided during, not after the 2024 crop year. In-year ad hoc assistance increases the possibility of too much or too little public assistance for the sector and individual crops. 2024 crop safety net assistance is estimated to reduce the nine crop’s collective economic loss from 17% to slightly more than 3% of total economic cost. Coverage of individual crop economic loss…

While the USDA Crop Progress report remains on pause, here’s a closer look at the status of Wisconsin’s corn harvest in mid-October from an agronomist’s perspective. Nick Groth, agronomic service representative with Syngenta Crop Protection, shared that corn harvest is well underway in southern Wisconsin and just beginning in northern Wisconsin. “I would estimate around 15% of corn fields have been harvested across Wisconsin as a whole,” said Groth. Last year at this time, the USDA reported that 26% of Wisconsin corn had been harvested. Wisconsin Corn Quality “Almost all fields across the state have reached black layer now, and…