Christmas Blessings – The Christmas season is the perfect time to express our gratitude. Thank you for your continued support and trust in the Red River Farm Network. We hope the holidays are filled with great food, friends and family. On behalf of Don, Kolleen, Randy, Jay, Ashley, Tyler, Jamie and Dave, Merry Christmas!

CR Signed Into Law – Following a chaotic week on Capitol Hill, President Joe Biden signed legislation to fund the government through mid-March. This action includes $10 billion in economic relief for farmers and ranchers and a one-year farm bill extension. Late Friday night, House Speaker Mike Johnson said help is coming for farmers. “Many of whom are on the brink of collapse because of Biden-omics, frankly; because of the inflationary cost of their inputs and the inability they have right now to get loans from the banks and the lenders to put their crops in the ground in the spring so we had to take care of that and we did. There is also disaster relief. In addition to the hurricane recovery, this money will also help those impacted by wildfires and drought.

Congress Avoids Government Shutdown in a Messy Week – A deal was in place Tuesday night for a short-term spending bill that included disaster assistance and economic relief for farmers and ranchers. By Wednesday afternoon, that deal started to fall apart. Businessman Elon Musk, who will help lead a department of government efficiency for President-Elect Donald Trump, torpedoed the spending package. Trump and Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance released a statement a short time later saying Congress should pass a streamlined bill and increase the debt ceiling. A bill that included a suspension of the country’s borrowing limit was soundly defeated Thursday night. After a messy week, lawmakers finally passed a continuing resolution along with disaster relief and assistance for farmers early Saturday morning.

Praise for the CR – A flurry of news releases came out after the passage of the continuing resolution. House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson said this legislation is a reminder that when the agriculture community is united, it can punch above its weight. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman said the bill will help farmers endure the current farm crisis and maintain their farm operations.

A No-Win Situation – House Speaker Mike Johnson faced criticism from all sides as he maneuvered through the final week of the session. South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson said Johnson was in a difficult position. “He’s got one leg and two arms tied behind his back and he’s still trying to cut a good deal.”

Cramer Upset With ‘Incompetence and Dysfunction’ – Despite worries about a possible government shutdown and a delayed spending bill, North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer remained optimistic and appreciated the support for agriculture from the president-elect. “Trump has made it clear he wants to back a bill that includes $10 billion for farmer aid and $21 billion for disaster relief.” After the vote to fund the government for three months, authorize a one-year farm bill extension and secure farm and disaster relief, Cramer was upset with the way it was done. “Our constituents deserve a lot better than this incompetence and dysfunction that we’ve seen the last few days and hours.”

$33.5 Billion in Disaster Assistance – A total of $33.5 billion in agriculture disaster assistance is part of the continuing resolution. That includes $10 billion to address economic losses from this past year and $21 billion to help farmers and ranchers hurt by natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. The disaster relief has $2 billion for livestock losses. Another $3 million will help domestic sugar producers by testing molasses imports to prevent imports of illegal sugar.

Callan: Bill Provides Relief to Farm Country – James Callan Associates President Jim Callan represents North Dakota Grain Growers and other ag groups on Capitol Hill.  He likes what he sees in the economic relief package for agriculture. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out in farm country and it looks like there’s going to be about $10 billion in ag economic relief,” said Callan. “It’s going to be along the lines of what Representative (Trent) Kelly of Mississippi introduced a couple of months ago.”

Payment Rates Estimated – USDA will have 90 days to issue the one-time farm assistance payment. These payments are based on 100 percent planted acreage and 40 percent of prevented plant acres for the 2024 crop. The payment rates are estimated to total $43.80 per acre for corn; $30.61 for soybeans; $31.80 for wheat and $21.76 per acre for barley. The $125,000 payment limit is in place although the limit could increase to $250,000 for farmers who receive 75 percent of more of their gross income from farming.

New Farm Bill Initiatives Will Need to Wait – The one-year farm bill extension does not include provisions that were being sought in a new farm bill. That list includes an update to reference prices, additional funding for trade promotion and a federal solution to California’s Proposition 12.

