2 Top States Have Finished Planting Soybeans, USDA Reports
The USDA said that as of June 15, 93% of the soybean crop across the top soybean-growing states had been planted. The five-year average is 94%.
Louisiana and Minnesota both reached 100% by June 15. They are the first of the top states to wrap up soybean planting.
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Louisiana Corn Festival Wraps Up 37th Year In Bunkie
The 37th Annual Louisiana Corn Festival wrapped up its final day in Bunkie on June 14, marking another year of fun, food and tradition in central Louisiana.
Held every second weekend of June since 1986, the Louisiana Corn Festival is the only one of its kind in the state. It was created to recognize the vital role that corn plays in Louisiana’s agricultural economy, and each year, one local corn farmer is honored for their contributions to the industry.
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Louisiana Crops Newsletter: June 2025
Common rust may be the first disease found in corn fields and usually occurs in the lower-to-mid-canopy. Pustules of common rust are brick red to dark orange, somewhat elongated, and will appear on both leaf surfaces (Figure 1).Common rust will progress during relatively cool temperatures (60-75oF) combined with rainy weather or heavy dews (6 hours of leaf wetness), and cloudy weather; however, very rarely are fungicide applications warranted for common rust. Warmer temperatures (> 80oF) will greatly slow common rust development.
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Crop Market Report for Corn, Soybeans, Rice, and Cotton: May, 2025
The 2025/26 U.S. corn outlook is for record supplies and total use, and higher ending stocks. The corn crop is projected at 15.8 billion bushels, up 6 percent from a year ago on increases to both area and yield. Planted area of 95.3 million acres if realized would be the highest in over a decade. The yield projection of 181.0 bushels per acre is based on a weather-adjusted trend assuming normal planting progress and summer growing season weather.
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Louisiana Crops Newsletter: May 2025
The 2025 soybean planting season in Louisiana began favorably, with 80% of the crop planted by May 4th, significantly ahead of the 5-year average of 54%. However, recent heavy rainfall has introduced concerns. Late April storms caused flooding in some fields, necessitating replanting in certain areas.
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Farmers Double Corn Planting Progress in One Week
Mother Nature provided U.S. corn farmers with a good week to plant, and growers took advantage of the conditions.
Nationally, farmers doubled their planting progress in one week from 12 to 24 percent, the USDA’s April 29 Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin says.
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Increased Corn Acres Driving Higher Fertilizer Prices; Farmers May See Fuel Price Relief
An increase in fertilizer prices in the Mid-South is driven more by a demand from the increase in corn acres than tariffs, economists with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture said.
U.S. corn acres are expected to increase 4.73 million acres this year, according to the Prospective Plantings survey from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
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Year-Round E15 Helps Drivers and Farmers
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on EPA’s emergency fuel waiver allowing the sale of E15 gasoline during the summer season.
“Farm Bureau appreciates EPA’s decision to keep ethanol blended gasoline available nationwide through the summer season. People who choose E15 fuel experience an average cost savings of 10-30 cents per gallon, which is much-needed relief for families suffering with high prices.”
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EPA Addresses E-10 Standards, Allows for Nationwide Year-Round E15 Sales
In response to requests from the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking action to address the States’ concerns about E10 fuel standards by issuing an emergency fuel waiver.
Specifically, the agency has waived provisions that would have otherwise made E10 gasoline sold in those states meet a more stringent standard than conventional gasoline in other parts of the country.
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Soybeans Up as China Trade War Eases, New Highs in Cattle as S&P Soars
Soybeans and livestock rally early, with corn and wheat lower.
Allison Thompson, The Money Farm, says soybeans are seeing follow through buying on the de-escalation of the China trade war.
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Crop Progress: Corn Plantings Faster than Expected
USDA’s latest crop progress report, out Monday afternoon and covering the week through April 20, is giving traders more and more data to digest as the season gets more solidly underway. Of particular note, corn and soybean plantings were a bit speedier than analysts had predicted, while winter wheat quality was worse than expected.
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Technology Is Key to Planting Corn In Less Than Ideal Soil Conditions
If your corn planter would do a better job in the field being hitched to a boat this week, it’s obviously too wet to plant.
However, there are times when soil conditions are less than ideal and farmers decide – because of the calendar or insurance or whatever – to move ahead with planting. What then?
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John Deere Challenge: Watch a New York Tech Journalist Farm 20 Acres of Corn for $20 Profit
You might recall this viral stunt from when it was announced last spring: John Deere and tech influencer David Cogen (@TheUnlockr) joined forces to set the New York-based journalist up as a row crop farmer for an entire growing season. Using 20 acres of prime Iowa farmland, Cogen’s mission was to find out if he could accomplish what farmers must achieve to put food on America’s dinner tables: turn planted crops into cold, hard cash.
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Agricultural Policy and Market Situation Newsletter: April 2025
Soybean contracts jumped 20 cents in midday trading on Wednesday, April 9th, joining other commodities in a sharp rebound, after President Donald Trump took to social media to again raise tariffs on the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans- China. New Chinese tariffs (125%), set Wednesday, April 9th, more than double the cost for Chinese buyers to import U.S. soybeans, but that didn't stop soy-bean futures from climbing higher.
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Louisiana Farmers Face Uncertainty as New Trump Administration Tariffs Take Effect
President Donald Trump's new tariffs raise questions for farmers across Louisiana, many of whom are concerned about their livelihoods.
Trump's sweeping new tariffs announced Wednesday have left Louisiana farmers like Donald Schexnayder with some uncertainty on what comes next.
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