RACING: From Minnesota Corn via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Great job by our county leaders in southeast Minnesota at the annual Tasseldega Nights event at Deer Creek Speedway this past weekend!” PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/4jvV3Lc (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
FRIDAY AG NEWS
DIESEL: Via Senate Joint Economic Committee - Minority, VERBATIM: “President Trump campaigned on lowering prices for farmers, but his actions have instead led to the opposite result: American farmers are facing skyrocketing costs. Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran drove up the cost of diesel fuel just as farmers were set to start their spring planting – a process that requires millions of gallons of diesel fuel across the country.”
“This calculation only takes into account the diesel used to plant corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice; it doesn’t take into account other war-related increases such as the increased costs of running diesel generators that power some greenhouses or the increases at the pump that farmers and truckers face when they drive products to market.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4flxKoC
MORE: From the Committee release, QUOTE: “Farmers have already been battling high input costs and President Trump’s ongoing war in the Middle East is further raising diesel costs,” said U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and member of the Joint Economic Committee. “American farmers have been left paying the price. Minnesota farmers are spending over $1,400 more on diesel since last year. Americans want lower prices, not costly wars with no strategic path forward.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wYmHay
REACTION: Via The New Hampshire Union Leader, VERBATIM: “The study combined fuel prices from AAA and the Energy Information administration along with crop and field operation estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Iowa State University’s Ag Decision Maker research arm. Republican State Committee Chairman Scott Maltzie panned the report as a partisan talking point.” MALTZIE: “This is not an objective economic analysis — it is a partisan press release disguised as research.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wmUOta
FERTILIZER: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “Fertilizer prices are expected to remain elevated as growers prepare for fall applications. StoneX Vice President of Fertilizer Josh Linville said global supply disruptions and tightening inventories leave little hope for lower prices before fall fieldwork begins.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fCZHXL
IN THE FIELDS
DROUGHT: The new Drought Monitor out this week shows the situation continues to get worse – 48% of the state is now in formal drought status, up from 38% a week earlier. It reflects data as of Tuesday. MAP: https://fluence-media.co/3zN8TDo
WEEDS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A professor of weed science at the University of Illinois says many farmers have faced challenges in terms of weed control this year. Aaron Hager tells Brownfield, ‘It’s been all over the board, around the state this year.’ He says, ‘We had some very good timely rainfalls when we were doing a lot of our pre-emergence products. Then we got into some very wet conditions beginning about mid-June, that delayed a lot of the post applications.’” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4hvktuX
WHEAT: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “The Wheat Quality Council Spring Wheat and Durum Tour wrapped up with a final average yield estimate of 48 bushels per acre.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wnXE11
CROP INSURANCE: Via Successful Farming, VERBATIM: “The USDA is reversing course on a change to a federal crop insurance policy to allow farmers to buy more protection if weather or field conditions prevent them from planting a crop. USDA had eliminated the option to buy additional prevented planting insurance going into the 2026 growing season.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45l2u2X
TRADE: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A former U.S. Trade Ambassador suggests the agriculture sector is often treated unfairly in trade negotiations. Robert Lighthizer uses U.S. bulk commodity agriculture as an example.” LIGHTHIZER: “We’re more competitive, and we’re more discriminated against around the world. I’ve always said that no group suffers more from protectionism abroad than agriculture.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Tjziqz
AID: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Earlier this week, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins told the Senate Appropriations Committee supplemental farmer aid is meant to be a springboard, not a new floor for government support. The administration is requesting $11.1 billion in additional supplemental agricultural assistance . . . If approved, that money would come on top of the $44.3 billion in government payments USDA’s Economic Research Service has estimated for farmers this year. Combined, that would total $55.4 billion. If spread evenly across 153.8 million U.S. taxpayers, that total would equal roughly $360 per taxpayer.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4yDx3OL
AG ECONOMY: Via New Ulm Journal, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen talked about agriculture opportunities and challenges in detail at the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) Summer Conference at the New Ulm Convention Center Wednesday.” QUOTE: “We need all the farmers we have,” said Petersen. “We have 64,000 farms in Minnesota but we lost 1,300 farms the last two years. That’s been hard. The ag economy has really been struggling. Lots of people are retiring too.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4yFN2Mj
FARM BUSINESS
NEXT MONTH: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “Attendees at Farmfest 2026 are encouraged to stop by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) exhibit for information on a wide range of agriculture programs and resources—including a free, onsite nitrate testing clinic for private well users. The annual event runs Aug. 4–6 at the Historic Gilfillan Estate near Redwood Falls.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4woiYDy
CATTLE: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A southwest Minnesota livestock producer sees positives and negatives from the historically high cattle market. Danny Vos has cow-calf pairs and finishes cattle near Hendricks.” VOS: “It’s been darn good I guess. It would be a tough thing to get into now with the high prices, so it’s good to be in it I guess before this comes. But we’ve got to tread pretty lightly here and make sure we can all stay profitable.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4vNmOF6
MARKETS: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “Cattle and hogs were mostly higher early Friday, grains mostly lower except soybeans.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4vMf1Hs
REPAIRS: Via Agweek, VERBATIM: “Three Democratic candidates campaigning across southeastern Minnesota this month said a recent federal settlement with John Deere is a step forward on farmers’ right to repair their own equipment, but they argue the state needs to close a gap in its own law that still leaves tractors and combines out of reach. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, along with legislative candidates Dan Wilson and Jack Hedin, discussed the issue during a July 13 campaign stop in Rushford, days after John Deere agreed in U.S. District Court to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and several states, including Minnesota, over claims the company blocked farmers from repairing their own equipment outside of authorized dealers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pFqUxx
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
SILOS: Via Harvest Public Media, VERBATIM: “Silos — tower-like structures on farms that hold fermented feed for livestock — have dotted the Midwestern landscape for 150 years. But they’re threatened by development and old age. One ‘silo hunter’ in northern Illinois has been tracking down silos her grandfather built before they disappear. Marianne May drove around the backroads of McHenry County on a recent afternoon, scanning for those tall, round structures with a shallow point at the top that’s characteristic of her grandfather’s silos. Some of them have a little diamond shape on the very top — his signature.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4x4D2eb
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