‘Disappointed’ – Amidst the shutdown drama in Congress, Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish voiced disappointment. “We’re really in uncharted times; I don’t think we’ve ever been this dysfunctional as we are right now in Congress.” A one-year farm bill extension was included in the 11th hour. Lawmakers will begin work on a new five-year farm bill in the upcoming year. “Now you go into the next Congress and there very easily could be less money in the baseline that what that had to work with at the present time.”

Farm Bill Timetable – Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation President Dan Glessing was in Washington, D.C. for the American Farm Bureau board meeting. Time was also spent amid the chaos on Capitol Hill. The 2025 farm bill was a hot topic. “Now, this is pretty aspirational, but, G.T. Thompson, the chair of the House Ag Committee, said he wants to have it through committee in the first quarter of next year,” said Glessing. “But, when you look at all those appointments that the Senate would have to confirm it’s going to be a heavy lift to get the whole bill done.” The Tax Cut and Jobs Act is also on the agenda next year. “Senator (John) Thune (incoming Majority Leader) really would like to see that done by the August break, of course, the government never works nearly as fast as you’d like it to.”

E15 Language Didn’t Make the Final Cut – One of the casualties of the congressional battle over a short-term spending bill was ethanol. An earlier version of the bill included language allowing year-round availability of 15 percent ethanol blends. National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman Jr. said “this no-cost provision would have provided a market-driven solution” to low corn prices.

MN will Play a Powerful Role in Farm Policy in 2025 – The House Democratic Caucus has elected Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig to serve as the ranking member of the agriculture committee. Craig easily defeated California Congressman Jim Costa and Georgia Congressman David Scott for the leadership role. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar will be the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, succeeding Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow who did not seek reelection. It is extremely rare to have one state represented in two of the four ag committee leadership positions in Congress.

A Track Record of Working Across the Aisle – National Farmers Union President Rob Larew is happy with Minnesota Representative Angie Craig’s pick as the House Ag Committee’s lead Democrat. “Great news for farmers and ranchers, I would argue not only in Minnesota, but for the Upper Midwest and the Northern Plains,” said Larew. “She is somebody who has a track record of working across the aisle working on the issues that farmers and ranchers want and not just going for one party or the other. Quite frankly we need a lot more of that in Congress.” Larew also praised Craig’s experience, saying it makes her a perfect fit for the role. “I think she will work pretty early to seek as much common ground as possible with the current chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, GT Thompson and ultimately I hope that that translates into a five-year farm bill hopefully sooner rather than later in 2025.”

Moving Forward With Craig as Ranking Member – When asked about Minnesota Representative Angie Craig’s credentials to serve in her new role as ranking member, Policy Solutions President Jay Truitt said he welcomes committee leadership that is engaged in the process. “We always want them to agree with you about everything, but it’s a lot easier to have a discussion with somebody that’s interested in the subject matter than those people that just get stuck on the committee. She seems to want to be there so let’s rock and roll.”

The Only Three-Term Agriculture Secretary – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has served 12 years in that role, longer than any other person. Vilsack led USDA during the Obama and Biden administrations. “I’m just extraordinarily proud of the work that we did, a consistency of commitment to very critically important responsibilities and missions of USDA.” Vilsack’s legacy has been the focus on small and medium-sized farms.

Trump Selects USDA Deputy Secretary – President-elect Donald Trump has filled the second-highest ranking position within USDA. Stephen Vaden will serve as the deputy secretary in the new administration. He currently serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade. During the first Trump presidency, Vaden was USDA’s general counsel. Trump previously announced Brooke Rollins as the agriculture secretary. Both appointees face the Senate confirmation process.

