Author: staff

House Ag Committee Chair “GT” Thompson wants to take action on a skinny farm bill this fall. On this special edition of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers at the Minnesota FarmFest, ranking members of both the House and Senate Ag Committees, Rep. Angie Craig and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, discussed their priorities within a skinny farm bill and their willingness to negotiate after nutrition program cuts in reconciliation. Plus, AFBF President Zippy Duvall discussed his group’s priorities for the second Make America Healthy Again Commission Report due to be released next week, Rep. Brad Finstad defended the need to include a Prop 12 legislative…

The 43rd annual Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer Show continues to make an impact, raising $569,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa. Including this year’s donations, the Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer has surpassed $6 million in donations since its inception in 1983. All money raised benefits the three independent Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa, located in Des Moines, Iowa City, and Sioux City. These three houses have served over 55,000 families from all 50 states and many foreign countries. Families from all 99 counties in Iowa have benefited from the Ronald McDonald Houses of Iowa. This event is…

Today, the USDA released the August 2025 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) and Crop Production reports. 2025/2026 Crop Production In the August Crop Production report, USDA pegged 2025/2026 corn yield, harvested area, and production higher than the agency previously estimated and higher than the average trade expectations. Soybean yield got a boost in today’s report over the previous USDA estimate and higher than the average trade expectation. However, harvested area and production were lowered from the previous agency estimate while the average trade expectation was for increases. Wheat production was lowered from the previous USDA estimate, but not…

by Ryan Hanrahan Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley reported that “John Deere will have access to confidential business information from several of its competitors after those companies fought in court to prevent the release as part of ongoing anti-trust, right-to-repair lawsuits.” “The U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois ruled on Aug. 8 that Deere has the right to access the documents acquired by the Federal Trade Commission as part of its investigation into allegations the company has illegally monopolized the farm equipment repair market by not allowing farmers to make specific repairs to their own tractors and other equipment,”…

By Renee Hickman Aug. 12 (Reuters) – Michelle Miller stands in a field of corn, stalks stretching above her perfectly styled hair, holding a tiny microphone and addressing an audience online. She was farming genetically modified corn in Iowa in 2017, she says, when a tornado hit. Now a social media influencer who goes by the name the “Farm Babe,” Miller says the wind knocked her corn flat on the ground. But in a feat of botanical fortitude, the plants bounced back. “So when you ask farmers: why are they growing these GMO seeds?” she says in the video, “it’s because the genetics hold up.”…

By Robin Opsahl DES MOINES — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins came to the Iowa State Fair Saturday to compete in the Governor’s Charity Steer Show — and to announce $152 million in USDA investments for Iowa rural development projects. Before heading to the Livestock Pavillion to show the steer Snoop Dog, Rollins announced that 19 projects in Iowa would receive funding through USDA Rural Development grant and loan programs. The announcement was made at a news conference where she was joined by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and state Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. Approved projects include a $37…

By Ella Cao, Lewis Jackson and Chandni Shah Aug 10 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged China to quadruple its soybean purchases ahead of a key tariff truce deadline, sending Chicago soybean prices higher, though analysts were quick to question the feasibility of any such deal. In a late night post on Truth Social, Trump said China was worried about a shortage of soybeans and he hoped it would quickly quadruple its soybean orders from the U.S. “Rapid service will be provided. Thank you President XI,” Trump said in his post. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 jumped 2.38% to $10.11 a bushel…

The National FFA Organization membership has reached a new milestone with Texas and California leading the nation. Membership continues to swell beyond the historic 1 million-student milestone. According to the organization, total student membership now stands at 1,042,245, marking a 1.5 percent increase from last year. These members are part of 9,407 local chapters across the nation for the 2024-2025 school year. The growth is believed to reflect the continued interest in agricultural education and leadership opportunities for youth, as well as the expanding diversity of careers available in agriculture. “It’s exciting to watch the interest in agricultural education and…

Top Third Ag Marketing helps farmers become better agricultural marketers with the goal of marketing crops and livestock 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 here! https://www.agdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/top-third-agdaily-2025-08-11.mp3 The post Markets in Minutes: Top Third looks ahead for week of Aug. 11, 2025 appeared first on AGDAILY.

In the world of raising junior livestock, the projects often have a way of testing you. Sometimes it’s the hours spent walking a stubborn lamb. Other times, it’s the late-night feedings in the heat or the cold. And sometimes, it’s a pig that decides at the most inopportune moment that the show ring is the last place on Earth it wants to be. That was the scene for 10-year-old Flint Van Buren of Grace, Idaho, at this year’s Caribou County Fair. His barrow, Stitch, had been a handful from the start. “He was pretty stout,” Flint’s mom, Nicky Van Buren,…