Pacific Northwest Ag Network

Last week's Senate Ag Committee vote didn't advance the Farm Bill, and Senator Klobuchar says a one-year SNAP cost delay isn't enough. She's pushing for two years and says talks with Chairman Boozman are continuing.

From Halifax Harbour to Niagara Falls, Canadian tourism operators are having a strong summer. Visitor numbers are climbing, with Canadians choosing domestic trips and Americans making the most of their stronger dollar north of the border.

Attacks on Black Sea shipping lanes are stacking up fast. Ukraine recorded dozens of vessel strikes and 67 port hits in July, and wheat export forecasts have been cut nearly in half as a result.

Farm Bill talks hit a pause in the Senate, and the fertilizer industry is speaking up. A key ask is a new USDA economist position focused on crop input markets, covering everything from pricing to global supply chains.

Farmland across the U.S. averaged $4,500 an acre in 2024, a record high. For farmers who own land it boosts their finances, but for renters and new farmers the rising costs are a growing challenge.

Farmers marketing stored corn and soybeans gave agribusiness giants like ADM, Corteva, and Bayer a boost. All three companies raised their 2026 earnings outlooks, pointing to stronger seed and grain demand heading into the new crop year.

Kansas wheat fields are coming up short in a big way this year. Drought and freeze damage have pushed the expected harvest down to 196 million bushels, nearly half of what farmers brought in just last year.

August 19th is the date to watch as Canada and the U.S. negotiate to avoid a new round of steep tariffs. Canadian dairy farmers are urging the Prime Minister to protect the supply management system.

The Senate ag committee hit a wall on the Farm Bill this week. The National Farmers Union says farmers need relief from high input costs and low prices, and waiting longer just isn't an option.

Farmland prices shot up more than 40% after COVID and never really dropped. Now data centers are competing with farmers for the same flat, well-drained acreage, and rural communities often have no zoning rules to slow that shift.