TRADE: From Minnesota Corn via Instagram, VERBATIM: “The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been a game-changer for U.S. agriculture, creating jobs, expanding exports, and providing stability to our farms and communities. But these gains aren’t guaranteed: Your advocacy is needed to secure the long-term benefits of this agreement. This month, join MCGA and the Agricultural Coalition for USMCA in signing a letter to the Trump administration urging a full renewal of the landmark agreement.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/43dXTie (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
EXTERNAL FACTORS
USMCA: Via Bloomberg, VERBATIM: “The US, Mexico and Canada are set to blow past a July 1 milestone to renew their trade deal, opening the possibility of months or years of haggling over the rules and tariffs for auto manufacturing and other industries, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement, signed by President Donald Trump during his first term, includes a deadline next month to extend the pact for 16 years. If all three countries don’t agree to renew it, the deal remains in place until at least 2036 — barring one of them quitting it entirely — and enters rolling annual reviews.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43rdviq
MORE: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “Corn Refiners Association Vice President of Trade and Industry Affairs Christy Goodfellow says trade officials have already signaled negotiations with Mexico will continue after July 1.” GOODFELLOW: “What we have thought of as a deadline, I think the expectation is now that we will move past that.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4e9h6GD
TRUMP IN WI: Friday’s ag take arrived in inboxes right about the time that President Trump was set to begin speaking at a Wisconsin farm. WEAU-TV was there and has a recap. VERBATIM: “Around one thousand people gathered at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, some standing in pouring rain, to hear President Trump speak . . . The president and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins highlighted trade deals, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and policies enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill. The White House reports that 55,600 family farms were helped by getting rid of the death tax. The administration reports that tax cut savings average $2,600 for rural Wisconsinites and that Wisconsin saved more than $124 million on crop insurance.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4vukxii
MORE: Via Wisconsin Examiner, VERBATIM: “Trump and other speakers promised that the administration and congressional Republicans are working to ease the burden on American farmers, but offered little in the way of concrete proposals for how fertilizer, seed, gas and equipment will get cheaper or how milk, corn and soybeans will get easier to sell.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xfuRfT
INPUTS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Market disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East are impacting pork producers. Swine lender Chris Ford with Farm Credit Services of America says the rise in global oil prices is being felt across agriculture.” FORD: “Which has a direct impact on diesel, which pretty much everything on the farm is driven off diesel. Whether it be crop inputs, vehicles, those sorts of things. So that’s having a pretty significant impact. Plus then you see just the volatility the (conflict) creates in the interest rate (and) bond markets.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4uZawtO
PROUD TO CHAMPION ATHLETES EVERYWHERE: Minnesota’s 24,000 family corn farmers may come from different fields than the athletes participating in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, which are set for June 20-26 in Minnesota. But they share the same values, including dedication, hard work, and perseverance. This summer, Minnesota Corn salutes the talented athletes participating in the games. We’ll be cheering them on from our fields as they shine in yours. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn)
NEW WORLD SCREWWORM
SECOND CASE: Via The Texas Tribune, VERBATIM: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a second case of New World screwworm in Zavala County on Friday, just hours after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded a statewide disaster declaration in response to the screwworm’s arrival in Texas. The second case was found in a one-month-old calf 5.6 miles away from where the first case was detected on Wednesday, according to a USDA social media post. USDA deployed mobile response teams and increased surveillance in the area in response to the detection, the post said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4v3h5LO
MORE: Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins held a news conference this afternoon to provide updates on the situation. From PBS Newshour via YouTube, WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3RZ2yCc
MORE: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “Today U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced President Donald J. Trump has appointed John Bellinger as the new Senior Advisor for New World Screwworm Preparedness. In this role, Bellinger will integrate into USDA’s team to help further drive its robust effort to explore all available technologies to combat the New World Screwworm.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ea1T8t
FALLOUT: Via BBC, VERBATIM: “Canada’s food inspection agency has announced a temporary ban on livestock from the US state of Texas after flesh-eating screwworms were discovered in calves this week. Cows and horses that were in Texas anytime within 21 days before crossing the border into Canada would not be accepted into the country, an agency news release said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4v145q6
