Author: staff

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ramping up efforts to control the New World Screwworm with a $21 million investment in a new sterile insect production facility in Metapa, Mexico. The announcement came during a bilateral call between U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and her Mexican counterpart, Secretary Julio Berdegué Sacristán, as both nations reaffirmed their commitment to containing the spread of the destructive livestock pest. The New World Screwworm, a parasitic insect that preys on warm-blooded animals, poses a significant threat to livestock health, rural economies, and national food security. It was eradicated in the U.S. in the 1980s…

A vintage advertisement for the Allis-Chalmers Model G tractor states, “For all jobs on some farms; for some jobs on all farms.” That phrase holds true for today’s 40–99-hp utility tractors: Most farms can find at least one use for a tractor that size, and some farms may only need a tractor that size.  “When I look at a heat map of the United States where these are listed, it’s all across the board,” said Andy Campbell, director of insights at Tractor Zoom. “There’s livestock farmers; fruit and specialty growers; even rural landowners and local governments are buying these units.” He…

By Casey Smith Property tax tweaks and a new online portal were among this year’s legislative wins for Hoosier farmers. But a high-priority proposal to help retiring farmers transition land to a new generation of growers failed to cross the finish line in the final days of the session. Rural-focused portions of Gov. Mike Braun’s first agenda pledged to “cut red tape,” strengthen the agricultural economy and protect Indiana farmland from encroaching development. The Republican governor had two early successes: property tax relief and a new online farmer portal. Some Legislative Wins Baked into Senate Enrolled Act 1, a hotly-debated property tax measure, were changes…

By Adriana Barrera MEXICO CITY, May 27 (Reuters) – A mission representing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will travel to Mexico in the coming days, Mexico’s agriculture ministry said on Tuesday, and could then lift its suspension of Mexican cattle imports. The U.S. had suspended the imports on an outbreak of the New World screwworm, an insect which burrows into livestock and can kill them. Mexico has rolled out measures meant to combat the spread of the pest, the ministry said in a statement, adding U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins had expressed her satisfaction with them in a video call with…

By Sky Chadde | Investigate Midwest  Around 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve in 2022, flames ripped through the bowels of an industrial facility in Fremont, Nebraska. Elevators were scorched. Conveyor belts collapsed. Metal doors melted. As smoke filled the sky, employees scrambled to escape. One dialed 911. “The plant’s on fire,” he hurriedly breathed. “Is everybody out of there?” The dispatcher asked. “Working on it.” Local fire crews extinguished the blaze at the Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) plant about three hours later. Equipment failure likely created a spark. But the product upon which ADM built an empire was most responsible for the…

Texas lawmakers have taken a stance in the growing debate over the future of meat. Senate Bill 261, which prohibits the sale of lab-grown, or cell-cultured, proteins in the state, has passed the House of Representatives and is headed to the Senate floor for a final vote. The bill, authored by state Sen. Charles Perry and sponsored by Rep. Stan Gerdes, is designed to shield consumers from what lawmakers and supporters describe as an untested and potentially misleading product, while defending the traditional cattle industry that plays a central role in the state’s economy and identity. The Texas & Southwestern…

What Happened Front-month futures in live cattle bottomed in 2009 and proceeded to rally for the next five years, peaking in 2014. Cattle futures then began to decline, finding a bottom in April 2020. Since then, cattle prices have remained in an uptrend, bearing a similar price pattern to 2009–2014.   Is the cattle market reaching a long-term peak? Tight inventory numbers and continued strong demand have provided support. History, however, would suggest that the herd could be in a rebuilding phase which, in part, has led to tighter supplies of market-ready animals in recent years. Some might argue that is…

New U.S. Department of Agriculture data reveals the staggering scope of damage caused by feral hogs: an estimated $1.6 billion in agricultural losses each year across just 13 states. The updated economic assessment, compiled by USDA’s National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, the National Wildlife Research Center, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service, is the most detailed analysis to date. It accounts for not just crop losses, but also predation, pastureland degradation, infrastructure damage and the labor and expenses associated with control efforts. The findings confirm what many farmers have long known: feral hogs are an escalating crisis. Feral swine…

Top Third Ag Marketing helps farmers become better agricultural marketers with the goal of marketing crops and livestock in the top third of prices. Mark Gold and his team provide AGDAILY.com with the latest information and a look ahead in their audio commentary. Listen here! https://www.agdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Agdaily-Top-Third-2025-05-27.mp3 The post Markets in Minutes: Top Third looks ahead for week of May 27, 2025 appeared first on AGDAILY.

Today, USDA published the eighth Crop Progress report of the 2025 growing season. Here’s a look at the latest corn, soybean, wheat, and oat numbers. Corn Crop Progress As of May 25, 87% of the corn crop across the country’s top 18 corn-growing states had been planted. That’s ahead of the five-year average of 85%. Sixty-seven percent of the corn crop had emerged across the top corn-growing states as of May 25. That’s ahead of the five-year average of 60%. This was the first report of the season to include corn conditions across top-growing states. For the week ending May…