NEXT WEEK: From Minnesota Corn via Instagram, VERBATIM: “Looking to learn how global trade policy affects your farm? Join Minnesota Corn at our free Trade Policy Academy event Wednesday, March 18, in Austin. Co-hosted with the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council and the National Corn Growers Association, the event will provide you with the latest in trade dynamics and trade policy history.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/3Nut1pj (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
LIVESTOCK
DEER: Via Agweek, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is tasked with following laws that are leading to a phasing out of deer farms in what is being considered as a means to protect the wild deer population. Meanwhile, the shrinking number of deer farmers in Minnesota sees this as an effort to take away their right to do the job they love. That’s largely due to 2023 law changes that are making it harder to continue their work today and in the future.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aZo6FV
CATTLE: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Cattle futures are sharply lower on Monday with feeder cattle touching limit down at one point on economic uncertainty according to Brad Kooima of Kooima Kooima Varilek. He says futures gapped lower on the open and traded sharply lower with live cattle gapping below key support at the 50 and 100 day moving averages.” KOOIMA: “Uncertainty is bearish cattle. That’s just what it is, folks.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rhEEOp
WEIGHT: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “An ag economist says heavier carcass weights are helping offset the decline in cattle slaughter. Josh Maples is with Mississippi State University Extension.” MAPLES: “Cattle weights are down a little over 7 percent, and beef production is only down 5.5 percent,” he says. “A big chunk of that is just driven by how much heavier these cattle are whenever we’re processing them.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bgZdVd
FEED: Via Farm Progress, VERBATIM: “One person’s loss is another one’s gain. We see that scenario play out often on the agriculture stage. Though low corn and soybean prices don’t bode well for grain farmers’ bottom line, those feeding livestock are enjoying this low tide . . . As of now, livestock producers are enjoying this corn market level. According to Michael Langemeier, a Purdue University Extension agricultural economist and associate director of the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture, average feed costs this year are expected to follow suit of those in 2025 that were around 9% lower than 2024 feed costs and 44% lower than 2023 feed costs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40YvHOY
INPUTS
FERTILIZER: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) is launching a new funding opportunity to help Minnesota farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect water quality through nitrogen enhanced‑efficiency fertilizers (N EEFs) during the 2026 growing season. Supported by a federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, the program will provide financial support to agricultural retailers that offer farmers discounts on approved N EEF products. Eligible products include nitrification inhibitors, urease inhibitors listed on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) approved product list, and polymer‑coated urea.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3MW2HEu
WIND: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Minnesota has more wind energy than we can handle, and a project in southern Minnesota wants to use the leftover capacity to power the first local, commercially available ammonia fertilizer. To start, that wind: Minnesota sits in a region that in recent years has had 4-9 million megawatt annual hours of curtailed wind, or wind energy that can’t be used. This region is the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) area, which includes Iowa, North Dakota, and Manitoba, as designated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind turbines here have extra capacity that the electric grid can’t take. So, the turbines get shut off. The energy is there, and it’s cheap, but there’s nowhere to put it.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4syfxrG
2026: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “As the calendar changes to March, farmers across the Midwest are eyeing the start of the 2026 growing season . . . Minnesota farmer Richard Syverson tells Brownfield” QUOTE: “I’m hoping that we can kind of avoid some big precipitation events and get into the field in a timely way.” He says, “That would really, I think, help everybody’s mood if we could get in and the crop would go in smoothly.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4uhdcTu
NUMBERS: Via West Central Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota saw the number of its farms decline over the past two years, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen told attendees at the Partners in Ag Innovation Conference at the MinnWest Technology Campus in Willmar on Feb. 26.
Numbers released just one week earlier by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed the number of Minnesota farms declined from 65,300 to 64,000, according to the commissioner. The losses are believed to have occurred during 2024 and 2025, as Minnesota had not reported any farm losses the previous year. ‘Minnesota had been holding steady the last few years; it slowed down, so this was concerning,’ said Petersen.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rl4UY4
HELPFUL INFORMATION
FARM BILL: Via farm management analyst Kent Thiesse, VERBATIM: “In mid-February, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman, Congressman Glenn (GT) Thompson (R-PA) released the text for the revised version of the U.S. House Farm Bill, which is titled: ‘Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026’ (FFSNA), or so-called ‘Skinny Farm Bill’. The House version of the Farm Bill was reviewed and was approved by the entire U.S. House Agriculture Committee by a vote of 34-17. The proposed Farm Bill was approved by all Republican members of the Ag Committee. as well as by seven Democratic members of the Committee; however, there was strong opposition to the proposed Bill by the Democratic leadership on the Ag Committee.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rpECDT
CYBERSECURITY: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Cybersecurity threats against the food and agriculture sector are rising, and vulnerabilities throughout the supply chain could threaten U.S. food security. Brandon Smith is a cybersecurity intelligence analyst with the Michigan Cyber Command Center. ‘Security is not convenient, unfortunately, and literally everything is under attack in the cyberspace.’ He tells Brownfield having separate wifi networks for equipment can be a simple and effective defense against ransomware attacks.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4s80G7y
NITROGEN: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Managing nitrogen in corn effectively is not simply a matter of hitting a total pounds-per-acre target. How, when and where you apply that nitrogen can dramatically affect both crop performance and how efficiently each pound is used – especially when navigating the carbon penalty, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rZPLMV
SCREWWORM: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) today announced a construction contract with Mortenson Construction to build a new sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. This facility is a key component in Secretary Rollins’ sweeping 5-prong strategy (PDF, 1005 KB) to fight New World Screwworm (NWS), as it will expand USDA’s domestic response capacity, bolstering protection for U.S. livestock, wildlife, and public health.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Pq4MsS
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
NEXTGEN
BOARDING SCHOOL: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Efforts are underway to launch a high school boarding school for sustainable agriculture and energy in north-central Oklahoma. Founder Jim Curl says Plains Preparatory Institute aims to be a hands-on learning environment for boys in 9th through 12th grade.” CURL: “We’re hoping to open in the fall of ’27, that may have to change. We may have to start in a local church before we can build our facilities, and we would still bus the kids out to get the experiences on the farm.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4bgpVx0
COMPETITION: Via Worthington Globe, VERBATIM: “Minnesota West Community and Technical College’s Worthington campus sent 16 students to the National Professional Agriculture Students contest this week in Branson, Missouri. Led by advisors Jeff Rogers and Dusty Neugebauer, the students garnered high placement in the state contest held Feb. 3-4 at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall to earn their trip. The state contest included four Minnesota colleges with PAS chapters, with most colleges having multiple teams per contest. The equine, beef, sheep and goat, swine, soils and College Bowl teams and individuals advanced to nationals.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4byPfQ7
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