Field Posts

The November WASDE dropped Friday November 8th, including updates to both corn and soybean production for 2024, bringing both crops down from their predicted record levels.  Though many expected to see this update from USDA now that more than 90% of harvest is complete, the picture was complicated further down the balance sheet, leading to some mixed results in the market.  This week, we’re introd...

Just in time for the 2024 Election, DTN’s Pulse of Rural America Poll is hot off the press with a fascinating trove of information about how farmers, ranchers, and rural Americans are thinking about not only this election and the decision ahead of them, but also how they feel about the farm economy, their biggest challenges and issues, and what the future might look like. Today we’re joined by DTN...

USDA will begin requiring electronic ID tags for some types of cattle that are moved across state lines after November 5th, including dairy animals and intact beef animals and bison. The department’s rules carve out a few exceptions, so producers who believe they might be affected should be taking notice.  Today, DTN Senior Livestock Editor Jennifer Carrico brings us the latest on what those excep...

The October WASDE dropped Friday October 11th, and though it largely held pat on USDA updates from both the September report and from the end of month stock updates, there was still news to be made as South America’s crop comes into clearer focus and tensions across the country and around the globe continue to escalate. DTN’s Lead Markets Analyst Todd Hultman joins us today for one last WASDE brea...

In the aftermath of an August crash in the cattle markets, producers across the country are kicking themselves over the missed opportunity to lock in sales at record prices. But since the dog days of summer, markets are looking up, and prices have regained much of their lost value in the weeks since.  DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart joins us today to talk us through the last eight weeks, poin...

The evolution of the drone has been a relatively quick one, and though this technology probably has a long way to go to reach its full potential, innovative growers are already putting these tools to work, especially using drone sprayers in tricky fields. To growers in unusual geographies in particular, drones, and the servicers and custom operators who supply them, are no longer an interesting no...

DTN’s Lead Markets Analyst Todd Hultman is coming to the end of a long career in the agricultural markets. His voice will be dearly missed here on the podcast, around the newsroom, and across the country by the farmers and ag industry leaders who’ve depended on his even-handed insights for the better part of four decades. But before he rides off into the sunset, we sat down with Todd for one last...

The 2024 election cycle is in the home stretch, and though a lot of attention is being taken up by the Presidential race — when it comes to agricultural policy, the results of senate and house races are likely to be even more impactful.  The farm community has been waiting for years for the passage of the next Farm Bill, but that legislation is currently on the sidelines as Congress aims to avert...

The September WASDE dropped Thursday September 12th, and though it didn’t too much to stir markets, it provided another data point as potentially record crops are in the final stretch before harvest. USDA’s latest report was informed by in-field data which added a new on-the-ground perspective, but there’s still plenty of time for weather-related disruptions, especially with storms like Francine r...

The trend towards fewer, bigger seed companies is nothing new in US agriculture, and is not even unique to the seed industry. But as a handful of major players have bought up more and more independent seed companies, especially since the 1990s, it’s left farmers and industry analysts alike wondering what the impact is, and will be, on grower selection, price, and innovation overall. Today, DTN Cro...

The 2024 crop season got off to a wet start that changed up planting decisions and led to a significantly larger soybean planting than analysts were expecting. Since the Spring however, moisture and temperatures across the midwest have proven to be generally ideal, though a severe storm here and there did intermittently disrupt some growing seasons. Now as we’re on the precipice of Harvest 2024, D...

DTN’s Digital Yield Tour is back again this year, and after years of building industry-leading tools, it’s powered exclusively by DTN proprietary models and data.  Today, we’re joined by DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger who takes us beat by beat through yield estimates and on the ground condition reports for nine states, from the Eastern Corn belt to Nebraska, Missouri to Minnesota. She gu...

The August WASDE dropped Monday August 12th, bringing with it the surprising news of an expected record soybean crop on the horizon for US growers. This update was fueled by fresh yield forecast numbers, but even more so by USDAs contention that one million acres of additional soybean acres were planted than previously thought, driven in part by wet weather during the planting season forcing a shi...

