September 16, 2025

Are We Seeing Signs of Cattle Herd Rebuilding?

The U.S. beef cow inventory has reached its lowest point since 1962, reports Drover, marking what appears to be the bottom of the current cattle cycle. Tight supply is driving the strong pricing environment beef producers are enjoying today. “For cow-calf producers right now, things are as good as they’ve probably ever been,” says Troy Rowan, University of Tennessee assistant professor. Agreeing with Rowan, South Dakota cattleman Ken Odde adds that while profits are currently strong, inflation quickly erodes economic gains. “The beef industry is not currently in herd expansion mode, with producers hesitant to retain heifers due to high costs and economic uncertainties,” says Dave Weaber, Terrain senior animal protein analyst. While the USDA reports showed the smallest U.S. herd in history and continuing tightening numbers on feed, analysts predict producers have not experienced the highest cattle prices, yet.

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Farm Aid Update

Teamsters at the University of Minnesota are ending a strike that put the Farm Aid concert festival in jeopardy.  Teamsters Local 320 announced that a tentative deal was reached after the university made a new settlement proposal.  Details on the proposal are unclear.  During the strike Farm Aid organizers had said their artists, production team, and partners wouldn’t cross the picket line, saying in a statement the farm and labor movements are inseparable, and that the university must return to the bargaining table.  The annual festival honors the resilience of American farmers and the organization’s history of standing with farmers, workers, and communities to build a more sustainable and just food system.  The event was founded by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp and is scheduled for September 20th at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

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NC Governor Asks Congress for More Hurricane Helene Relief for Farmers

As the one-year mark of Hurricane Helene nears, Governor Josh Stein is preparing to deliver his latest federal budget request, calling on Congress to provide more aid to North Carolina. While the state has received federal money, the governor has said it’s not nearly what’s needed as Western North Carolina continues to rebuild. Gov. Stein said he is asking for $13 billion in federal funds to help rebuild. He also said North Carolina has not received its fair share. Farmers in western North Carolina are shocked at what they describe as tiny state Agriculture Department reimbursement checks to cover massive Hurricane Helene crop damage, “This is a check for disaster relief from the state,” said Randy Edmundson, a farmer in Henderson County. “The check is for $5,151. I’m very disappointed.” He estimates his loss on bean crops alone was $125,000. A spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of agriculture said the disaster relief money is being sent out in categories, so farmers may receive a number of checks.

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Soybean Farmers Face ‘Desperate Situation’ Amid Inflation, Weather Extremes, and Tariffs

As soybean farmers harvest their crop after a difficult growing season, they are facing a farm economy that resembles “death by a thousand cuts,” Tennessee Soybean Promotion Council Executive Director Stefan Maupin said. Persistent inflation since the pandemic has made it more expensive for farmers to produce crops, and weather extremes over the last year mean they will see a significant loss in yield, he said. On top of that, bushels will soon hit a market where prices are low and the largest soybean export partner, China, is entirely absent amid trade negotiations with the Trump administration. “We’re in a significant and desperate situation where … none of the crops that farmers grow right now return a profit,” Maupin said. “They don’t even break even.” Another year in the red will be tough to survive for farmers still struggling to recover from last year’s losses, he added. 

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U.S. Preparing for ‘Critical Threat’ to U.S. Agriculture, USDA Leader Says During Oklahoma Stop

With no active cases of New World Screwworm (NWS) reported in the United States, the USDA is working to prevent its spread from Central America. Successful Farming reports U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins outlined the Department of Agriculture’s plan to prevent the spread of NWS to the U.S., including a partnership with the government of Mexico. NWS is a fly that lays eggs in the wounds of living animals and its larvae burrow and feed on healthy flesh, causing illness or death. The insect usually infects livestock and is typically found in South and Central America, but one case was detected in a human this summer who had returned from travel to El Salvador. “President Trump’s America First agenda means our (agricultural) community deserves unwavering support in the face of critical threats like this one,” she said. “As the situation evolves, we will continue our efforts to keep vulnerable livestock ranchers and the rest of America safe. The U.S. has defeated the NWS before, and we will do it again.”

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USDA to Invest Up to $18 Million in Farm to School Grants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it has improved and expanded its Farm to School Grant program and would invest up to $18 million to connect locally grown food to child nutrition programs.  The Farm to School Grant announcement was made alongside U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s latest Make America Healthy Again report, which called for more whole, unprocessed foods in children’s diets. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the grants are “one of the best ways we can deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to children, while also strengthening local agriculture.”  “These grants will open new doors for small family farms, expand access to healthy food in schools, and inspire the next generation of Great American Farmers,” Rollins said in the news release. State agencies, tribal organizations, child nutrition programs, nonprofits, agricultural producers and groups of producers can apply for grants from $100,000–500,000 to support new and existing farm-to-school projects.

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