Author: staff

July corn ended the day up 2¼¢ at $4.91¾ per bushel. July soybeans closed up 3¾¢ at $10.50¼ per bushel. July wheat contracts also closed higher. CBOT wheat closed up 5¢ at $5.61 per bushel. KC wheat was up 3¾¢ at $5.72¼. Minneapolis wheat was up 1½¢ at $6.17. “[It was a] quiet day in the corn market as prices finished with small gains on Wednesday’s session,” said the Grain Market Insider newsletter by Stewart-Peterson Inc. “Fresh news for the corn market was limited, but more weakness in the U.S. dollar helped support the grain markets as traders positioned ahead…

Every winter, I really enjoy teaching our Kluis Grain Trading Academy course. I like to show our students all the players in the grain futures market and how they impact open interest. This winter, it was amazing to watch corn open interest increase to a record 2 million-plus contracts. That is 10 billion bushels! I was amazed at the rally in the corn market. I could start to see the bullish potential develop in October 2024, well after the major low in August 2024.   There’s an old rule that says, “When prices are trending higher and open interest is going…

A 2-year-old Arizona boy is safe after spending a night alone in desert wilderness near Seligman — thanks in part to a ranch dog who led him to safety. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office says that the child, Boden Allen, went missing from his family’s rural home around 5 p.m. Monday wearing only a tank top and pajama pants. When night approached, the sheriff’s office organized a search effort with over 40 rescuers, state Department of Public Safety rangers, 4×4 trucks, and helicopters fitted with thermal cameras. During the search mission, a helicopter caught sight of two mountain lions roaming…

Recently imposed tariffs – some paused, some rescinded, some increased — have created even more uncertainty in the agriculture economy.  The tariffs included reciprocal tariffs against a number of United States trade partners, and a number of tariff carve-outs, such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) exemptions of 25% duties against our U.S. neighbors. Currently, a blanket 10% tariff has been imposed on imports from many countries, while imports from China — the biggest U.S. trade partner — are tariffed at a prohibitive 145% after both countries continue to escalate retaliations. Other reciprocal duties have been delayed for 90 days,…

by John Cole Brent Copenhaver and his wife Stacey own Talview Dairy Farm, a dairy operation in Lebanon County, and sell most of their milk regionally in Pennsylvania. To Brent, he thinks there is currently one big issue farmers across Pennsylvania are thinking about. “I think tariffs definitely are on people’s mind,” Brent Copenhaver said to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. “How that will impact us locally is still, I think, yet to be determined.” The Copenhavers hosted several high-ranking government officials on Monday morning, including U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. She was joined by Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, U.S.…

Not all is sunny in the countryside when it comes to solar energy and agriculture. While solar energy can provide farmers with a new revenue stream, some are concerned about taking productive ground out of commission. “If it’s marginal ground, fine; it doesn’t produce very good,” said Jon Freeman, a fourth-generation farmer from south-central Illinois. “But if it’s good, productive stuff, I hate to see it put [into] solar.”  Freeman leases 15 acres of marginal land for a solar energy project, which he said pays more than he could earn farming it. Yet, he said he is concerned, as he has…

By Jeff Beach The North Dakota Senate on Monday passed a bill that backers say ensures farmers in the state will have access to needed ag chemicals, while protesters outside the Capitol lobbied against legal protections for pesticide manufacturers.   House Bill 1318, which is similar to legislation being considered in several other states, passed on a vote of 29-18. The bill was amended and will return to the House, which had previously given the bill unanimous approval.  Much of the discussion on the bill has centered on the product Roundup, produced by the German company Bayer. Bayer has been hit…

Corn and soybean planting progress is officially underway in Iowa, according to the USDA Crop Progress report published April 14. “Planters are beginning to roll across the state. The warmer temperatures and drier weather over the past week allowed for a good start to the planting season,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig in a statement Monday. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) said fieldwork last week included tillage and applying anhydrous, manure, and dry fertilizer. Corn In the March Prospective Plantings report, USDA said it expects Iowa farmers to plant 13.5 million acres of corn in 2025, up…

By Giovani Preza Fontes and Emerson Nafziger The first half of April has been a little cooler than normal, with a very wide range in rainfall totals, from an inch or more below normal in northwestern Illinois to 6-8 inches above normal in south-southeastern Illinois. There is some rain in the forecast over the next week, but some progress in fieldwork and planting is likely. While it’s too early to consider planting in wet soil, there is no reason not to plant as soon as conditions allow. Seed costs for corn and soybeans have risen considerably in recent years, along…

A recent study has revealed that a single genetic change in a strain of the highly pathogenic H5 influenza virus could potentially unlock its ability to infect and spread between humans. Scientists studying the H5 2.3.4.4e strain — a type of influenza A virus known for infecting a wide range of birds and mammals — discovered that one specific amino acid mutation might enable the virus to bind to human cells, a critical step toward human-to-human transmission. The research, published in PNAS, focused on how influenza viruses adapt to new hosts, especially humans. A key factor in this process is…