Author: staff

Texas agriculture commissioner Sid Miller, former ambassador Kip Tom, and Ted McKinney, a onetime USDA undersecretary, were among a handful of men viewed as potential nominees to run the Department of Agriculture when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. Incoming presidents typically try to announce their cabinet nominees before the year-end holidays, although Trump did not tab Sonny Perdue to lead the USDA until two days before his inauguration. Miller, a brash conservative, was mentioned for the USDA after Trump won his first term in 2016. Tom, a wealthy Indiana farmer, was U.S. ambassador to the UN…

President Trump rolled up 63% of the vote in rural America, a larger margin than in 2016, on the way to winning a second term in the White House on Tuesday. Farm groups offered to work with him on Wednesday to pass the new farm bill, now 14 months overdue, and to bring high costs under control. “The new administration must also address the impending tax hikes, which would crush many of America’s farmers and ranchers when stacked on top of inflation, high supply costs, and market instability,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Another big…

For the next few years, season-average prices for U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat, the three most widely grown crops in the country, will largely mirror the market prices for this year’s crops, projected the Agriculture Department on Thursday. The steep declines in farm-gate prices since 2022 would be replaced by a period of relative stability, according to the USDA’s long-term baseline. Over the next five years, corn would sell for an average of $4.10 a bushel, the same as the USDA’s estimated farm-gate price for this year’s crop. Wheat prices, slowly rising from the $5.70 forecast for this year’s crop,…

Farmworkers who are exposed to infected poultry or dairy cattle as part of their jobs should be tested for bird flu even if they show no symptoms, particularly if they did not wear protective equipment, said the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday. The CDC revised its safety guidelines after researchers reported that 7% of unprotected dairy workers carried antibodies in their blood indicating infection by the H5N1 avian flu virus. “The less room we give this virus to run, the fewer chances it has to cause harm or to change,” Nirav Shah, CDC principal deputy director, told reporters. Antiviral…

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Argentine farmland set aside for the country’s 2024/25 soybean crop is seen at 18.6 million hectares, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange (BdeC) said on Thursday, a cut of about 2% compared to a previous estimate of 19 million hectares. The downward revision is due to an adjustment of the planted area from the South American country’s previous soybean crop based on an analysis of satellite images, the exchange said in its weekly crop report. Argentina is one of the world’s top exporters of processed soybeans, as well as a major global supplier of corn…

Intermountain Packing, a meat processing plant based in Idaho Falls, is at the center of a legal dispute involving over $2 million worth of cattle. According to news reports, including East Idaho News, livestock suppliers Dry Creek Dairies LLC and Idaho Magic Milk LLC of Twin Falls, Idaho, and Washington Agri-Investments LLC of Yakima County, Washington, have accused the company of failing to pay for livestock delivered between September 29 and November 9, 2023. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. David Adams, identified as the CEO of Intermountain Packing, is…

Harvest is wrapping up as widespread rains move through the Midwest. The rain is welcomed by many farmers who are concerned about replenishing soil moisture following a dry harvest, including Steve Turner.  “Our subsoil moistures coming into this fall were very short, and we didn’t really replenish them,” said Turner, a third-generation farmer in Cass and Morgan counties in Illinois. “So this rain helped, but we’re still in moisture deficit.”  Turner farms corn, soybeans, wheat, specialty crops, and runs a cow-calf operation with his wife and two oldest sons. He said his area recently received about 3 to 4 inches…

DAILY Bites Kubota partners with Boot Campaign to support veterans and military families Expands “Geared to Give” program to include year-round care initiatives Launches fundraising efforts from Veterans Day to May 2025 DAILY Discussion In honor of those who served, Kubota Tractor Corporation today announced a new partnership with Boot Campaign to support the organization’s work to restore the lives of veterans and military families through individualized, life-improving care. The company kicks off its program with Boot Campaign on Veterans Day (this coming Monday) with a series of activities that run through Military Appreciation Month in May 2025. Through a…

2024/2025 Global Ending Stocks Estimates (Million Metric Tons)   November  Trade Expectation October Corn  304.1  305.9  306.5 Soybeans 131.7  134 134.7 Wheat 257.6  256.8 257.7 More From USDA Corn “This month’s 2024/2025 U.S. corn outlook is for lower production and ending stocks,” USDA said in the November WASDE report. “Corn production is forecast at 15.1 billion bushels, down 60 million from last month on a 0.7-bushel reduction in yield to 183.1 bushels per acre. Harvested area for grain is unchanged at 82.7 million acres. Total use is unchanged at 15 billion bushels. With supply falling and no change to use,…

Agriculture plays a vital role in Louisiana, contributing over $4.8 billion in agricultural products from 25,006 farms across nearly 8 million acres, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture. Though the number of farms in Louisiana has seen a decline of about 8.7 percent since 2017, agriculture remains integral to the state, with top commodities like broilers, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, rice, and cattle. In addition to production, Louisiana is the nation’s largest handler of grain for export to world markets. More than 40 percent of the country’s grain exports move through the ports of Louisiana —…