AM Radio Bill Will Have to Wait for the Next Congress – The AM for Every Vehicle Act is not included in the year-end funding bill. This legislation has overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress but it did not make the cut before the end of the session. Recent action by the automotive industry to remove over-the-air AM radio from the dashboard prompted the proposal to maintain its availability. The National Association of Farm Broadcasting, the National Association of Broadcasting and state broadcast associations have worked together on this bill and are expected to make another attempt in the next session of Congress.

Automatic Assistance Going to Distressed Farm Loan Borrowers – USDA has announced $300 million in assistance to help farmers and ranchers facing financial challenges. This is the final round of payments under the Inflation Reduction Act. Nearly 13,000 Farm Loan Program borrowers will receive the relief. Since August of 2022, the Agriculture Department has provided $2.5 billion in assistance to nearly 48,000 distressed borrowers.

Is the Ag Economy in a Recession? – Farmers growing row crops have seen a big drop in income this year. 2025 isn’t looking much better. “If we look at the ag economy as a whole, we’re in a slump, especially with the grain prices,” said Bernt Nelson, economist, American Farm Bureau Federation. “We have lost about 25 percent of the overall net farm income in just two years and that’s a big hit.” The livestock situation is better, offsetting the losses in the grain sector somewhat. “While I think recession is a tough term, the ag economy is definitely having a hard year.”  A recent survey showed over half of ag economists think the sector is in a recession.

Risk Management More Critical Than Ever – The realities of 2024 are setting in. AgCentric Executive Director Keith Olander cites less-than-ideal yields, low commodity prices and sticky crop input costs. “Farmers used to carry operating loans in the tens of thousands; now it’s hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars,” Olander told RRFN. “The decisions have much greater impact than what they used to in the competitiveness so any risk management product is more critical.”  Olander encourages farmers to tune into the resources available to them, be it their lender, crop insurance, your crop advisor, your farm’s management instructor as to what potential options are out there to help you certainly through the downtimes but then to manage them in the good times as well.

Pricing Crop Inputs for ’25 – As year-end approaches, crop input decisions are being locked in. Farmers Business Network Senior Vice President Ian Loar said this is an opportunity for farmers to price in their spring needs. “We’re back to pre-pandemic price levels, particularly in crop protection; fertilizers are also in a trough right now, it’s a good time to buy,” said Loar. “There’s a lot of uncertainty on the horizon though. We don’t know what 2025 is going to bring with tariffs and different regulatory issues that could arise.”

Trade Panel Rules in U.S. Favor in Dispute Over GM Corn – Mexico’s restrictions on U.S. biotech corn imports violate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. A three-judge trade dispute panel ruled in favor of the United States. Mexico’s agriculture and economic ministries disagreed with the ruling, but said they would respect it. This case began in 2020 when the Mexican president said GM corn would be banned by the end of 2024. In February, the Mexican government eased its original ban, allowing biotech corn to be used in livestock feed. The National Corn Growers Association is praising this decision.

Steenhoek: Reliability is Key for Soy Transport – For Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek, reliability is the number one demand. “I would rather have a predictably good transportation system than a sporadically great transportation system. When you’re talking about industries like agriculture and many others that exist in our economy, we really count on that long-term forecast when it comes to our supply chain.” Steenhoek thinks improving cost and investment efficiencies should be a goal in 2025. “While we do argue for strategic investments in our infrastructure, we also need to find ways of addressing the issues from the cost side as well.”

Trump Wants U.S. to Retake Ownership of the Panama Canal – During the AmericaFest event in Phoenix Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump floated the idea of taking over control of the Panama Canal. Trump said Panama is changing unfair fees for passage through this waterway. “They haven’t treated us fairly,” said Trump. “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question.”

Ocean Freight Rates Decline – The rate for shipping grain from the U.S. Gulf to Japan has dropped to its lowest level in 16 months. An international shipping publication, Lloyd’s List, blames a weak global economy, especially with China. There is also an oversupply of Panamax ships. Shipping rates are also expected to be pressured in 2025.

