Author: staff

By Nick Paulson, Gary Schnitkey, Jonathan Coppess, Henrique Monaco, and Carl Zulauf Support from the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage, county option (ARC-CO) programs for the 2024 crop year are currently being processed and distributed by the Farm Service Agency. Payments from PLC are expected to be triggered for peanut and seed cotton base acres enrolled in that program, while ARC-CO payments are expected in many counties for base acres of most crops if they were enrolled ARC-CO. Total PLC and ARC-CO support for 2024 is estimated to approach $2.6 billion for 2024, with 89% of total…

By Claire Carlson For Wendy Johnson, a livestock and organic grain farmer in Charles City, Iowa, October is usually the time she visits her local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office.  There, she’ll sit down with one of their employees and go over the practices she implemented on her farm over the past year, along with documentation that proves she met the requirements of whichever U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) contract she was operating under. Once that’s done, she gets paid for the work she did.  But this October is no normal year for Johnson and thousands of other farmers…

By Jeff Beach North Dakota rancher August Heupel has yet to sell any of the beef calves he has raised this year, so far avoiding the recent drop in prices that was fueled in part by comments from President Donald Trump on importing beef.  Heupel is hopeful that prices will stabilize and the industry can continue to grow. “Fundamentally, things have not changed one bit,” Heupel said. “There’s still strong demand, and there’s still low cattle numbers.”   Cattle prices had been at record highs in October when Trump signaled he was in favor of beef imports from Argentina to lower…

By Ryan Hanrahan Agri-Pulse’s Philip Brasher reported that “a new stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government includes a one-year extension of farm bill programs that were left out of a budget reconciliation bill earlier in the year.” “The continuing resolution, which would keep the government funded through Jan. 30, also would suspend the permanent agricultural laws that are left on the books to prod Congress to continue reauthorizing commodity programs,” Brasher reported. “The CR also would extend the Grain Standards Act until Jan. 30. The law authorizes USDA to carry out official inspection and weighing services. The Senate…

Just before 9:30 a.m. CT, December corn was up 1¼¢ at $4.31 per bushel. January soybeans were down 3¢ at $11.27 per bushel. “Soybeans are seeing light profit taking [Tuesday] morning which is not surprising after the rally we had to start the week,” said Karl Setzer, partner with Consus Ag Consulting. “More interest is starting to be placed on the WASDE report scheduled for release on Friday. Nearly all analysts are forecasting a cut to U.S. production, but how much is the question.”  December CBOT wheat was down 1¢ at $5.34¾ per bushel. December KC wheat were 4¢ weaker…

1. Soybean Futures Down Slightly in Overnight Trading Soybean futures were modestly lower in overnight trading as China has yet to announce a major purchase of U.S. soybeans.  A trade deal between the U.S. and China was signed by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in the last week of October.  Under the terms of the agreement, China will buy 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans this year and an additional 25 million tons in each of the next three years.  Beijing restored licenses for Louis Dreyfus, CHS and EGT last week, giving farmers and investors hope that announcements…

Ag Growth International (AGI) has introduced two additions to its conveyor lineup: the FX4 SP (gas over hydraulic drive) and FX4 18S (electric top drive).  “The FX4 SP and FX4 18S are built for grain operations that require reliable, high-throughput conveyors that range from 8,000 to 10,500 [bushels per hour],” said Paul Brisebois, AGI senior vice president North American Farm and Global Portables. “This reflects AGI’s commitment to building smarter, more efficient grain handling solutions for farm operations of all sizes.”   FX4 SP Conveyor The FX4 SP is designed for mobility, featuring a self-propelled mover kit, with hydraulic steering and all-terrain tires for easier bin access and a tighter turning radius. Powered by a 37-hp Vanguard gas engine, it delivers up to…

Historically, large amounts of machinery have changed hands in December. The dust of harvest has settled and, as the books close on another year, it’s a logical time to evaluate what needs to be sold, purchased, or upgraded to help manage your cash flow.  But is December the best time to buy?  It depends on how you define “best,” said Andy Campbell, Tractor Zoom director of insights. “You almost have to think contrary to what other people think,” he said. “If you buy something when you’re not going to use it for a while, that tends to be the best…

By Julie Ingwersen CHICAGO, Nov 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. harvest of soybeans and corn was nearly complete as of Sunday while winter wheat condition ratings held steady with the previous week, a Reuters analyst poll showed on Monday. The U.S. soybean harvest was 96% complete by Sunday and the corn harvest was 92% finished, according to a Reuters poll of nine analysts. Farmers are harvesting what has been projected as the biggest U.S. corn crop in history along with a bumper soybean crop. The U.S. is the world’s top corn exporter and the No. 2 soybean supplier after Brazil.…

On Friday, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the nation’s largest meat-packing companies for potential collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation. The administration shared the update on whitehouse.gov, saying that the action targets the foreign-dominated conglomerates that control America’s meat supply and have been accused of artificially inflating prices at the expense of farmers, ranchers, and working families. “It’s time to protect AMERICAN CONSUMERS,” reads the White House’s statement.  pic.twitter.com/qybOyWN2bl — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 7, 2025 President Donald Trump announced that the investigation is aimed at what he called the “handful…