April 29, 2025

Farm Bankruptcies on the Rise Again in 2025

Family farm bankruptcies increased by 55% last year compared to 2023 and are trending even higher this year as farmers continue to grapple with depressed agricultural commodity prices and high input costs. While much of the industry-wide distress predates his second stint in the White House, President Donald Trump has quickly nudged more farmers closer to the brink of going under and created turbulence for producers trying to make ends meet.  Unpredictable tariffs, immigration overhauls, federal program cuts, and frozen Agriculture Department funding are now part of the discussions farmers are having as they seek financial help. “’What’s going on in Washington?’ is the subject of almost every conversation that I have,” said farm bankruptcy attorney David Mills. Farm bankruptcy filings soared in 2019 during the height of Trump’s trade war with China, which targeted U.S. agriculture with a sweeping retaliatory tariff regime mirroring the response China is pursuing today. Trump’s administration sent farmers an estimated $23 billion covering export losses to try to stop more farms from going under.

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China Says It Won’t Be Affected by Loss of U.S. Grains and Oilseeds

China’s grain supply won’t be affected by a loss of U.S. feed grain and oilseed imports, thanks to abundantly available substitutes on the global market and sufficient reserves at home. The world’s top buyer of soybeans is set to receive a mammoth amount of oilseed from South America in the second quarter, easing a supply shortage and helping to further cool animal feed prices. Inbound shipments, mainly from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, are poised to climb to more than 30 million tons during the period from April to the end of June. China has moved to diversify its sources of grains in recent years and has shifted to buying more Brazilian soybeans as the trade war sparked by President Donald Trump’s tariffs makes purchases of US crops unviable. American grains like soybeans, corn, and sorghum can be easily substituted and the supplies on the international market are quite sufficient. Even without purchases of US feed grains and oilseed, there won’t be much impact on China’s grain supply.

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Corn and Soybean Planting Ahead of Average in Latest USDA Report

The USDA said that as of April 20, 12% of the corn crop in the country’s top states has been planted. That’s ahead of the five-year average of 10%. According to the report, corn planting has begun in 17 of the top 18 states. Only North Dakota has no reported corn planted. At this time last year, just 15 states had started planting corn. Two percent of the corn crop has emerged across five of the top corn-growing states. That’s on track with the five-year average. The five states with corn emergence reported are Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. The USDA said that as of April 20, 8% of the soybean crop in the nation’s top states was in the ground. That’s ahead of the five-year average of 5%. According to the report, soybean planting has begun in 14 of the top 18 states: Arkansas: 32%, Illinois: 10%, Indiana: 3%, Iowa: 11%, Kansas: 5%, Kentucky: 7%, Louisiana: 56%, Minnesota: 3%, Mississippi: 35%, Missouri: 15%, Nebraska: 2%, North Carolina: 7%, Tennessee: 15%, Wisconsin: 2%.

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Bird flu in Cows Shows No Signs of Adapting to Humans — Yet

H5N1 grows well in dairy cow udders, which may actually be good news for people. When traces of H5N1 bird flu showed up in cow’s milk last year, it raised fears that the virus could become more infectious to humans. So far, that hasn’t happened. Cows were surprise hosts for the virus. Influenza viruses latch on to sialic acid attached to sugar molecules that decorate the outside of cells. It turns out that the way sialic acid is attached to some sugar molecules on cow mammary gland cells resembles attachments, or receptors, in birds. This arrangement allows the H5N1 virus to infect birds and cows. Cattle also have sialic acid attachments like those that flu viruses use to grab and infect human cells. Researchers feared that having both human-like and birdlike receptors in the same mammary glands might make it easier for bird flu viruses to adapt, making transmission between people easier.

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Sunflower Acres Expected to Increase in 2025

U.S. growers say they will plant 49% more sunflowers this year. Oilseed crushers and bird food buyers were expecting an acre increase given small carryover seed stocks. Non-oil sunflower acres were somewhat below most traders’ thoughts. According to the USDA, growers intend to plant 1.07 million sunflower acres in 2025, an increase of 49% from last year’s record-low planted area. Compared with last year, growers in seven of the eight major sunflower-producing states expect an increase in planted acreage this year, with California representing the only state that is expecting a decline from 2024. The largest increase in planted area from last year is expected in North Dakota. Area intended for oil-type varieties, at 960,500 acres, is up 62% from 2024, with non-oil varieties estimated at 112,000 acres, down 12% from last year. The estimate for oil-type varieties was within industry expectations.

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USDA-FSIS to Withdraw Proposal to Declare Certain Salmonella Types as Adulterants in Raw Poultry Products

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will withdraw a proposed rule that would consider certain Salmonella serotypes and levels as adulterants in numerous raw chicken and turkey product categories. FSIS noted it had received 7,089 comments on the proposed framework, titled Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products, during the comment period, which closed on Jan. 17, 2025. The agency went on to say that it believes that the comments have raised several important issues that warrant further consideration. Therefore, FSIS is withdrawing the Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products proposed rule and proposed determination to allow the agency to further assess its approach for addressing Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products.

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