November 26, 2025
Rural Mainstreet Index Stays Below Growth Neutral
For the eighth time this year, the overall Rural Mainstreet Index sank below a growth-neutral score of 50.0. That’s according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a ten-state region dependent on agriculture and energy. The region’s overall reading was 34.6 in October, the lowest level since May 2020. That’s down from 38.5 in September. “Weak agriculture commodity prices for grain producers continue to dampen economic activity in the ten-state region,” said Ernie Goss of Creighton University. “While tariffs are producing higher economic volatility, 72 percent of bank CEOs say President Trump’s approach toward Chinese trade is ‘about right.’” For the 17th time in the past 18 months, farmland prices slumped below growth-neutral. The region’s farmland price index dropped to 37.0 from 45.8 in September. Farm loan delinquency rates rose from a very low 1.1 percent in June of this year to 1.6 percent this month.
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U.S. Soybeans Set for First Shipment to China Since May
Two cargo ships were headed for port terminals near New Orleans, Louisiana, this week to load the first shipments of U.S. soybeans to China since May. That’s according to a shipping schedule seen by Reuters. A third ship was heading to a Texas Gulf Coast terminal to be loaded with Chinese-bound U.S. sorghum in the coming days. That’s the first American shipment of the feed grain to China since the middle of March. China has booked almost two million metric tons of U.S. soybeans and a smaller volume of wheat since a meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi (Zhee) Jinping in late October. U.S. farmers and grain traders have been pushing for shipments to resume heading to China after the Asian nation stopped buying crops for months because of a trade war with Washington. The White House said Beijing agreed to buy 12 million tons of soybeans by the end of 2025.
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Weekly Exports of Soybeans and Corn Decline
Data from the USDA said that inspections of soybeans and corn for offshore delivery declined week to week, while wheat assessments increased during the week ending on November 20. Soybean inspections were reported at almost 800,000 metric tons, down from the 1.21 million tons inspected during the previous week. That’s also well below the 2.12 million tons assessed during the same week last year. Examinations of corn for overseas delivery dropped to 1.63 million metric tons, down from 2.97 million tons the previous week, but up from 1.01 million tons at the same point during the prior year. Wheat inspections rose to 474,530 metric tons, up from 246,533 tons the previous week and the 366,000 tons a year earlier. Since the marketing year began, the government has inspected 17.5 million metric tons of corn, and soybean assessments are at 10.9 million metric tons. Marketing-year wheat inspections reached 10.7 million tons.
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AFBF Study: Farmers Urgently Need Economic Assistance
USDA’s most recent reports, including Commodity Costs and Returns, World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates, and Farm Sector Income & Finances reports, all confirm what U.S. agriculture has known for years. U.S. farm income is under immense pressure. A new report from the American Farm Bureau Federation said farm financial stress is severe and persistent. Margins are below breakeven for many crops, working capital has eroded, Chapter 12 bankruptcy is on the rise, and a recent lender survey shows that profits will be elusive in 2026. Trade losses have compounded the increasing economic pressures. “While recent trade agreements and frameworks provide optimism, products have yet to move in significant volumes, and cash prices for commodities remain under pressure,” said study author John Newton. “For farmers who had to sell at harvest price lows due to a lack of storage, the benefits of recently announced trade frameworks will come too late.”
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Soy Groups Welcome USDA’s “America First Trade Promotion” Program Funding
The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service recently announced the America First Trade Promotion Program, and U.S. soy groups applauded the move. The American Soybean Association, the U.S. Soybean Export Council, and ASA’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) expressed strong support for the initiative, which established an estimated $285 million in funding for 2026 and offers a timely and strategic opportunity to bolster U.S. soybean export development in non-traditional markets for American farmers. For U.S. soybean farmers, this source of funding will help accelerate efforts to diversify export destinations, strengthen value-added processing, highlight the sustainability profile of U.S. soy, and reinforce supply-chain reliability for global customers. “For U.S. soybean growers, the America First Trade Promotion Program offers renewed momentum behind efforts to work with new markets, deepen existing trade relationships, and keep American-grown soy at the forefront of global feed and food chains,” said ASA President Caleb Ragland.
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USDA Launches Screwworm Information Website
Late last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the launch of a new unified New World Screwworm website, screwworm.gov. This dynamic new site will centralize NWS information available across the federal government and reflects the whole-of-government effort to fight the pest through the implementation of Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins’ comprehensive five-pronged plan. Screwworm.gov has targeted resources for a wide range of stakeholders, including livestock producers, veterinarians, animal health officials, wildlife professionals, healthcare providers, pet owners, researchers, drug manufacturers, and the general public. “This new unified website will be a one-stop shop for all screwworm-related information and will help our stakeholders be better informed as new information becomes available,” Rollins said. “We are grateful for the robust Interagency collaboration and continue working every day with our state and industry partners to implement our screwworm plan, which has a national security priority and the full attention of our team.”
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