Blogs

  • Ag Policy Blog

    Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small speaking at Minnesota's Farmfest last month. Torres Small is in Brazil for a G20 agricultural minister's meeting and bilateral talks with Brazilian officials. (DTN photo by Chris Clayton)
    Posted by Jerry Hagstrom , DTN Political Correspondent

    USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small told DTN that when she will hold a bilateral meeting with Brazilian officials. Torres Small said the Brazilian 18% tariff on ethanol is unfair because the United States has only a 2% tariff.

  • Market Matters Blog

    DTN's weekly spot price for domestic distillers dried grains for the week ended Sept. 12 is steady on average versus one week ago. (DTN file photo)
    Posted by Mary Kennedy , DTN Basis Analyst

    DTN's weekly average spot price for domestic distillers dried grains is steady versus one week ago.

  • South America Calling

    Estimated soil moisture is very short in all but a few spots in all of South America. (NOAA/CPC graphic)

    Soil moisture across most of South America is very low for this time of year. Only small areas of the continent's growing areas are having luck with precipitation so far this spring.

  • An Urban's Rural View

    After peaking in 2022, U.S. ag exports have been declining. (DTN chart of USDA Outlook data)
    Posted by Urban C Lehner , Editor Emeritus

    USDA says 20% of U.S. ag production by value is exported. Some farmers wish we grew only for domestic consumption. Many others wish we exported more.

  • Ag Weather Forum

    Dryness and drought in the contiguous U.S. more than doubled in areal coverage during the summer. (U.S. Drought Monitor graphics)
    Posted by Bryce Anderson , Ag Meteorologist Emeritus

    Mid-September rain prospects offer variable and limited easing of dryness for northern and eastern U.S. crop areas.

  • Production Blog

    Gibberella ear rot can be identified most readily by the red or pink color of the mold. It almost always begins at the tip of the ear. (Photo by Charles Woloshuk, Purdue University)
    Posted by Jason Jenkins , DTN Crops Editor

    Don't let Gibberella ear rot complicate harvest this fall. Scout now to identify fields where issues may arise.

  • Fundamentally Speaking

    Chart by Joel Karlin, DTN Contributing Analyst
    Posted by Joel Karlin , DTN Contributing Analyst

    Percent change in the U.S. and top 18 soybean growing states ratings as of the beginning of this month vs. the first week of September ratings a year ago and also the percent change in yields from the August 2024 USDA projection vs. the final 2023 yields also for each of...

  • Ethanol Blog

    Agriculture and biofuels groups joined an industry coalition of more than 50 groups in filing a 104-page brief in a case challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's tailpipe emissions rule. (DTN file photo)

    More than 50 groups including agriculture and biofuels interests joined a coalition of industries in challenging the Biden administration's tailpipe emissions standards that they say illegally targets the elimination of liquid fuels.

  • Sort & Cull

    The cattle complex continues to remain under pressure, which is agonizing as cow-calf producers head into the fall run. (DTN file photo by Jim Patrico)
    Posted by ShayLe Stewart , DTN Livestock Analyst

    The cattle complex has been challenged since the beginning of July, which has cow-calf producers worried about this fall's market.

  • Minding Ag's Business

    A federal appeals court issued a ruling on an ongoing legal dispute involving attorneys' fees awarded in the Syngenta corn settlement. (DTN file photo)
    Posted by Todd Neeley , DTN Environmental Editor

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit last month rejected appeals filed by attorneys who represented farmers in the Syngenta corn settlement. The attorneys for years have been contesting court allocations of compensation for legal fees in the case.

  • Editors' Notebook

    (DTN image)
    Posted

    We're hearing combines are warming up in the Midwest, while things stay hot and dry for South American plantings. A critical WASDE report hits Thursday. Plus, a chance to meet us at a farm show this week.

  • Technically Speaking

    This is a daily chart of November soybeans, showing an extreme oversold condition and trading just above Friday's contract low. (DTN ProphetX chart)
    Posted by Dana Mantini , Senior Market Analyst

    November soybeans have been battered and beaten up. The market was already reeling when USDA came up with one million additional acres of soybeans planted and a record yield of 53.2 bpa. In the past few weeks, soybeans have registered new contract lows as funds reveled in...

  • Canada Markets

    (DTN graphic by Nick Scalise; photos by Elaine Shein)

    For Alberta, in the provincial early yield estimates, regional dryland crop yield estimates are at or below the 5- and 10-year averages, with the exception of a higher-than-average yield expectation reported for the South Region as of July 30. In Saskatchewan, as of July 29, the...

  • MachineryLink

    The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a watch for a minor-level geomagnetic storm this weekend (DTN image courtesy of the Space Weather Prediction Center)

    The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a minor-level geomagnetic storm watch for this weekend. A storm of this intensity will have little to no impact on farming guidance systems.