TODAY: From Minnesota Corn, sharing a Tweet from a Politico reporter saying Rep. Tom Emmer will vote “yes” on E15. VERBATIM: “Thank you @GOPMajorityWhip for your support of homegrown biofuels and family farmers! We appreciate your commitment to Minnesota’s agricultural communities.” TWEETS: https://fluence-media.co/3PBOX2U (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
AG IN THE HEADLINES
CHINA: Via USA Today, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump has landed in China for a discussion with the country’s president, bringing with him over 10 U.S. business leaders and plans to discuss China-U.S. relations, world peace, and development . . . He arrived at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday, May 13. As China’s Vice President Han Zheng greeted Trump and other business owners who joined him on the trip, music from a live band blasted in the background.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uGvAEI
MORE: One of the business execs there is Cargill CEO Brian Sikes. Via DTN, VERBATIM: “Sikes‘ presence raises the possibility of a deal for China to buy U.S. commodities . . . Looking at soybeans, CoBank, the Denver-based bank for co-operatives, said in a newsletter Monday that ‘China doesn’t need U.S. soybeans’ but might commit to buying more corn, wheat, sorghum or other agricultural commodities. Tanner Emke, CoBank’s lead grain and oilseeds economist wrote, ‘Despite a late 2025 bilateral agreement committing China to purchase at least 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually through 2028, a 10% supplemental Chinese tariff remains in place on U.S. soybeans.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QXCSWh
MORE: Via MarketWatch, VERBATIM: “Analysts at J.P. Morgan said in a note that Trump and Xi could agree on ‘narrow purchase commitments’ for soybeans and other agricultural products. Privately held Cargill would be among the U.S. companies that could benefit from that.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fjEweK
MORE: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Jim McCormick with AgMarket.Net says he’d like to see written commitments of purchases for ag goods like soybeans and beef.” MCCORMICK: “Those are the low hanging fruit per say for China to buy. The real question is China kind of hinted at this back in March that maybe they’d be interested in other row crops like sorghum, corn, DDGs and ethanol. That is what the trade is going to look for.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uby9Pm
E15: Via RFD-TV, VERBATIM: “House lawmakers are gearing up for a vote on year-round E-15 sales, with some action potentially coming as soon as today. The measure was removed from the broader Farm Bill, and now House committee members are nearing a vote to move forward with a full House consideration on E15 as a separate measure. A number of agricultural lawmakers are now pushing to see the legislation back before the full House and cleared.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wsRY6e
TRADEOFF: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “A study by the University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute offers a cautious message about the year-round E15 legislation. Automatic small refinery exemptions are also part of the E15 bill. FAPRI says ethanol demand would boost the demand for corn, but it would jeopardize the market for soybean oil.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/435rgD7
MORE: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “According to FAPRI Director Seth Meyer, the study’s clearest takeaway is that year-round E15 alone doesn’t dramatically reshape the farm economy in the near term, but proposed changes to small refinery exemptions could pressure farm income while increasing government spending. Meyer says the headline is pretty straightforward. The biggest market disruptions in the analysis don’t actually come from allowing year-round E15 sales. Instead, the larger economic consequences show up when the House proposal to reduce SRE reallocations gets layered into the equation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u4utih
MORE: Via University of Missouri, the study. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4d6yo8i
ROADS: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “With spring fieldwork underway, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is urging farmers, commercial applicators, ag retailers, and common carriers to take extra care when transporting agricultural products, goods, and commodities on public roads. Overturned tanks, unsecured loads, and roadway spills have the potential to put people, property, and water resources at risk.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wtGQpB
GLOBAL TRADE BOLSTERS AG ECONOMIES: Via Minnesota Corn, VERBATIM: “Each year, Minnesota’s exports of corn, ethanol, corn-fed meat, and dried distillers grains (DDGS) alone support over 11,500 jobs and add billions to the state’s economy. They also help ensure that consumers around the world have access to affordable protein and dairy products. In May, during World Trade Month, Minnesota Corn celebrates that important role trade plays in all our lives—in the U.S. and abroad. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dqEqB1 (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn)
