STUDY: Via Minnesota Corn, VERBATIM: “A recently completed study by the Minnesota Corn-supported U.S. Grains Council (USGC) gives U.S. grain marketers another point to highlight when comparing American corn to South American varieties. U.S. corn takes approximately 5% less energy to mill than Argentinian varieties and 10% less energy to mill than Brazilian varieties, according to the research, which was conducted at the Fargo-based Northern Crops Institute (NCI). An analysis by USGC found that this efficiency could translate into tens of thousands of dollars in energy savings for a large feed mill.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4444JGZ (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn Growers Association)
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2040 VISION: Help us shape the future of Minnesota's agriculture and food economy. Minnesota AgriGrowth, in partnership with Fluence Advisory, has launched an ambitious effort to develop a clear 2040 vision for Minnesota's agriculture and food economy. AgriGrowth is engaging members from the food and agriculture economy to establish a robust 2040 vision for Minnesota, guiding state policies and driving economic growth. Farmers, producers, researchers, and agribusiness leaders are encouraged to take 15 minutes to complete this survey by next week. LINK: https://fluence-media.co/AgriGrowthSurvey25
IMMIGRATION: Via USA Today, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump said he plans to make changes to his administration's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration to protect migrant farmers, hotel workers and others in the leisure industry who have been among those deported. Trump promised the changes in a June 12 Truth Social post that acknowledged Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have expanded arrests beyond just migrants convicted of violent crimes, who Trump officials have said are the primary targets of raids and deportations.” TRUMP: "Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace." READ: https://fluence-media.co/45VJ0Ua
MORE: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Later, at a news conference, he took an uncharacteristically sympathetic tone toward immigrants who work on farms and in the hospitality industry.” TRUMP: “Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers, they have worked for them for 20 years,” he said. “They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be, you know, great. And we’re going to have to do something about that. We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don’t have maybe what they’re supposed to have, maybe not.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kGv3y8
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3VZAwp9
DC: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “American Farm Bureau members discussed ag policy with members of Congress this week. Minnesota Farm Bureau president Dan Glessing took part in the annual AFBF summer fly-in and tells Brownfield the Senate reconciliation bill somewhat resembles the House version.” GLESSING: “From what we’ve seen it’s not a lot different, and we’re still trying to digest what’s all in there and what the total savings is. There was quite a bit of different target between the House and the Senate when it comes to savings.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3Zr9glp
FOREIGN AID: Via Iowa Capital Dispatch, VERBATIM: “Federal cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development assistance programs will hurt American farmers and the safety of their crops, said several agricultural research leaders at a forum hosted by U.S. Senate Democrats. ‘These cuts are clearly problematic for our standing in the world, our leadership in the world, our security, our trade relationships,’ Sen. Amy Klobuchar said. ‘But it also socks us here at home.’ Klobuchar of Minnesota, Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member, hosted a forum to discuss the relationship between foreign assistance programs and the U.S. agriculture market.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kYDCUA
FEEDLOTS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “For the first time in 25 years, Minnesota pollution regulators will step up their oversight of thousands of feedlots across the state. The new rules could change how and when the manure amassed by increasingly large livestock operations is stored and spread on fields, as that manure continues to contaminate drinking water in rural Minnesota. While no new regulations have been proposed, officials with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said they want to find ways to reduce the amount of nitrate from feedlot manure that has infiltrated private wells and groundwater and caused sporadic fish kills in rivers and streams.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nfzfGO
2025 SESSION: Via Morning Ag Clips, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) engaged with legislators, state agencies, and other leaders throughout the 2025 state legislative session to advance policies shaped by its grassroots members to ensure the vitality of agriculture and rural communities across the state. MFBF had a daily presence at the Capitol, serving as both a trusted voice for agriculture and a valuable resource for legislators looking to understand the challenges faced by farmers and ranchers. MFBF members also met with their elected officials at the Capitol and in their districts throughout the session, and MFBF board members met with key legislators in the final weeks as bill details were negotiated.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kEHTg6
TAR SPOT: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “Corn growers in southeast Minnesota are beginning to scout for tar spot. Ryan Buck farms in Goodhue County and says the plant disease was prevalent last year.” BUCK: “And that started to show up late June, so it was a lot earlier than we’ve normally seen it and it ended up being quite a problem up here. But we’ll be looking for that really hard this year just to make sure we can stay ahead of it.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4l4xGcE
TRANSPORTATION: Via Agweek, VERBATIM: “What farmers do in their fields is just the first step in a long line of actions to get products to market. ‘You can't feed the world if you can't get to the world,’ said Daniel Maffei, a commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission. ‘And getting to the world is through ocean shipping, particularly when you talk about agricultural exports.’ A packed crowd at the Midwest Ag Summit, put on June 10 by the Fargo-Moorhead Chamber of Commerce at the Butler Machinery Arena at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds, learned about ‘Powering Policy, People & Pathways in Agriculture’ during the three-hour event. The summit served as a kick-off for Ag Tech Week, a week of agriculture technology programs throughout the Fargo area.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45jhX53
