Author: staff

Millions of cell tower pings from dating, weather, messaging, and other mobile apps that use location-sharing services are helping agricultural economists better understand how farmworkers respond to environmental hazards such as wildfire smoke. During California’s most destructive wildfire season in 2020, the number of farmworkers in a surveyed field fell by nearly 35 percent, and the number of hours worked in that same location dropped by 37 percent on smoky days when elevated levels of particulate matter were in the air. On less smoky days, the number of workers in surveyed fields was nearly 18 percent below typical levels and the…

By Henry Redman A case of avian influenza was identified in a Barron County commercial poultry flock, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) said Thursday in a news release.  The flock where the infection was found will be depopulated and none of those birds will be used for food, according to the release. A control area of 10 kilometers has been established around the farm, stopping the movement of any poultry within that radius. “DATCP continues to urge all livestock owners to implement strong biosecurity measures to protect their flocks and herds from the disease,” the…

This op-ed was written by Monty Lesh, Montana Stockgrowers Association district director, and submitted by the association’s communication’s team. Passing family farms and ranches on to the next generation is challenging, and future changes to federal inheritance tax could make this process even more difficult and expensive. Many Montana producers have had to deal with paying the “death tax” for a business that is simply being passed down to the next generation, and this added expense is a serious challenge to the financial viability of the business. Estate planning is a complicated, time-consuming process that takes away funds and energy…

March corn is down less than a penny this morning. March soybeans are down 8¢. This morning USDA announced unknown destinations are buying 200,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 2024/2025 marketing year. March wheat contracts are mixed. CBOT wheat is down 4¢. KC wheat is down 3¼¢. Minneapolis wheat is unchanged. “After testing overhead resistance levels mid-week, corn futures are now 10¢ off the highs,” said Naomi Blohm, senior market advisor at Total Farm Marketing, prior to the open of Friday’s day trade. “Support is at $4.40, then $4.35, with big support at $4.30, which is the bottom of…

By Ryan Hanrahan AgWeb’s Margy Eckelkamp reported earlier this week that “family farms still dominate a majority of U.S. farms,” having accounted “for about 96% of total farms and 83% of total production in 2023” in the United States. “Released on Dec. 10, (the USDA’s Economic Research Service) published its 2024 edition of America’s Farms and Ranches at a Glance. This publication, which pulls from survey data collected at the end of 2023, aims to give a snapshot of the U.S. farm economy,” Eckelkamp reported. “A big part of the study breaks down different characteristics of farms by type. The…

We’ve hit a new normal in commodity pricing, which means the demand side of the equipment equation is likely in a valley as well, said Andy Campbell, Tractor Zoom’s director of insights.  “Prices have followed supply, and supply is a leading indicator in our data that predicates a change in values,” he said. “Pricing on everything is down, and the most capital-intensive equipment has been hit the hardest.” He predicts lower prices and a lower sales volume through December, but we still may see a year-end uptick, as final harvest numbers come in and farmers make year-end decisions. “I don’t…

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall was measured in his comments about an ongoing lawsuit and the expulsion of the Illinois Farm Bureau from the national organization, during a conference at the AFBF national meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, this week.  Duvall also mentioned key worries he has about farm labor under the Trump Administration and the AFBF’s work on a disaster aid package for farmers.  Touches on Illinois Farm Expulsion As the Illinois Farm Bureau (ILFB) wrapped up a contentious annual meeting on Tuesday in the aftermath of the AFBF expelling the organization from its ranks, Duvall…

1. Corn, Soybeans Little Changed in Overnight Trading Grain and soybean futures were little changed in overnight trading as investors weigh corn ending stocks that came in lower than expected against improving weather in parts of South America.  Corn inventories in the 2024/2025 marketing year that ends on Aug. 31 will likely total 1.738 billion bushels, up from a previous outlook for 1.938 billion, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its monthly supply and demand report on Tuesday.  Analysts polled by Reuters were looking for a much more modest decline to 1.906 billion bushels.  Weighing on prices, however, is…

According to new data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, U.S. sales of Ag tractors and combines fell in November 2024 compared to the year before. “November’s sales of Ag tractors and combines follow the same pattern of the last few months softness in the market,” said AEM Senior Vice President Curt Blades. “This slowdown in sales can be traced back to high interest rates and uncertainty in the overall ag economy.” Canadian sales of Ag tractors dropped 18.8 percent while combines fell 39.4 percent in November 2024 compared to the year before. Sales of 2WD farm tractors have decreased…

The incoming Trump administration is likely to be unfriendly to biofuels if it repeats the record of the president-elect’s first term in office, said biofuels analyst Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois on Wednesday. There could be the liberal approval of waivers exempting small refiners from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), he said, as well as efforts to whittle down the ethanol mandate. “We should assume refiners will be back in the driver’s seat,” said Irwin during a farmdoc daily webinar. “It’s going to be a bumpy and turbulent ride figuring out how this is all going to net…