Author: staff

By Ryan Hanrahan Bloomberg’s Gerson Freitas Jr. reported that “the U.S. agricultural trade deficit widened further in July, highlighting the challenge facing President Donald Trump as he vows to reverse the trend.” “Agricultural exports lagged imports by $4.97 billion in July, a gap 9% wider than a year earlier and the largest on record for the month,” Freitas Jr. reported. “That pushed the sector’s deficit to an unprecedented $33.6 billion for the first seven months of the year, according to data released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” “The widening farm trade gap this year has been mostly driven…

Agritourism is so much more than a fun day on the farm. It’s a chance to connect with consumers, show off your farm (and way of life), and generate some income. Making your agritourism event or location a success depends on a few things, including your ability to make your event worth people’s time, memorable, engaging, and safe. Whether it’s a corn maze, farm to table dinners, pick your own produce, a chance to pet/meet animals, or whatever else you can dream up, here’s some ways to make sure your event is a success: First up, know your audience. This…

By Jacob Orledge A North Dakota interim legislative committee has selected Nucleon Energy, a Canadian development company, to chart the state’s path to a nuclear-powered future.  The Alberta-based nuclear development company will spend the next 12 months studying the possibility of attracting the resurgent nuclear power industry to the state. The key elements of the study will include identifying potential locations, gauging public support and laying the groundwork for the federal licensing process.  “We’re believers that nuclear will be an affordable source of power that does not need subsidies that can be competitive with other fuel types,” said Will Bridge,…

Farmers with cotton, rice and peanut base acreage stand to get the biggest subsidy increases under the changes Congress made to farm bill commodity programs through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with average payments for peanut and rice base jumping more than 200%, according to a new analysis. All farmers with eligible base acres would see bigger payments because of the spending and tax bill, but the average increases per base acre are estimated to vary widely from 62.1% for corn, 65.3% for sorghum, and 71.9% for soybeans to 177.2% for cotton, 205% for peanuts and the 222% increase…

By Jarrett Renshaw Sept. 5 (Reuters) – The White House is reviewing a high-stakes rule that could reshape the balance of interests between oil refiners and farmers by determining how — or even whether — to redistribute huge volumes of biofuel blending obligations that were recently exempted under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The outcome, expected in the coming weeks, will determine the fate of billions of gallons of U.S. ethanol and biodiesel demand that is seen as vital to farmers who supply the corn and soybeans to produce biofuels, but costly to oil refiners that ensure the biofuels are mixed into the…

Throughout 2025, there has been a decline in new equipment sales, with some experts predicting a bottoming out in late 2025 or early 2026. However, that hasn’t yet translated into a big uptick in used equipment prices because the supply is still strong. However, four-wheel-drive tractors seem to be an exception. With strong inventory, prices remain strong as well, demonstrating the investment value these machines have on the farm. The ability to do many tasks, from tillage to planting to pulling a grain cart make them invaluable in many operations, especially as the size of implements continues to grow to…

PTx FarmEngage is AGCO and PTx’s newest operations management platform, designed to connect a farmer’s entire fleet, across multiple manufacturers.  “We believe that this is a more deployable solution to a real farm which has many different makes and models of equipment of many different ages. Our mission is to ensure that we support the compatibility for any type of machine that the farmer has on their farm,” said Cory Buchs, director for product development for PTx. “We aren’t pushing the farmer to adopt one brand of equipment across their farm — we feel that this is more of an…

Key Takeaways Corn harvest is underway in eight states, led by Texas at 69%.Soybean condition slipped to 64% good/excellent, down 1 point week-over-week.Winter wheat planting has begun in 10 states, reaching 5% complete. Today, the USDA published the 23rd Crop Progress report of the 2025 growing season. Here’s a look at the latest corn, soybean, wheat, and oat numbers. Corn As of Sept. 7, 95% of the corn crop across the country’s top 18 corn-growing states had reached the dough growth stage. With that, progress is right on track with the five-year average of 95%. USDA reported 74% of the crop across top states had…

Gehl introduced five new models of skid steers and compact track loaders to the North American market ranging in operating capacity from 3,250–3,600 pounds. The five new models are:  The V325 Skid Steer: 72 hp, 3,250 pounds rated operating capacityThe V335 Skid Steer: 100 hp, 3,350 pounds rated operating capacity The V360 Skid Steer: 114 hp, 3,600 pounds rated operating capacity The VT335 CTL: 100 hp, 3,350 pounds rated operating capacity The VT360 CTL: 114 hp, 3,600 pounds rated operating capacity  “These new machines are second to none in terms of comprehensive performance, effectiveness, style and safety,” said Nathan Ryan, Gehl global product…

Students at Caprock High School’s FFA program in Amarillo, Texas, were dealt a heartbreaking blow earlier this month when stray dogs entered their barn and killed or severely injured their show animals. For many of these students, raising goats and lambs isn’t just a school project, it’s an investment of time, money, and love that represents their future in agriculture and education. According to community member Amanda Nicole, the tragedy unfolded on the night of the school’s homecoming parade. “Caprock FFA had tragedy strike their barn a few nights ago. The night of their homecoming parade some dogs got into…