The Associated Press’ Tom Krisher reported this past weekend that “Canada’s two largest railroads are starting to shut down their shipping networks as a labor dispute with the Teamsters union threatens to cause lockouts or strikes that would disrupt cross-border trade with the U.S.” “Both the Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National railroads, which […]
Ryan Hanrahan
Ryan Hanrahan is the Farm Policy News editor and social media director for the farmdoc project. He has previously worked in local news, primarily as an agriculture journalist in the American West. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri (B.S. Science & Agricultural Journalism). He can be reached at rrh@illinois.edu.
VP Harris Calls For Federal Ban on Food Price Gouging
The New York Times’ Jim Tankersley and Jeanna Smialek reported this past Friday that “Vice President Kamala Harris’s economic agenda for her presidential campaign features an argument that blames corporate price gouging for high grocery prices.” “That message polls well with swing voters. It has been embraced by progressive groups, which regularly point to price […]
US Likely Undercounting Bird Flu Cases in Dairy Cattle
Reuters’ Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek reported Thursday that “the U.S. bird-flu outbreak in dairy cattle is much larger than official figures suggest due to farmers’ reluctance to test their animals and risk the economic consequences of a positive result, according to Reuters interviews with dairy experts, veterinarians, and farmers in six states with known […]
California Proposes Credits Cap for Soy-Based Renewable Diesel
Agri-Pulse’s Philip Brasher reported Tuesday that “the California Air Resources Board is proposing to cap the amount of renewable diesel made from soybean or canola oil that would qualify for the state’s low carbon fuel standard.” “Proposed revisions for amendments to CARB rules for the California LCFS also would require feedstocks such as soybeans to […]
US Renewable Diesel Imports Up 29% This Year
FERN’s Ag Insider reported Monday that “the United States imported near-record volumes of renewable diesel fuel in each of the first five months of this year, averaging 30,000 barrels a day, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The imports, which were 29% higher than in the same period in 2023, came from one producer, Neste, […]
USDA Projects Record Soybean, Corn Yields
The USDA on Monday said that US farmers will grow a record soybean crop in 2024, while national average yields for both corn and soybeans will set record highs. In its Crop Production Report on Monday, the USDA said that the national average soybean yield is estimated at 53.2 bushels per acre — 1.3 bpa […]
Cargill Streamlining After Missing Profit Goals
Reuters’ Amy Lv and Naveen Thukral reported at the end of last week that “global trading house Cargill will undergo structural changes after missing internal earnings goals, with plans to streamline operations into three units instead of five, according to an internal company document seen by Reuters and two company sources.” “Agricultural merchants like privately […]
State AGs Seek to Prevent Extra Warning Labels on Weedkillers
The Des Moines Register’s Donnelle Eller reported Thursday that “Iowa, Nebraska and nine other states filed a petition Wednesday with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, asking it to adopt a rule preventing states like California from adding warning labels to chemicals that exceed the federal agency’s findings about their potential hazards.” “The EPA regulates the […]
EPA Investigating Used Cooking Oil Import Authenticity
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported Wednesday that “the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched investigations into the supply chains of at least two renewable fuel producers amid industry concerns that some may be using fraudulent feedstocks for biodiesel to secure lucrative government subsidies.” “EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has launched audits over […]
Walz Brings Ag Committee Experience as VP Pick
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, a politician who the Hagstrom Report’s Jerry Hagstrom reported “has deep roots in agriculture, having been elected to the U.S. House (in 2007) from a mainly rural district in southern Minnesota and serving on the House Agriculture Committee until […]
US Cropland Values Up 37% Since 2020
FERN’s Ag Insider reported Monday that “U.S. cropland is worth an average of $5,570 an acre, an increase of $1,510, or 37 percent, since 2020, said the USDA’s annual Land Values report. The surge in land values accompanied the four highest years of net farm income, a gauge of profitability, for American farmers.” “The USDA […]
Cost Estimate Says House Farm Bill Will Raise Deficit
Agri-Pulse’s Philip Brasher reported this past week that “the House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill would boost the federal budget deficit by $33 billion over 10 years, according to an official cost estimate released Friday by the Congressional Budget Office, which refused to change its stance on a budget offset intended to fund changes to commodity […]
USDA Providing $2 Billion In Discrimination Payments
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported Wednesday that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it has issued $2 billion of financial assistance to more than 43,000 farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who experienced past discrimination in the agency’s farm lending programs.” “The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $2.2 billion for the discrimination payments. For decades, Black […]
Profit Downturn Continues for Global Ag Traders
Global bumper harvests, a downturn in crop markets and slowing demand for farm equipment are shrinking profits and lowering future outlooks for some of the world’s top crop traders and equipment manufacturers, including Bunge Global SA, CNH Industrial, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and AGCO Corp. Crop Traders Bloomberg’s Gerson Freitas Jr and Tarso Veloso reported that “bumper […]
CDC Plans $10 Million Spend to Curb Human Bird Flu Infections
Reuters’ Leah Douglas and Julie Steenhuysen reported Tuesday that “the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday it plans to spend $10 million to curb farm worker bird flu infections, including $5 million for seasonal flu vaccines, as part of its efforts to avoid further spread and mutation of the virus.” “The […]
US Wheat Yields Up Significantly Over 2023
Bloomberg’s Michael Hirtzer reported that “record-high wheat yields in North Dakota are set to further expand American grain supplies and should help to quell inflation for foods like bagels, where prices had recently started rising again.” “Dozens of wheat traders, millers and bakers fanned out across the state in an annual crop tour this week,” […]
Western Wildfires Threatening Farmers and Ranchers
CBS News’ Richard Ramos, Brandon Downs and Cecilio Padilla reported Sunday that “Northern California’s Park Fire has surpassed 360,000 acres burned as evacuation orders affect four counties—Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas.” “Cal Fire reported that containment increased to 12% on Sunday morning. The Park Fire is the largest wildfire in the state so far this […]
Albertsons-Kroger Merger on Hold, Bunge-Viterra Merger Headed for EU Approval
Bloomberg’s Leah Nylen reported Thursday that “a Colorado judge issued an order temporarily blocking the proposed $25 billion merger of Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos., which has been challenged by the state attorney general.” “At a hearing in Denver on Thursday, Judge Andrew J. Luxen granted a preliminary injunction halting the deal and cancelled a […]
Ag-FDA Funding Bill Pulled From House Floor Vote
Politico’s Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes reported Monday that “House Republicans have pulled two government funding bills scheduled for a floor vote this week, signaling further peril for leadership’s doomed efforts to pass all 2025 spending measures before the August recess.” “Republicans’ funding bill for the Agriculture Department and the FDA, in addition to the […]
What a Kamala Harris Presidency Could Mean for Ag
Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported Monday that “after Joe Biden’s bombshell announcement Sunday afternoon, a number of DNC delegates and other top Democrats — including the president himself — quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take over the top of the ticket. The vice president’s track record as a California attorney general, U.S. senator and […]