Bird flu outbreaks are driving up egg and poultry meat prices far faster than usual, with eggs expected to cost 20% more and poultry 9% more this year than their 2021 averages, according to USDA. The department’s economists raised their forecasts of food inflation for the fourth month in a row, to...

U.S. corn and soybean plantings are close to normal after the slow start to the season. Still, delays due to wet weather persist in some areas, including northern portions of the Midwest and Plains. The USDA says that as of last Sunday, 86% of the corn crop is planted, compared to the five-year...

China’s push to achieve self-sufficiency, which has incentivized the nation to purchase, and even steal, agricultural assets in other countries, could present risks to the economic and national security of the United States, warns a report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission....

Last week’s Cattle on Feed (COF) report came with no real surprises as the market witnessed another detailing of record on-feed numbers and huge placements. However, one fact that we may overlook when diving into the intricate numbers of the COF report is: What are the numbers outside of the...

The president of Iowa Farm Bureau believes his state has laid the blueprint for an E15 standard. Brent Johnson stated, “There’s no doubt other states will be looking at the Biofuels Access Bill recently signed into law and want to emulate what Iowa has done. This is the first time that we’ve got an...

Ben Buckner, Chief Grains and Dairy Analyst for AgResource Co., acknowledged during a recent Professional Dairy Producers - Dairy Signal webinar that we have lost a lot of milk production all over the world due to high feed prices, declining dairy cow numbers, weather issues and a shortage of...

Following up on comments made by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a recent Senate hearing, USDA released plans to distribute an estimated $6 billion in crop disaster payments that will soon be sent to recipients based on crop insurance data. The new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) administered...

Bellwether (noun) definition: something that leads or indicates a trend. Example: “The wheat market is now a bellwether for the war in Ukraine.”

Nutrien Ltd. has announced that it is evaluating Geismar, Louisiana, as the site to build the world’s largest clean ammonia facility. Building on the company’s expertise in low-carbon ammonia production, clean ammonia will be manufactured using innovative technology to achieve at least a 90 percent...

The John Deere Foundation recently announced a $1 million donation to World Food Program USA. The donation is being made “to combat global food insecurity and address the staggering rise of acute hunger exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine,” the Foundation said in a press release. Half of the grant...

A small farm owner looking for a good meat hog that's easy to raise should consider the Hereford breed. A breed of pig developed 100 years ago in the Midwest is still around, but not very common. The Hereford hog was created from the Duroc, Chester White, and Poland China bloodlines. Small farmers...

Agricultural land values in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin collectively soared 23% from April 2021 to April 2022, according to the May edition of the Ag Letter from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The data comes from survey responses from agricultural bankers in this region,...

Overall, consumer prices in April were 8.3% higher than a year ago, and America’s families can expect inflation to continue putting pressure on their wallets for the next few years. American Farm Bureau Federation economists analyzed the inflation numbers in the latest Market Intel report. They...

The United Soybean Board (USB) released results of a new survey, highlighting consumer perceptions of U.S. soybeans, soybean farmers and the U.S. food supply chain. According to the survey, consumer support of domestic agriculture has only grown stronger, with 78% of consumers – an 8% increase...

In a May 3 phone interview with Ag Equipment Intelligence, United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 807 President Nick Guernsey said he told his members to expect to be out of work for 3-6 months.