The Federal Trade Commission announced a challenge to Kroger’s $24.6 billion proposed acquisition of Albertsons, arguing the move would raise grocery prices for consumers and threaten workers’ livelihoods.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and a delegation of farmers and other agricultural industry leaders just returned from a trade mission to Mexico that was held February 18-24. The mission, coordinated by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), was focused on increasing exports of manufactured products and agricultural goods.

Lawmakers have until Friday to pass the first of their fiscal 2024 spending bills, including the measure needed to fund USDA, or they’ll have to pass another stopgap spending measure to avert a partial shutdown of the government. The Biden administration also is scheduled to announce a critical update of the GREET model that’s used to measure the carbon intensity of biofuels.

Placements of U.S. cattle into feedlots declined in January, just not quite as much as what some analysts were expecting.

Summit Carbon Solutions CEO Lee Blank was blunt in his assessment of where things stand on the development of the Midwest Carbon Express CO2 pipeline, during the National Ethanol Conference in San Diego on Tuesday.

Starting next Wednesday, dairy producers will be able to enroll for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), an important safety net program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides producers with price support to help offset milk and feed price differences. This year’s DMC signup begins Feb. 28, 2024, and ends April 29, 2024. For those who sign up for 2024 DMC coverage, payments may begin as soon as March 4, 2024, for any payments that triggered in January 2024.

Wyffels Hybrids completed their Atkinson Production Facility expansion and modernization project with a new Quality Assurance (QA) Lab. After ten years of consecutive sales growth, Wyffels Hybrids is expanding capabilities and increasing efficiencies for everything from production to distribution. The new QA Lab is a key part of the process.

Friday's Feb. 1 Cattle on Feed report is going to be one that the industry quickly searches for, as everyone wants to know just how low the placements were in January.

The U.S. EPA has finalized a rule allowing the year-round sale of E15 fuel blends in eight Midwestern states.

USDA's Equity Commission issued a final report Thursday that includes a recommendation for reforms to commodity programs to address “historical inequities and discrimination” in the way farm subsidies are distributed.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed pesticide registration plans to meet its Endangered Species Act obligations that could significantly affect farmers’ livelihoods.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union sent a letter today requesting that USDA bring stability to Class I milk prices.

The chief ag negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says there have been some challenges reducing tariffs as work continues to improve global market access for U.S. biofuels.

Internet service providers will soon be competing to provide high-speed, broadband internet service to the most remote and hard-to-reach areas in the country.

Cold air has been hard to come by for the U.S. this winter. Thanks to a very strong El Nino that has had a persistent influence on our winter pattern, temperatures have been record breaking in many ways.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), both farmers and members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, sent a letter to colleagues urging them to oppose efforts to weaken the Packers and Stockyards Act in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Agriculture Appropriations bill.

Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, submitted comments today to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regarding the board’s proposed changes to California’s low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS).

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’s confident year-round E15 is coming in 2025 and waivers should be granted to allow E15 for the upcoming summer driving season.

On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing nearly $500 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to expand work on the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy to reduce risk to communities, critical infrastructure and natural resources from the nation’s ongoing wildfire crisis, which is exacerbated by climate change.

A European policymaker and senior congressman debated ag policy during USDA's Ag Outlook Forum, and a top ag economist opined that farmers are in position to handle the downturn in commodity prices, for this year at least.

For the first time in several months, more retail fertilizer prices were higher than lower than the previous month, according to sellers surveyed by DTN.

A newly released Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) found the U.S. soybean industry’s global warming potential (GWP) profile decreased considerably in 2021 for whole soybeans, soybean meal, and soy oil compared to previously reported findings in 2015 and 2010.

USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer says farmers face uncertainty about demand from both U.S. consumers and China as they head into planting season.

The chair of the U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee on trade is frustrated by how long the dispute process over Mexico’s GM corn ban is taking.

Future crops in Kansas will have to include more drought-tolerant grains like those of sub-Saharan Africa to adapt to climate change. That's the bottom line of a recent study done by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Pivot Bio, a leading sustainable agriculture company, today announced that its sustainability program, N-OVATOR™, has paid over $6 million to growers for implementing better nitrogen management practices since its launch in 2022. N-OVATOR™ provides prompt, annual payments to growers and is the first insetting program to focus on nitrous oxide emissions.

Every February, we're encouraged to come together to celebrate and support our local FFA chapters during National FFA Week. This year, from February 17th-24th, you can join in on the fun and help make a difference!

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack challenged attendees of this morning’s USDA Ag Outlook Forum to consider the consequences of fewer U.S. farms.