Author: staff

By Ryan Hanrahan The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Frosch and Patrick Thomas reported that “the team of federal economists and researchers responsible for producing the government survey that measures hunger in America were put on indefinite paid leave Monday, according to the union that represents the workers.” “The move comes two days after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration abruptly canceled the report, which has been produced by the Agriculture Department every year since the mid-1990s,” Frosch and Thomas reported. “Around a dozen employees, all involved with economic research at the USDA, were put on leave, said…

USDA published the latest Crop Progress report on Monday, Sept. 22. Here’s a closer look at recent weather and the status of Ohio’s most important crops in mid-September. Weather Aaron Wilson, state climatologist of Ohio, wrote in an Ohio State Extension newsletter that August 2025 was the driest August on record since 1895. Conditions through the first three weeks of September have not improved. The entire state has had below normal precipitation during the last 30 days.  All of Ohio is in moderate drought or higher. U.S. Drought Monitor Rain is in the forecast for this week Tuesday through Friday…

Regardless of what type of farmer you are, you can only control what you can control. As a producer, you concentrate on what you need to do to grow the best crops or healthiest livestock. Your efforts and focus are required every step along the production cycle. Marketing, however, is different. Marketing is always looking ahead, although decisions are made based on criteria today. In other words, marketing is attempting to control the future, shifting price risk and/or locking in gains.   For some, marketing means taking on the role of a price taker, which is deciding to do nothing (by…

By Cami Koons Harvest season is underway for many Iowa farmers, as more than 65% of corn acres have reached maturity, according to the latest crop progress and condition report from the USDA.  As farmers log long days in the combines, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig urged farmers to keep physical and mental health “top of mind.”  In a news release recognizing National Farm Safety and Health Week, Naig said farmers should follow safe equipment operation practices, wear proper protective gear, inspect and maintain machinery, and stay safe around grain bins.  Naig also reminded drivers that during harvest season,…

This week, more than 500 farmers from every state, U.S. territory, and several Tribal Nations delivered a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging timely delivery of funds for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. While SARE funding is typically made available in March, this year’s request for applications didn’t drop until September 11, leaving SARE host institutions little time to secure funding before the fiscal year closes. The letter asks USDA to ensure SARE dollars are approved on time so farmers can access regionally appropriate, farmer-led research that supports productivity and competitiveness. In a Sept. 23, 2025,…

The Beef Checkoff has been a lightning rod in the cattle industry, and the latest move to send more than $25 million of producer dollars to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has sparked another round of controversy. Critics say the program, originally designed to promote beef and educate consumers, is increasingly tied up in politics that don’t serve the independent producers footing the bill. In a strongly worded release, rancher advocacy group Beef Life USA blasted the decision, calling it a “betrayal” of independent ranchers. The group argues that ranchers are compelled by law to pay into the Beef Checkoff…

By Joana Colussi and Michael Langemeier The U.S. soybean harvest began in September without any orders from the world’s largest buyer: China. American producers are harvesting a crop the USDA estimates at 4.3 billion bushels, and there is no indication of when shipments to China will resume. In a typical year, China buys more than half of all U.S. soybean exports. Meanwhile, Brazil set a record for shipments to China from January through August 2025. In this article, we present U.S. and Brazilian soybean trade flows to China during the last two years, analyze the trade relationship between these countries…

USDA published the latest Crop Progress report on Monday, Sept. 22. Here’s a closer look at recent weather and the status of most important crops for Kansas in mid-September. Weather Tina Sullivan, northeast area agronomist for Kansas State (K-State) Extension, and Matthew Sittel, assistant state climatologist, wrote in an Agronomy eUpdate that precipitation has been quite variable around the state in September. Parts of Lincoln and Ellsworth County have received over 9 inches of rain this month, and central Kansas has been the wettest region so far this month. Meanwhile, parts of northwest Kansas have had little precipitation.  Precipitation is…

Citing near-record production costs in a low-price environment, the National Corn Growers Association recently launched a task force to identify solutions to bring costs more in line with today’s commodity prices. Corn growers nationwide are in the third consecutive year of net negative returns, with 2026 projected to be the fourth year of negative returns. “Corn growers have been sounding the alarm for a while that on-farm economics are not working,” said Kenneth Hartman Jr., Illinois farmer and NCGA president. “This is a time to look at all pieces of the farm profitability picture. Low prices of course contribute to…

By Naveen Thukral and Ella Cao SINGAPORE/BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Reuters) – Chinese buyers booked at least 10 cargoes of Argentine soybeansafter Buenos Aires on Monday scrapped grain export taxes, three traders said on Tuesday, dealing another setback to U.S. farmers already shut out of their top market and hit by low prices. Argentina’s temporary tax move boosts the competitiveness of its soybeans, prompting traders to secure cargoes for fourth-quarter inventories in China, a period usually dominated by U.S. shipments but now clouded by Washington’s trade war with Beijing. The Panamax-sized shipments of 65,000 metric tons each are scheduled for November, with CNF (cost and freight)…