Author: staff

By Promit Mukherjee OTTAWA, June 19 (Reuters) – Canada could increase counter-tariffs on U.S.-produced steel and aluminum if it does not reach a broader trade deal with President Donald Trump within 30 days, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday. Trump increased import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25% earlier this month, prompting industry calls for an official response. Trump’s move could hurt Canada, which is the largest seller of the metals to the U.S. Carney said on Monday he had agreed with Trump that the two nations should try to wrap up a new economic and security deal by July 21. “Canada will adjust…

By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES, June 19 (Reuters) – Corn yields in some parts of Argentina are surpassing initial expectations for the 2024/25 crop, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday, though it maintained its overall harvest forecast at 49 million metric tons as excessive moisture slowed fieldwork. Many agricultural regions in Argentina, the world’s third-largest corn exporter, are still dealing with overly wet fields following heavy storms that caused flooding in May, delaying harvesting. “Harvesting is progressing with grains above optimal moisture levels, seeking to avoid losses from stems bending or breaking. However, the yields obtained remain in line with…

By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson BEIJING, June 20 (Reuters) – China’s soybean imports from Brazil surged 37.5% in May from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, as buyers scooped up South America’s bumper crop, while supplies from the United States also rose 28.3%. The world’s biggest soybean buyer imported 12.11 million metric tons of the oilseed from Brazil last month, compared with 8.81 million tons in the same month a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. May arrivals from the U.S. reached 1.63 million tons, up from 1.27 million tons a year earlier. U.S. supplies accounted…

Senate leadership is still aiming to have the budget reconciliation bill through the Senate by July 4. On this episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman joined the show to outline the benefits farm country will see in the bill. He also discussed immigration, the MAHA Commission report, and his optimism for passing a complete farm bill this Congress. Plus, Mike Stranz with the National Farmers Union and Tas Smith from the National Cotton Council discussed the extension of the 45Z tax credit in reconciliation, the Buy American Cotton Act, and the MAHA Commission report. Watch the…

By Joshua Haiar and Seth Tupper Over 100 state and local officials from the Midwest and West, including South Dakota, are asking the U.S. Senate to eliminate tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration as part of a federal budget reconciliation bill. Established by Congress and then-President George W. Bush in 2008, the 45Q tax credits incentivize companies to capture carbon dioxide from processes such as ethanol production and sequester it underground, so it doesn’t contribute to climate change by acting as a greenhouse gas. The carbon can also be sequestered as part of enhanced oil recovery, in which pressurized gas pushes…

There’s not much I can add to the story of the Waterloo Boy — it’s been told plenty over the years. Brad Neuhart, a long-time Tractor Zoom auctioneer partner, is selling a really nice one at a collector auction in southeast Michigan this weekend, and that’s a good excuse to revisit why John Deere’s decision to buy their way into the tractor business might’ve been the best call they made in the early 20th century. Waterloo Boy tractor listings on Tractor Zoom Getting Into the Tractor Business If I did try to uncover some new information about the Waterloo Boy,…

By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, June 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a potential plan to vaccinate poultry against bird flu for the first time that includes evaluating how it would affect exports, the agency told Reuters this week. The actions advance the government’s assessment of a vaccine after the USDA received proposals on usage from associations representing egg and turkey producers whose farms have been devastated by the virus. Nearly 175 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been culled in attempts to contain outbreaks since 2022 in the nation’s worst animal-health emergency. Losses of egg-laying chickens drove egg…

President Donald Trump relied heavily on the rural vote for his election, but some of those voters have become increasingly anxious about his actions in recent weeks, especially when it comes to their farmworkers, uncertainty over new trade deals, and the MAHA movement. The Trump team also delivered some good news for farm country in the form of new investments to eradicate deadly screwworm, and favorable blending targets for fuel producers under the Renewable Fuel Standard.  1. Ag Operations on the Hot Seat, but ‘Criminals Come First’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will continue to conduct inspections of ag…

Image by Tractor Supply Company Tractor Supply Company and the Tractor Supply Company Foundation announced that they are donating an additional $1 million in total to charity organizations committed to supporting our nation’s military service members, veterans and first responders. The Company and its foundation made an initial $1 million donation in June 2024 to celebrate the launch of its Hometown Heroes initiative, which brings together the Company’s efforts to support the selfless men and women who serve America under one banner. Tractor Supply launched the second year of its Hometown Heroes initiative yesterday with a Back-to-School Brigade® event in…

Grocery competition is dwindling in rural America as federal funding to rebuild it is on the chopping block. If you live in a small town, you probably have fewer grocery stores than you did 30 years ago — and fewer choices inside them. Independent grocers have disappeared, replaced by big national chains that now decide what’s on the shelves, how much it costs, and who gets to profit. In 1990, the top four grocery chains controlled just 13 percent of nationwide sales. By 2019, the top four retailers — Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Ahold Delhaize — controlled 34 percent of…