A Boost for Grain Exports From Port of Duluth – Grain shipments out of the Port of Duluth continue to increase. “Our entire import-export trade business, as a whole, has been a highlight for us in Duluth-Superior this year,” said Jayson Hron, communications and marketing director, Duluth Seaway Porth Authority. “We finished the month of November 28 percent ahead of last year’s pace in terms of import-export tonnage and that was driven primarily by a 56 percent increase in export tonnage. Grain comprised the bulk of those exports as it always does here at the Port of Duluth-Superior.”

What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets – In this week’s edition of What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets, Martinson Ag Risk Management President Randy Martinson cites corn as the market that is the most stable to start this holiday week. “We also have a very strong dollar that is impacting other markets.” Wheat hit contract lows last week and is in the ‘not hot’ category. Click here to listen to the report. 

A Big Brazilian Crop – Brazilian crop production continues to look very large. Soybean and Corn Advisor President Michael Cordonnier says there is one big concern for Brazil, a wet harvest season. “A lot of guys planted half of their soybeans in a two-week period which means it’s going to be ready to harvest in a two-week period as well. Everyone has their fingers crossed hoping that they don’t get a lot of wet weather in February that might delay the harvest which would also delay the planting of the Sahfrina corn.”

Cattle Markets Set to End Year Strong, Driven by Holiday Demand – Cattle markets look to end a strong year on a high note. NDSU Extension Livestock Economist Tim Petry says holiday demand has been a pleasant surprise. “Cutout values are up again and there was really strong demand for ribs for holidays at high prices that we didn’t know materialized.” That consumer demand has sparked fed cattle prices and feeder cattle are seeing support from low supplies as well.

A Tie No More – Republicans have apparently gained the majority in the Minnesota House. The election ended in a 67-67 tie and a power-sharing agreement was in place. That changed Friday when a Ramsey County court ruled a DFL state lawmaker did not live in the Roseville district he represents. With that violation of the residency requirements, Curtis Johnson is not eligible to serve in the Minnesota House. This decision gives the Republicans a temporary one-vote majority. Pending a legal appeal, the need for committee co-chairs or power-sharing will likely not be relevant when the Legislature convenes on January 14.

SD Corn Comments – Dave Ellens, South Dakota Corn Growers Association President Dave Ellens is featured in this week’s edition of South Dakota Corn Comments. Ellens highlights the South Dakota Corn Conference that is coming up in January. Click here to listen.

Milk Production Tightens Slightly – U.S. milk production totaled 17.9 billion pounds in November. That’s down one percent from a year ago. Minnesota’s milk production was unchanged, but cow numbers declined by 7,000 head. In South Dakota, milk production increased one percent while the size of the dairy herd declined by one percent.

Additional States Added for Milk Testing – USDA has announced the second round of states participating in its National Milk Testing Strategy. Seven states were added to the 13 original states being tested. The Agriculture Department requires raw unpasteurized milk samples to be tested for the H5N1 virus. At this point, Minnesota, South Dakota or North Dakota are not part of the surveillance effort.

ND Eases Import Rules for Dairy Cattle and Feeder Heifers – The North Dakota Board of Animal Health has lifted tuberculosis testing requirements for dairy cattle imported from TB-free states. North Dakota State Veterinarian Ethan Andress says lifting this requirement should free up time and capital for producers. “A lot of testing for imported animals is coming up negative so we’re putting a tremendous amount of energy and investment into a lot of negative tests.” The BOAH also removed identification requirements for imported feeder heifers less than 18 months of age due to a shortage of electronic tags. “Breeding animals under 18 months of age will continue to need ID, but those feeder heifers that are coming into a feedlot are going to stay in that realm.”

COF Called ‘a Dud’ – The figures in Friday’s USDA Cattle-on-Feed Report were within trade expectations. “There wasn’t anything in the report that was overly bullish nor bearish,” said Naomi Blohm, senior market advisor, Total Farm Marketing. “I’d call it a dud.”

