The U.S. National Weather Service says that the nation has just experienced the wettest 12 months in the 124 years of the agency’s recordkeeping. Last month was the wettest May on record and the second wettest of all recorded months since 1895. As a result, a wide swath of land is unable to be planted to the principle crop of corn. What is being sown is confusion, much of it with its basis in government policy.
The 1996 Farm Bill is known informally as the “Freedom to Farm Act.” For the first time, the government made direct payments to farmers regardless of what seeds they put into the ground. The concept lost support within two years as weather and the Asian financial crisis wreaked havoc, and the fixed payments prove...
What You Need to Know Today: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured reelection on Sunday, defeating right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro despite trailing in the first round of voting. The surprise victory triggered a sharp selloff in Brazilian financial market...
The 2026 midterm elections are a week from tomorrow, but early voting has been taking place for weeks. At stake is control of Congress, including the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are contested, and the Senate, where approximately one-third of the seats are up for election. Farm...
Key Takeaways: Total U.S. crop acres (excluding hay) are forecast to expand fractionally this year due to greater oilseed crop and winter wheat plantings. One of the key drivers of this year’s crop outlook is input costs, and crops with a lower cost profile have an advantage in producers...
