Cattle Producers Attend the 2024 Beef Leaders Institute

From pasture to plate, it takes multiple links in the value chain to bring Americans the hamburgers they throw on the grill this Fourth of July. Each link is integral to the success of others, one of many important takeaways for the 25 Angus producers selected to attend the 2024 Beef Leaders Institute. The American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef host the annual program to develop young cattlemen and women as industry leaders. “Sometimes producers get so focused on raising high-quality cattle that it can prevent them from having a better understanding of how they impact every step along the way to the consumer,” says Kara Lee, director of producer engagement at Certified Angus Beef. “They’re the beginning of the food chain.” The five-day tour started at the American Angus Association in St. Joseph, Missouri, and traveled to six states before finishing at the Certified Angus Beef headquarters in Ohio.

Celebrating the International Year of the Woman Farmer

Women are responsible for roughly half of the world’s food production. The United Nations’ designation of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer gives the world a chance to highlight and celebrate the incredibly important role women play in ensuring global food security. It’s a time to underscore and address the various social and economic challenges that women in agriculture face worldwide. USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor says they’re proud of the agency’s role in leading efforts to introduce and generate support for the resolution that was co-sponsored by 123 other nations. It was passed by the U.N. General Assembly in May. “This marked the first time in history that the United States was the lead sponsor of an ‘international year’ at the U.N., demonstrating just how important the role of women in agriculture is to our department, nation, and the world,” Taylor says.

Unique Program Pays Illinois Farmers to Improve Soil Health

American Farmland Trust and ADM are launching the next season of a program that supports Illinois farmers and the environment. The ADM re:generations™ Program in Illinois encourages farmers to incorporate regenerative agriculture practices into their operations while offering financial incentives for doing so. Enrollment begins in May. The ADM re:generations™ program continues offering flexible contracts to farmers who are willing to adopt cover crops, no-till, and-or provide data to calculate carbon-intensity scores. The program provides payments to farmers who enroll in the program, and carbon assets generated from participation are being claimed by ADM. Farmers can enroll new practice acres as well as previous practice acres. In 2023, AFT and ADM had a very successful year, surpassing their enrollment goal of 225,000 acres enrolled in cover crops throughout the state. The companies also enrolled 630,000 acres in emissions scoring. Enrollment is open and more information is available at farmland.org.

Mexico to Drop Plan to Cut Yellow Corn Imports

The incoming government in Mexico will discard a key goal of the previous administration to reduce yellow corn imports and achieve self-sufficiency in yellow corn production. Investing Dot Com says the incoming ag minister, Julio Berdegue, says Mexico will focus on maintaining self-sufficiency in the white corn that’s commonly used in tortillas, a Mexican dietary staple. The policy of former president Lopez Obrador aimed to dramatically reduce the imports of yellow corn, most of which comes from the U.S, and boost local production instead. Lopez Obrador wanted to limit the use of genetically modified corn, sparking a trade dispute with the U.S. “Our objective is not to reduce imports but to produce more,” says Berdegue. “Our goal in this six-year term is not self-sufficiency in yellow corn.” Mexico’s appetite for meat is growing, leading to an Increasing demand for corn in the livestock sector, and will mean large imports of yellow corn.

Wednesday Watch List

Markets

Reports on U.S. weekly jobless claims and the U.S. trade deficit will be out at 8:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday, followed by May U.S. factory orders at 9 a.m. The U.S. Energy Department's weekly energy inventory report is set for 9:30 a.m. and the natural gas storage report is at noon. U.S. stock market exchanges close early, at 12:15 p.m. CDT, but grain and livestock futures close at their normal times ahead of Thursday's Independence Day holiday. Minutes from the latest Fed meeting will be released at 1 p.m. CDT.

Weather

A front that has produced some areas of heavier rain over the western Corn Belt earlier this week is shifting toward the Ohio River for Wednesday. More rounds of showers and thunderstorms are forecast to develop along the front. The next storm system is quickly entering the Plains and will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms of its own, especially across the northern half of the region. Both areas are watching out for some severe weather later Wednesday, but the areas around western Nebraska have a higher risk.

Thirty Million Farm Acres Abandoned Since 1986

In 2022, a University of Wisconsin study claimed that U.S. farmers had converted several million acres of pristine grassland and other “semi-natural areas” to cropland. Researcher Tyler Lark said that was in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard and ethanol production. Two years later, another study by Lark shows a different result. Using satellite imagery from the 2022 study, the newest one in March showed that between 1986 and 2018, over 30 million acres of cropland were abandoned and transitioned into grassland, permanent pasture, forest, shrub land, wetlands, or urban areas. That timeframe encompasses a period of rapid growth in ethanol production. The new study concluded that among the abandoned croplands, 53 percent changed to grassland and pasture, 18 percent to shrub land and forest, eight percent to wetlands, and just five percent converted to urban-suburban land. The Dakotas, Kansas, and Montana saw some of the highest land conversion rates in the country.

Stabenow Talks About the SNAP Payment Error Rate

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Senate Ag Committee, released a statement on the payment error rate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “While states faced many challenges ensuring access to SNAP during COVID and unwinding temporary pandemic flexibilities and benefits, the national error rate reported recently is unacceptable,” she says. “The SNAP payment error rate measures the accuracy of SNAP benefits paid and eligibility determinations by states, not fraud.” She also says, in other words, it’s about accuracy and not fraud. “It’s critical that the program is accurate to protect program integrity and ensure people receive the assistance they need to put food on the table,” Stabenow adds. “SNAP is the foundation of the safety net for nearly 42 million Americans, providing about six dollars a day to help them buy food to feed their families.” She also says SNAP quality control was strengthened in the 2018 Farm Bill.