Speaking Out for Dairy – Midwest Dairy has an ambassador program for college-age students. University of Minnesota animal science major Megan Ratka is part of this leadership program. “I knew I wanted to continue to have a platform to promote dairy to consumers so I turned to the ambassador program to continue to be able to do that.” Ratka uses social media to promote a positive dairy message.

Record Egg Prices – Wholesale egg prices in the Midwest are at record-high levels. Prices hit $5.67 per dozen last week. That breaks the previous record of $5.46 per dozen in December of 2022. Avian flu and the huge demand for eggs during the holiday season are blamed.

FDA Rules on ‘Healthy’ Food Claim – The Food and Drug Administration has issued its final rule for food manufacturers who claim a product is ‘healthy.’ The new guidelines have upset a few segments of the ag industry. The Sugar Association said the recommendation dealing with ‘added sugars’ arbitrarily excludes many foods and incentivizes the use of artificial sweeteners. The FDA said nearly 80 percent of Americans are not eating enough dairy products. However, the International Dairy Foods Association says the new rule is so narrow very few foods will be able to carry the ‘healthy foods’ label.

Canola Minute – Here’s the latest Canola Minute from the Northern Canola Growers Association. This week, NCGA Executive Director Barry Coleman provides an update about recent misinformation on seed oils. Listen to the report. 

Beer Consumption Drops to Lowest Level in a Generation – A surplus barley supply has pressured prices for the past five years. According to Malteurip North American Barley Procurement Manager Mark Black, the combination of inflation and COVID cut into beer consumption. ‘You also have a cultural shift of beer drinkers to other options, such as seltzers, canned cocktails, THC-infused drinks, all those sorts of things,” said Black. “Kids have a lot more options today than ever and they’re not drinking the traditional beer.” Black expects the barley industry to be in a much better position in 2025.

Beet Stock Values – According to Acres & Shares broker Jayson Menke, 163 American Crystal Sugar Company beet shares were brokered last week for an average price of $5,385.28 per share.

Seed Buying Decisions – Farmers seem to lock in the purchase of corn and soybean traits early, but other seed decisions take longer. “It seems like everybody’s a little slow right now on making some of their decisions on wheat going forward into 2025,” explains Justin Berg, technical product manager, WestBred. “I expect some of these end-of-the-year decisions where we’ll see some more movement on wheat seed. There’s not a lot of urgency as we sit here today, but I encourage farmers to get in and talk with their suppliers.”

Wet Spring Resulted in More Disease Issues – Many crops throughout the Northern Plains saw increased disease pressure during this past year due to early rains.  “We definitely saw more wheat diseases this year than in the last five years, but we did a really good job of managing it,” said NDSU Extension Cereal Crop Plant Pathologist Andrew Friskop. Fusarium head blight was one headache. “Twenty-five percent of the fields this year noted scabbing or fusarium head blight, which was a considerable increase.”

Cereal Leaf Beetles Move into NW MN – Cereal leaf beetles are getting attention from researchers. University of Minnesota Extension IPM Specialist Anthony Hanson says the beetles are already causing economic damage. “In northwest Minnesota, this is a new insect, but it’s not new to the state.” The pest was found in southeastern Minnesota for years, but has been seen in the northwestern corner of the state in only the past couple years.”

Proactive, Not Reactive – Tar spot was one of the issues corn growers faced in 2024. “I think it’s no longer if you’re going to get it, it’s when you’re going to get it,” said Kim Tutor, technical marketing manager, BASF. “With tar spot in particular, it has that really long latent period so that time it’s inside the plant befoer you can actually visually detect a lesion is upward of two to three week so you can’t take a wait-and-see approach.”  Fungicides are part of the planning process. “You’ve got to be proactive instead of reactive.” Click here to hear the full interview with BASF’s Kim Tutor.

MN Corn Matters – Minnesota Corn Growers Association Market Development and Industry Relations Director Devin Hoffarth joins this week’s Corn Matters with an update on E-15. Click here for the update.

