Author: staff

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will distribute $340.6 million in disaster assistance to farmers, ranchers, and rural communities impacted by natural disasters across the country. The funding comes through the USDA Disaster Assistance Fund and is intended to help communities repair homes, businesses, infrastructure, and restore essential services following severe storms, hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters. The announcement follows a January executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at accelerating disaster relief to communities that had experienced delays in receiving federal assistance. The order directed agencies to prioritize regions that…

By Carl Zulauf, Gary Schnitkey, Nick Paulson, and Jonathan Coppess The April 11, 2025 Farmdoc Daily found the U.S. crop safety net is no longer countercyclical. The April 16, 2025 Farmdoc Daily found this is mainly due to changes in ad hoc and emergency and crop insurance payments. Safety net payments are now high, even when private market returns are high. Implications of the demise of the countercyclical crop safety net are explored for the period since the 2014 Farm Bill authorized the current set of commodity programs. Total commodity and ad hoc and emergency payments, plus net insurance payments, notably exceeded economic losses from producing the nine crops for…

Two horses in Colorado have tested positive for Equine Infectious Anemia, an incurable viral disease that affects horses, mules, and donkeys. The Colorado State Veterinarian’s Office confirmed both cases after receiving presumptive positive test results. In each case, the owners chose to euthanize the infected horses to prevent any further risk of disease transmission. State officials stress that the threat to Colorado’s broader equine population remains low at this time. The first case was detected in Douglas County on April 5 when a pregnant mare, recently relocated to Colorado, underwent routine testing. Final confirmation came from the USDA National Veterinary…

1. Soybean Futures Gain in Overnight Trading Soybeans were higher overnight on some technical buying and unfavorable weather in Argentina.  Investors turned bullish on soybean futures in the week through April 15, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  Speculators held a net long position, or bets on higher prices, of 43,348 futures contracts, a shift from a net short position, or bets on lower prices, the previous week, the agency said.  Bargain hunters may be seeking soybeans or those who were short the market may have bought back contracts and liquidated their positions.  Also giving prices a…

“This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” Early in the morning on a recent Monday, a group of third graders huddled in the garden of Mendota Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin. Of the dozen students present, a handful were busy filling up buckets of compost, others were readying soil beds for spring planting, while a number carefully watered freshly planted radishes and peas. The students were all busy with their assorted tasks until a gleeful shout rang across the space. Everything ground to a halt when a beaming boy triumphantly raised his gloved…

By Ryan Hanrahan Bloomberg Law’s Alex Wolf and Skye Witley reported that “family farm bankruptcies increased by 55% last year compared to 2023 and are trending even higher this year as farmers continue to grapple with depressed agricultural commodity prices and high input costs.” “And while much of the industrywide distress predates his second stint in the White House, (President Donald) Trump has quickly nudged more farmers closer to the brink of going under and created turbulence for producers trying to make ends meet,” Wolf and Witley reported. “Unpredictable tariffs, immigration overhauls, federal program cuts, and frozen Agriculture Department funding…

Train collisions are a rare occurrence on America’s roads, thanks to modern safety systems, improved rail infrastructure, and public awareness campaigns. However, when they do happen, the consequences can be severe due in part to the sheer size and weight of both the trains and the vehicles, as well as the potential bodily harm. Despite the safety measures, one major collision involving a grain truck took place earlier this month near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, and it’s gaining a lot of attention because it was caught on another vehicle’s dashcam video. Around 2:13 p.m., police responded to numerous reports of the…

Just past 8:30 a.m. CT, July corn was down 3¼¢ at $4.86¾ per bushel. July soybeans were up 4¼¢ at $10.45¾ per bushel. July wheat contracts were lower. CBOT wheat was down 5¾¢ at $5.46½ per bushel. KC wheat was down 3¼¢ at $5.60½. Minneapolis wheat was down 3¢ at $6.11. Yesterday, USDA released the weekly Crop Progress report. Corn and soybean planting progress in the leading corn- and soybean-growing states was pegged ahead of the five-year average for both crops. June live cattle were up $1.43 at $205.18 per hundredweight (cwt) just past 8:30 a.m. CT. August feeder cattle…

There’s no shortage of adorable children’s books out there, and this includes books about agriculture! Kids are never too young to learn about ag. Hearing stories about cows, farmers, tractors, and so much more can help kids grow up with an understanding of what ag is and why it’s important to their life. Reading also exposes children to new vocabulary, helps them develop empathy, and ensures they are exposed to different lifestyles and learning about the world around them. Let’s take a look at some of the best and most fun children’s books about agriculture! 1. Please Tip the Cows…

By Leah Douglas WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) – The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its food safety and nutrition division, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The suspension is another disruption to the nation’s food safety programs after the termination and departure of 20,000 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA, as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to shrink the federal workforce. The FDA this month also suspended existing and developing programs that ensured accurate…