Author: staff

It goes without saying that farmers care about what happens in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Brooke Rollins had no problem getting the votes necessary to confirm her nomination as USDA secretary back in February. Since then, she’s worked to change the agency and align it with President Donald Trump’s vision. So what is she doing, and is it serving our family farms? Let’s discuss. Who is Brooke Rollins? “Wait, who?” was the general question raised when Rollins’ name was announced for the top spot at the USDA. Rollins was virtually unknown nationally before her nomination, though she does have…

Demanding higher wages and improved benefits, an overwhelming majority of unionized workers at Tyson Foods of Amarillo, Texas — the largest beef processing plant in the United States — have voted to go on strike.  Teamsters Local 577 has filed a number of unfair labor practice charges against Tyson, alleging violations of labor law. In the past month alone, the union says management has harassed union stewards, coerced injured employees into dropping claims, illegally interrogated union members, and falsely told workers at the facility that if they engaged in an unfair labor practice strike, they would lose their jobs. The…

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor shows a sharply divided drought picture, with rainfall improving conditions across parts of the Midwest, while the Northwest continues to deteriorate under rapid drying. Side-by-side maps of the U.S. showing drought conditions for June 17 and June 24, 2025. Midwest Heavy rains brought improvement to drought or dryness conditions in areas of Iowa, northern Missouri, southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and northeast Minnesota. Rainfall totals locally exceeded 5 inches from northwest Missouri to southern Wisconsin. In Kansas City, Missouri, and Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, areas, abnormal dryness grew in coverage as soil moisture and streamflow dropped amid growing…

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt in Oklahoma City on Thursday to officially launch the Make Oklahoma Healthy Again campaign. The initiative is a state-level extension of the national Make America Healthy Again movement, championed by Kennedy and President Donald Trump. “For far too long, we have settled for food that has made us sicker as a nation,” said Stitt. “In Oklahoma, we’re choosing common sense, medical freedom, and personal responsibility. President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have led the charge nationally, I’m grateful for their support as we Make Oklahoma Healthy…

Just after 9:00 a.m. CT, September corn was up 5¢ at $4.09 per bushel. November soybeans were up 4¢ at $10.20½ per bushel. Karl Setzer, partner with Consus Ag Consulting said, “Pre-weekend short covering is giving the market some much needed support as we start the last session of the week. Long liquidation has impacted trade all week as weak positions were exited prior to next Monday.” Monday will have a new USDA acres and stocks report. Setzer said the June report can be volatile. The wheat markets were higher Friday morning. September CBOT wheat was up 3¾¢ at $5.40½…

1. Grain, Soybean Futures Higher in Overnight Trading Grain and soybean futures were higher in overnight trading on concerns about dry weather in the Canadian Prairies and hot weather in the U.S. Midwest.  Southern Canada is expected to turn warmer and drier, increasing stress on crops in early July, Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients.  Dry weather in the U.S. northern Plains and Canadian Prairies may possibly curb yields, the forecaster said.  In Europe, meanwhile, hot and dry weather will lead to stress on 60% of the bloc’s corn crop, CWG said.  Heat advisories and warnings have…

Just days before USDA is expected to release its new estimates, the Kluis Commodity Advisors/Successful Farming Acreage Survey revealed American farmers planted over 1 million more corn acres for the 2025/2026 crop year than USDA previously forecast. Soybean and wheat acres were pegged lower.  According to the survey results, the acreage for corn and soybeans combined is 179.3 million versus 178.8 million in USDA’s March 2025 Prospective Plantings report. The survey attributes this increase to a 500,000-acre reduction in spring wheat.  USDA’s March report contained 2025/2026 acreage estimates based chiefly on surveys asking what U.S. farmers anticipated planting. Monday, June…

By Galen Bacharier North Carolina lawmakers are sending half a billion dollars to the western mountains for hurricane relief, reaching a long-sought compromise between the House and Senate just hours before they left Raleigh for weeks. Both chambers unanimously approved House Bill 1012 on Thursday. Gov. Josh Stein is expected to swiftly sign it into law. The final agreement puts $700 million total into the state’s Helene relief fund. And it appropriates $500 million of that money, leaving the other $200 million for future relief. “It addresses immediate needs,” said Rep. Karl Gillespie (R- Cherokee). “It does not address all needs. There will be…

By Ella Cao, Naveen Thukral, and Maximilian Heath BEIJING/SINGAPORE/BUENOS AIRES, June 26 (Reuters) – Chinese firms have booked the first soymeal cargo from Argentina since Beijing approved Argentine imports in 2019, as China’s animal feed industry looks to broaden its supply options to mitigate potential disruptions from the U.S.-China trade war. Several Chinese feed makers have jointly signed the deal to purchase 30,000 metric tons of Argentine soymeal for July shipment, four trade sources told Reuters on Thursday. “This is just a test case,” said one Singapore-based trader at an international trading company, which sells soybeans to China. “If it goes through China’s inspection and…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled this week in favor of Texas Corn Producers, Texas Sorghum Producers, and National Sorghum Producers, vacating a 2024 Environmental Protection Agency rule that they said unfairly penalized ethanol-containing fuels in federal fuel economy calculations. At issue was the EPA’s use of an “R Factor” — a technical value automakers must use when certifying the fuel economy of new vehicles. Under the previous administration, the EPA implemented a new R Factor for E10 (gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol) in 2024 — replacing decades of testing based on E0 (pure gasoline).…