Focus on ROI – When making weed control decisions, FMC Regional Technical Manager Gail Stratman said the focus should be on the return on investment. “So many times we just look at the cost and what we’re spending, but we really got to think about the value,” said Stratman. “On the weed control side, growers will say herbicides are too expensive and I’ll say think about it this way, if you didn’t use these herbicides at all, what would that cost you in yield?” Without herbicides, Stratman said farmers would likely see a 40 or 50 percent loss of yield. In this interview, Stratman talks about managing costs. 

Dicamba Loss Spurs New Soybean Weed Strategies – Herbicide resistance continues to be a hot topic this offseason, especially with the loss of dicamba from the toolbox. “I’m recommending that we lengthen our rotation away from dry beans more often so that we can manage the weeds in the other crops in the rotation where we have more effective herbicides,” said NDSU Extension Cropping Systems Specialist Jeff Stachler. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to have dicamba pre- or post-emergence for soybeans so the utility of the Enlist system and putting Liberty or glufosinate plus Enlist One in the first post application instead of the last one is critical.”

Dry Bean Scene – In this week’s Dry Bean Scene, Minnesota Farm Service Agency Deputy State Executive Director Daniel Mahoney discusses a new marketing assistance program for specialty crop producers. Click here to listen.

New Phytophtora Strain Identified – NDSU Extension Soybean Pathologist Wade Webster spoke at Central Dakota Ag Day providing an update on soybean diseases like Sudden Death Syndrome. “It is a major disease issue and probably one of the most yield-reducing diseases so we’re trying to raise awareness for SDS.” Webster also shared the recent discovery of a new species of Phytophthora. “Again, I’m the bearer of bad news in the soybean pathology world, but just a few weeks ago, my lab was able to identify a new phytophthora species on soybean that is able to still cause the same disease as our other phytophthora.” So far, this new variant of phytophthora is unable to be controlled by traditional resistant varieties leaving researchers searching for new methods of control.

AFREC Update – The Agricultural Fertilizer Research Education Council features Northwest Research and Outreach Center Extension Specialist Lindsay Pease in this week’s update. In the AFREC Update, Pease highlights the results of recent field trials. Listen to the update.

Managing Alfalfa – The spring season started very wet, delaying much of the first crop alfalfa harvest. CROPLAN National Alfalfa Agronomist Randy Welch said forage quality was poor for the first crop. Disease pressure was also seen. Aphanomyces Root Rot was one issue. “That big word really means the alfalfa roots when they have this little disease problem the root hairs are nibbled off so you have less rhizobium activity and less nitrogen uptake.”In addition to aphanomyces, anthracnose is a disease that shortens the life of the alfalfa and reduces yield. Welch advises farmers to us alfalfa varieties that offer resistance to both anthracnose and aphanomyces. Click here to listen to the full interview.

RAPP Funds Promote Ag Exports – USDA has announced the second round of grants through the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program. Through this program, $300 million in funds will be awarded to 67 organizations to expand agricultural exports. The American Soybean Association received the biggest grant at $25 million. The allocation also includes $19.5 million for the U.S. Meat Export Federation; $16 million for U.S. Grains Council; $12 million for U.S. Wheat Associates and $9.7 million for the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Lower dollar figures were seen for specialty crops, including $4.65 million for the National Potato Promotion Board; $1.5 million for the U.S. Dry Bean Council and $600,000 for the National Sunflower Association.

Clean Energy Grants Awarded – USDA has awarded nearly $4.4 billion in clean energy investments to rural electric cooperatives. Rural Utilities Service Administrator Andy Berke made the announcement at Connexus Energy in Ramsey, Minnesota. Connexus is the state’s largest rural electric co-op and it will use $170 million in grant funds to procure renewable hydro, solar and wind energy.

MN Crop Improvement Association Plans Annual Meeting – The Minnesota Crop Improvement Association will hold its annual meeting on January 29th in St. Cloud. MCIA Executive Director Fawad Shah said the program will include a comprehensive look at the issues surrounding cover crops and identity-preserved crops. With the low commodity prices, Shaw sees more interest in I-P crop production. “I think that would be an excellent opportunity because it’s always good to have options,” said Shah. “When there are options that can bring a little bit higher dollar amount back, that is something to consider.” Listen to the interview. 

