Author: staff

March corn is up a penny this morning while March soybeans are down less than a penny. March wheat contracts are lower this morning. CBOT wheat is down 5¢. KC wheat is down 3¢. Minneapolis wheat is down 3¼¢. “Moderate pressure is being seen in the market this morning, which is not surprising given the lack of interest we are seeing from traders,” said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting. “Several markets are closed today for a National Day of Mourning for former President Carter. The ag sector will have an early close today at 1:15 p.m. ET. Given…

Recently, I went on a cross country (more like cross county, I suppose) tractor drive to pick up a new-to-us drill. I think I crossed three counties. It only took about an hour and half to get there. Then pulled the drill back home. I traveled a lot of roads I had never been on before. It’s surprising to me how similar everywhere is. Not the land or the operations, but the evidence of time gone by. People and companies sell us on the idea that we need more to be successful or happy. Build the bigger house, buy the…

By Jennifer Shutt WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats raised concerns Wednesday that Republicans have scheduled a hearing for one of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees before he completed the necessary paperwork and an FBI background check. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich separately criticized the decision, saying it sets a troubling precedent. “Yesterday, the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources noticed a hearing for Governor Doug Burgum to serve as the next secretary of the Interior, without minority consent, as has long been standard practice,” Schumer said during a…

By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Rains set to arrive in Argentina in mid-January should bring relief to soybeans and corn in the core farm region hit by a recent dry spell, a climatologist at the authoritative Buenos Aires grains exchange told Reuters on Wednesday. Eduardo Sierra, a meteorological analyst at the exchange, said that according to their model, some 50-75 millimeters (2-3 inches) of rain was expected between Jan. 16 and 22 in the key farm region, where hot dry weather since last month has started to hit crops. “These rains could greatly limit the impact of the dry weather.…

By Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek Jan 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. will rebuild a stockpile of bird flu vaccines for poultry that match the strain of the virus circulating in commercial flocks and wild birds, the Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday, in a sign of the widespread and devastating nature of the nation’s persistent outbreak. The outbreak, which began in poultry in early 2022, has killed more than 130 million commercial, backyard and wild birds in all 50 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths of millions of egg-laying hens pushed wholesale egg prices to record…

By Sybille de La Hamaide PARIS, Jan 8 (Reuters) – More should be done to control the spread of bird flu among animals to avoid more cases in humans, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Wednesday, following the first death of a patient from the virus in the United States. Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has spread across the world in recent years, ravaging flocks, pushing up food prices, and raising concerns about a new pandemic. “This situation really highlights the importance of managing risk at the animal source, which is really essential to prevent the spread of bird flu…

By Cami Koons The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been contacting producers to update its Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land, or TOTAL, survey which shows the landowner characteristics of a state and informs farm policy.  USDA last updated this survey in 2014 and found nearly 40% of farmland in the U.S. was either rented or leased, that the average age of the nation’s 1.4 million “principal landlords” was 67 years old and that 9% of farmland in the Midwest region was expected to transfer ownership in the subsequent five years.  The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS, started contacting…

The Horse Protection Act has stirred concerns among horsemen, with updates slated to take effect next month, including expanding regulations to all breeds, horse events, and 4-H horse activities.  The act, originally passed in the early 1970s, was intended to stop inhumane practices such as soring, which includes painful practices used to enhance the movement of Tennessee Walking Horses. Revisions aim to strengthen rules that discourage soring, but the expansive updates include a requirement for advanced notice for events and government-approved veterinarians on premises during the event.  If the HPA revisions become effective, event organizers will be required to notify…

March corn ended the day down 4¢ at $4.54 per bushel. March soybeans closed down 2¾¢ at $9.94½ per bushel. March wheat contracts also closed lower. CBOT wheat closed down 6¼¢ at $5.36¼ per bushel. KC wheat was down 5½¢ at $5.50¼ per bushel. Minneapolis wheat was down 9¾¢ at $5.85 per bushel. “Corn prices edged lower Wednesday ahead of Friday’s WASDE [World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates] report, pressured by weaker ethanol production and declines in wheat,” said the Grain Market Insider newsletter by Stewart-Peterson Inc. “Soybean futures posted minimal losses as improved precipitation forecasts in Argentina weighed on…

The growth of generative AI content over the past two years has been undeniably substantial — it can be found in all corners of social media and even on some major publishing platforms, with Sports Illustrated notoriously being one of the first and biggest offenders. And yeah, we said “offenders.” Without some rules and transparency guidelines in place, AI content can be pretty dicey, with some onlookers even referring to its use as “outright dishonest.” It can also be very easy to confuse an audience and to use AI for underhanded purposes, whether that means to deceitfully tug on someone’s…