FROM THE FIELDS
CROP UPDATE: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “During Tuesday’s Crop Watch broadcast, Euclid, Minnesota farmer Brent Strickler said many producers are growing anxious as wet fields and lingering frost continue to delay planting progress.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fpJjey
WASDE: Via DTN, VERBATIM: “The May 12 USDA Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports seemed to be all about wheat, with the first in-field assessment of the U.S. wheat crop. While there were some changes for the U.S. corn and soybean balance sheets, they were more minor, with corn a bit bearish and soybeans neutral.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nukW1F
MORE: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “Total Farm Marketing Senior Market Advisor Naomi Blohm said wheat was the big story of the report. ‘The USDA for the new crop wheat came in at 1.561 billion bushels, down from 1.9 a year ago.’ That would be the lowest wheat production total since 1972.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uPzsU8
MORE: Via USDA, the report. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u9prkJ
WEEDS & MORE
HERBICIDES: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Waterhemp and other tough weeds are forcing farmers to rethink how they use herbicides in high-residue cropping systems, from heavy corn stalks to thick cereal rye covers. University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University Extension specialists say they increasingly hear from growers who did ‘everything right’ with applying their pre products yet still see waterhemp push through and survive. Increasingly, one of the challenges is those fields carry a lot more residue than they used to.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wx5aXW
MORE: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “An extension crops educator suggests recent weather conditions are preventing early season weeds from flourishing. Dave Nicolai with the University of Minnesota says it’s been cool and dry across the Upper Midwest.” NICOLAI: “The dewpoint is low, relative humidity is low, and colder soils. So we really haven’t seen the emergence, typically we look for some of those foxtails to come up (and) some of those common lambsquarters in terms of that. In in between areas where they have some protection, there has been some emergence.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/42y4bZD
FUNDING: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has announced the recipients of the County Agricultural Inspector Grant for Fiscal Year 2026. All 47 counties that applied for grant money qualified and will be awarded $10,300 each. The money will be used by county agricultural inspectors (CAIs) to carry out duties under the Minnesota Noxious Weed Law.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tzKBY3
BUS TOUR: Via Agweek, VERBATIM: “Farmers and agricultural professionals across southeast Minnesota are invited to join the Southeast Minnesota Soil Health Bus Tour this summer to learn alongside peers, exchange ideas and gain practical insights for on-farm use. The three-day educational and networking experience will center on the 13th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference, scheduled Aug. 6-7, in Springfield, Illinois. Participants will travel by charter bus and take part in a field day before arriving at the conference, focused on soil health and strip-till systems.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48XQPti
LENDERS: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has announced the removal of ten lenders from participation in the USDA Rural Development (RD) OneRD Guaranteed Lending Program. These lenders will be precluded from further participation in the program.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4d8IyFn
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
NEXT WEEK: From MDA via X, VERBATIM: “School garden week is coming up May 18-22! If you’re looking to get more garden produce onto your students’ lunch trays, check out MN Ag in the Classroom’s free webinar on May 19 on how to practice food safety in school gardens.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/4wsHofw
TEACHERS: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “As the school year winds down, Minnesota educators have new opportunities this summer to connect students to agriculture, food systems, and the natural world. Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) is offering two hands-on professional development experiences designed to help K–12 teachers bring real-world learning into their classrooms.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dhIPog
FFA: Via Marshall Independent, VERBATIM: “The Marshall FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter recorded a handful of commendable finishes at the 2026 state convention, including two teams placing third overall in the career development events (CDEs), and senior Annabel Coudron placing first in poultry. The state convention held April 20-21 in the Twin Cities offered students the opportunity to represent their schools and towns while also continuing to grow their knowledge and experience.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dCMjmF
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