Author: staff
Mexico has confirmed a case of New World screwworm in a 30-month-old pig in Veracruz, adding to the discussion about species that threaten the spread of the insect as cases push farther north. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Veracruz region has recorded 1,963 cases so far during this outbreak, with 125 cases listed as active, mostly in cattle but also in other species. Mexico has logged 13,106 cases since November 2024, with 671 active cases as of late December 2025. Mexico Case Status New World Screwworm (Graphic courtesy of the USDA) Animal health experts and producer groups…
DAILY Bites The USDA is suspending federal financial awards to Minnesota and Minneapolis amid ongoing fraud investigations, according to a letter sent to Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said on X the suspension is effective immediately, “until sufficient proof has been provided that the fraud has stopped,” citing estimates that billions were lost and referencing a nearly $250 million Feeding Our Future case. The Department of Health and Human Services also froze certain assistance funds, though a judge on Friday temporarily blocked the freeze. DAILY Discussion Most Americans don’t think about the U.S. Department of Agriculture unless…
Image by Nokwan007, Shutterstock Top Third Ag Marketing, a division of StoneX Financial Services Inc., helps farmers become better agricultural marketers with the goal of marketing crops in the top third of prices. Mark Gold and his team provide AGDAILY.com with the latest information and a look ahead in their audio commentary. Listen to Mark Gold’s Weekly Grain Comments here! https://www.agdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Top-Third-agdaily-2026-01-12.mp3
In an industry where nearly half of all online customers inquiries receive no personal response from dealers, Kubota stands out as the top brand actually doing things right. The annual Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness Compact Tractor Industry Study, which measured dealership responsiveness to internet sales leads, showed Kubota at the top, followed by TYM, Mahindra, John Deere, and Yanmar. Pied Piper submitted customer inquiries through 772 compact tractor dealership websites representing all major brands. The study found that 47 percent of all tractor customer inquiries received no personal response, a rate 7 percent worse than last year. Overall,…
Researchers at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service have released a new spring wheat germplasm line with resistance to Fusarium head blight — giving growers a leg up against a particularly devastating crop disease. Fusarium head blight (FHB), or scab, is the number one fungal disease impacting small-grain cereal production in the U.S., particularly wheat and barley. The primary cause of the disease is the fungus Fusarium graminearum L., although it can also be triggered by multiple strains or species of Fusarium. It has caused billions upon billions of dollars in crop losses over the years and can pose a health…
For the past few weeks, social media has been full of posts marking the transition from the Year of the Snake to the Chinese zodiac Year of the Horse, or, more specifically, the Fire Horse. The theme is everywhere: transformation is out, momentum is in. And it makes sense that brands would rush to match their marketing to the Lunar New Year buzz. At first glance, that kind of seasonal storytelling can feel like a natural, positive kickoff. It’s symbolic, celebratory, and an easy way for companies to connect their products to something culturally meaningful. But sometimes, trying to “embrace…
If you’ve ever spent time around livestock shows, you know it only takes one moment of chaos to turn a calm day into a full-on escape situation. That’s likely what happened in Oklahoma City this week, when a loose bovine sparked a commotion near Reno Avenue, close to Hurricane Harbor. But before we get into the wrangling, we need to clear up the first detail that immediately got under the skin of anyone with cattle experience: It wasn’t a cow. Despite reporting by KOCO 5 News and other stations, the animal shown in the now-viral footage appears to be a…
Before beginning his tenure as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted an old picture of his father, Bobby Kennedy, and another man at a drive-in fast food restaurant on the social media platform X. RFK Jr. took the family photograph as an opportunity to rail against plant-based seed oils, cooking oils extracted from seeds like sunflowers, soybean, and corn. He wrote in the caption that they “are one of the driving causes of the obesity epidemic” and that Americans are being “unknowingly poisoned” by them. His view represents a small, but…
With Congress back in session, legislators will take up a set of issues they haven’t comprehensively addressed since 2018 — the year the last farm bill passed. Farm bills are massive pieces of legislation that address a diverse constellation of topics, including agricultural commodities, conservation, trade, nutrition, rural development, energy, forestry and more. Because of their complexity, farm bills are difficult to negotiate in any political environment. And as the topics have expanded since the first iteration in 1933, Congress has generally agreed to take the whole thing up once every five years or so. However, the most recent farm…
DAILY BITES Managers unaware: Newly obtained recordings of OSHA interviews with ADM personnel show top managers at a Nebraska plant were unaware of federal safety standards related to grain dust. Little discipline: Few, if any, ADM employees were disciplined for unsafe behavior. Potentially unsafe behavior: The new OSHA records show the agency was told ADM employees were using compressed air to clean dust while machinery ran, which would be a violation of safety requirements. DAILY DISCUSSION On Christmas Eve 2022, parts of Archer Daniels Midland’s Fremont, Nebraska, grain processing plant were damaged in an explosion. A mechanical malfunction had created…