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PJ Huffstutter

@pjhuffstutter.bsky.social
617 followers 100 following 113 posts

Reuters reporter covering agriculture & ag economy, working on a book about the US farm economy. Chicago-based. Posts=things I find interesting. Tips? DM or contact me on Signal.

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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
@reuters.com Evelyn Hockstein & I spent a week in the state, reporting on how federal economic policy changes are impacting the nation’s farming and food systems. It's the latest in our narrative series, and what we found was really eye-opening. www.reuters.com/investigates...
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BERGΛMΛX @bergamax.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Chris Judge’s “A Daily Cloud” project began in 2020, born from quiet days in the garden during lockdown. With simple lines and a touch of imagination, he turned everyday skies into playful scenes - one cloud at a time. [1/3] Credits: adailycloud [FB] #clouds #creative
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Ag story must-read: @reuters.com Heather Schlitz's fascinating tale about how the U.S.-China trade war has cost hog and cattle breeders a lucrative export market- and created an opportunity for farmers in Denmark to take market share. The headline is🔥! www.reuters.com/world/china/...
reuters.com
Trump trade war costs US farmers lucrative Chinese export market for breeding pigs, cattle semen
China is one of the biggest importers of American breeding pigs and other livestock genetic material. These lucrative niche export markets had been growing, but have dried up since Trump started a trade war with Beijing.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Farm loan employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency will now need approval from billionaire Elon Musk's DOGE to issue loans over $500,000, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The latest with Leah Douglas and myself on Reuters: www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
reuters.com
US farm agency to require DOGE approval for some loans
Farm loan employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency will now need approval from billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to issue loans over $500,000, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
A couple really terrific reads by @reuters.com's Lisa Baertlein that, if you track agriculture, you'll want to check out: 🧵 First up, this trucking story... www.reuters.com/business/tru...
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Must-read @reuters.com agriculture story today: Julie Ingwersen headed to Kentucky for a story with Karl Plume about the impact of the trade war and historic flooding on commodity crop farmers. www.reuters.com/world/us/ken...
reuters.com
Kentucky farmers hit by one-two punch of trade war, historic floods
Kentucky farmer Drew Langley got an early start planting soybeans this spring, hoping to boost yields to help soothe the sting of slumping prices after U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China put demand from the world's top importer in doubt.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
What's the impact of the Trump Administration slashing federal funding for ag research at land-grant and other universities - furthering the trend of cutting public backing for such work, at a time when rivals China and Brazil are doing the opposite? www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Yes, city folks, your grocery prices are going up over time - partly because retailers pass on higher overhead expenses (like rents). Given that commercial real estate could be recovering this year, will that result in even higher grocery prices? Hat tip to USDA's Charts of Note team!
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Apologies for the radio-silence, been on the road for work and for some family stuff. So - a catch-up on this terrific read by @reuters.com' Tom Polansek about the plight of the U.S. sorghum farmer. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...
reuters.com
Trump trade war dries up sorghum sales to China but US farmers plan to plant more
U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China comes at a bad time for sorghum growers like Dan Atkisson in Kansas, who is nevertheless preparing to increase plantings by 25% this spring.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Latest on @reuters.com by @leahjdouglas.bsky.social: The Trump administration has fired staff who were working on the Food and Drug Administration's bird flu response as part of its mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. www.reuters.com/business/hea...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Trump health layoffs include staff overseeing bird flu response, source says
The Trump administration has fired staff who were working on the Food and Drug Administration's bird flu response as part of its mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a source familiar with the situation.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
In West Virginia, where more than half the budget comes from federal funding, I spent a week following the story of a small farm / agriculture business to see how the Trump administration cuts are rippling across rural America. My lates on @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/us/fed...
reuters.com
Trump funding cuts ripple through rural America
The phone rang over the whine of Trey Yates' butter churn. The person calling was polite, but the message was devastating: Mountaineer Food Bank was ending Yates' butter contract, due to the federal government's funding cuts.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Fantastic read today by @reuters.com Marcelo Teixeira and Roberto Samora about circle irrigation pivot practices in Brazil's coffee farm fields due to rapid shifts in rainfall patterns. For U.S. grain farmers used to such systems, it's worth a read: www.reuters.com/markets/comm...
reuters.com
Brazil's coffee farmers turn to costly irrigation to quench global demand for the brew
Drought hit coffee farmers in Brazil hard last year, drying up trees and driving global prices to record highs. But Rodrigo Brondani is expecting a bumper harvest.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Before the Trump administration began, Trinity's Table deliveries of USDA-supplied food filled an 18-wheeler. Now, meal service to senior groups is at risk. My latest on the ripple effects of federal cuts with @leahjdouglas.bsky.social & @reneehickman.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
reuters.com
Trump cuts hit struggling food banks, risking hunger for low-income Americans
Food banks across the country, already strained by rising demand, say they will have less food to distribute because of at least $1 billion in federal funding cuts and pauses by the Trump administration, according to Reuters interviews with organizations in seven states.
