Top Agriculture News

It was announced last week that Tyson plans to shut down another food production facility—this time, a pork production plant in Perry, Iowa. That plant has nearly 1,300 employees and kills about 8,000 head a day. “The market has not crumbled on this news. To me, that is supportive long-term.”  That’s Karl Setzer with Consus […]

It’s certainly feeling like spring, in fact maybe late spring more so than March right now. I’m talking with Corey Davis from the State Climate Office of North Carolina about this and unseasonably warm temperatures at least during the daytime this week. “Especially over the last week we had been climbing through the upper 60s […]

This is the Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. Corn and soybean markets are working hard to gain some ground. Even with some bearish news to digest corn and beans are showing decent strength. It was worth noting that as of the last commitment of traders report, […]

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production; Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals; and California’s extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it’s time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Iowa remains the top producer of hogs in the United States, with about $10.9 billion in cash receipts in 2022, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. Following Iowa are Minnesota, North Carolina, and Illinois, with cash receipts of $3.6 billion, $3.1 billion, and $2.1 billion, respectively. Iowa accounted for about 35.5 percent of the $30.6 […]

The federal appropriations process could pave the way for other pieces of legislation of important, like the farm bill. Representative Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican, and former House Ag Chairman, explains. “There are so many things like the Farm Bill, reauthorizing the Weather Act, NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), there are so many pieces of legislation […]

USDA’s final ‘Product of the USA’ rule will allow farmers to label meat, poultry and egg products when they are born, raised and processed in the United States. RJ Layher, American Farm Bureau Federation Government Affairs Director, explains. “USDA on March 11 released a final rule on voluntary labeling for ‘Product of the USA’ or […]

Parasites will be close by when cattle are out on pasture. Good pasture management and a strategic deworming protocol can limit the chances of parasites affecting the efficiency and performance of your beef herd. Dr. D.L Step, a professional services veterinarian with Boehringer-Ingelheim, talks about protocols that will help control parasite problems during grazing season. […]

In the latest USDA Ag Export forecast, a stronger dollar and competition are the two primary reasons for U.S. ag export expectations declining to 170.5 billion dollars. Well below the 2022 amount of more than 196 billion. Meanwhile, ag imports are set in 2024 to increase by about five and a half billion dollars, to […]

Rabobank released its first-quarter dairy report for 2024. Lucas Fuess, a senior dairy analyst for Rabo AgriFinance, says he’s cautiously optimistic when describing the U.S. dairy industry. “We’ve seen seven consecutive months of lower milk production, so we’re a little bit tighter from the supply side of things. The issue we’re seeing is that this […]