NIMAXXA Recieves EPA Registration – UPL has received EPA approval for NIMAXXA bionematicide. It is a triple-strain bionematicide seed treatment for season-long nematode protection in soybeans and corn. It is effective against numerous pests, including soybean cyst nematode.

SD Corn Comments – Jim Wooster joins South Dakota Corn Comments this week with a special Christmas message. South Dakota Corn wishes everyone a wonderful holiday season. Click here to hear Jim’s commentary. 

Another Win for Hula – Virginia farmer David Hula is once again the big winner in the National Corn Yield Contest. Hula yielded nearly 491 bushels per acre with a Pioneer hybrid. The top yield in Minnesota was 340 bushels per acre acre in the conventional non-irrigated division. Dale Fabian of St. Charles was the winner with his Pioneer hybrid. Steve Huber of Berlin, North Dakota had the top corn yield in the state at 325 bushels per acre. Huber’s winning entry was a Dekalb hybrid. A yield of 317 bushels per acre is the top winner in South Dakota. Kory Standy of Platte was the winner with a Dekalb hybrid brand.

NSA Officer Team Elected – Onida, South Dakota farmer Chuck Todd was elected president of the National Sunflower Association. Josh Greff of Regent, North Dakota is first vice president; Tom Dowdle of Kennedy, Minnesota is second vice president and Lacey Zahradka of Archer Daniels Midland was reelected secretary/treasurer.

Farm Credit Council Selects Seyfert – The Farm Credit Council has named Christy Seyfert as its president and chief executive officer. Seyfert is now the executive director of government affairs for the American Soybean Association. She will begin here new role in mid-January.

FCA Names Mosely for Office of Congressional and Public Affairs – Ben Mosely is the Farm Credit Administration’s Office of Congressional and Public Affairs. Most recently, Mosely was a principal at a government affairs group known as the Majority Group. Previously, Mosely worked for the USA Rice Federation and on the Senate Agriculture Committee staff.

Talking Conservation: Mark Gutierrez – Farmers share their conservation experiences through the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition with its mentorship program and the Premier Soil Health Event. MNSHC Executive Director Mark Gutierrez offers insight into these opportunities in this edition of the Talking Conservation podcast. The organization began in 2019 with approximately 120 members with a mission to share information on soil health practices. The coalition now has over 1,000 members. “That speaks to the need for information and farmer-to-farmer communication about soil health.” The Talking Conservation podcast is presented by Farmers for Soil Health, the Conservation Technology Information Center and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. Watch the video on RRFN’s YouTube channel. 

Olson to Retire – AgCountry Farm Credit Services Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs Howard Olson is retiring at the end of the month. Olson has been with AgCountry for 27 years.

Developing Leaders for SD Cattle Industry – The South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association has announced its inaugural Leadership Academy class. The Class I participants are Mitchell Vander Wal of Howard, Colin Geppert of Kimball, Riley Casper of Lake Preston, Addie Womack of Mitchell, Colton Buus of Canova, Maria Buss of Canova and Trevor Johnson of Centerville. This program is designed to improve communication skills, enhance leadership and promote mentorship for emerging leaders. The SDCA is partnering with Farm Credit Services of America and The South Dakota Corn Utilization Council for this program.

Acker Passes – Duane Acker, who was part of USDA during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, has died. Acker served as USDA’s assistant secretary for science and education and was the head of the Foreign Agricultural Service. Earlier in his career, Acker was the dean of agriculture and director of Extension for South Dakota State University, associate dean of agriculture and later president of Kansas State University.

Beef Industry Innovator Passes – Funeral services were held Friday for John Huston. Huston was president of the National Livestock and Meat Board and executive vice president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Huston, 80, received the 2023 Visionary Award from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.