Mid-Year Review Shows Soybean Oil Leading Ag Markets With the first half of 2025 complete, market data reveals a clear leader in the agricultural commodities space: soybean oil, up an impressive 26% year-to-date. It’s the top agricultural performer among 48 tracked commodities, and second overall only to platinum, which has surged more than 50% so far this year. Trailing closely …
Planted Acreage Report Shows More Corn, Fewer Soybeans
The USDA Planted Acreage report shows more corn and fewer soybeans, wheat, and cotton acres. Corn planted area is estimated at 95.2 million acres in 2025, up by five percent or 4.61 million acres from 2024. That’s the third-highest planted acres in the U.S. since 1944. The area harvested for grain is expected to be five percent higher than last …
Three Sisters: America’s Oldest Crop Collaboration
How Corn, Beans, and Squash Worked Together to Feed a Nation In today’s American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold highlights one of the most enduring and ingenious agricultural systems brought to the New World—the Three Sisters. Early settlers adopted this ancient Native American farming method, where corn, beans, and squash were grown together in harmony. Each crop played a vital …
Corn Plantings Rise, Soybeans and Cotton Fall in 2025
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2025 – The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its annual Acreage Report today, showing key shifts in U.S. crop planting for 2025. Corn continues to dominate the landscape, while soybean and cotton acreage fell compared to last year. According to the report, U.S. farmers planted 95.2 million acres of corn in 2025, marking a 5% …
How Native Crops and European Grains Shaped U.S. Agriculture
The Crop Exchange That Built American Farming In this edition of the American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold revisits a pivotal moment in agricultural development—when cultures collided and crops crossed continents to shape what we now know as American agriculture. As settlers expanded westward, Native Americans played a crucial role in introducing farm families to vital crops like sweet potatoes, …
Upcoming Crop Reports and Wheat Harvest Progress
The wheat numbers in last week’s USDA monthly crop report could garner the most attention in our view. USDA, we expect to place more attention on old crop corn, soybean and wheat supplies. But as one bottom line analyst suggested, he sees USDA quote sitting on their hands again this month, US and world supply demand numbers waiting for July …
From Cross-Check Rows to Modern Planting: Corn Planting
Evolution of Corn Planting in the U.S. In this edition of American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold takes us back to the late 1700s and early 1800s, a period when corn planting was a labor-intensive, hands-on process. Early American farmers used a method known as cross-check planting, where hills of corn were planted in evenly spaced rows running north-south and …
Birth of the Rotary Corn Planter: A Milestone in Agricultural Innovation
American Agriculture History Minute: Deere and Mansour’s Breakthrough in the 1800s In the mid-1800s, the American agricultural industry faced a critical need: a more accurate corn planting solution. Rising to meet this challenge, Charles Deere—son of the legendary John Deere—and Alva Mansour, a family business partner, joined forces to form the Deere and Mansour Company. Operating out of a modest …
Cattle Futures Recap & Trade Uncertainty Affecting Corn and Soybean Prices
Mark Oppold recaps cattle futures and Dale Sandlin shares how trade uncertainty is affecting corn and soybean prices. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
US Corn and Soybean Crop Emergence Progress
The US Corn and Soybean crop progress and emergence is being watched closely. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey shares the details of these crops so far this year. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024