Author: staff

Tariffs, budget cuts, and other actions of the second Trump administration have made the words “farmers” and “farming” a regular occurrence in media headlines. Across industry publications and mainstream outlets, these supersized words — such as Tariffs are not ‘fun’ and farmers are frustrated or Funding freezes and staff cuts pull the rug out from under farmers — attempt to corral American growers into a single identity. Not only is that impossible to do, but it also does a disservice to unique and nuanced components of U.S. food production. And farmers hate when that happens. Wait, I mean, some farmers hate…

Just after 9:00 a.m. CT, May corn was up ¾¢ at $4.59½ per bushel. May soybeans were 1¢ weaker at $10.11¾ per bushel. Angie Setzer, Partner with Consus Ag Consulting said, “While the flow of news seems to be slowing, the uncertainty over what happens these next few weeks when it comes to global trade remains present.” Wheat markets were mixed starting off halfway through the week. CBOT wheat was up ¾¢ at $5.65¾ per bushel. KC wheat dropped 6¢ at $6.00¼ per bushel. Minneapolis wheat rose 3¼¢ at $6.17¼ per bushel.  April live cattle were up $1.67 at $202.67 per…

Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture will on Wednesday begin accepting applications from farmers affected by low commodity prices for economic aid passed by Congress last year, an agency official said on Tuesday.” “The stop-gap government funding package passed by Congress last December included $10 billion for economic assistance, a supplement to existing farm subsidy programs that support U.S. crops,” Douglas reported. “U.S. farmers are struggling with slumping prices that have made some crops more expensive to plant than sell, and are expected to plant more corn this year in a bid to eke out a…

By Heather Schlitz CHICAGO, March 18 (Reuters) – Overdue loans and mounting interest payments often weigh on Montana barley grower Mitch Konen as he bales hay and loads trailers at his remote farm overlooking the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. As spring sunshine warms the fields, Konen, 65, and other barley farmers worry tariffs will take away crucial export markets and increase the cost to grow the grains, even as sinking U.S. beer consumption has slashed demand for barley. “Down here on the farm we’re already stretched pretty thin financially,” said Konen, who is also vice president of the National Barley Growers Association. “It…

1. Wheat Futures Higher in Overnight Trading Wheat futures were higher in overnight trading amid worries about dry weather and deteriorating crop conditions in the U.S. southern Plains. About 28% of Kansas, the biggest producer of winter wheat, was suffering from drought conditions as of March 11, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That’s up from 25% a week earlier.  Forty-eight percent of the Kansas hard red winter wheat crop was rated good or excellent as of Sunday, down from 52% a week earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report yesterday.  Topsoil moisture in the state was…

By Renee Hickman CHICAGO, March 18 (Reuters) – Chicago wheat futures traded both sides of unchanged on Tuesday, holding near a March high underpinned by concerns over U.S. crop conditions. Traders also awaited the outcome of a call between the leaders of the U.S. and Russia over the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, corn futures fell as traders awaited planting intentions data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and corn and soy dipped on responses to recent U.S. tariffs that could impact U.S. agricultural products. The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 fell 2-1/4 cents at $5.66-1/4 a bushel by 12:04 p.m. CST…

By John McCracken America’s dairy industry is being ravaged by bird flu, leading to a significant decline in milk production in many states, including California, the nation’s largest dairy-producing state that hit a 20-year low in 2024. But unlike eggs, which spiked in price due to the bird flu’s impact on poultry flocks, consumers aren’t likely to see a similar increase in milk prices because of federal price control laws. However, while those price controls save grocery store shoppers money, dairy farmers say it’s pushing them out of business. “I can’t see how any dairy farm is going to sustain…

A cow giving birth to twins is uncommon, but to triplets — especially healthy ones — is extremely rare. Yet that’s what happened at Ashton Creek Farm in Iowa, where a cow delivered three healthy calves without assistance. Luke Stowater of Cow-Calf Operations told KTIV that the odds of triplets are about 1 in 105,000. Even more unusual, all three calves survived, and their mother accepted them naturally.  Multiple births in cattle are influenced by genetics and environment. Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute reports that twin births occur in about 2 percent of beef cattle pregnancies. Most twins…

Wooly Pig Farm Brewery sits on a gentle rise above Highway 36 and the Tuscarawas River in Fresno, Ohio. It takes its name from the Mangalitsa pigs covered in coats of thick curly wool, that roam the pastures nearby. Kevin Ely and Jael Malenke are the husband-and-wife team that run the brewery — Ely handles the beer and Malenke manages the business. They met in Utah and moved back to the area in 2014 when a farmstead near Malenke’s childhood home went up for sale. Ely is a tinkerer. Two work gloves stick out of one coat pocket and the…

A little past 9 a.m. CT, May corn was down 4½¢ at $4.56½ per bushel. May soybeans were up 2¢ at $10.17½ per bushel. May wheat contracts were higher. CBOT wheat was up less than a penny at $5.69¼ per bushel. KC wheat was up 4¢ at $6.09½. Minneapolis wheat was up 2¼¢ at $6.17¼. “More strong winds of 45–60 miles per hour are expected today into tomorrow for the central and southern Plains winter wheat belt, adding another level of stress to the drought-plagued crop,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX. “State crop condition reports show that…