CORN POWER: From Minnesota Corn via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Great explanation from MCR&PC member Jim O’Connor on the power packed inside every corn kernel — and thanks to Jim for hosting the Taiwan delegation last week in partnership with U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council!” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/47yoXKI (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
All Fluence Media tip sheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
DATA: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “The grain markets are eager to learn more about U.S. harvest results. Analyst Angie Setzer with Consus Ag Consulting says the USDA’s October supply and demand report was absent because of the government shutdown. ‘October and November is when you see the USDA update crop production using in-field data. And the one thing that we can say this year probably louder than any other year is that once you got in and started pulling actual ears and weighing and doing all the sort of harvest things, we did discover that the yields were less than expected pretty much everywhere.’ She tells Brownfield the lack of weekly crop progress reports has also had a market impact.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LdI6dB
WOLVES: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “The number of grey wolves in and around Voyageurs National Park in far northern Minnesota dropped by 19 percent compared to last year—and by about 31 percent over the past two years— according to a new report from researchers who have intensively studied wolves in the region for over a decade. Researchers with the Voyageurs Wolf Project counted 99 wolves, including 22 lone wolves, in the area spanning the national park near International Falls and a large chunk of land south of the park. That’s the lowest number of wolves in the area in the past eleven years—nearly equal to another low point in 2020.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qLjCJ0
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3VZAwp9
SNAP: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP after two judges issued rulings requiring it to keep the nation’s largest food aid program running. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, had planned to freeze payments starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it during the federal government shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs more than $8 billion per month nationally. The government says an emergency fund it will use has $4.65 billion — enough to cover about half the normal benefits.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hDY8t7
MORE: Via Detroit Lakes Tribune, VERBATIM: “Twenty-eight states, including Minnesota, filed suit on Tuesday, arguing the halt in benefits is illegal and that the administration should be tapping into a contingency fund set aside by Congress for the purpose of emergencies like a shutdown.” QUOTE: “Today’s ruling made it clear that Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture has multiple ways to continue feeding hungry Minnesotans during the shutdown,” Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a Friday afternoon news release. “Instead of using any of that available funding, the Trump administration tried to take food off the table of kids and families across our state and across our country. It is impossible for me to understand the cruelty required to use 42 million hungry Americans as political leverage.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LFlPVY
SHUTDOWN: Via Morning Ag Clips, from Minnesota Farm Bureau president Dan Glessing, QUOTE: “The shutdown is affecting everyone. Farmers have lost access to USDA resources, and now families and communities are losing support for vital food programs,” said MFBF President Dan Glessing. “Farmers work hard to feed our communities, and Farm Bureau has long partnered with food shelves and organizations across the state to address food insecurity. Now, it’s time for both sides of Congress to come together, put Americans first, and keep our country moving forward.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3LqJkSC
HEMP: Via Cannabis Business Times, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison argued that his goal was to protect the state’s hemp THC industry when he spearheaded a letter on Oct. 24 asking Congress to criminalize products containing synthetic hemp derivatives. The letter, signed by 39 state and territorial attorneys general, asked U.S. congressional leaders to clarify the federal definition of hemp in a manner that would close a ‘loophole’ in the 2018 Farm Bill that has allowed intoxicating hemp-derived THC products to inundate communities nationwide.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nxlQsn
CHINA: From farm management analyst Kent Thiesse, VERBATIM: “After months of uncertainty and angst among farmers and grain traders, the new U.S. trade deal with China announced on October 30 provided some stability and certainty to the soybean market. Soybean market prices had struggled for most of 2025 due to a lack of soybean export sales commitments to China and other countries, as well as a fairly large 2025 U.S. soybean crop being projected by USDA in September. There was some thought that USDA may revise the 2025 U.S. average soybean yield and total production slightly lower in October; however, USDA has not issued any updated yield data or crop reports since mid-September due to the federal government shutdown. So, the announcement of the China soybean purchases and other recent trade deal have been the most positive factor to influence the soybean market in many months.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47I2Cuo
