NCGA BOARD: From Minnesota Corn via Instagram, VERBATIM: “We have a Minnesotan on the National @corngrowers Board! This morning at Corn Congress, farmer-leader Dana Allen-Tully was elected to the Corn Board. Congrats, Dana! We know you’ll do a fabulous job representing Minnesota’s corn farmers- and farmers everywhere. Thank you for your service!” PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/44Un2iV (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
FRIDAY AG HEADLINES
FARMLAND: Via Compeer, VERBATIM: “Minnesota farmland sales in the first half of 2026 are showing a similar pattern as the first half of 2025. Though they haven’t yet reached the peak ranges, farmers and investors still pay competitive prices for land with high soil productivity and good drainage. In south-central Minnesota, high-quality land sells for $11,500 to $13,500 per crop acre. Stronger markets, such as Nicollet County, have even seen a few sales in the $14,000 to $15,000 per crop acre range.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hjCaxq
(DISCLOSURE: Compeer is a Fluence sponsor)
ECONOMICS: Via Farm Bureau, VERBATIM: “Crop farmers continue to face elevated production costs, lower commodity prices and tight margins – with no relief on the horizon. AFBF analysis projects 2027 will mark a sixth year of negative returns over total costs for most major row crops. Specialty crop farmers are experiencing similar financial strain, facing expected below-breakeven prices and acreage reductions across major fruit, vegetable and tree nut sectors in 2026, even as limited public data make the full scale of losses difficult to measure. At the same time, fertilizer and fuel prices remain volatile, with the Iran conflict adding additional pressure to those markets.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3TbbxAQ
MARKET FORCES: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “The big-picture issues facing agriculture today are more difficult to predict and more challenging to manage. CHS Executive Vice President of Enterprise Customer Development Gary Halvorson is watching these trends closely.” QUOTE: “The dramatic shifts and the rise of more and more production coming on in Brazil; the change in diet because of Make America Healthy Again and what we see in consumption patterns; the smallest US cattle herd since 1951 and the new renewable volume obligations that this administration just put forward,” said Halvorson. “They are all individually significant but collectively have massive influences on how we think about agriculture.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4b0FlGu
CATTLE: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Live and feeder cattle futures were lower again on Friday which makes a record 15 days down in the August live cattle contract and a $20 correction. Scott Varilek of Kooima Kooima Varilek says everybody’s looking for the bottom and wants to know if it is close.” VARILEK: “Stairs up and the elevator down. It’s been brutal. It’s not acting like it’s bottoming here. I mean you would hope that on a Friday you’d see this oversold market and see some profit taking but the attitude is not there, we’re not feeling like we’ve got a bottom yet.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4aXHcvE
DAIRY: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “The senior dairy analyst with Terrain says consumer demand for protein is helping drive market opportunities for dairy producers. Ben Lane says favorable margins and additional revenue streams are helping keep producers afloat.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/458uF54
BAD AIR: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Wildfire smoke blanketing Minnesota has pushed air quality into never-before-seen levels, creating health concerns for residents across the state and forcing outdoor workers to spend hours in heat and smoke. ‘We’re always prepared, you just got to work through it,’ said 3 Bear Landscaping laborer Brandon Waak.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4fjlOlU
HEAT: MPR checked in with Minnesota farmers raising chickens and pigs to see how they’re contending with the heat. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4wCuXNw
MORE: KTTC-TV visited the Wineshiek County Fair in Decorah, Iowa to see how they’re keeping animals cool. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fmwsZ9
DROUGHT: This week’s Drought Monitor reflecting data as of Tuesday shows 38% of the state in formal drought status up from 29% a week earlier. MAP: https://fluence-media.co/3zN8TDo
DC + AG
BUDGET BILL: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “The House Budget Committee has approved a budget reconciliation bill with a party line 20-to-14 vote. Within this massive $95 billion plan, the House Agriculture Committee has been directed to develop up to $12 billion in a farm assistance package.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hiqwTp
CORN CONGRESS: From Minnesota Corn via Facebook, VERBATIM: “As part of Corn Congress this week, our farmer-leaders visited with federal lawmakers and members of the administration to highlight issues important to family corn farmers. That includes year-round E15, input costs, and the meaningful updates to the farm safety net lawmakers made last summer. Thanks to lawmakers for their attention to issues important to corn farmers!” PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/4wHI4Nk
(DISCLOSURE: Minnesota Corn is a Fluence sponsor)
WOLVES: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “In an ongoing analysis of wolf scat collected across California, UC Davis researchers found cattle DNA in 72% of samples, indicating cattle have become a primary food source for wolves . . . While the UC Davis findings are new for California, the challenges are familiar to ranchers elsewhere. Gray wolves have reestablished populations across much of the Upper Midwest, Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, where livestock producers have spent years balancing predator recovery with protecting cattle herds.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wbXMR9
DEER & ELK: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A policy specialist with the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association says better solutions for deer and elk depredation are needed. Ryan Vos tells Brownfield.” VOS: https://fluence-media.co/4aYc0fV
IN THE FIELDS
DRONES: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Over the past several years there have been a number of advancements in farm technology. Spray drones, in particular, have taken off. It’s Tyler Larson‘s first year running a spray drone. On Thursday morning, he was applying fungicide to a soybean field near Owatonna, Minnesota. ‘If you would have asked me when I was 16 that we would have drones in the air spraying crops, I wouldn’t even know what to say,’ said Larson, of Larson Drone Spraying. It’s technology that’s taking flight in southern Minnesota.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4wl5Q1K
FUNGICIDE: Via Ag Web, a look at fungicide strategies in the corn belt. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bQYBXd
LICENSING: From MDA via X, VERBATIM: “If you apply fertilizer for hire, you must be licensed by the MDA. Businesses that sell or apply fertilizer need a fertilizer license that covers their employees. Get licensed now, before the busy season.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/4b1o6Vz
GENETICS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A cow-calf producer in southwest Minnesota credits technology with helping his family farm improve. Nick Delaney of Delaney Herefords in Lincoln County says they use advanced genetics to raise high-quality cattle.” DELANEY: “With the embryo transfer and the AI, it’s really allowed us to mass multiply our best individuals. Which really helps bring up the average of the entire herd. So we have more chances for our best cow to produce calves.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4pqtwzf
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
FLOWERS: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “Across Minnesota, flower farms are opening their fields for ‘U-pick’ experiences, offering everything from self-serve flower patches and curated bouquet sessions to family-friendly farm activities. Whether you’re planning a weekend day trip, searching for the perfect photo op, or simply bringing home your own fresh blooms, these destinations are worth adding to your summer itinerary.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4fkI1Qp
PEACE: Via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “On farm fields in Montrose, grief weighs on the friends and family of Jerry Untiedt. ‘He got to work until the day he died, which is exactly what he wanted,’ Jenna Untiedt, Jerry’s daughter, said. Jerry and Sue Untiedt started Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm in the 1970s on a small piece of land in Waverly. The farm quickly grew, as did their family.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4ywXhTm
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