Author: staff

When a 110-acre farm just outside Dublin, Ohio, went up for auction July 17, the broker handling the sale expected strong interest but nothing like the results he got. “I figured the land might go for around $20,000 an acre, maybe a little more,” said Brandon Wilson, vice president of Wilson National Real Estate and Auction Group, a family-run business based in Hillsboro, Ohio, that’s been in operation since 1958. The auction far exceeded his expectations — selling for a staggering $36,988 per acre average, bringing in a total of $4,068,710. “I was shocked,” Wilson admitted. “There was strong bidding…

USDA published the latest Crop Progress report on Monday, Aug. 18. Here’s a closer look at recent weather and the status of South Dakota’s most important crops in mid-August. Weather South Dakota has gotten much more moisture than normal lately, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet, but the central part of the state is still in moderate to severe drought.  Map of South Dakota showing recent precipitation departure. Iowa Environmental Mesonet In Monday’s Crop Progress report, USDA said farmers had 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork the week that ended Aug. 17, compared to 5.3 days this time last year. Central…

1. Wheat Futures Down Narrowly Overnight Wheat futures were modestly lower in overnight trading after a government report indicated signs of weak demand for U.S. supplies.  Sales of U.S. wheat to overseas buyers dropped 28% to 519,800 metric tons, the Department of Agriculture said in a report. That’s also down 25% from the prior four-week average.  Mexico bought 119,500 tons, South Korea was in for 90,500 tons, an unnamed buyer took 80,400 tons, Thailand purchased 66,000 tons and South Africa bought 51,600 tons. Exports for the week, however, rose 6% to 360,600 tons.  Still, losses were mitigated as USDA data…

By Leah Douglas WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to close its flagship laboratory near Washington, D.C., could undermine research on pests, blight and crop genetics crucial to American farms, according to lawmakers, a farm group, and staff of the facility. The USDA has already lost thousands of research staff to President Donald Trump’s effort to shrink the federal government, even as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said farm research is a pillar of national security. Rollins said in July that the USDA will close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, which occupies nearly 7,000 acres in the Maryland suburbs outside Washington,…

By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 21 (Reuters) – Heavy rainfall in Argentina in recent days has helped farmers who are fertilizing their wheat fields for the country’s 2025/26 crop season, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday. Some 50 to 150 millimeters (2 to 6 inches) of rain fell across Argentina’s agricultural heartland in recent days, the exchange said in a report. The rain boosted moisture levels at a key time in the growing cycle. A top global supplier of wheat, Argentina has some 6.7 million hectares of wheat fields this season, according to the report. The harvest is set to begin…

China has not made any U.S. soybean purchases from this fall’s crop, which has growers concerned about the relationship with the largest U.S. soybean purchaser ahead of harvest. On this episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, was asked about the trade landscape and what he’s watching for in USDA’s quarterly ag trade outlook due out next week. Plus, he discussed how NASDA members are partners in New World Screwworm eradication efforts. Then, Texas State Veterinarian Dr. Lewis R. “Bud” Dinges and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Steve Boren discussed Ag Sec. Brooke Rollins’…

California native Clayton Lind didn’t have an ag background, but working as a farmhand in Iowa changed his life. He now runs a media company focused on telling agriculture’s story and bridging the gap between farmers and consumers. Watch Our Interview Meet Clayton Lind When Lind came to Iowa during COVID, his heavy-duty mechanic experience helped him land a job as a farmhand, despite having no ag background. He soon realized some of the messages he had received about farming while living in California weren’t necessarily true. “My whole world got flipped upside down because of my interactions with the…

By Julie Ingwersen SPENCER, Iowa, Aug. 20 (Reuters) – Corn yield potential and soybean prospects are significantly above average across Illinois and western Iowa, though plant diseases could threaten final yields, scouts on an annual crop tour of the Midwest said on Wednesday. The four-day Pro Farmer crop tour, which started on Monday and covered seven major corn and soybean states, found strong production potential so far. Grain market participants have been monitoring the tour’s findings to gauge the size of the 2025 harvest in the United States, the world’s largest corn exporter and No. 2 soybean supplier. The tour, which does not project soybean yields, estimated the number of soybean…

By Makenzie Huber Farmers and conservation organizations welcomed the additional funding for some conservation programs President Donald Trump signed into law this summer. But they also worry there won’t be enough federal staff around to ensure the programs’ success. The topic came up Wednesday during sessions with advocates and South Dakota’s congressional delegation at the annual Dakotafest farm-and-ranch trade show in Mitchell.  The One Big Beautiful Bill Act consolidated conservation funding by redirecting unobligated conservation funding from the Biden administration to popular producer-conservation programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture…

By Julie Ingwersen ROCHESTER, Minnesota, Aug. 21 (Reuters) – Prospects for corn and soybean crops in Iowa and Minnesota are the strongest in at least 22 years, scouts on an annual tour of top grain-producing states said on Thursday, but diseases already lurking in fields could limit yields at harvest. The four-day Pro Farmer crop tour, which concluded in Rochester, Minnesota, on Thursday, found above-average production potential in each of the seven Midwestern states it covered. Several states boasted the highest projected corn yields and soybean pod counts in tour records dating to 2003. About 100 participants spent the week scouting more than…