Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) recently announced a project award of $176 million through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV) to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines.

Time is running out for Congress to get a farm bill accomplished in 2024. The head lobbyist for NCBA says he hasn’t changed his opinion on Congress’ ability to get it across the finish line. Ethan Lane says, “I still think we’re spring of next year before we really are having an honest conversation about passing a farm bill.”

Over the past four years, soybean oil experienced a dramatic bull market that took prices to a new record high -- over 80 cents a pound in April 2022. Roughly two years later, those peak prices were cut nearly in half as the bullish excitement of becoming part of a new market for low-carbon fuel gave way to regulatory disappointments and the reality of competing feedstocks. This year, as recently as late June, August soybean oil prices were trading near their lowest level in over three years and it seemed as if the market had lost its appreciation for soybean oil's new role as a low-carbon fuel, as well as its traditional use as a source of food.

Lawmakers return to Washington to try to focus on fiscal 2025 spending bills even as Democrats face an ongoing debate about whether President Joe Biden should end his re-election bid. House Ag Committee member Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., announced on Saturday that she believes Biden should drop out of the race. In a statement released by her campaign, she said that “given what I saw and heard from the President during last week’s debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the President himself following that debate, I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump.” But Biden continues to insist that he’s not dropping out of the race, saying in a ABC News interview that he would only step aside, “if the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision in the case Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo—a decision that reins in the legal concept of Chevron deference and reduces overreaching regulations from federal agencies that lack congressional authority.

An American Farm Bureau Federation economist says USDA’s proposed changes to the Federal Milk Marketing Orders are not all good. Danny Munch tells Brownfield USDA addressed the “higher of” Class I milk price mover. “The biggest takeaway is that they do recommend a switch back to the “higher of” Class I mover, which was one of our biggest priorities. We are disappointed, though, that they did not decide to switch back to the “higher of” on an emergency basis.” And, he says not making the immediate emergency change will continue to cost farmers a lot of money.

We continue to have a very busy pattern across the U.S. over the next week. System after system will move through Canada or the northern U.S. and send cold fronts through the Corn Belt. We have already seen some areas of heavy rain in southeastern Nebraska on July 1, and we are poised to see more from this system the rest of the week. Temperatures across the South and Gulf Coast will continue to be hot and challenge the 100-degree threshold. But we are going to see a change in the pattern for next week.

USDA is out with its proposed reforms to federal dairy pricing. The proposals still must be ratified by producers, but the National Milk Producers Federation won some key changes, most notably in how Class 1, or fluid milk, is priced. USDA is proposing to scrap a formula introduced to the federal milk marketing order system in the 2018 farm bill that has priced Class 1 74 cents above the average of Class 3 (milk sold for cheese) and Class 4 (butter and milk powder). Instead, Class 1 would again be priced as the higher of Class 3 and 4, plus a differential.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin accepting applications starting on Monday, July 1 through its updated Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) to provide financial assistance to eligible dairy producers who incur milk losses due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, also known as H5N1infection in their dairy herds. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) expanded ELAP through the rule-making process to assist with a portion of financial losses resulting from reduced milk production when cattle are removed from commercial milking in dairy herds having a confirmed positive H5N1 test.

Ag lobbyist Randy Russell says not much progress has been made on the new farm bill in the U.S. House or Senate. “The leadership ultimately has to get into a room and each give a little bit if we’re going to get a compromise.” Russell says House Ag Committee leadership is still trying to secure bipartisan support for the bill passed in committee last month and Senate Ag Committee leaders are far apart on how to fund more farm in the farm bill.

Farmers have nearly 37% more corn in on-farm storage as of June 1 than the year before, relying on their enhanced storage capacity as profitable prices remain elusive. On June 28, USDA said national corn stockpiles stood at 4.99 billion bushels (bb), 22% more than in June 2023. Of that, 3.03 bb are stored on farms, while 1.97 bb are in commercial storage. "We did have an opportunity for higher prices in May, but we didn't ring the $5 bell," DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman said. The July corn futures contract hit a high of $4.755, while the national average cash price only got to $4.49 during May, which is historically when a seasonal peak occurs.

Business groups and congressional Republicans are ready to remake the administrative state following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision overruling the Chevron doctrine, the 40-year-old precedent that required courts to defer to federal agencies in interpreting ambiguous laws. On Capitol Hill, the conservative Republican Study Committee issued a memo ahead of the decision saying that House committees “have an opportunity to review any regulatory action that was justified by Chevron deference toward agency interpretation.”

Officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hammered arguments made by Mexican representatives this week during oral arguments over Mexico’s ban on imports of genetically modified corn used in some food products.

Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring celebrated the passing of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s fiscal year 2025 bipartisan budget, which provides vital funding for the department and bold investments for Michigan’s growing food and agriculture industry.

Increased use of lower-carbon liquid fuels in light-duty vehicles would lead to larger and faster reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than EPA’s recently finalized EV-forcing tailpipe emissions standards, according to a new study commissioned by the RFA and executed by an independent not-for-profit research institute.

Families celebrating the 4th of July holiday will continue to find stubbornly high prices at the grocery store. An Independence Day cookout will cost $71.22 for 10 guests this year, based on the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation annual marketbasket survey.

On a hot summer day, there is nothing better than a cool drink of clean water to quench one’s thirst. For cattle out on pasture, their need for clean, accessible water is important for good health, said the experts from Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute on a recent Cattle Chat podcast.

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor issued the following statement after the Michigan legislature passed legislation including a $0.05 per gallon tax credit for E15—a fuel option made with 15% bioethanol that can be used in 96% of cars on the road today.

Communities in western Iowa were in the midst of cleanup on Wednesday from devastating flash floods that hit during the weekend because of heavy rains while some farmers on the Missouri River bottoms could only watch the waters continue to take over their fields.

Some farmers are urging Congress to better support farmers and ranchers who are facing intensifying drought conditions in the High Plains.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the Texas Corn Producers Association (TCPA), along with other groups, filed a lawsuit today in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard for model year 2027-2032 passenger cars and light-duty trucks.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking information from the public on procedures for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the effect of climate-smart farming practices on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with U.S.-grown biofuel feedstock crops.

The softening in grain markets that is pressuring row crop farmers has brought some welcome relief to dairy producers, but the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza on dairy farms continues to weigh on the sector.

The USDA has proposed a new rule under the Packers and Stockyards Act that Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says will better protect farmers, ranchers, and other market participants.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday announced additional updates to the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act) rules at an event with Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter.

The Iowa Utilities Board approved Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed carbon pipeline project in an order issued on Tuesday, clearing the way for the company to construct the Iowa segment of the pipeline that covers 688 miles in 29 counties.

While farm bill negotiations continue, advocates for greater agriculture research investments are cautiously optimistic a final product could deliver some much-needed wins to bolster U.S. innovation.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig Tuesday provided an update on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) state response measures, including announcing new testing requirements for dairy cattle participating in Iowa fairs and exhibitions.