Top Agriculture News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the U.S. and most of the world to one between the U.S. and China.Global markets surged on the development, but the precise details of Trump’s plans to ease tariffs on non-China trade partners were not immediately clear.

The forecast for farming in 2025 and beyond is not a good one, according to one of the country’s leading ag economists. Dr. Joe Outlaw is a professor and extension economist at Texas A&M University, and his most recent survey of farmers doesn’t look promising. “That outlook is something we present to Washington every year, […]

Not only is planting season getting underway, but invasive species are also on the move this time of year, but there are things you can do to help prevent that. Catherine Bronsky, a plant protection expert with USDA APHIS, says April has been designated Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month. “Invasive insects and plant […]

China is hitting back at U.S. tariffs with its own duties on American commodities. Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association, offered his initial reaction to the new Chinese duties on goods like soybeans. “We’re very concerned because exports are the heart and soul of the soybean industry here in the United States. We […]

The South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers has just wrapped up something of a marathon session of meetings, taking about a day and a half to talk about strategic planning for agriculture in South Carolina. First of all, what brought this all about, and what happened? “Well, we’ve been thinking about it for months […]

Agritourism is growing in North Carolina, and to find out just how much well, I’ll pose that question right now to Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler and Commissioner, springtime is definitely here. The pollen is proving it, and along with it comes folks getting outside to enjoy the warmer temperatures. And a lot of folks are […]

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. The outside markets continue to get hammered due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs Trump announced last week. The market was expecting something reciprocal but immediately questioned the validity of the metrics used to calculate what tariffs […]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he won’t back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S. He’s digging in on his plans to implement the taxes that have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and upended the global trading system. Speaking to reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One, Trump said he didn’t want global markets to fall, but also that he wasn’t concerned about the massive sell-off either, adding, “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” His comments came after Trump’s aides sought to soothe market concerns by saying more than 50 nations had reached out about launching negotiations to lift the tariffs.

Immigration reform is something the agricultural industry has been pushing for several years now. And recently, U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse says we might be moving in that direction. “So, we’re looking at ways that we can reform our visa programs to better suit today’s agriculture so that the workers that we have can rest assured […]

Raleigh, NC (April 4, 2025) — The North Carolina Pork Council and Smithfield Foods donated $30,000 and 30,000 pounds of pork products to the MANNA FoodBank to fight hunger in North Carolina communities. Smithfield’s 30,000-pound protein donation was made up of ready-to-eat items including lunch meat, hams and smoked sausage, and was the equivalent of 120,000 […]