CROP PROGRESS: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A farmer in northwest Minnesota is pleased with crop development. Shayne Isane of Badger says it was an unusual spring.” ISANE: “Got in early, got some rain. Had about a ten-day delay, got back in. Had about a 10-day window to get in and we did manage to do that before we got like an inch of rain, and some smaller rains after that.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/43Xu8SD
REPORT: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins signed the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. This is prepared monthly by the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) and provides market-moving annual forecasts for supply and use of U.S. and world wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds, and cotton.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HDrfix
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)
NEXT WEEK: Via Minnesota Department of Agriculture, VERBATIM: “Join school teams, coaches, and state leaders for a celebration marking the launch of the 2025–2026 Minnesota Farm to School Institute. This immersive, year-long program is a cross-agency initiative from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Education. The Farm to Institute program helps schools across Minnesota develop action plans to bring more fresh, local food into school meals, improving the quality of school meals and supporting Minnesota farmers, and teach students about gardening and agriculture.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jS1JU5
THIS MONTH: Via MYLE, VERBATIM: “The sixth annual Minnesota Youth Livestock Expo (MYLE) Livestock Show will be held on the Martin County Fairgrounds in Fairmont, Minnesota on June 26-29. The event will feature 4-H and FFA members and other youth livestock exhibitors from throughout Minnesota showcasing their top-notch beef, sheep, goats and rabbit projects. The MYLE Show is the largest youth livestock show in Minnesota outside of the Minnesota State Fair later this Summer.”
FUEL: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued the following statement in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) highest ever volume requirements for American grown biofuels in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).” ROLLINS: “This move by Administrator Zeldin is the boldest proposal ever and will provide certainty in a much-needed market for our producers while delivering lower prices at the pump for consumers. USDA and EPA have never been more aligned on the need for more American grown biofuels.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FO12NC
MORE: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “The EPA has set Renewable Volume Obligations for the next two years. Minnesota Biofuels Association executive director Brian Werner says RVO’s for 2026 were supposed to be finalized last fall. ‘So we’ve been pretty delayed on getting a Renewable Volume Obligation rule out, much less finalized. So we’re certainly pleased to see that EPA is making progress.’ EPA proposed a total RVO of more than 24 billion gallons for 2026, including 15 billion for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/44d8VFv
PORK: Via Agweek, VERBATIM: “Over the years, the swine industry has long been a source of farm income stability for many farmers and in many rural communities; however, in recent years, profitability in hog production has been much more mixed and has been negative for many producers. The swine industry was hit hard by the U.S. trade war with China in 2018 and 2019 and then by the Covid pandemic in 2020. In recent years, producers have dealt with higher input costs and interest rates, disease pressure that has reduced production levels, and market prices that have struggled to stay at profitable levels for long periods. In addition, they have dealt with the domestic pork sales problems caused by the implementation of the Proposition 12 legislation in California, as well as another looming trade war with China, Mexico, and other countries. These issues have especially impacted modest-sized swine farrowing and finishing operations in the Midwest.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FVsE3h
MORE: Via Brownfield, VERBATIM: “A swine veterinarian says mortality rates in wean-to-finish pigs are on the rise. Dr. Dave Baumert is with Zoetis Pork.” BAUMERT: “Pigs from the time they start in the nursery to when they eventually go to market, mortality if we looked at those numbers ten to fifteen years ago they were bouncing about six percent. The problem that we’ve seen is that in the last few years wean-to-finish mortality has gone up to about seven and-a-quarter percent.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3HGW7i3
WILDFIRES: Via USDA, VERBATIM: “U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum today joined President Donald J. Trump for the signing of Executive Order Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response, at the White House. The newly signed order directs federal agencies to consolidate and streamline federal wildland fire capabilities and enhance local response by adopting practical, technology driven strategies for land management, wildfire mitigation and response. It also directs agencies to modernize wildland firefighting efforts and expand efforts to prevent wildfires from starting in the first place.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43Ie88k
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
GOATS: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Goats from Drifty Acres are eating up buckthorn in Billings Park to help the ecosystem. Buckthorn is an invasive plant damaging native plants and wildlife. Rather than using herbicides or manual labor, the City of Superior brought in the goats to help solve the problem.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3ZxjIYF
AGRITOURISM: Via Forum, VERBATIM: “From fresh strawberries in early summer to a large corn maze in the fall, Otter Berry Farm is viewed by many to be a crown jewel of Otter Tail County. Tucked along a scenic drive about 7 miles from Perham, the farm at 38132 470th Ave., New York Mills, blossomed from a dream that Kris and Cordell Huebsch had. They wanted to bring ‘city slickers’ and country folk alike to experience life on a farm.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4l3MnwH
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