Author: staff

Petaluma Poultry, a division of Perdue Foods, has taken legal steps to protect the privacy and safety of an associate and his family following what the company says is repeated harassment and privacy violations by the animal-rights group Direct Action Everywhere. On Friday, the company filed a complaint for injunctive relief with the California Superior Court in Sonoma County after Perdue said that DxE targeted the associate, who is a material witness in a case involving DxE operative Zoe Rosenberg. Rosenberg faces criminal charges related to illegally entering a Petaluma Poultry facility in 2024. DxE has been harassing the associate,…

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will tell the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that nearly 50 countries have approached him to discuss new sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The comments echo U.S. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett’s disclosure over the weekend that more countries have reached out to the White House to begin trade negotiations. Why It Matters Getting countries to discuss new terms on tariffs could be a sign of progress for the Trump administration, which touched off a global trade war that escalated further on Monday when Trump threatened to increase duties on China and the European Union proposed counter-tariffs of its…

Bayer AG, parent company of Monsanto, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in ongoing litigation over its Roundup weedkiller. On April 4, the company filed a petition for “certiorari,” asking the Court to rule whether federal law regulating pesticides preempts associated state laws related to Roundup labeling. The fundamental issue is whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state failure-to-warn claims where the Environmental Protection Agency has uniformly found that glyphosate — the active ingredient in Roundup — is not carcinogenic. “Whether FIFRA preempts a state-law failure-to-warn claim where EPA has repeatedly concluded that the…

What Happened One of the more talked about and anticipated reports published by the USDA is the March Prospective Plantings report. The 2025 report was released last Monday. Throughout the winter, there’s much talk amongst farmers and industry professionals concerning which direction farmers will lean — planting more corn, soybeans, or otherwise. Typically, there is a trade-off between corn and soybean acres. This year proved no different. Corn acres were, as expected, higher than a year ago at 95.3 million, adding 4.7 million. However, the pre-report estimate was 94.3 million. Soybeans lost 3.6 million acres from a year ago, coming…

May corn ended the day up 4½¢ at $4.69 per bushel. May soybeans closed up 9¾¢ at $9.92¾ per bushel. May wheat contracts also closed higher. CBOT wheat was up 3½¢ at $5.40 per bushel. KC wheat was up 2¼¢ at $5.61½. Minneapolis wheat was up 7¢ at $6.01. “The corn market remained bull-spread on Tuesday, with front-end contracts showing strength while the deferred months stayed under pressure,” said the Grain Market Insider newsletter by Stewart-Peterson Inc. “Soybeans ended mixed again, with the front three months posting gains while deferred contracts slipped, signaling continued bull spreading. “Wheat finished in the…

Soybeans are once again caught in the crosshairs of a brewing U.S.-China trade war, as escalating tariffs are creating a challenging environment for American farmers. U.S. soybean exports to China now face a 60 percent tariff — double the rate seen during the 2018 trade war — and analysts warn that figure could rise further if retaliatory measures continue between the two economic powers. The recent flare-up began with President Donald Trump declaring what he called “Liberation Day,” announcing tariffs on over 180 countries, including a sweeping 34 percent tariff on Chinese imports. China quickly responded with its own 34…

As the Trump administration moves forward with sweeping global tariffs, uncertainty is causing concern among dealers and manufacturers about the impact to the agricultural equipment industry. This could include hesitancy among farmers to invest in new machinery, rising demand and prices for used equipment, and some manufacturers pausing on capital investments while others move forward or expand existing plans.  Concern Among Equipment Dealers Agricultural equipment dealers report they are “concerned, but not yet alarmed,” according to a recent study by Tractor Zoom. Of the 25 dealers surveyed, 45% said they believe tariffs will have a negative effect and another 45%…

The Latest To date, more than 168.3 million reported birds have been affected by HPAI since February 2022, with cases found in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Cases slowed down significantly for most of 2024, but have risen since the start of November. Cases have continued to appear in the opening months of 2025. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has reported 43 new cases of Highly Pathological Avian Influenza (HPAI) over 18 different states in the past 30 days. What Producers Can Do Anyone involved with poultry production, from the small backyard to the large…

The National Corn Growers Association is launching its fifth iteration of the Consider Corn Challenge, a contest in which participants can submit proposals for new uses of field corn that have quantifiable market demand. “Biobased products are a win-win for everyone,” said NCGA Research & New Uses Chair and Kansas farmer Chad Epler. “NCGA is investing in these biobased solutions and positioning corn as the feedstock of choice. To demonstrate our commitment to identifying and developing these new uses we are increasing the prize by $50,000 to a total of $300,000.” Previous winners of the contests have scaled up to…

A Las Vegas veterinarian who came under fire over the weekend after videos surfaced showing a man repeatedly kicking a downed horse has now vanished without a trace, prompting an active search in the Lake Mead area. Dr. Shawn Frehner, a longtime veterinarian and Ohio State University graduate, was identified by many online as the man in the viral footage, which ignited widespread outrage across social media platforms (confirmation of the identity of the person in the video has not been released by law enforcement or other official entities). The video, showing a horse being struck multiple times while lying…