Drought conditions worsened across several important U.S. agricultural regions in the National Drought Status released October 1. Based on conditions through September 29, 59.38% of the contiguous United States was classified as being in drought. Deterioration was reported across Texas and Oklahoma, the Lower Midwest, Lower Mississippi River region and Southeast, while some areas of […]
USDA’s latest Grain Stocks and Small Grains Summary reports, released on September 30, point to a much larger U.S. corn inventory and a considerably smaller wheat crop. Corn stocks totaled 2.095 billion bushels (about 53.2 million metric tons) on September 1, up 35% from a year earlier and well above the average trade estimate of […]
Picture a field that grows corn every year. The crop is planted, harvested, and planted again the next spring. Each season, the field is asked to do the same job in the same way: supply the same nutrients, grow the same kind of roots, and take in the same kind of crop residue. So why […]
New U.S. restrictions on selected Canadian goods, including dairy ingredients and whey products, took effect on September 29, adding another barrier to trade across the border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection began excluding the covered products from entry at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, and shipments presented after that deadline can be rejected. The measures also […]
China will cut tariffs on a broad range of U.S. agricultural products, including corn, wheat, sorghum, meat, dairy products, and vegetable oils and meals, according to a list its commerce ministry issued on September 28. The move follows last week’s Washington summit between President Xi and President Trump. The ministry said more than 90% of […]
U.S. grain and oilseed futures fell on September 25 as traders weighed improving Black Sea export prospects, a stronger dollar, and the lack of fresh agricultural purchase commitments from China following the September 24 summit between President Trump and President Xi in Washington. The most active Chicago Board of Trade wheat contract dropped 2.1% to […]
Pesticides are used across agriculture to protect crops, stored products, land, and other farm resources from organisms that can cause damage. But the word describes a category, not a single product or method: a herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide are designed for very different problems, and treating them as one thing is where mistakes start. A […]
Canada has updated its temporary import requirements for U.S. romaine lettuce from September 24 to December 17, 2026, as part of measures addressing the risk of E. coli O157. For romaine from California’s Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey counties, as well as shipments without proof of origin, importers can either obtain evidence […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced on September 23, 2026, that it has awarded $20 million to fund small business-led research through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The funding is designed to accelerate high-quality research addressing pressing challenges and opportunities […]
Does this field need water today? For most farms, the answer still comes from a calendar, not from the field itself. Soil conditions, crop type, heat, wind, cloud cover, rainfall, and recent irrigation all change what a crop actually needs on any given day. Smart irrigation offers another approach: instead of watering on a fixed […]
