A Two-Pronged Plan to Boost Ag Exports and Ag Economy
Agricultural exports. It remains a vital part of the total U.S. economy, with sales projected for 2026 to be at $173 billion. Needless to say, that number could rise by the end of the year if exports increase beyond forecast, like what occurred in 2025. How might that happen? One strategy has a two-pronged approach. Th...
Questions Remain After Trump Tariffs Overturned
Reaction came swiftly after the Supreme Court's Friday 6-3 ruling striking down President Trump's tariffs, but many questions remain. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley expects trade deals made already that boost beef, pork, corn, soybeans, and ethanol to survive. But he's cautious. "I will bet you that a lot of these co...
Brooks Schaffer Market Report for Tuesday, Feb. 24th
This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at brooks@palmettograin.com or 843-540-4540. Sometimes we go a week without a market-moving headline, and sometimes we get a couple weeks' worth in a day or two. Last week was the latter. Thursday morning, USDA released its baseline project...
Soybean Markets Back and Forth After Supreme Court Decision
The commodity markets had an interesting reaction to the Supreme Court striking down President Trump's tariffs last week. Ted Seifried, the vice president and chief market strategist with Zaner Ag Hedge in Chicago, said there are questions that need to be answered after last week. "I think the biggest question in ...
Ag Leaders Growing Restless Waiting for Farm Bill
House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson released the long-overdue text of the revised Farm Bill last week, and ag leaders are saying it's about time for Congress to get busy revising the outdated 2018 iteration. North Carolina Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler says while some ag provisions were included in last ye...
Keeping Somatic Cell and PI Counts in Check on Dairy Farms
There is so much that goes into keeping dairy cattle healthy. Daniela Roland, a dairy educator for Penn State University Extension, said it's important not to cut corners and skip the post dip she recommends after milking. "Post-dipping is equally as important, too. I'd like to remind farmers that the teat end can...
Limited Gains on Drought Map After Weekend Storm
So, this past weekend, we had something that we had not seen around here in the Carolinas for many months: a round of good, old-fashioned rain. But did it improve any of the drought maps here in the Carolinas? We've got State Climatologist Corey Davis here. Corey, like we were talking about last week, a nice inch, two ...
What's Ahead for Fertilizers in 2026?
Fertilizer industry experts have been watching the prices for all kinds of nitrogen sources during the winter months. The question is what they're seeing as we draw closer to the start of spring fertilization and planting. Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer for StoneX, talked about what he's seeing as we head ...
Beef Flowing Between Mexico and the U.S. May Be Changing?
The southern U.S. border has been closed to livestock imports from Mexico for more than a year, thanks to the New World Screwworm marching northward through Mexico. With very tight cattle supplies in the U.S., what would be the effect of reopening the border on cattle numbers in America? Scott Varilek, a broker with Ko...
National FFA Week Celebrates Students and Changes Lives
Around the nation, FFA members are celebrating National FFA Week, February 21-28. Layten Sobieski, the state sentinel on the Wisconsin State FFA Officer Team, talked about his first FFA experience. "My FFA experience started when I was a freshman in high school by simply taking an agriculture course. While having ...