Author: staff

What Happened in the Market After posting a new high of $4.79 in February led by demand, traders took profits in March ahead of Trump tariff announcements. December corn bottomed out at $4.36 March 31, traded sideways, then rose to $4.70 on wet spring planting.  November beans hit $10.64 in late February, chopped sideways to lower, then tanked to a low of $9.71 April 9 due to an intensified trade war with China.  In the last week, beans rallied back to the top of the range with resistance to nearly $10.40 due to wet weather and increased demand for bean…

Motion-activated field cameras, GPS collars, wolf scat analysis and cattle tail hair samples are helping University of California, Davis, researchers shed new light on how an expanding and protected gray wolf population is affecting cattle operations, leading to millions of dollars in losses. Long believed extinct in California, a lone gray wolf was seen entering the Golden State from Oregon in 2011, and a pack was spotted in Siskiyou County in 2015. By the end of 2024, seven wolf packs were documented with evidence of the animals in four other locations. As wolves proliferated, ranchers in those areas feared they…

Illinois farmers are experiencing a mixed start to the 2025 planting season, with corn planting behind historical pace while soybean progress is slightly ahead of schedule, according to the latest USDA Crop Progress Report released April 21. Corn Acres: Behind the Curve Corn planting in Illinois reached 7%, a 6% increase from the previous week, but still lagging the 5-year average of 11%. This was a 6% jump in planted corn acres from the previous week.  Ryan Gentle, Wyffels Agronomy Manager, saw nearly close to perfect field conditions in West Central Illinois.  “Almost every field had some sort of activity…

By Clark Kauffman A Cedar County farmer is suing a manufacturer of wind turbines, alleging three turbine fires scattered debris over hundreds of acres of land, damaging his crops. Alan Weets of Mechanicsville is suing the Chicago-based company Nordex USA, which does business as Acciona Windpower North America and Anchor Wind, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Weets alleges that in 2010, he entered into an agreement with Acciona that gave the company an easement on his property for the installation of two wind turbines. Acciona, the lawsuit claims, was aware of “serious problems” with the…

1. Soybean, Corn Futures Higher Overnight Soybeans and corn rose in overnight trading on optimism about de-escalation of the trade war with China, the world’s largest importer of the oilseeds.  President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that the 145% tariff rate the U.S. has imposed on Chinese products will come down “substantially” though he also said it wouldn’t be zero.  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that the U.S. and China have “an opportunity for a big deal here” and that the countries with the two largest economies in the world should work together.  Officials from China, which has imposed…

By Julie Ingwersen, Karl Plume GLENDALE, Kentucky, April 24 (Reuters) – Kentucky farmer Drew Langley got an early start planting soybeans this spring, hoping to boost yields to help soothe the sting of slumping prices after U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China put demand from the world’s top importer in doubt. Then the rains came. Up to 15 inches fell on farms along the southeastern edge of the U.S. Midwest farm belt from April 2-6, flooding Langley’s fields and swamping thousands of acres across the rolling hills of the Bluegrass State where farmers contribute a small but meaningful portion of the nation’s…

Corn has started to emerge in five of the top 18 corn-producing states, according to the USDA’s Crop Progress report released Monday, April 21. These states account for 92% of the U.S. corn acreage. As of April 20, 2025, 2% of the nation’s corn crop had emerged, matching the five-year average.  Texas  According to USDA’s Prospective Plantings report published on March 31, Texas farmers are expected to plant 2.45 million acres of corn in 2025. Texas leads the nation in corn emergence, with 63% of its corn crop out of the ground. That’s a 13-point increase from the previous week…

SAO PAULO, April 24 (Reuters) – Brazil will export more soybeans to China and more soymeal to its main clients in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia in 2025 amid the trade war between the United States and China, a director at industry group Abiove said on Thursday. A record soy harvest of nearly 170 million metric tons in Brazil will also contribute to the boost in shipments, Daniel Amaral, director of economics and regulatory affairs at Abiove, said. “Regarding the trade war, the hope is that Brazil, based on its good relationship with trading partners… and as a major food…

North America’s first locally produced commercial-grade green ammonia fertilizer is undergoing testing on farmland in Boone, Iowa. The effort will be a key step in evaluating whether green ammonia can be a cost-competitive and reliable fertilizer supply for U.S. growers. Anhydrous ammonia is a well-recognize important nitrogen fertilizer, prized for its high nitrogen content and cost-efficiency — making it especially effective for boosting corn yields. “Green ammonia” is chemically identical to conventional anhydrous ammonia, but it’s produced using on-site solar power, air, and water. This locally based production model — being done by Landus, Iowa’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, and Talusag, an…

Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS has secured approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, overcoming vocal opposition from environmental advocates and congressional lawmakers who cite the company’s troubled track record on climate, corporate governance, and market competition. The SEC issued a declaration of effectiveness on Tuesday, clearing the way for JBS — the world’s largest meat producer — to proceed with a shareholder vote scheduled for May 23. The company plans to list through a new parent firm, JBS NV, based in the Netherlands, and also intends to seek a…