Top Agriculture News

Last week, USDA rated more than 80% of the corn crop in three of the top 18 corn growing states as good to excellent. Those states include Pennsylvania, Iowa, and North Carolina, which has 82% rated good to excellent. Zach Webb is a Bayer technical agronomist, and says in his region of North Carolina, growers […]

(Washington, D.C., July 9, 2025)- Yesterday, Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality (SENASICA) reported a new case of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz in Mexico, which is approximately 160 miles northward of the current sterile fly dispersal grid, on the eastern side of the country and 370 miles […]

(Washington, D.C., July 9, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced today that agricultural producers who suffered eligible crop losses due to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 can now apply for $16 billion in assistance through the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP). To expedite the implementation of SDRP, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) […]

JOLANDA DI SAVOIA, Italy (AP) — Farmers in Italy’s northeastern Po Delta region are battling an unusual pest: flamingos. These birds have been invading rice paddies and damaging crops while searching for food like mollusks and insects. Farmers are using noisy tactics such as gas cannons and banging barrels to scare them off, but the birds often move to nearby fields. Some farmers report losing up to 90% of their crops. There have been no studies to determine why flamingos seek food inland where farmers flood fields from late spring to early summer. Ornithologists suggest humane solutions like planting hedges or lowering water levels in paddies to deter the birds while protecting the rice.

The department’s Cooperative Grading Service is looking to hire peanut graders for the upcoming peanut season. Twelve peanut grading job fairs will be held in Eastern NC starting mid-July. These seasonal jobs pay $15.50-$16 an hour with paid training provided.

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. Markets opened Sunday night with a bang after the Independence Day holiday, but it was not the direction we wanted. Corn and soybeans traded with some decent strength ahead of the holiday weekend. There were rumors that […]

The inaugural Tri-State Ag Expo is happening in Clemson SC on July 16 and 17 and Commissioner Weathers is here to tell us about it.

North Carolina farmers and others are without power and many have been displaced from their homes after getting pounded by the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal Sunday and Monday.  North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler says he and his staff are evaluating the situation. “The good news is it does not look like the […]

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Officials in North Carolina say heavy rain and flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal forced dozens of people to flee their homes. The Chapel Hill Fire Department and neighboring agencies completed more than 50 water rescues, many of them in areas where floodwaters entered or threatened to enter apartments. Chapel Hill officials said Monday that more than 60 people were displaced Sunday and Monday. In Orange County, the possibility of the failure of the Lake Michael Dam prompted officials to issue a voluntary evacuation for areas downstream. In Chatham County, Sheriff Mike Roberson warned residents that water may have subsided in some areas, but it was still dangerous to travel. He says officials were searching for some missing persons.

America’s specialty crop growers often face challenges that are unique to their segment of agriculture. John Walt Boatright, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, says USDA has acknowledged these challenges through the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops program. “It is a program designed specifically to help specialty crop growers deal with […]