Author: staff

At the Thursday market close, December corn was up 5¢ at $4.28 per bushel. January soybeans were up 12¢ at $10.62 per bushel. “Corn, soybeans, and wheat were higher on the open [Thursday] morning as even without active buying activity, sellers were absent,” said Karl Setzer, partner with Consus Ag Consulting. December CBOT wheat was up 9¼¢ at $5.13 per bushel. December KC wheat were 11½¢ higher at $5.00 per bushel. December Minneapolis wheat rose 8¾¢ at $5.40¾ per bushel. December live cattle were up $1.35 at $241.17 per hundredweight (cwt). January feeder cattle were down $3.60 at $357.42 per…

Michigan FFA has announced a record-breaking surge in student membership for the 2024-25 academic year, growing from 8,800 members to 10,047 — an increase of over 14 percent, the largest percentage growth of any state FFA association in the country. This milestone reflects the expanding reach and relevance of agricultural education across Michigan. With 135 agriscience programs now active statewide and 162 dedicated agricultural educators leading the charge, Michigan FFA continues to cultivate the next generation of leaders in agriculture, food and natural resources. Six new programs launched this year, further strengthening Michigan’s commitment to hands-on, career-focused learning. These include:…

Marking the midpoint of a contentious week for the beef industry, President Trump and industry leaders on Wednesday continued their back-and-forth debate via social media posts and public statements. After the beef industry pushed back on his proposal to purchase Argentine beef over the weekend, the president took to Truth Social on Wednesday just after noon ET to voice his thoughts. “The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says roughly 2,100 Farm Service Agency offices will partially reopen today so producers can access about $3 billion in assistance from existing programs, even as the federal government remains shut down. The USDA says each county office will operate with two employees on site, five days a week. Offices will resume core functions such as farm loan processing, Agriculture Risk Coverage/Price Loss Coverage payments, disaster relief payments, and accepting applications tied to programs funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation, however some services not CCC-funded will remain limited. According to The Associated Press, a USDA spokesperson…

By Jeff Mason, Tom Polansek, and Leah Douglas WASHINGTON/CHICAGO, Oct. 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is quadrupling the tariff rate quota on Argentine beef to 80,000 metric tons in a bid to reduce prices, a White House official said on Thursday. The move lets Argentina ship more beef to the U.S. at a lower rate of duty at a time when U.S. beef prices have set records due to tight cattle supplies and strong consumer demand. The plan to import more beef from Argentina has angered U.S. ranchers, who largely supported Trump in his campaigns for president. They said the government should support domestic…

On July 10, 2025, a quiet but seismic shift occurred deep within the corridors of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one with ripple effects for farmers of color, women producers, and the broader drive for inclusion in American agriculture. The agency issued a final rule stating it will no longer use race- or sex-based “socially disadvantaged” classifications in many of its grant, loan, conservation, and rural development programs, citing constitutional concerns. That phrase, “socially disadvantaged,” has long been more than bureaucratic shorthand. For decades, it represented a pathway, however imperfect, into federal supports for farmers who were systematically excluded: Black,…

By Daniel Becerril METAPA, Mexico, Oct. 23 (Reuters) – Deep in the humid lowlands of southern Mexico, engineers, veterinarians and entomologists are racing to repurpose a plant that will play a pivotal role in trying to eradicate the flesh-eating screwworm parasite threatening the country’s cattle industry and raising tensions with the United States. Inside what was once a facility used to help control Mediterranean fruit flies, workers are dismantling old infrastructure and rebuilding specialized laboratories designed to mimic the conditions of an animal wound, which screwworm flies seek in order to lay their eggs. The transformation is part of Mexico’s urgent bid to start domestic production…

In 1912, John Deere faced a huge challenge. While the company was highly successful producing implements and resided as the number one manufacturer of plows in the world, it lacked a tractor to complete its product lineup. The pressure from dealers to include a tractor to that equipment line was considerable. The demand for horsepower in the marketplace was strong, and all of Deere’s major competitors offered tractors. The need for a tractor, dealers felt, was essential for Deere to hold on to its plow business. This was due to the fact that a tractor and plow were typically sold…

1. Soybean Futures Rise Slightly in Overnight Trading Soybean futures were modestly higher overnight amid ongoing uncertainty over trade talks with China.  President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been planning to meet on the sidelines of an economic conference in South Korea at the end of the month, fueling optimism that the world’s largest economies would come to an agreement to end the ongoing tariff war.  Trump said yesterday that while he expects to make a “good deal” with Beijing at some point, the meeting between he and Xi may never materialize.  “I think we’re going to…

By South Dakota Searchlight staff Amid a backlash against President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion to import more Argentinian beef, a U.S. senator from South Dakota said he came away from a Tuesday meeting at the White House “encouraged by the desire” that Trump and his top agriculture official showed to “do right by the American producer.” Republican Mike Rounds said he met with Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins about “the concerns I’ve heard from hundreds of South Dakota ranchers” since Trump’s comments. “We agree that we need an America First game plan that prioritizes American ranchers,” Rounds said…