E15: From Minnesota Corn via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Like this post to join us in supporting year-round E15 access! The benefits of ethanol extend throughout the national economy. In fact, permanent access to higher ethanol blends like E15 could generate an additional $36.3 billion in income and support about 188,000 jobs.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/4jvV3Lc (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
We recently launched our first premium publication. The Fluence Brief will be released 3-4 times a month and dive deeper into the business, economic and political dynamics of the Midwest. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cQw43r
All Fluence Media tip sheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
TARIFFS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Uncertainty buffeted Minnesota business owners Thursday as the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again tariff program experienced its latest turbulence in the courts. A day after the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, a federal appeals court handed the administration a victory by pausing that injunction. In Minnesota, where the domestic and foreign import taxes have sunk farmers’ prospects and rattled supply chains, Thursday’s whiplash only underscored why some firms remained relatively muted.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jw9aQH
PRICES: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A crop farmer in south-central Minnesota says local cash prices are decent. Tim Waibel of Courtland tells Brownfield the basis for soybeans is firming up. ‘Running a zero basis on the soybeans into ADM and CHS in Mankato.’ He says the best corn basis is about 60 miles away.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4jokNsM
LAND: Via Farm Progress, VERBATIM: “Although we are still seeing tougher economic conditions in the ag sector, some positive silver linings will help out folks in the tougher cycle that we are in. First-quarter ag economic reports from the Minneapolis and Chicago Federal Reserve Districts recently came out, both of which shed some positive land value insights. Minnesota nonirrigated farmland values were reported to be up 3% in the first three months of 2025, with North Dakota increasing 7% and South Dakota up 4.6%.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43RH9OJ
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3VZAwp9
TRADE: Via USDA, a pair of news releases announcing trade developments:
ITALY: “U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins will visit Rome, Italy, on June 2-3. During her visit, Secretary Rollins will reinforce the Administration’s expectations for improved agricultural market access to Italy and the European Union and will encourage the United Nations organizations in Rome to prioritize American interests, reduce costs, and focus on their core mandates.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Fy5jo8
COSTA RICA: “Under U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins’ leadership, American dairy producers will have greater market access as Costa Rica has approved the first U.S. dairy facility to be registered under their new streamlined approval process. The Trump Administration continues to break down non-tariff barriers, and this latest action is the first of many wins ahead for American dairy producers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SpY6JN
NEXT MONTH: Via Morning Ag Clips, VERBATIM: “The University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) and Owl Bluff Farm will co-host an open house from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, June 21 to celebrate the completion of the state’s first farm-scale deep winter greenhouse . . . The Owl Bluff Farm’s greenhouse was designed by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Sustainable Building Research at the College of Design. This greenhouse is heavily insulated and designed with a steeply sloped south-facing glazing wall to capture solar heat in the daytime.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43EiXhu
DROUGHT: The new Drought Monitor reflecting data as of Tuesday shows 15% of the state in drought, down from 18% a week earlier. 73% of the state is considered abnormally dry or worse. MAP: https://fluence-media.co/3zN8TDo
ASSISTANCE: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the release of Congressionally mandated Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) payments to cover grazing losses due to eligible drought or wildfire events in 2023 and/or 2024. Secretary Rollins committed on May 7 to release these emergency payments by May 30, and today she is delivering on that commitment ahead of schedule.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43jVpzG
MAHA: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “An American Soybean Association board director has some concerns about the Make America Healthy Again Commission report. Jamie Beyer, who farms in west-central Minnesota, says there were some unwelcome surprises regarding certain crop protection tools.” BEYER: “That we have relied on for decades (that) in our opinion have a tried and true safety record, and we also have a long history of working with EPA and other federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of our food supply.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jscT1G
NATIVE AMERICANS: Via ProPublica, VERBATIM: “As he has promoted the Trump administration’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, has lamented the toll that processed foods have taken on the health of Americans, in particular Native Americans . . . Yet even as the president tasks Kennedy’s agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with improving healthy eating programs, the USDA has terminated the very program that dozens of tribal food banks say has helped them provide fresh, locally produced food that is important to their traditions and cultures.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SXBbph
ROADS: Via MnDOT, VERBATIM: “Starting Tuesday, June 3, full-summer overweight permits will become available in the North frost zone, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced today.” MAP: https://fluence-media.co/3UVDICI DATES: https://fluence-media.co/3V0Kw1T
WEEDS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Farmers are encouraged to scout for weeds before and after spraying. Ron Geis with Corteva Agriscience says farmers need to be vigilant early in the growing season.” GEIS: “To make sure that you get the weed control that you expect, monitor any crop responses, and to scope out any problem areas.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FgbRI7
TIMBER: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced a bold $200 million investment to implement the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service’s National Active Forest Management Strategy, a key initiative to increase timber harvest, improve forest health and productivity, reduce wildfire risk, and support rural prosperity in forest communities.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kBkUCe
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)
CUTS: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “Even as lawsuits challenge President Trump's dismantling of the federal government, there are growing fears among those who work in agriculture that the exodus of thousands of employees from USDA, including more than 1,300 from the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), has left American agriculture vulnerable. ‘There's no way APHIS can do its job with 1,300 fewer people,’ says Kevin Shea, a 45-year veteran of USDA who led APHIS for 11 of those years. He retired in January after helping with the presidential transition.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3Hjvr6T
ADVOCATE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Friendly Vang-Johnson’s parents were some of the first Hmong refugees to farm in Minnesota . . . Vang-Johnson grew up in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood, commuting to a piece of land in the suburbs where she helped tend the family’s vegetables and waking up early to help interpret at farmers markets. She wasn’t planning to follow her parents into farming and instead had a two-decade career in government auditing. But that changed when she was living in Seattle during the COVID-19 pandemic. With markets closed, Hmong flower farmers were struggling to find customers. Vang-Johnson started a delivery program that eventually became Friendly Hmong Farms, a wider effort to support farmers in Washington and Minnesota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Fz0hHY
THIS SUMMER: Via WXOW-TV, VERBATIM: “The University of Minnesota Extension is offering a Tractor and Farm Safety Training course this summer. The program is designed for youth ages 14 and older and provides a mix of online learning and hands-on instruction.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FxFhBx
SENSORS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A precision ag specialist suggests the use of sensors has been one of the biggest advancements for this generation of farmers. University of Minnesota Precision Agriculture Center director Yuxin Miao says technology continues to influence farming.” MIAO: “The most impactful I think (is) the development of satellite remote sensing, and also UAV remote sensing. Especially satellite remote sensing, right now we have satellites that can collect images from the farmers’ fields every day.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/43E9yXg
SURVEY: Via Agweek, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Beef Council is considering a producer referendum to raise the Minnesota Beef Checkoff. The Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association sent out a notice to its membership in May, informing them of a survey they could take. Producers are being asked to take the brief survey to gauge interest in an increase to the checkoff. Within the survey, producers are asked if they would support an increase to the Minnesota Beef Checkoff by 50 cents per head and if they would support an increase of $1. It also asks questions gauging perception of the benefits of the program.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dFR90J
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
SHEEP: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Hundreds of sheep are hard at work this spring in central Minnesota — not on a farm, but beneath solar panels. At the Serco Solar Array in Clear Lake, more than 600 sheep are being used to manage vegetation around the 1,200-acre site. ‘We have 600 ewes and all of them are with lambs, by the end of the summer we will have 1500 adult sheep and by the end of the project 7000 sheep,’ said Briana Beck with Minnesota Native Landscapes.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3SqBsRB
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