Advocating for agriculture wherever you are is something that farmers and those in agribusiness have been encouraged to do for years now. But being a voice for the industry, for a sector, even for just one farm can be a huge undertaking. The work can be purposeful and fun, but it can also be emotionally difficult and time-consuming. Through the ups and downs, however, many, many voices continue to...

2024 marks the 20 year anniversary of the View from the Cab column at DTN, which follows two farmers from different parts of the country over the course of an annual growing season. Today the tradition is carried on by DTN Crops Technology Editor Pamela Smith, who for the last seven years has been talking to growers week in and week out on everything from production decisions and technology adopti...

The July WASDE dropped Friday July 10th, bringing the ongoing crop season into sharper focus as USDA continued to refine its acreage and production estimates. The June 28th reports from the department left the corn market in bearish state, estimating higher planted acres and higher stocks than expected, but the WASDE adjustments offered some relief, even as soybean numbers remained steady.  DTN’s...

Delays on EPA announcement of Renewable Fuel Standard volumes have become old hat for ag industry watchers, but adding in the looming election and a recent Supreme Court decision, the hurdles for regulators to get 2026 volumes published are mounting. But even as anxious corn and soybean growers watch, and some advocates prepare to sue, hope springs from ongoing conversations about the potential fo...

What was supposed to be the 2023 Farm Bill has officially become the 2024 Farm Bill, and after the events of recent weeks, looks poised to become the 2025 Farm Bill. With the dog days of summer upon us, an already unproductive Congress turns the majority of its attention to the campaign trail, leaving the outlook for farm and rural legislation looking decidedly bleak.  As the national election app...

DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins calls Soybean Cyst Nematode the Rodney Dangerfield of soybean pests — it doesn’t get nearly the respect it deserves. While estimates put annual damage from SCN in the $1.5 billion dollar range, it still rarely earns a spot among soybean grower’s top concerns. Many growers trust the “SCN Resistant” label on their soybean seeds to provide the protection they need again...

The DTN Ag Summit Series event "Navigating the Cattle Markets Ups and Downs" is a wrap, but for those who missed the industry leading data and analysis, we’ve got you covered. This week on the podcast we’re dropping in on the keynote presentation from DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart, who tackled the latest numbers, broke down forecasts, and answered audience questions to boot. ShayL...

The June WASDE dropped Wednesday June 12th, leaving markets unmoved despite expectations that USDA might recognize the weather that’s kept US farmers out of the field in many regions. With plenty more season still ahead, and a few more opportunities for the department to bring down the current record yield estimate for the 2024 crop, analysts and growers alike will turn back to weather forecasts a...

Since 2005, DTN Progressive Farmer has been selecting two farmers every year from across the country to participate in their annual View from the Cab Project. These farmers spend a full year getting to know DTN’s Pamela Smith as they work through  weekly calls and check-ins, sharing their stories and their seasons with the broader farm community.  Today, we’re sitting down with Quint Pottinger, a...

Farm shops are a critical piece of infrastructure on virtually all farm operations, and building one that fits the diverse and ever-changing needs of a given ag business, and the family that operates, can be a challenging endeavor. Many spend years dreaming out floor plans on the backs of napkins in the coffee shop, visiting the shops of neighbors far and wide, and planning for all the many uses t...

American wheat watchers descended on Kansas from May 14th to May 16th this year to participate in the Wheat Quality Council’s 2024 crop tour. The three day scouting trip took dozens on an arc across the state, from Manhattan, Colby, Wichita, and countless road-side stops in between. In the end, analysts recorded a predicted yield in the state that, though a bit short of spectacular, will likely be...

Rural and farm communities have made big strides in recent years in discussing mental health issues and solutions. And not a moment too soon — between challenging commodity markets, extreme weather conditions, a global pandemic, and intensifying social and cultural situation, the amount of stress, pressure, and challenge that farmers and rural residents face continues to climb. Today, Content Mana...