Trade
Two studies illuminate food prices for the holiday barbecue season.
Fertilizer prices have been on a steady climb, despite grain prices continuing to lag. Josh Linville with Stone X points to the driving force: Global production is lagging behind demand.
Caleb Ragland is hopeful his boys will have the opportunity to be the 10th generation to carry on the family’s farming roots, but he’s concerned the fallout from trade disruptions, high input costs and low commodity prices could deliver a death blow to that dream.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins was questioned by several House Ag Committee members about USDA’s cuts, including the impact of the 6,000 DOGE firings at the agency, that were later reinstated by the court.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says one of the challenges the U.S. is dealing with is trying to negotiate agreements with 18 of its biggest trading partners simultaneously. Grassley would like to see a dialed-back strategy used instead.
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to extend its stay on a lower court’s decision that found most of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs illegal.
This is biggest investment ADM regional manager Travis Sayers has seen ADM make in St. Louis.
According to the latest USDA data released from the U.S. Meat Export Federation, beef exports to China dropped 70% in April and pork exports fell 35%. With trade talks ongoing, there is optimism for the remainder of the year.
The BRICS countries — led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are actively working to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar in international trade, a process known as de-dollarization.
USDA projects a $49.5 billion agricultural trade deficit for fiscal year 2025, nearly double the gap from two years ago.