An ag economist says some global transportation challenges are impacting the ag industry as the new year approaches.

As 2023 ends and farmers begin looking ahead to the new year next week, there are a few tax changes the IRS has lined up for 2024 farmers should keep on their radar.

Bayer snapped a run of five straight losses in Roundup trials with a jury verdict out of California finding it was not liable for a man’s cancer.

Many know the key to good health is eating a balanced diet, and in the case of cattle grazing cornstalks, their diet may need to be adjusted as the quality of the forage deteriorates, according to the experts at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute.

Farmers and agricultural landowners looking for assistance in creating succession plans for their properties have a new support available through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA).

The rail crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, are open again after a five-day closure that had halted grain shipments.

Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) made key procedural moves on several Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA) rulemakings by submitting them to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

An ag economist says the December Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report delivered both good and bad news for U.S. hog producers.

For those of us who call the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, "a second home," it's always a sad day to watch the last of the barges leave for the winter.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday announced that it is hiring 40 Climate Change Fellows to help with the record numbers of applications from farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses seeking funding for clean energy projects under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

An agricultural meteorologist says there’s moisture in the short-term forecast for portions of Brazil, but dry conditions are expected to return. Drew Lerner with World Weather Incorporated tells Brownfield “we think this pattern will continue at least until the second week of January. And then, maybe in late January, especially February and March, the weather pattern will become more normal, but that’s awful late in the season. There will perhaps be some negative impact on production for the year.”

n Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department increased the chances that corn-based ethanol and biomass-based diesel will soon be eligible for tax credits designed to encourage the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). See that news here: . USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said the SAF market has potential to reach 36 billion gallons per year, offering corn and soybean producers valuable access to a potentially large market at a time when the U.S. share of world export markets has suffered a three-decade decline. More specifics for the new proposal are due out by March 1, 2024.

Farm groups and ag lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated by the closure of two rail crossings at the U.S-Mexico border and say they haven't received any word of when the situation will be resolved. The rail closings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, are halting 1 million bushels of grain movement and costing the U.S. economy $200 million per day in lost sales, triggering a domino effect with the backlog of products to move where it is needed.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Thursday announced that state-specific use restrictions for three dicamba herbicide products will be in place for the 2024 growing season in Minnesota. The restrictions are aimed at curbing off-site movement of the products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday released its annual Automotive Trends Report, which shows that model year 2022 vehicle fuel economy reached a record high while emission levels dropped to record low levels. The report also shows that through the MY 2022 reporting period, all 14 large manufacturers are in compliance with the light-duty greenhouse gas program requirements.

It’s one of the biggest weeks of the year for livestock reports from the USDA. University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says this final round of reports from the USDA for 2023 has both cattle and hog producers waiting in anticipation.

OMAHA (DTN)-- USDA has opened enrollment for Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) for the 2024 crop year, but that doesn't mean farmers should force themselves into making a quick call on ARC and PLC. Decisions for the 2024 crop year are going to look a little different for ARC and PLC than in the past because the escalator for the effective reference price finally kicks in.

The Environmental Protection Agency says it will allow farmers to resume using chlorpyrifos insecticide on 11 crops in response to an appeals court ruling last month that the agency failed to adequately consider the safety of those uses. EPA says it will issue a proposed rule to formally revoke chlorpyrifos tolerances for all but the 11 crops: alfalfa, apple, asparagus, tart cherries, citrus, cotton, peaches, soybeans, strawberries, sugar beets and wheat. The November ruling by the 8th U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis vacated EPA regulations that revoked all tolerances for the insecticide.

The Renewable Fuels Association on Thursday joined dozens of agriculture and other organizations in asking U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to reopen two rail bridges to Mexico, in El Paso and Eagle Pass, that are critical to reaching export markets south of the border.

Earlier this year, MU implemented the $25 million, statewide Missouri CRCL Project — funding that more than half of is going directly to farmers in the form of eight tailored incentive payments to support the adoption of climate-smart practices.

A rule to allow year-round E15 sales in eight Midwest states is under final review. American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings tells Brownfield after nearly two years, EPA has sent the rule to the Office of Management and Budget. “We needed and wanted EPA to send this rule to OMB many months ago to be brutally honest, and that’s why they were sued by the attorneys general for Iowa and Nebraska. But December 19th, we’ll take it.”

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says Congress should look outside the nutrition title to address funding issues in the upcoming farm bill. The comments come as many Capitol Hill Republicans say there should be “more farm in the farm bill” and look to curb the growth of spending on nutrition assistance programs.

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to restore registration of the insecticide chlorpyrifos after a federal appeals court in November threw out the agency's complete ban on the chemical.

Decisions around sow barn remodeling, reducing sow herd inventory, and adjusting gilt flow are some of the challenges U.S. pork producers face as they explore and consider options to make farms compliant with California’s Proposition 12 requirements. A new resource from Iowa Pork Industry Center offers information for producers who plan to transition their own production.

A ruling by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service allows farmers and growers to run trials on corn plants developed by Insignum AgTech. These plants use naturally occurring pigment to signal when specific plant stresses begin.

Changes to student loan qualifications have raised concerns in the U.S. Senate. Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley says as high schoolers fill out Free Application for Student Aid forms so families can find out how much assistance is available for college, new criteria for the formula would treat family farms unfairly.

OMAHA (DTN) -- Koch Ag & Energy Solutions (KAES) announced Monday that it has reached an agreement to acquire OCI Global's nitrogen fertilizer plant in Wever, Iowa, for $3.6 billion. Once the transaction is finalized, KAES will have 100% ownership of the facility located along the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa. The plant was opened in 2017 and has the capacity to produce 3.5 million metric tons of nitrogen fertilizers and diesel exhaust fluid annually.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing tightened water discharge limits for some meat and poultry processing plants around the country, potentially forcing a few facilities to shut down. A preferred option laid out by the agency would tighten existing nitrogen limits and set the first phosphorus standard for plants that discharge directly into rivers and other bodies considered waters of the U.S.