WHAT IT IS: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds on any warm-blooded animal. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of larvae use their sharp mouths to eat through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated. They mostly spread through the movement of infested animals and pose no threat to food safety and rarely affect humans, experts said. The last time screwworm was endemic in the United States, it took the cattle industry 30 years to recover, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4az5R9u
WHAT TO DO: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A swine veterinarian is encouraging U.S. livestock producers not to panic following the confirmation of New World screwworm in South Texas. Pat Hoffman is with Elanco.” HOFFMAN: “First thing I’d say is ‘take a deep breath.’ The United States has dealt with this before and we’ve eradicated it. And so it’s nothing new really (and) we have even more tools in the toolbox. We have faster diagnostics, we have faster ability to communicate these days.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ojH0ML
CROP CONSIDERATIONS
PIVOTS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “An agricultural economist at the University of Illinois says the slumping ag economy has farmers showing an increased interest in planting crops for premium markets. In a recent FarmDoc webinar, Nick Paulson says he’s fielding a lot of questions about white corn, non-GMOs, and organics.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g5o6Hd
HERBICIDES: Via Ag Web, VERBATIM: “As farmers make post-herbicide applications, Field Agronomist Nicole Stecklein says one simple habit may separate clean, healthy fields from those that suffer preventable herbicide injury: counting collars, not leaves. In a year marked by what she calls ‘weather whiplash’ — one of the wettest Aprils on record in Iowa followed by one of the driest Mays — corn is racing through the early vegetative stages. That puts timing pressure on farmers who want to clean up their fields with a post herbicide while being mindful of product label restrictions.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ftOGtq
ARC/PLC: From farm management analyst Kent Thiesse, VERBATIM: “Eligible landowners now have the opportunity to increase their crop base acres for potential Ag Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) farm program payments in future years. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently announced that the eligible landowners will receive a notice of possible changes in their crop base acres, and will have from now until August 31, 2026 to finalize the proposed base acre updates. The so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ (OBBB) that was signed into law in 2025 provided for the addition of crop base acres, which was the first opportunity to update crop base acres since 2002.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Q6M8Hq
SCHOOL FOOD: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has awarded more than $1.3 million to schools and early care providers through its Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Farm to School and Early Care grant programs to increase purchases of Minnesota-grown and -raised foods.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4odBFXn
FARM VISIT: From MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen via X, VERBATIM: “Visited Kisheri Farms today near Kenyon, MN to visit with Relyndis & Marius at their newly purchased farm where they grow diverse crops that they sell at the Mill City Farmers Market & other places.” PHOTO: https://fluence-media.co/4ebWNIG
FAIRHAVEN: Via High Plains Journal, VERBATIM: “Twenty-five minutes north of Duluth, at Fairhaven Farm, first-generation farmer and University of Minnesota Duluth alumnus John Beaton is redesigning small-scale agriculture in a changing world. Fairhaven Farm grows vegetables and flowers, but the farm’s bigger goal is to care for the soil and strengthen the farm for the future. As a sustainable farmer, Beaton believes that building soil health is foundational to the success of his farm. His soil health principles are simply to disturb the soil less, keep it covered, grow many types of plants, and keep living roots in the ground as long as possible.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uqHtye
CHEESE: Via KAAL-TV, VERBATIM: “‘Cheese Fest,’ as it is more commonly known, covered the streets of downtown Pine Island in curds rather than cars June 4 through 7. The weekend-long festival featured a rock climbing wall, mechanical bull and drone light show along with more traditional fair activities such as carnival rides, games, craft vendors and – of course – lots of cheese.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/49OcqVD
THIS MONTH: From MDA via X, VERBATIM: “June is Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month! From leafy greens to peas, radishes, berries & more, growing season is underway, bringing fresh flavors to tables across the state. Find a farm, farmers market, CSA, or other local food business near you at http://MinnesotaGrown.com.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/4urXt2F
ALSO THIS MONTH: From MDA via X, VERBATIM: “Happy Pride Month! We celebrate the LGBTQ+ producers who work tirelessly to feed our families and sustain our economy. Let’s keep showing up to support one another and create spaces where everyone can be their authentic selves.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/3Q9BEH5
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
MEDIA: Via Red River Farm Network, VERBATIM: “Kloe Wadd has deep roots in production agriculture, beginning with her family’s farm at Waseca, in southern Minnesota . . . Join us in welcoming Kloe to the RRFN team.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xhTRmw
APPOINTMENTS: From MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen via X, VERBATIM: “Today Governor Walz announced the reappointment of livestock producer Alex Stade & appointment of Dr. Veronica Bartsch to the MN Board of Animal Health, congrats to both!” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/4uZQWO7
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