FFA: Via FFA, VERBATIM: “The 98th National FFA Convention & Expo has come to a close after welcoming a record-breaking 73,000-plus attendees from across the country to downtown Indianapolis . . . Throughout the week, more than 13,000 students and teachers expanded their knowledge and expertise by taking part in 141 workshops, including 39 teacher workshops and 102 student workshops.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47nrXLh
MORE: Via Brownfield, interviews with newly-elected FFA officers. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/47EC1OT
FARM TO SCHOOL: From MDA via X, VERBATIM: “That’s a wrap on National #FarmtoSchool Month! We’ve traveled across MN visiting schools & early care centers to see what they’re cooking up, and we’re inspired by what we’ve seen. Thanks to everyone who shared lunch with us and continues to grow MN’s Farm to Kids movement.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4nxwCz3
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)
HARVEST: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Brent Johnson grows corn and soybeans in Calhoun County [Iowa] and tells Brownfield they finished harvest the last full weekend of October. ‘Crops were really pretty good. Soybeans were surprisingly good, corn was still good but not as good as we originally anticipated earlier in the fall and in late summer.’ He says much of his focus is turning to 2026.” JOHNSON: “Harvest season is one of my favorite seasons. It’s good to see it get here (and) it’s good to be done in some aspects. But as I started looking at seed (and) fertilizer costs for next year, it looks like that trend for profitability challenges is going to continue.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/47Hw4AB
JET FUEL: Via Minnesota News Connection, VERBATIM: “Pretty soon, Minnesota’s farm fields will be in a deep freeze, but some seeds will still be doing their work as farmers try out a winter-hardy crop at the forefront of a production process to create cleaner fuel for commercial jets. This fall, the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green initiative is in the early stages of a study to determine the next steps for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. A key ingredient is winter camelina, a cover crop that not only protects the soil from erosion but has the potential for commercial use.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3X9Hw2Z
SUNFLOWERS: Via Detroit Lakes Tribune, VERBATIM: “Diversification is a key part of what has helped make the Smude family successful in central Minnesota and beyond. The family has their hands in agriculture processing, cattle production, ag construction and sales, including eight different LLCs — taking up a good chunk of the Pierz industrial park and spilling into their nearby farm. It’s diversification that led Tom Smude to add sunflowers to his farm acres in 2009 in an effort to have a crop with better drought tolerance that he fed to his cattle herd that he’s been building since 2005.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nuY68d
WEEDS: From MDA via X, VERBATIM: “Thinking about stepping up your weed control efforts next year? A weed management plan can be as simple or complex as you want, but either way, the most important thing is to get started now. Our Weed of the Month quiz can help.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/47ECLUb
BIOLOGICALS: Via Successful Farming, VERBATIM: “Biological products are some of the fastest-growing categories of crop inputs, potentially helping farmers unlock new yield potential, improve soil health, and increase the efficacy of fertility programs. ‘The real promise of biologicals lies in their flexibility,’ said Fred Below, a University of Illinois crop physiologist. ‘It’s the only category that can potentially make every part of the production system work a little better.’ But, with hundreds of products on the market, it can be difficult to separate promise from proven performance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4opwq66
SOLAR: Via KBIA-Radio, VRBATIM: “Linda Hezel starts clipping the herbs, vegetables and produce from the vines on her farm in Kearney, Missouri, early each morning. The ground-mounted solar array that powers Hezel’s home also provides shade as she harvests produce in the extreme heat that hits Missouri each summer. ‘It’s really bad. I have to get up at first light because by 10 o’clock, stuff wilts the moment you cut it,’ she said. The bounty that eventually lands on plates at restaurants in Kansas City is grown in raised beds and shaded by 18 solar panels hoisted more than 8 feet off the ground. This is Hezel’s first growing season experimenting with an emerging farming system called agrivoltaics.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/43HlWqg
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
FLOAT: Via news release from Hormel, VERBATIM: “For its sixth consecutive year, the Jennie-O Big Turkey Spectacular float will entertain Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade attendees and millions of viewers nationwide on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 27. Shaggy, a multi-award-winning songwriter, producer and hitmaker, is set to perform a mashup of his most iconic songs on the Jennie-O float this Thanksgiving.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ldx5ZM
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