Author: staff

By Cami Koons Iowa corn, soybeans, oats, and hay crops all rated 80% good or excellent during the latest crop progress and condition report, even as the U.S. Drought Monitor logged most of the state in abnormally dry conditions. According to the monitor’s Thursday report, 71% of the state is in abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions. Soil moisture conditions, however, remained nearly consistent with last week’s crop report, with around 70% of subsoil and topsoil measured with adequate moisture. John Gilbert, a Hardin County farmer with a diversified operation, said his fields were “borderline dry” but otherwise in “pretty good shape.”  “Actually,…

Later this month, USDA will release the annual Acreage report, which is known to cause market volatility. By participating in the free Kluis Commodity Advisors/Successful Farming Acreage Survey, farmers can gain early insight that may help them position themselves ahead of the USDA report.  The Kluis Commodity Advisors/Successful Farming survey is free and anonymous. It asks farmers how many corn, soybean, and wheat acres they planted for the 2025/2026 crop year. It also asks for other crops, prevent plant acres, and 2024/2025 data for comparison purposes. All who participate will receive the results, as well as exclusive analysis and marketing…

Today, USDA released the June 2025 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. 2025/2026 U.S. Ending Stocks USDA pegged corn and wheat ending stocks for the 2025/2026 marketing year lower than the average trade expectation. Soybean ending stocks were held steady month-over-month, in line with the average trade expectation. 2024/2025 U.S. Ending Stocks For 2024/2025, USDA lowered corn ending stocks more than the average trade expectation. Soybean and wheat ending stocks were held steady month-over-month while the average trade expectation was for increases. 2025/2026 Global Ending Stocks USDA defied expectations by lowering 2025/2026 global corn ending stocks when an…

By Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK, June 12 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday will propose new biofuel blending requirements for oil refiners for the coming two years that will likely include a lower biomass-based diesel mandate than industry groups had requested, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The White House has completed its review of the EPA’s plan and returned it to the EPA for further action, according to the website for the Office of Management and Budget. The EPA is expected to announce the proposal on Friday, the sources said. The oil and biofuel industries, both…

AGCO Corporation has kicked off the 2025 Massey Ferguson Sowing Good Deeds contest. Now in its ninth year, the contest is intended to recognize charitable services, civic involvement, and educational activities of local Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) rodeo committees to their schools, towns, and their local ag communities. Nominations for 2025 are now open and will run through October 3. Finalists will be announced October 24, with the grand prize winner named at the PRCA Awards Banquet in Las Vegas on December 3. The winning rodeo committee will receive a new Massey Ferguson tractor with loader, valued at over…

Iowans are divided in the wake of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto of Iowa House File 639. The bill would have changed the common carrier definition of a carbon pipeline and made it more difficult for pipeline projects to use eminent domain. According to reporting from Iowa Capital Dispatch, House File 639 would also have “increased insurance requirements for hazardous liquid pipelines” and “limited carbon pipeline permits to one 25-year term and changed the definition of a common carrier for pipelines.” After the bill was passed on May 12, it went to Reynolds’ desk, where she had 30 days to decide…

Sealing manure ponds at a Central Valley, California, farm cut emissions dramatically. A giant, balloon-like tarp stretches over a lagoon of manure on a Central Valley, California, dairy farm, concealing a quiet but remarkable transformation. Methane, a potent climate-warming gas, is being captured and cleaned instead of released into the atmosphere. A study from researchers at the University of California, Riverside shows the effectiveness of dairy digesters, which are manure ponds tightly sealed to capture and re-use the methane they produce. The study shows these systems can reduce atmospheric methane emissions by roughly 80 percent, a result that closely matches…

1. Grains, Soybeans Little Changed Ahead of USDA Reports Grain and soybean futures were little changed in overnight trading as investors square positions ahead of today’s supply and demand reports from the USDA. Corn stockpiles in the 2024-2025 marketing year that ends on Aug. 31 will likely be forecast by USDA at 1.392 billion bushels, according to analysts polled by Reuters. That would be down from the May outlook for 1.415 billion bushels.  Inventories in the 2025-2026 year probably will be seen by USDA at 1.792 billion bushels, the survey said, down from the previous month’s projection for 1.8 billion…

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins raised a few eyebrows with some of her comments Wednesday before the House Committee on Agriculture. At one point during her testimony, she underscored the importance of crop protection tools — specifically glyphosate — to American agriculture, putting her directly at odds with fellow Cabinet member Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose Make America Healthy Again Commission recently released a 68-page report pointing to glyphosate and atrazine as key pesticides that are contributing to chronic health issues among America’s children. “I have worked and have been unequivocal on the record how important these crop protection programs are…

By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, June 11 (Reuters) – U.S. meat producer Glenn Valley Foods was operating an Omaha, Nebraska, facility with about 30% of its staff on Wednesday after federal agents detained workers in an immigration raid the previous day, slashing the output of products it sells to grocery stores and restaurants, the company’s president said. In the wake of Tuesday’s sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, livestock traders and market analysts expressed concerns that the potential deportation of undocumented workers from such raids could disrupt U.S. food production at a time when beef prices have soared and meat processors report a…