Author: staff

Friday morning, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins asking her to develop a framework for reinstating Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef. The South Dakota Republican said that a majority of American consumers support requiring country of origin labeling for fresh meat, but the road to where we are today has been rocky. Retail-level MCOOL for fresh fruits, vegetables, beef, pork, lamb, and seafood passed as part of the 2002 Farm Bill and was implemented fully in 2008. After a number of challenges from trade partners and the World Trade Organization, Congress…

By Alistair Smout LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) – Britain is ready to implement its side of a tariff deal with the United States and is hopeful for a proclamation from U.S. President Donald Trump to put the agreement into effect in the coming days, trade minister Jonathan Reynolds said on Thursday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trump on May 8 agreed to reduce tariffs on UK imports of cars and steel to the U.S., with Britain agreeing to lower tariffs on beef and ethanol, but implementation of the deal has been delayed. Reynolds met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday and discussed the implementation of the deal.…

By Tom Foley Federal cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development assistance programs will hurt American farmers and the safety of their crops, said several agricultural research leaders at a forum hosted by U.S. Senate Democrats. “These cuts are clearly problematic for our standing in the world, our leadership in the world, our security, our trade relationships,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said. “But it also socks us here at home.” Klobuchar of Minnesota, Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member, hosted a forum to discuss the relationship between foreign…

By Cami Koons Iowa corn, soybeans, oats, and hay crops all rated 80% good or excellent during the latest crop progress and condition report, even as the U.S. Drought Monitor logged most of the state in abnormally dry conditions. According to the monitor’s Thursday report, 71% of the state is in abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions. Soil moisture conditions, however, remained nearly consistent with last week’s crop report, with around 70% of subsoil and topsoil measured with adequate moisture. John Gilbert, a Hardin County farmer with a diversified operation, said his fields were “borderline dry” but otherwise in “pretty good shape.”  “Actually,…

Later this month, USDA will release the annual Acreage report, which is known to cause market volatility. By participating in the free Kluis Commodity Advisors/Successful Farming Acreage Survey, farmers can gain early insight that may help them position themselves ahead of the USDA report.  The Kluis Commodity Advisors/Successful Farming survey is free and anonymous. It asks farmers how many corn, soybean, and wheat acres they planted for the 2025/2026 crop year. It also asks for other crops, prevent plant acres, and 2024/2025 data for comparison purposes. All who participate will receive the results, as well as exclusive analysis and marketing…

Today, USDA released the June 2025 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. 2025/2026 U.S. Ending Stocks USDA pegged corn and wheat ending stocks for the 2025/2026 marketing year lower than the average trade expectation. Soybean ending stocks were held steady month-over-month, in line with the average trade expectation. 2024/2025 U.S. Ending Stocks For 2024/2025, USDA lowered corn ending stocks more than the average trade expectation. Soybean and wheat ending stocks were held steady month-over-month while the average trade expectation was for increases. 2025/2026 Global Ending Stocks USDA defied expectations by lowering 2025/2026 global corn ending stocks when an…

By Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK, June 12 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday will propose new biofuel blending requirements for oil refiners for the coming two years that will likely include a lower biomass-based diesel mandate than industry groups had requested, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The White House has completed its review of the EPA’s plan and returned it to the EPA for further action, according to the website for the Office of Management and Budget. The EPA is expected to announce the proposal on Friday, the sources said. The oil and biofuel industries, both…

AGCO Corporation has kicked off the 2025 Massey Ferguson Sowing Good Deeds contest. Now in its ninth year, the contest is intended to recognize charitable services, civic involvement, and educational activities of local Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) rodeo committees to their schools, towns, and their local ag communities. Nominations for 2025 are now open and will run through October 3. Finalists will be announced October 24, with the grand prize winner named at the PRCA Awards Banquet in Las Vegas on December 3. The winning rodeo committee will receive a new Massey Ferguson tractor with loader, valued at over…

Iowans are divided in the wake of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto of Iowa House File 639. The bill would have changed the common carrier definition of a carbon pipeline and made it more difficult for pipeline projects to use eminent domain. According to reporting from Iowa Capital Dispatch, House File 639 would also have “increased insurance requirements for hazardous liquid pipelines” and “limited carbon pipeline permits to one 25-year term and changed the definition of a common carrier for pipelines.” After the bill was passed on May 12, it went to Reynolds’ desk, where she had 30 days to decide…

Sealing manure ponds at a Central Valley, California, farm cut emissions dramatically. A giant, balloon-like tarp stretches over a lagoon of manure on a Central Valley, California, dairy farm, concealing a quiet but remarkable transformation. Methane, a potent climate-warming gas, is being captured and cleaned instead of released into the atmosphere. A study from researchers at the University of California, Riverside shows the effectiveness of dairy digesters, which are manure ponds tightly sealed to capture and re-use the methane they produce. The study shows these systems can reduce atmospheric methane emissions by roughly 80 percent, a result that closely matches…