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Leah Douglas @leahjdouglas.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
First in @reuters.com: Democratic senators are planning a letter to USDA's Brooke Rollins asking her to reinstate two local food programs that the agency cancelled. The programs have spent more than $2 billion on local food purchases. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
reuters.com
US senators to urge USDA to reinstate canceled local food programs
Democrats in the U.S. Senate will ask the Department of Agriculture to reverse the cancellation of programs that have funneled more than $2 billion for local food purchases to schools and food banks, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
USDA has suspended funding for research and programs at the University of Maine, after President Donald Trump clashed with Governor Janet Mills over the state's refusal to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports. The latest from @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
reuters.com
USDA suspends Maine university funding after Trump row over transgender athletes
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended funding for research and programs at the University of Maine, the school said on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump clashed with Governor Janet Mills over the state's refusal to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
"As the president said, farmers need to start growing crops to sell here in the U.S. This is what we are trying to do. We just need our approved grant funding to be released." My latest on @reuters.com with @leahjdouglas.bsky.social & Tom Polansek: www.reuters.com/world/us/far...
reuters.com
Farmers put plans, investments on hold under Trump USDA spending freeze
Nate Powell-Palm, an organic farmer outside Belgrade, Montana, was relying on a $648,000 grant from USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service to help build a feed mill - an economic lifeline for about 150 area organic grain farmers.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
With only weeks until spring planting, Canadian and U.S. farmers, already facing low grain prices, are bracing for another economic blow: even bigger fertilizer bills amid a North American trade war. The latest from @reuters.com Ed White (I edited!) www.reuters.com/markets/comm...
reuters.com
US, Canadian farmers face soaring fertilizer prices amid Trump trade war
With only weeks until spring planting on both sides of the border gets underway, Canadian and U.S. farmers, already facing low grain prices, are bracing for another economic blow: even bigger fertilizer bills amid a North American trade war.
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Ian Berry @ianberry.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
weekly U.S. Drought Monitor for the Midwest
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Canada has suspended imports from the biggest U.S. pork processing plant, a facility run by Smithfield Foods in Tar Heel, North Carolina, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture website. On the @reuters.com wire now by Tom Polansek - more coming soon.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
The "free school lunch" history is fascinating: Started in the 1940s by Truman, in response to claims that many American men had been rejected for WW2 military service because of diet-related health problems. Hat tip to USDA ERS team's Charts of Note: www.ers.usda.gov/data-product...
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Shout-out to @leahjdouglas.bsky.social being interviewed on @npr.org about bird flu! www.npr.org/2025/03/02/n...
npr.org
USDA plan to combat bird flu includes almost $1 billion in subsidies to help farmers
The U.S. Agricultural Department has announced a new effort to fight bird flu. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Leah Douglas, agriculture and energy reporter at Reuters, about the $1 billion plan.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
If you read one ag-news story today, I'd really recommend Agripulse's Noah Wicks's piece on the impact of USDA's NRCS staffing cuts, and the ripple effects felt on the ground. Some offices are "effectively shuttered". www.agri-pulse.com/articles/224....
agri-pulse.com
Workforce cutbacks strip many NRCS offices of staff
Buyouts and firings have shrunken staffs at USDA field offices as the Trump administration works to downsize the federal workforce. Leases for some locations will soon be terminated.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
SEEKING URGENT HELP: I am trying to get in touch with folks from the USDA forest service crews fighting the fires in the Carolinas - or those who know how to reach them. My dms here should be open, or you can email me at pj.huffstutter@tr.com (or I'm on Signal @pjhuffstutter.49) Can you help me?
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Leah Douglas @leahjdouglas.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
On tariffs, Rollins said Trump's "message to me within minutes of being sworn in and his message, frankly, to the ag community is ‘trust me.' At the end of the process, hopefully sooner rather than later, we will be ushering in an era of prosperity for our farmers and ranchers.”
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Leah Douglas @leahjdouglas.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking to reporters in DC, said Trump's message to farmers concerned about a trade war is, "trust me."
