Trade

Let’s pause to consider the-above headline. First, it’s a quote; I didn’t write it. That’s important because the third rail of today’s ag journalism — the deadly, high-voltage topic that can burn your career — is Donald Trump.

A group of agricultural diplomats from around the world visited Indiana, including touring a family farm.

A new study revealed a tariff-induced trade war would have a serious impact on corn and soybean farmers via lost global market share.

Registration for the 2025 American Farm Bureau Convention is officially open. Whether you are a seasoned attendee or thinking of joining us for the first time, this is an event you do not want to miss.

Ports of Indiana and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding to increase collaboration, expand agricultural trade and create new container shipping opportunities for the state.

Farmer sentiment about the ag economy reached its lowest levels since 2016, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

The move over the past decade-plus toward utilizing shipping containers opened new markets and has had a major positive impact on Illinois soybean producers.

Now is the time for the administration and Congress to act on a U.S. trade policy that includes commercially meaningful negotiations on two-way trade with U.S. allies and partners.

As American grocery buyers await a verdict on Kroger’s two-year-old bid to buy Albertsons, the European Commission took just 35 days to give its blessing to the merger between two of the world’s largest grain merchandisers.

Rain at the end of August was good timing for the double-crop soybeans growing in northern Illinois.

America’s farmers and ranchers are getting hit hard this year with low commodity prices and another record-setting agricultural trade deficit.

With the farm bill, Next Generation Fuels Act and global trade discussions on the table in Congress, now is the time for farmers to make their voices heard.

When you set a record ag trade deficit for the third consecutive year, the decline isn’t an aberration or a coincidence. It is growing proof that your national ag policy is headed in the wrong direction.

In our increasingly urgent quest to clean up our climate-altering, carbon-fueled culture, biodiesel and renewable diesel have become two new darlings of alternative fuel advocates.

Milton Friedman, the patron saint of free markets and a founder of the Nobel-adorned Chicago school of economics, took a very dim view of all tariffs — ours, theirs, anyone’s.

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2024. The Senate’s version of the bill includes provisions for lock and dam improvement along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

What is the condition of your corn and soybean crops and what are your thoughts about the grain markets as we start down the homestretch of the growing season and begin to prepare for harvest?

Indiana has one of the smallest state agriculture departments in the nation — and Don Lamb would not have it any other way.

In a recent letter to congressional leadership, more than 500 agricultural groups called for the passage of a new farm bill.

As soon as the large mahogany door in the congressional building was opened, the farmers were greeted with hellos and handshakes. “Do you want some Indiana popcorn?” the staff in Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Pence’s office proudly asked.

As he walked to the stage to collect the Corn Advocate of the Year award, Tim Thompson looked genuinely shocked. His mouth fell open, and his eyes widened.

Along with solid sales of U.S. corn and distillers grains, ethanol exports are on pace to break an all-time record.

Maybe it’s time to put some eggs in a different basket — that is, livestock. And since cattle prices are formidable for newcomers, I suggest a more reasonable approach to diversification: sheep.

Updated data from the recent planted acreage and grain stocks reports were plugged into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new crop supply and demand balance sheets.

A second quarter U.S. Department of Agriculture Hogs and Pigs report held few surprises for producers and traders.

The Fourth of July is a highlight of the year on our family farm. Each summer, my family gets together for a traditional cookout, celebrating our nation with delicious food and the company of loved ones.

Indiana Pork and Legacy Farms hosted two pork buyers from McDonald’s Japan on their recent visit to Fair Oaks Farms and Belstra Milling.

A shipping container filled with Indiana-grown soybeans can travel a long distance to customers across the world.

While Americans still face a long season of political campaigning, more than 80 other nations have completed their federal elections this year or are about to go to the polls.

Hoosier farmer Jim Douglas is representing American farmers everywhere as the face of an advertisement campaign for soybeans in South Korea.

A tiny, low-priced electric car called the Seagull has American automakers and politicians trembling.

The Illinois Soybean Association will observe its 60th anniversary with special events and commemorations throughout the year.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden agree on essentially nothing, from taxes to immigration. Yet on trade, they have embraced surprisingly similar approaches.

Whether it’s tapioca balls or computer chips, Taiwan is stretching toward the United States and away from China — the world’s No. 2 economy that threatens to take the democratically ruled island by force if necessary.

The Illinois General Assembly approved a record $53.1 billion spending plan that included some good and bad news for agriculture-related programs.

We in agriculture have a long tradition of marketing our bounty by more pleasant, if not less-than-truthful, names in hopes that less-informed eaters buy the sizzle rather than the fact.

Agricultural reports across Federal Reserve Districts in the Corn Belt were mixed, as drought conditions eased in some districts, but farm finances and incomes remained a concern.

The Biden administration’s trade agenda — mostly forgotten after three years of COVID, inflation, war in Ukraine, brutality in the Middle East and a cantankerous Congress — recently surfaced and, wow, is it a mess.

The slowest dance on Capitol Hill, the writing of a new farm bill, gained tempo May 1 when both the House and Senate Ag committees released versions of their bills.

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson announced work on the 2024 farm bill, which includes bipartisan policies and several titles affecting farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent trade mission to India was a success, including more than 500 business-to-business meetings between U.S. exporters and Indian businesses.

For Luke Schneider, military veteran, former firefighter and founder of Fire Department Coffee, the mission of his coffee company goes deeper than just a great cup of joe.

Resiliency is important for farmers to leverage resources and technology to make their operations sustainable for future generations.

For Doug McKalip, the chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, removing barriers to and boosting U.S. agricultural exports and trade is a work in progress.

A commodity group and herbicide formulator called on the U.S. International Trade Commission to reject a petition for tariffs that could be levied on imported 2,4-D from India and China.

Each year, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri and its collaborators put together a baseline projection for the U.S. and world ag sectors for the major grains, oilseeds, biofuels, livestock and dairy commodities.

Piotr Korycki picks up a handful of wheat and watches as the yellow grains run through his fingers. With a new harvest on the horizon, he feels pressure to sell what he has to prevent it from going bad.

On March 2, the 13th World Trade Organization ministerial ended like most previous ministerials. After its 164 member-ministers discussed the burning need to change two, key international trade rules, everyone went home without changing any key international trade rules.

It looks so far like spring has arrived early this year. Even if we get a last blast of winter, spring has a pretty good head start — so much so that I missed my best opportunity to frost seed some clover.

Ted McKinney has had many titles throughout his lengthy career in agriculture. Now he can officially add “Friend of Farmer” to that list.