Check our advice monitor on ProFarmer.com for updates to our marketing plan.
MAHA, EPA adjust stance on key crop tools… While the original Make America Healthy Again Commission report said glyphosate and other pesticides may have a negative impact on children’s health, the upcoming report will be different. The next MAHA Commission report will respect the regulatory frameworks that found glyphosate to be a safe product to use. Those words came from a high-ranking Environmental Protection Agency official at the American Sugar Alliance’s International Sweetener Symposium.
Nancy Beck, a deputy administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Protection, says it’s important to remember that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins are also members of the Commission.
Beck, a political appointee who has a lot of experience in government and the private sector, told members of the ASA that she couldn’t share the contents of the report, which is expected to be released soon. “We do know that pesticides are vital tools,” Beck said.
USDA’s Land Values Summary confirmed another increase in the value of U.S. farmland. Danny Munch, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Danny Munch put the rise at 4.3 percent or $180 per acre, Bringing the national average to a record high of $4,350 per acre.
Mr. Munch said quote, “This marks the fifth-consecutive year of land value increases, though the pace has slowed over the years.” Cash rents also hit record high levels, rising 0.6 percent to $161 per acre according to the summary.
Missouri River Runoff below average… July runoff in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, was two million acre-feet, 62 percent of the average. The annual runoff forecast above Sioux City is 19.2 million acre-feet, 75 percent of the average.
“Above-normal precipitation occurred in much of the basin, though areas of western Montana and Wyoming continue to be very dry,” said John Remus of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “The dry soil moisture, below-normal rainfall in the mountains, and below-normal mountain snowpack runoff have led to well below-average reservoir inflows into the Fort Peck and Garrison reaches on the river.”
The U.S. Drought Monitor indicated that 53 percent of the basin was not experiencing drought conditions, an improvement of 15 percent since July 1. The Drought Outlook indicates drought conditions are expected to persist or expand throughout the basin through the end of October. System storage on August 1 was down from July 1.
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Celebrates Twenty Years of U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard… WEST DES MOINES, IA – Today marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a landmark policy established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and signed into law by President George W. Bush. The RFS has played a pivotal role in shaping America’s energy landscape by cracking the petroleum monopoly and allowing increasing volumes of renewable fuels to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply.
“The RFS is the most profoundly positive and transformative energy policy since the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw. “The RFS has been instrumental in driving emissions reductions, enhancing American energy dominance, and strengthening rural economies across the country. It literally changed the landscape of American agriculture from two decades of government support into a market-driven juggernaut.” -source: IRFA press release
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index increased 1.6% in July, the highest level since February of 2023, as increases in prices for meat and vegetable oils offset declines in cost for cereals, dairy and sugar.
The closes according to AgriTalk…
December soft red winter wheat futures opened slightly lower and spiked resistance at yesterday’s high before dropping back to close near session lows. December hard red winter wheat saw a similar price performance after scoring a new high for the week.
- December HRW wheat futures were 4 1/2 cents lower at $5.37 1/4
- December SRW wheat down 4 cents to $5.35
-USDA this morning announced the sale of 125,000 metric tons of new-crop corn for deliver to “unknown destinations.”
Strong demand brought mid-week support to corn futures and had corn trading higher this morning. December corn opened slightly lower and rallied to spike resistance at $4.10 before prices reversed to post a low-range close.
- September corn futures were 1 3/4 cents lower at $3.82 3/4
- December corn down a-penny-and-a-half to $4.05 1/2
Soybean oil futures pulled bean prices to the downside. November soybean trade was choppy this week with prices stuck in the $9.80 to 10-dollar trading range.
- September beans were 6 ¼ cents lower at $9.67 3/4
- November beans down 6 1/4 cents to $9.87 1/2
December cotton futures nearly steady and dropped sharply to spike support at 66 cents and to trade to the lowest level since April 7. Prices then recovered to close higher and back on the top-side of support at the August 1 low of 66.34.
- December cotton today was 17 points higher to 66.60
A wave of selling overtook the cattle complex, but, remarkably, both fats and feeders still ended higher on the week. Guest Dan Huber from the Huber Report quipped to AgriTalk, “Anytime you have a market at highs like this, we never know what will upset the applecart.”
- October live cattle were $6.25 lower at $225.97 ½
- December live cattle down $5.70 to $227.92 ½
- September feeders plunged $9.25 to $340.37 ½.
- October lean hog futures were 25 cents lower at $90.67 ½
Your weekend read…
Richard Fee’s Iowa farmland, in row crops since the late 1800s, has disappeared. His federal farm number is token, according to county regulators.
“Using the letter of the law, they basically declared I have no farmland,” he insists. “They’ve come for my ground in the name of reclassification, and the end result is that my taxes will more than double.”
From a past of corn, soybeans, and livestock to a present of CRP and pasture, Fee’s acreage is no longer deemed agricultural, per county assessment.
Read Farm Journal wordsmith Chris Bennett’s article, “Iowa Family Fights County Over Loss of Farmland, Rejects Reclassification,” by clicking here.