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
The U.S. sheep herd last year grew for the first time since 2016. Why? As U.S. farmers grapple with soaring debt and slumping incomes, some crop producers are trading their tractors and launching solar grazing businesses to make ends meet. My latest on @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/us/she...
reuters.com
US farmers switch to renting out sheep as lawn mowers for solar sites
For the first time in four generations, the Raines family didn't plant a single cotton seed last year. Chad Raines parked his tractor and rented out most of his Texas farmland to a neighbor.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Latest trade war updates from @reuters.com Jeff Mason, Andrea Shalal and David Lawder: The fresh China tariffs coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday Next week is going to be busy... www.reuters.com/world/americ...
reuters.com
Trump says Mexico, Canada tariffs to take effect March 4
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada will go into effect March 4 as scheduled because drugs are still pouring into the United States from those countries.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
"Corn has the best pathway to make a little profit in 2025": Farmers in the U.S. plan to plant more corn and fewer soybeans, hoping to shield themselves from Trump’s threatened tariffs. Terrific analysis piece by @reuters.com Julie Ingwersen. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...
reuters.com
American farmers to plant more corn, seeking best chance at profits
Farmers in the U.S. plan to plant more corn and fewer soybeans this spring than they did last year, hoping to eke out a profit and shield themselves from U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs, growers and analysts said.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
A USDA investigation into the agency's funding for the University of Maine could compromise research on biofuels, vegetables, and "forever chemicals", said an advocate and a state lawmaker. Latest from @reuters.com @leahjdouglas.bsky.social & myself: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
reuters.com
USDA review of University of Maine funding could hit PFAS, biofuel research
A U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation into the agency's funding for the University of Maine could compromise research on biofuels, vegetables, and "forever chemicals" that have been polluting the state, said an advocate and a state lawmaker.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
The Trump administration released $5.3 billion in frozen foreign aid, mostly for security and counternarcotics, according to a @reuters.com exclusive. USAID programs: less than $100 million in exemptions, compared to ~$40 billion in annual USAID program spend. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
reuters.com
Exclusive: U.S. exempts security funds from aid freeze — but little for humanitarian programs
The Trump administration released $5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, mostly for security and counternarcotics programs, according to a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters that included only limited humanitarian relief.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Rural access to grocery stores is often limited - and that trend is growing. There have been tests to revive rural grocery stores - but how successful have these projects been, as some rural populations shrink? Hat tip to @USDA_ERS Charts of Note. ers.usda.gov/data-product...
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
The USDA is releasing first tranche ($20 million) of the billions frozen due to IRA halt. USDA still reviewing grants/contracts. Rollins' statement indicates Trump administration believes some grantees should not have gotten $$. My latest on @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
reuters.com
USDA says it will release $20 million of frozen farmer funds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release approximately $20 million in funding for previously approved contracts that had been frozen by the Trump administration's push to overhaul the federal government, the agency said late on Thursday.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
My latest (on the @reuters.com wire now - working late): USDA will release approximately $20 million in funding for previously approved contracts that had been frozen by the Trump administration's push to overhaul the federal government, the agency said late on Thursday.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Staff at the U.S. farm, environment and interior agencies have been instructed by the Trump administration not to speak with the U.S. Congress. The latest from @reuters.com @leahjdouglas.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
reuters.com
US agency staff told not to speak with Congress, lawmaker says
Staff at the U.S. farm, environment and interior agencies have been instructed by the Trump administration not to speak with the U.S. Congress, Representative Chellie Pingree said in a letter sent to the agency administrators on Thursday.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Recipe request: I'm looking for a good elderberry syrup to make, that can be used in tea. I've got my hot-toddy game on-point, mind you, but I also have some dried elderberries and figured it would be a good way to use them up (given that so many folks I know are fighting off bugs). Help?
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of snoopy reading a newspaper in the snow with the words yes im cold below him
ALT: a cartoon of snoopy reading a newspaper in the snow with the words yes im cold below him
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Leah Douglas @leahjdouglas.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
NEW: The Trump administration's dismantling of USAID has halted work at 17 farm research labs at universities in 13 states, six lab directors told me, @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social and Tom Polansek. "For US farmers, this is not good," said one director. www.reuters.com/world/us/cut...
reuters.com
Cuts to USAID halt US farm research at universities, sources say
The Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development has halted work at a network of farm research laboratories at land grant universities in 13 states, according to six lab directors.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
I've always found it both ironic (and jarring) that in parts of rural America - where much of the nation's food supply is grown or produced - that there are such high rates of food insecurity (meaning people struggled to provide enough food for their household members within the past year).
