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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.

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 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 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.

Farmers were slightly less optimistic about the economy in December compared to November, according to the latest reading of the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

We took a little break from the basketball season to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with a bunch of gatherings of family and friends. Cow work gets sandwiched in where a little time and help allows.

The 2024 crop production summary turned the corn and soybean price trade screens green, including larger boosts for old crop.

Corn and soybean yield records were not as widespread in the “I” states as was previously projected in late fall.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds specialty crop producers to apply for assistance for food safety certification expenses.

By far the biggest lender to U.S. farmers, ranchers and rural businesses is the Farm Credit System whose four banks and 56 associations hold nearly 50% of all debt in rural America.

The Fort Wayne Farm Show, to be presented Jan. 14-16 by Tradexpos at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, will feature daily educational seminars provided by Northeastern Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Purdue Extension.

Congress approved a one-year extension to the 2018 farm bill late on Dec. 20 that included nearly $31 billion in disaster and economic assistance for farmers and ranchers.

Agriculture groups are grateful that Congress extended the 2018 farm bill for another year, but urge lawmakers to stay focused on new, modernized legislation that recognizes the many changes and challenges of the past six years.

Family farms accounted for 96% of total U.S. farms and 83% of the total value of production, according to the Agricultural Resource Management Survey.

The 25th annual First State Bank Ag Conference, a special forum for area farmers, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 23 at the Mendota Civic Center.

Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South.

Florida agriculture suffered more than $190 million in losses from Hurricane Milton, making it the costliest for farmers and ranchers of three cyclones that pummeled the state in 2024, according to University of Florida researchers.

A trade dispute panel ruled that Mexico’s decree to ban genetically modified corn imports violate the conditions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Leaders from the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health shared global trends in the soy market in 2025 and beyond.

Greensburg farmer Tim Gauck was reelected as president of the Indiana Corn Marketing Council, the state’s corn checkoff program.

Global soybean supplies that are already at high levels are expected to grow in the first months of 2025.

Bolstered by surprises in the December supply and demand estimates report, corn enters 2025 with strengths in exports and ethanol demand.

Dairy checkoff initiatives of 2024 successfully increased dairy access in schools, expanded market share for U.S. dairy products and supported the industry’s longstanding commitment to sustainability.

Before 2024 slides into history, some noteworthy farm and food updates, please, to ensure these stories go with it.

As a farmer and rancher, I’ve learned to count on the seasons. They don’t wait. The crops don’t hold off until it’s convenient, and the livestock don’t adjust their needs to fit my schedule.

Digital agriculture is the next wave of technology that will help farmers increase their production and improve their management decisions.

The two most important forces shaping the cooperative business model are future farmers and talent management.

Though growth in economic activity was generally small, expectations for growth rose moderately across most geographies and sectors across the Federal Reserve Districts.

Year-over-year winter wheat production declined, while oats were up in Illinois, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual production summary for 2024.

A newly formed institute at Purdue University is offering training and development support to agriculture producers with novel food and beverage product ideas.

Indiana Soybean Alliance Board Directors Mike Koehne and C.J. Chalfant were elected to leadership positions with the Soy Transportation Coalition during the group’s meeting in Alabama.

Over three-quarters of surveyed consumers say they have noticed shrinkflation at the grocery store, according to the latest Consumer Food Insights Report.

Cattle and sheep graze on permanent pasture, cover crops and crop residue on Pasture Grazed Regenerative Farm in northern Illinois.

The general manager of locally-owned ethanol plant was the recipient of the Illinois Corn Growers Association’s Ethanol Award.

A public hearing for a proposed wheat checkoff was held at the Illinois Department of Agriculture. The proposal calls for a 1.5-cent checkoff per bushel of wheat sold in Illinois.

For the first time since the end of 2019, farmland values in the 7th Federal Reserve District did not see a year-over-year increase.

Nearly every autopsy of Vice President Kamala Harris’s stinging White House defeat begins with some variation of the phrase, “Voters pointed to the rising price of food as their chief concern.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service unveiled a new easement option that offers long-term protection of the land and ensures timely transfer of ownership to qualified producers.

This year’s Greater Peoria Farm Show will include a new Kubota Sidekick UTV giveaway and the new University of Illinois Extension seminar series.

The U.S. agriculture sector is responsible for nearly 6% of the nation’s gross national product, yet it is operating on farm bill policy set six years ago.

Harvest may be finished on Clay Geyer’s farm in northern Indiana, but his work is far from over.