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Southern Rust spreads through Corn Belt… If one picture is worth a thousand words, then the video Iowa farmer Dan Striegel shot last week must be worth thousands more. In the video, Striegel is shown harvesting a field of emerald-green corn enveloped in a cloud of orangish-red southern rust.
“We were just getting that field opened up, and I looked over and saw that dust boiling up out of the chopper, so I shot the video,” Striegel says.
The Crop Protection Network continually updates its online, interactive map showing the counties by state where southern rust infections are confirmed. Now, in late August, the counties look like red steppingstones. They form a checkered path from southwest Michigan through northern Illinois and Indiana, into southern Wisconsin, across all of Iowa and nearly two-thirds of the way across Nebraska. Eastern South Dakota is also lit up with a string of red counties, as are parts of southern to central Minnesota.
Click here to see the map and read the full post from Rhonda Brooks titled, “Southern Rust Set To Take Big Bite Out Of Midwest Corn Crop,” on AgWeb.com.
Secretary Rollins announces plan to counter veterinarian shortage… STARKVILLE, Miss.—U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced today [Aug. 28] a Rural Veterinary Shortage Action Plan to address critical needs relating to food animal health and large animal care in rural areas during her visit to Mississippi State University.
“We are enhancing and streamlining USDA’s veterinary grant programs. We’re making an additional $15 million available for the veterinary medicine loan repayment program and streamlining the application process to collect less information and allow submission via an online portal. Second, we are commissioning new economic research to analyze and project veterinary shortages in rural areas, especially for food animal veterinarians. Third, USDA is pursuing strategies to make federal service more attractive for our vets to create a direct pipeline into public service. And lastly, we will work with veterinary schools—including the great one right here in Starkville and across the country—to increase recruitment from rural America. Our ranchers can’t do their jobs without skilled veterinarians,” Rollins said. -source MSU Press Release
NCGA analyses correlation between corn price and inflation… According to the National Corn Growers Association, when historical costs to grow corn are indexed to 2025 dollars, there are two historical periods in which costs have been relatively higher than the current 2022 to 2025 period: 1975 to 1985 and 2012 to 2016. In other words, inflation adjusted cost of production for corn has been consistently high since 2012. In that time, market year average corn prices were relatively very low in all but three years (2012, 2021, and 2022).
While NCGA maintains a persistent focus on driving additional sources of demand for U.S. corn in effort to improve the outlook, it is also analyzing input costs that remain near record highs.
For the 1975 to 1985 period, the average annual production cost in 2025 dollars was $1,082 per acre. The median market-year average price of those years was $2.52 per bushel of corn. If those prices were in 2025 dollars the median would be $10.51. While these costs are likely comparative to what some corn growers with higher-than-average production costs are seeing today, it does not seem feasible that the inflation-adjusted price would be offered today anywhere in the country reflecting the weak correlation of corn price and inflation. -source NCGA Press Release
Safety First on the road this holiday weekend… OMAHA, NE (August 28, 2025) – To ensure safer roads during the busy Labor Day holiday weekend, AAA is activating its ‘Tow to Go’ program in Nebraska, Iowa and other select states. The service will operate from 6:00 PM on Friday, August 29, 2025, through 6:00 AM on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, providing free, confidential rides for impaired drivers and their vehicles within a 10-mile radius.
Since its inception over 25 years ago, ‘Tow to Go’ has been instrumental in saving lives, removing nearly 30,000 impaired drivers from the road. By offering the program over one of the year’s busy travel weekends, AAA underscores its commitment to preventing alcohol-related crashes, which remain a leading cause of roadway fatalities.
Call (855) 2-TOW-2-GO or (855) 286-9246
“Labor Day is meant for celebration, not tragedy,” said Brian Ortner, spokesman for AAA - The Auto Club Group. “Impaired driving accounts for one-third of all traffic deaths year-round. Simple actions like planning a designated driver or using programs like ‘Tow to Go’ can save lives. At AAA, we are committed to offering this critical safety lifeline to protect families and prevent needless loss during the holiday.”
Notable closes:
Fat and feeder cattle futures declined moderately on the day after scoring fresh highs yesterday. USDA reported net beef sales of 13,600 MT for 2025, up 34% from the previous week.
- October live cattle fell $2.60 to $236.92 1/2
- December live cattle dropped $2.30 to $238.60
- September feeders softened $3.60 to close at $361.80
Lean hog futures were higher despite cash and wholesale weakness. USDA reported net pork sales of 42,400 MT for 2025, up 53% from the four-week average.
- October hogs gained 37 ½ cents to 94-27 1/2
- December hogs firmed 47 ½ cents to close at 86-97 1/2