Author: staff

This month, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the nation’s largest meatpacking companies for potential collusion and price fixing.  “Action must be taken immediately to protect consumers, combat illegal monopolies and ensure these corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American people,” Trump said in a social media post.  On Nov. 7, the White House published four claims in support of the investigation. Investigate Midwest fact-checked those claims.  Claim: The Trump administration stated, “The ‘Big Four’ meat packers — JBS (Brazil), Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef — currently dominate 85 percent…

SKANEATELES, New York — Mark Tucker farms eight minutes from the town of Skaneateles. His operation has shifted through crops, silage for dairy, a five-year orchard experiment, and now a herd of Hereford cattle. Tucker has also farmed energy. For years, a 133-foot wind turbine generated 85 kilowatts annually, a landmark visible from Skaneateles Lake. Since 2019, over 300 feet of backyard solar panels have cut $10,000 dollars from his power bills, covering eight months of electricity in his now-retired milking barn. He calls himself both a farmer and a land steward. A longtime member of the Skaneateles Town Board…

An aggressive outbreak of Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), including neurological cases classified as equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM), has triggered urgent warnings from equine veterinarians across Texas and surrounding regions. Clinics report that several horses returning from early-November events — including the WPRA Finals in Waco and competitions at the 377 Arena in Stephenville have shown severe and rapidly progressing clinical signs, with some owners already reporting fatalities. Equine Sports Medicine & Surgery was among the first to issue detailed guidance, emphasizing that “continued biosecurity is essential to minimize spread” as competitors travel home from the WPRA Finals, the BFA, and other…

As of 9:35 a.m. CT, March corn was down 5¢ at $4.44½ per bushel. January soybeans were down 9¼¢ at $11.44¼ per bushel. March CBOT wheat was down 4¾¢ at $5.54¼ per bushel. March KC wheat was down 5½¢ at $5.37½ per bushel. March Minneapolis wheat was down 2½¢ at $5.85½. This morning, Naomi Blohm, senior market advisor with Total Farm Marketing, explained soybeans rallied on Monday because of rumors China was buying U.S. soybeans. Yesterday, USDA confirmed the rumor, announcing China purchased 792,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 2025/2026 marketing year. “But the market already priced in the…

Genius is a word used often with Edward A. Johnston. How else could you describe a person who, during his 40-year career with International Harvester, either created or oversaw the design of every major advance that company introduced to agriculture and transportation from 1900 to the late 1930s? Creator of both the first truck and first practical tractor in North America, Johnston earned 171 patents, as well as many patents pending, before his death in 1947. Upon his passing, then-IHC president Harold McCormick remarked that Johnston “was to the agricultural implement industry about what Charles Kettering [founder of Delco and…

Weather drives every decision in agriculture, from what to plant and when, to how supply chains function. At the Women in Agribusiness Summit earlier this fall, I moderated a panel on weather trends featuring these panelists: Bill Kirk is founder and CEO of Weather Trends International, operating as WeatherTrends360, which specializes in AI year-ahead weather down to the mile and seasonal sales forecasting. If a hotter-than-usual summer is expected, Kirk’s company can advise retail clients, such as Tractor Supply and Target, to stock more air conditioners and fans. The company also offers FarmCast, a subscription-based year-ahead weather forecasting report for…

Key Points Corn harvest 91% complete, slightly behind the five-year average of 94%.Soybean harvest 95% complete, nearly matching the five-year average.Winter wheat planting 92% complete, 3 points behind the five-year average. Following six missed reports, the USDA has released the first Crop Progress report since the government shutdown ended. Here’s a look at corn, soybean, and wheat crop progress for the week ending Nov. 16. Corn As of Nov. 16, 91% of the corn crop across the country’s top 18 corn-growing states had been harvested, behind the five-year average of 94%. Last year at this time, progress had reached 98%. Soybeans The USDA…

DAILY Bites The U.S. has introduced a new trade and investment framework with Argentina, along with tariff-relief agreements involving Ecuador, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Argentina will allow U.S. poultry imports, ease barriers for beef and pork, broaden access for various agricultural goods, and support smoother digital trade and data flows. The agreements also include stronger labor and environmental rules, improved access to critical minerals, and lower tariffs on select imports to help reduce consumer costs without affecting U.S. farm production. DAILY Discussion The United States is moving toward one of the most significant Western Hemisphere trade shifts in years. The…

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, joined by 15 partners in the International Year of the Woman Farmer working group, has launched a new online information hub aimed at celebrating and advancing women in agriculture. The site went live on Oct. 15, the International Day of Rural Women, as a way to highlight the global contributions of women farmers and bring together the many efforts already underway to support them. Around the world, women produce nearly half of the food supply, yet they continue to face hurdles in accessing land, capital, and leadership roles. The new information hub…

The political fight over beef prices intensified this week after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Fox Business that Americans could see relief “as soon as next spring,” despite industry warnings that the cattle cycle cannot be accelerated by government action. In reporting from The Washington Times, Rollins insisted that the administration’s projections show price declines ahead. “The president is hyper, hyper focused on this,” she said. “Our numbers and our formulas are showing that prices will start coming down as soon as next spring and certainly by summer and fall of next year.” She blamed high prices on drought,…