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has frozen some funding for farmers as it goes through a sweeping review, despite assurances from the Trump administration that programs helping farmers would not be affected. My latest with @leahjdouglas.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
reuters.com
USDA freezes farmer funding for some programs, conservation contracts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has frozen some funding for farmers as it goes through a sweeping review, despite assurances from the Trump administration that programs helping farmers would not be affected in the government overhaul.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
The U.S. has stopped purchases for foreign food aid programs since the Trump administration began a sweeping review of federal aid spending, despite a waiver issued nearly two weeks ago for food assistance, according to nine sources. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...
reuters.com
Exclusive: US food purchases for foreign aid halted despite waiver, sources say
The U.S. has stopped purchases for foreign food aid programs since the Trump administration began a sweeping review of federal aid spending, despite a waiver issued nearly two weeks ago for food assistance, according to nine sources.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Exclusive scoop by @reuters.com Rachael Levy: Security agents escorted the inspector general of the USDA out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
reuters.com
Exclusive: USDA inspector general escorted out of her office after defying White House
Security agents escorted the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Interesting news on the @reuters.com wire now - a week before the company earnings: Grain trader ADM on Wednesday named Carrie Nichol as its chief accounting officer, effective March 1, 2025. Name sound familiar?
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Monday morning mood... (Hat tip to the talented Boult Animal Photography)
Boult Animal Photography - shocked otter eating a crawdaddy
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
TGIF - on a food note (not so much ags, but still food): Milk Street Radio's podcast this week include a terrific piece on Don Lindgren, the antique bookseller who collects community cookbooks - that oh-so-very-American tradition. It's worth a listen! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Collection of community cook books - Milk Street Radio
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Apologies for the late post on this story we broke yesterday, detailing companies in Brazil were affected by the soy shipments to China being halted due to phytosanitary issues (was working on the writing/edit late-late-late). www.reuters.com/markets/comm...
reuters.com
Exclusive: China halts Brazilian soy shipments from five firms, sources say
China, the world's biggest soybean buyer, has stopped receiving Brazilian soybean shipments from five entities after cargoes did not meet phytosanitary requirements, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
And they say there's no drama in agriculture... The story of Gregor MacGregor and his billion-dollar scam (in the 1800s!) Fascinating read by Chris Bennett at Farm Journal. www.agweb.com/news/busines...
agweb.com
Diabolical: How a Con Man Pulled the Evilest Agriculture Fraud in History
In an 8-million-acre hoodwink, Gregor MacGregor stole the lifesavings of hundreds of farmers and sent scores to their deaths.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Farmers across the Midwest have boosted crop sales as corn and soybean futures spiked after USDA slashed its 2024 harvest estimates on Friday, grain dealers in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska said. My latest @reuters.com piece with Heather Schlitz: www.reuters.com/markets/comm...
reuters.com
Surging corn prices trigger spate of sales from US farmers
Iowa farmer Caleb Hamer grabbed his phone and dialed a local corn buyer this week, eager to sell his grain as prices climbed to their highest level in more than a year.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
And finally, this interesting read by @reuters.com @thekarlplume.bsky.social on Rabobank analysts forecasting that U.S. soybean prices could slump below $9 a bushel, well below farmers' cost of production and the lowest since 2020, if Trump's threatened tariffs spark another trade war with China.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Next: Smithfield Foods on Monday made public its paperwork for its New York initial public offering as the maker of Farmland bacon and Farmer John sausages prepares for its U.S. stock market return after more than a decade. The latest from @reuters.com Tom Polansek www.reuters.com/business/ret...
reuters.com
Smithfield Foods first to publicly file in 2025 for big US IPO
Smithfield Foods on Monday made public its paperwork for its New York initial public offering as the maker of Farmland bacon and Farmer John sausages prepares for its U.S. stock market return after more than a decade.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
A U.S. patient who had been hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu has died, the Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday, marking the country's first reported human death from the virus. The latest from @reuters.com @leahjdouglas.bsky.social and Julie Steenhuysen: www.reuters.com/world/us/lou...
reuters.com
Louisiana reports first bird flu-related death in US
A U.S. patient who had been hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu has died, the Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday, marking the country's first reported human death from the virus.
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PJ Huffstutter @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Port strike, part two? "All in all, the situation points in the direction of another strike," Lars Jensen, CEO at Vespucci Maritime, said in a LinkedIn post the week before Trump met with the International Longshoremen’s Association’s. farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2025/01/high...
farmpolicynews.illinois.edu
'High Likelihood' of Another East, Gulf Coast Port Strike This Month - Farm Policy News
With less than a month before the ILA’s contract with the US Maritime Alliance is set to expire, 'the situation points in the direction of another strike.'
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