Author: staff

By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 21 (Reuters) – Heavy rainfall in Argentina in recent days has helped farmers who are fertilizing their wheat fields for the country’s 2025/26 crop season, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday. Some 50 to 150 millimeters (2 to 6 inches) of rain fell across Argentina’s agricultural heartland in recent days, the exchange said in a report. The rain boosted moisture levels at a key time in the growing cycle. A top global supplier of wheat, Argentina has some 6.7 million hectares of wheat fields this season, according to the report. The harvest is set to begin…

China has not made any U.S. soybean purchases from this fall’s crop, which has growers concerned about the relationship with the largest U.S. soybean purchaser ahead of harvest. On this episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, was asked about the trade landscape and what he’s watching for in USDA’s quarterly ag trade outlook due out next week. Plus, he discussed how NASDA members are partners in New World Screwworm eradication efforts. Then, Texas State Veterinarian Dr. Lewis R. “Bud” Dinges and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Steve Boren discussed Ag Sec. Brooke Rollins’…

California native Clayton Lind didn’t have an ag background, but working as a farmhand in Iowa changed his life. He now runs a media company focused on telling agriculture’s story and bridging the gap between farmers and consumers. Watch Our Interview Meet Clayton Lind When Lind came to Iowa during COVID, his heavy-duty mechanic experience helped him land a job as a farmhand, despite having no ag background. He soon realized some of the messages he had received about farming while living in California weren’t necessarily true. “My whole world got flipped upside down because of my interactions with the…

By Julie Ingwersen SPENCER, Iowa, Aug. 20 (Reuters) – Corn yield potential and soybean prospects are significantly above average across Illinois and western Iowa, though plant diseases could threaten final yields, scouts on an annual crop tour of the Midwest said on Wednesday. The four-day Pro Farmer crop tour, which started on Monday and covered seven major corn and soybean states, found strong production potential so far. Grain market participants have been monitoring the tour’s findings to gauge the size of the 2025 harvest in the United States, the world’s largest corn exporter and No. 2 soybean supplier. The tour, which does not project soybean yields, estimated the number of soybean…

By Makenzie Huber Farmers and conservation organizations welcomed the additional funding for some conservation programs President Donald Trump signed into law this summer. But they also worry there won’t be enough federal staff around to ensure the programs’ success. The topic came up Wednesday during sessions with advocates and South Dakota’s congressional delegation at the annual Dakotafest farm-and-ranch trade show in Mitchell.  The One Big Beautiful Bill Act consolidated conservation funding by redirecting unobligated conservation funding from the Biden administration to popular producer-conservation programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture…

By Julie Ingwersen ROCHESTER, Minnesota, Aug. 21 (Reuters) – Prospects for corn and soybean crops in Iowa and Minnesota are the strongest in at least 22 years, scouts on an annual tour of top grain-producing states said on Thursday, but diseases already lurking in fields could limit yields at harvest. The four-day Pro Farmer crop tour, which concluded in Rochester, Minnesota, on Thursday, found above-average production potential in each of the seven Midwestern states it covered. Several states boasted the highest projected corn yields and soybean pod counts in tour records dating to 2003. About 100 participants spent the week scouting more than…

By Ryan Hanrahan Federal crop safety net changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — including enhancements to the Price Loss Coverage and Agriculture Risk Coverage programs — were designed to help an agriculture industry facing a challenging economic situation. While agriculture industry leaders and important government figures are saying those changes should help, they’re beginning to acknowledge that they may not be enough — or may not come soon enough — to make a meaningful impact for farmers. At events this past week, both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau…

Creed Caldwell of Parker, Kansas, and Preston Dunn of St. John, Kansas, recently received $1,500 scholarships from the Livestock Marketeers, an organization of livestock marketing professionals. Livestock Marketeers Scholarships go to college-age students interested in pursuing a career in the livestock marketing industry. Image courtesy of the Livestock Marketing Association Caldwell is a fifth-generation commercial cattle producer. His family operates a 150 head cow-calf operation. A member of the National Junior Angus Association, he established his own seedstock Angus operation in 2017 and currently markets bulls as a cooperator with Hinkle’s Prime Cut Angus, Nevada, Mo. Caldwell plans to grow…

At the market close, December corn was down ¼¢ at $4.11½ per bushel. November soybeans were up 2½¢ at $10.58½ per bushel. “It was a slow, choppy trading session,” Jamey Kohake, senior risk manager with Pinion said, “Funds are still short waiting on harvest pressure. Beans have seen a nice rally on expectations that China is back buying despite no truth to it yet.” Kohake added, “Funds are still short in beans and expecting to break $10 again with probably one of the best bean crops ever seen.”  December CBOT wheat was down 2½¢ at $5.27¼ per bushel. December KC…

An annual crop tour of the Midwest wrapped up yesterday. Crop tour scouts reported record-breaking corn yields across the Corn Belt, despite concerns over some dry conditions and disease pressure, like that of southern rust, in some top states. Here’s a look at the tour results for major corn-growing states, alongside the latest progress and condition ratings from USDA. Ohio Tour Results Ohio was one of the first stops on the tour. “Scouts on the first day of the tour projected the Ohio corn yield at 185.69 bushels per acre (bpa), above the tour’s 2024 average of 183.29 and the…