Bird Flu Surging as Holiday Season Begins
As the holidays approach, bird flu is once again sweeping through commercial and backyard poultry flocks, infecting and killing more than 8.9 million turkeys, chickens, and ducks in the U.S…
USDA Set for First Crop Data Release Since September
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is set to release a hotly anticipated crop report, including the government's first estimates of the two feed crops since mid-September, before the…
USDA Will Release Nov. WASDE, Crop Production Reports
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) said on Friday that it will release several key agriculture reports in November, including a monthly crop supply and demand…
Gov’t Shutdown Hits Crucial Tools for Farmers, Commodity Traders
The government shutdown is creating financial heartburn for farmers across the country, stalling the delivery of farm loans, the release of critical market reports and the Trump administration’s plans for…
USDA Puts Researchers on Leave After Canceling Hunger Report
The team of federal economists and researchers responsible for producing the government survey that measures hunger in America were put on indefinite paid leave Monday from the USDA, according to…
USDA Again Increases Corn Planted Acreage, Production
The USDA this past Friday raised its 2025 U.S. corn production estimate to a record 16.814 billion bushels. It projected a record average yield of 186.7 bushels per acre, down…
USDA Projects Ag Trade Deficit Will Fall to $41.5 Billion in 2026
USDA’s quarterly trade outlook lowered the projected trade deficit for fiscal 2025 to $47 billion from the $49.5 billion estimated in June. The deficit is projected to drop to $41.5…
USDA Forecasts Record Corn Yield and Production
The USDA on Tuesday forecast a record corn crop at a whopping 16.7 billion bushels with record yields projected for corn at 188.8 bushels per acre -- shattering another record…
Ag Trade Deficit Hits Record High In First Half of 2025
The US agricultural trade deficit hit a record high in the first half of 2025, with the value of agricultural exports trailing that of imports by $4.1 billion in June…
Corn Futures Dipped Below $4 on Wednesday
Corn futures fell below $4 a bushel (on Wednesday) to the lowest level in about 11 months as favorable US weather continued to weigh on prices ahead of a key…
New-Crop US Soybean Export Sales at 20-Year Low
As of July 24, US soybean exporters had sold just over 3 million metric tons of soybeans for export in 2025/26, which begins September 1. That volume is a 20-year…
US July Cattle Herd Smallest Since 1973
There were about 94.2 million cattle and calves in the US as of July 1, the lowest mid-year count on record in data going back to 1973, the Department of…
California’s Prop 12 Increased Pork Prices, USDA Data Says
Republicans continued on Wednesday a years-long effort to override a 2018 California law that bans the sale in the state of pork from pigs kept in tightly confined spaces, arguing…
Beef Prices Soar to Record Highs in June
Ground beef prices across the U.S. continue to reach new highs, driven by shrinking cattle herds, with looming import restrictions threatening to push costs even higher. The average price of…
Ag Trade Deficit Reaches Record High $20 Billion Through April
From January through April, the United States imported $78.2 billion in agricultural products while exporting just $58.5 billion. This $19.7 billion deficit is the largest ever recorded for the first…
Integrity of USDA Data Questioned After Trade Report Redaction
Analysts voiced concerns this week about the integrity of U.S. Department of Agriculture reports after the agency delayed a report and excluded findings that point to tariffs as a reason…
US Retail Egg Prices Fell 12.7% in April
The Associated Press' Dee-Ann Durbin reported that "U.S. retail egg…
Corn Acres Will Top 95 Million in 2025, USDA Says
Bloomberg's Michael Hirtzer reported Monday that "US farmers are boosting…
Analysts Expect 4 Million More Corn Acres in 2025
Progressive Farmer's Rhett Montgomery reported that "on Monday, March 31, USDA…
Tariffs Threaten Shift to Higher Corn Acres in 2025
Bloomberg's Kim Chipman reported late last week that "President Donald…