FARMER-LEADERS: From Minnesota Corn via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Corn recognizes farmer-leaders Bryan Biegler and Harold Wolle for their dedicated service on behalf of corn farmers. Bryan and Harold are retiring from the MCGA board this month after nine and 14 years, respectively.” PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/49s5vQO (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
LOOKING AHEAD
ROW CROPS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “An ag economist expects another challenging year for row crop producers. Ben Brown with the University of Missouri Extension says corn and soybean prices are expected to remain below the cost of production in 2026.” BROWN: “I see an opportunity for some price increases over the next five to six weeks,” he says. “Based on where we see expectations of U.S. planted acreage and yield, prices will fall through the remainder of 2026.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/49diuqG
AID: Via Agriculture of America, VERBATIM: “Senator Chuck Grassley says he has doubts about the administration’s willingness to provide additional farm aid, while arguing that the most meaningful and lasting solution to farmers’ financial challenges is passage of permanent year-round E15 legislation. Grassley made the comments after being asked about recent remarks from U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Richard Fordyce, who told Reuters that USDA is not considering providing more than the $12 billion in farm aid that was recently announced.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45zpfRi
THIS WEEKEND: Via KRWC-Radio, VERBATIM: “The annual American Farm Bureau Federation convention takes place beginning this weekend in California.
Minnesota Farm Bureau President Dan Glessing of Waverly will head-up the Minnesota delegation in attendance. He says the delegation will be made up of a wide range of ages and backgrounds.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Z2nOan
ORGANICS: From MDA via X, from the Minnesota Organic Conference in St. Cloud, VERBATIM: “With 400+ attendees, this year’s conference is bringing farmers and partners together to learn from one another and strengthen farming practices that nourish people, land, and community.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4jDOKqG
WATER: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Water regulations in the Land of 10,000 Lakes have the attention of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. MSGA president Darin Johnson, who farms near Wells, says the Department of Natural Resources is updating the Public Waters Inventory.” JOHNSON: “And making sure that we have regulatory certainty.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/49LBvR8
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
WEATHER: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “After a year that challenged nearly every long-range forecast, weather uncertainty remains a dominant theme heading into 2026. Shifting climate signals with La Niña looking to make a quick exit, evolving ocean temperatures and global production concerns are once again forcing producers and markets to stay flexible.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4szfI6O
DISEASES: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A senior manager with BASF says corn growers across the country saw firsthand the benefits of fungicides in 2025. ‘There were up to 20 to 60 bushels lost, which translates to a lot of money being left on the table.’ Amy Pawlick says protecting the crop against diseases like southern rust and tar spot was vital to a successful season.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4qJk61d
MARKETS
VENEZUELA: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A former head of trading with Cargill says increased stability in Venezuela could mean additional opportunities for U.S. agriculture in the long term. ‘They’re a natural buyer of U.S. ag products.’ Jeff Kazin, who oversaw the company’s refined-oil business in the region in the late 2010’s, says it’ll be a long road.” KAZIN: “How do you operate in a country that’s relatively lawless?” He says, “If you had a confinement hog building, you could raise pigs, and when they were ready, they were stolen.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4jEgmfm
GRAIN: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “The grain markets are mixed squaring ahead of the USDA reports on Monday. DuWayne Bosse with Bolt Marketing says that could keep the markets quiet the next few sessions. Early trade estimates for corn yield are around 184 bu. per acre, so down only around 2 bu. although Bosse is more bullish at around 180 to 181. The fear is even if USDA lowers yield it will have to be substantial as the agency may offset the cut by lowering feed and residual. For soybeans the trade is expected a less than 1 bu. cut in yield at 52.7 bu. and has ending stocks nearly unchanged at 294 million bu. However, that assumes USDA will leave demand nearly unchanged from December.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LrLnpS
FRESH15: The latest season of Fresh15 includes interviews with new Minnesota House members. So far, five new members have shared their goals, background and fun facts before they take office in a historic session this January.
Rep. Kari Rehrauer
Rep. Wayne Johnson
Rep. Julie Greene
Rep. Keith Allen
Rep. Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
TARIFFS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision on the legality of President Trump’s tariffs soon and USDA’s Under Secretary for Trade says he’s confident President Trump’s tariffs are appropriate. Luke Lindberg says the tariffs have helped improve the U.S. trade deficit.” LINDBERG: “We ended the fiscal year 2025 with a $41.5 billion trade deficit. That was an $8.5 billion improvement on the forecast that USDA was making this time last year. And we are moving forward, looking at 2026 with a $37 billion trade deficit.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jBXQnJ
BEEF: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Brazil surpassed the U.S. as the world’s top beef producer last year, according to market estimates, after the South American country beat output forecasts by hundreds of thousands of tons, easing a global supply squeeze and helping limit a surge in meat prices. Brazil was already the biggest beef exporter, shipping meat worth almost $17 billion in 2025, according to government trade data released on Tuesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Yt1Ltk
INNOVATION
URBAN AG: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Urban Agriculture Grants. New this year, the MDA is offering two opportunities under the AGRI Urban Agriculture Grant umbrella.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YsJxIt
AI: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Land O’Lakes and Microsoft are developing an AI-powered digital assistant designed to optimize farming operations. Land O’Lakes senior vice president Leah Anderson says the tool is called Oz.” ANDERSON: “Now you can have even greater confidence between you as a farmer and your agronomist because your agronomist has the full force of Winfield United’s datasets. Six million datapoints collected a year, 20-plus years of data collection across our applied research platforms nationally.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4520zAN
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
EXPENSES: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Leading agricultural economists and industry experts are emphasizing what most farmers have already taken to heart about 2026 expenditures: Spend only where you can identify a clear, realistic path to higher returns or lower costs sooner than later. The key, according to University of Illinois agricultural economists Gary Schnitkey and Nick Paulson, is filtering potential projects through the sharp lens of your operation’s current financial health.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3N5AeMd
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