Check our advice monitor on ProFarmer.com for updates to our marketing plan.
Rollins unveils 3-point trade plan… During remarks at the annual meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Last week, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins and USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg announced a new three-point plan to support American ag producers and exporters. The three points include a trade promotion program effective in 2026, a new approach to trade missions and credit guarantees to encourage exports to countries grappling with financial risks.
Lindberg noted, “Advancing these programs as supplements to our existing programs ensures the health, prosperity, and security of rural America, and our farmers, ranchers, and producers.”
Additionally, USDA will award $8.3 million in funding to help 11 U.S. recipients address their trade barriers and expand international market access for U.S. specialty crops. The funding is provided through the Foreign Agricultural Service, which manages the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program to help producers combat trade barriers and promote their goods internationally.
ASA fumes, but goodwill mission may soothe… The American Soybean Association says their frustration with the lack of trade with China is overwhelming, adding U.S. farmers cannot wait and hope any longer. ASA is calling on President Trump and his negotiating team to prioritize securing an immediate deal on soybeans with China. Earlier this week, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and other legislators requested a meeting with the President to discuss the need to encourage soybean exports.
Trade delegates from Taiwan have traveled to the U.S. this week on what has been called an ag trade mission of goodwill. According to U.S.-Taiwan Business Council head Rupert Hammond-Chambers reported quote, “The buying mission that they’ve got here at the moment is billions of dollars’ worth that is going to flow to American farmers. It’s very, very good news.” On a per capita basis, Taiwan is among the largest consumers of ag goods in the world.
Don’t get caught sleeping on NH3... If fall applications of anhydrous ammonia (NH3) are a go-to for your fertility program – or you expect them to be this year – consider calling your supplier asap to lock in product.
While application season is still some weeks away, waiting to buy NH3 could result in derailing your post-harvest nutrient game plan, according to Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer for StoneX.
Logistically, in order for you to have product ready to go, he says, application season is already here.
“We are kind of at zero hour. We’ve got to start making decisions on what we are and are not going to do,” Linville told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory earlier this week.
Read the full article by Rhonda Brooks titled, ‘Why Anhydrous Ammonia Demand Will Soar This Fall,’ on AgWeb.com
USDA examines fertilizer consumption… Between 2009 and 2013, total U.S. fertilizer consumption of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash trended upward, reaching 21 million metric tons in 2013, the highest level of fertilizer consumption since before the Great Recession began in 2007. Consumption dropped slightly in 2014 to 20 million metric tons before stabilizing through 2020.
In 2021, total fertilizer consumption fell by 9.4 percent year over year to 18.3 million metric tons. This drop was driven by the market impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, along with rising energy prices, supply chain disruptions, and trade restrictions.
Among the three nutrients, potash saw the biggest decline (down 11 percent), followed by phosphate (7 percent), and nitrogen (6 percent). Nitrogen fertilizer consumption volume is typically more than double the consumption of phosphate and potash. On average, from 2006 to 2023, nitrogen fertilizer consistently accounted for the largest share of fertilizer consumption in terms of volume at 59 percent. Potash made up 22 percent of fertilizer consumption by volume, and phosphate comprised 19 percent, with those shares remaining relatively stable during that time. -source: USDA Press Release
Low levels on the Big Muddy… Close to half of all U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat exports move through the Mississippi River system, making it one of the most important export corridors in the world. This inland waterway remains the most cost-effective way to connect Midwestern farms to foreign markets, ensuring U.S. agriculture can compete on price and reliability.
However, for the fourth consecutive year, historically low river levels are threatening that critical connection to global markets. Persistent drought has once again reduced the depth and width of the navigation channel, forcing barges to carry lighter loads, limiting tow sizes and pushing transportation costs higher. These conditions, arriving during the peak of harvest, are putting additional pressure on farmgate prices and raising concerns about the competitiveness of U.S. grain exports. -source: Daniel Munch, Economist, American Farm Bureau Federation
Notable closes…
Pork export sales of 29,400 metric tons were 12% ahead of the four-week average. October lean hogs posted a low-range open and spiked to a contract high before pulling back to a mid-range close.
- October hogs 67 ½ higher at $100.10
- December hogs up 50 cents to $88.62 ½.
Argentina raised the targeted $7 billion dollars with soybean sales to China and bean oil sales to India generating tax-free revenue. Now, export taxes should again be applied to grains and oilseeds sold by Argentina.
- November beans were 3 ¼ cents higher at $10.12 1/4
- January beans up 2 3/4 to $10.31 1/4
- March beans closed at $10.47 1/2, up 2 3/4 cents