Markets

The notion of tariffs dates back to the first major law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1789 and has evolved over time.

The long-term downward spiral in the number of U.S. cattle farms and ranches informs us that our industry is in a severe crisis.

Cattle numbers are down in the United States and the cattle market is focused on providing incentives to cattlemen for herd rebuilding.

Members of Illinois Agri-Women gathered for their annual meeting to elect new officers, conduct association business and learn about several Illinois agricultural organizations.

The CattleFax Outlook Seminar, held as part of CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio, shared expert market and weather analysis.

Tariffs will not curtail imports, but they will help to rebalance trade by leveling the economic playing field between domestic cattle producers and producers from countries who enjoy less stringent production standards and lower currency valuations.

PepsiCo said that high prices and changing consumer tastes have weakened U.S. demand for its snacks and drinks, but it’s confident it can turn that around in the coming year.

Sharing our agricultural journey is not only rewarding, but also serves as an opportunity to educate and inspire others about the importance of farming in our daily lives.

Among the ways to improve profitability during times of lower prices and high input costs is to implement the 5% rule.

After a four-year run of substantial gains, agricultural land values in the Seventh Federal Reserve District saw a 1% annual decrease.

Other than a minor tweak in the wheat balance sheet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s domestic supply and demand estimates for the major crops were unchanged, but there were downward movements globally in the report.

Over his 30-year career, Tim Harris has never strayed far from his multigenerational family farm southeast of Princeton, but his volunteer work for various organizations and his impact expands far beyond Bureau County.

During the final stages of building the world’s first atomic bomb, scientists worried their new weapon might ignite the atmosphere and wipe out every living thing. Farmers are experiencing similar anxieties as efforts slash federal spending.

America’s farmers and ranchers are no strangers to uncertainty, but the challenges they face today call for immediate attention and decisive leadership.

Here we go again. Because of the avian influenza, many hens have had to be culled, leaving fewer to produce eggs. Supply and demand being what it is, the price of eggs has jumped up again because there are fewer eggs.

When you push markets one way with tariffs, you should expect an equal and opposite reaction from those same markets.

We shipped two loads of fat cattle this past week and will ship another this week. Two of these loads were sold cash, and for the first time ever, we sold cattle for more than $200 per hundredweight.

We have completed the shop renovation project we started a year ago and got the heaters installed. This overdue improvement is a game changer.

The weather hasn’t presented too many challenges this winter, so far, but we know better than to celebrate just yet. We are still in a near-desperation need for runoff rain.

The trade’s focus continues to be on U.S. exports and South American weather as the market continues to wade through winter.

The Mexican government repealed its ban on biotech corn imports from the United States.

U.S. corn growers harvested the highest quality crop in recent years across several categories in 2024.

We need your help in convincing Congress and the administration to help reverse the decline of our nation’s cattle and sheep farms and ranches, and your calls and letters to Congress will certainly help.

The Waffle House restaurant chain is putting a 50-cent per egg surcharge in place because of the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade.

Now is the time to plan your day — or days — at the National Farm Machinery Show Feb. 12-15 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

With U.S. and Illinois pork producers being some of the first to be impacted directly by news coming out of Washington, D.C., Jennifer Tirey is ready to arm producers and allied industry with timely information.

Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the surge in demand as Easter approaches.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced $14.7 million in federal grant funding will be used to extend the state’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program beyond June 30.

The Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, platform is generating a lot of interest in how our food is produced. Farmers and ranchers welcome a healthy discussion — we always have.

Indiana and Illinois winter wheat acreage increased slightly from last year.

My father began retiring long before the sale of our farm’s dairy cows in 1989. Began is the appropriate word because his exit from dairy farming was “slower than molasses in January,” as he liked to say. Years slow, in fact.

Ukraine continues to be a major player in global agricultural markets, despite three years of military attacks by Russia.

Corn and soybean prices for this marketing year are projected below the 20-year average, but expenses aren’t following the trend.

Brooke Rollins was confirmed as secretary of agriculture, placing a close ally of President Donald Trump into a key position at a time when mass deportation plans could lead to farm labor shortages and tariffs could hit exports.

The day after Congress certified Donald Trump’s election as president, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted unannounced raids throughout Bakersfield, California, descending on businesses where day laborers and field workers gather. The impact was immediate.

Mexico and the European Union announced a revamped trade agreement that they said would substantially increase trade and investment, days before the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

I have said it many times: farming is not an easy life’s work and certainly not for the faint of heart. Farming can push you to your physical and emotional limits. It can nearly kill you. It can save your life.

Dairy producers may see differences in their milk checks from changes that are included in the Federal Milk Marketing Orders referendum.

Smithfield Foods’ CEO hopes everything the company has done to make working in its plants more attractive since COVID tore through the industry will help it weather the impact of President Donald Trump’s promised mass deportations.

The new year always feels like a fresh start, a time to plan for the months ahead and think about what needs to get done.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the 2025 enrollment periods for key safety-net programs — Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage, as well as Dairy Margin Coverage.

Adding sustainable aviation fuel to the list of products made from corn and soybeans may help increase profits for U.S. farmers.

A report on sustainable aviation fuel issued by Canada’s National Farmers Union makes a CO2-tight case that this largely crop-based, “renewable” alternative to today’s carbon-heavy jet fuel should never be produced.

In a tough farm economy like this one, having the right crop insurance coverage to protect your farming operation and manage your risk is even more important.

The ebb and flow of crop prices creates a never-ending challenge for farmers’ financial positions.

Lower than expected corn and soybean production pushed ending stocks downward in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Jan. 10 supply and demand report estimates.

The quarterly survey of on-farm and off-farm storage found corn stocks lower and soybean and wheat stocks higher compared to 12 months ago.

U.S. farmers harvested the second-largest corn and soybean crops on record last fall, improving carries in the futures market and lifting the margin outlook for grain elevators storing corn and soybeans.

U.S. dairy exports are approaching record levels as consumer demand for dairy products in Mexico continues to outpace the country’s production.

This past year marked my second full year serving as executive vice president at the American Farm Bureau Federation and it has been inspiring to see our organization flourish as we serve farmers and ranchers.