Argentina could see the largest expansion of soybean planting in more than a decade in the 2024-25 planting season, while Brazil’s soybean plantings are expected to grow at the slowest pace in a decade during the same time frame. Reuters’ Maximilian Heath reported that “Argentine farmers are likely to plant more soybeans in the current […]
Farm Policy News
Panama Canal Increasing Ship Traffic After Drought
Bloomberg’s Michael D McDonald reported on Tuesday that “the Panama Canal is lifting restrictions that caused a global shipping bottleneck as water levels normalize after a severe drought.” “The Panama Canal Authority increased the draft in the waterway to a maximum 50 feet and will allow 36 vessels a day to transit after recent rains […]
US Ag Trade Deficit Projected to Top $42 Billion
FERN’s Ag Insider reported earlier this week that “the U.S. food and ag trade deficit will soar to a record $42.5 billion in the fiscal year opening on Oct. 1, fueled by steadily growing consumer demand for imported fresh produce, alcohol, coffee, and sugar, said USDA economists on Tuesday. It would be the third year […]
Judge blocks Biden rule on H-2A workers unionizing
Reuters’ Daniel Wiessner reported Tuesday that “a federal judge in Georgia has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a rule that bars employers from retaliating against farmworkers who are in the U.S. on temporary H-2A visas and trying to form unions in 17 Republican-led states.” “U.S. District Judge Lisa Wood in Brunswick, Georgia, said on […]
Kroger-Albertsons Merger Trial Underway with FTC
Reuters’ Jody Godoy and Deborah Bloom reported that “the U.S. Federal Trade Commission kicked off a trial on Monday in its bid to block Kroger’s $25 billion merger with Albertsons, telling a federal judge in Portland, Oregon, that the deal would eliminate competition between the top grocery store chains and hit consumers’ wallets.” “The FTC […]
Pro Farmer Tour Finds ‘Spectacular’ US Soybean Crop
Pro Farmer Editors reported on Friday that “Pro Farmer estimates the U.S. corn crop at 14.979 billion bushels using an average yield of 181.1 bushels per acre. We estimate the U.S. soybean crop at 4.740 billion bushels at an average yield of 54.9 bushels per acre.” “The national estimates above reflect Pro Farmer’s view on […]
Canadian Government Orders Arbitration to End Rail Stoppage
The Associated Press’s Rob Gillies and Josh Funk reported Thursday evening that “freight trains in Canada could be running again within days after the government forced the country’s two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union Thursday, a move aimed at averting potentially dire economic consequences across the country and in the U.S. if […]
Democratic Platform Calls for Net-Zero Ag Emissions by 2050
Farm Progress’s Joshua Baethge reported Tuesday that “Democrats are vowing to reduce agriculture emissions to net-zero by 2050. The declaration is part of the party’s 2024 platform released Monday to coincide with its national convention. It calls for expanded federal programs to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners pursue ‘high-productivity, lower-emission, and generative agricultural practices,’ […]
EPA Finalizes Endangered Species Herbicide Strategy
Agri-Pulse’s Steve Davies reported Tuesday that “EPA’s final herbicide strategy, designed to protect more than 900 species listed as threatened or endangered, includes more options for growers and reduces the burden on applicators compared to the draft released last year, the agency said Tuesday.” “EPA identified a handful of mitigation measures that, when used on […]
Canadian Rail Stoppage Looms This Week
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 […]
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 […]