Today's Top Stories

China makes two large ag buys. The country purchased more than a million metric tons of corn and 200 million gallons of ethanol.

Farmer Alarm on High as Coronavirus Ban Halts H-2A Guest Workers

A travel ban on South African guest workers, as currently set in place by executive order, could be devastating for U.S. farming operations. Inescapable labor realities bite hard: Without adequate H-2A agriculture employees at planting and beyond, some U.S. farmers face a crippling financial blow in 2021.

Chip Flory: Grain Markets Enter The Reactive Stage

USDA’s reports on Jan. 12 gave the corn and soybean markets a clear directive to “slow down use.” Soybean carryover for 2020/21 at 140 million bushels is at pipeline levels. From this point, end users that want more supply will be forced to bid it away from another end user.

Pro Farmer's First Thing Today: Brazilian Rains, Oil and Gas-Related Executive Order and More

Rains in Brazil have slowed harvest for late-planted crops. AgRural reports just 0.7% of the country’s bean crop had been harvested as of Jan. 21 vs. 4.2% last year at that time. And planted acreage has jumped notably this season. This keeps the U.S. export window open longer.

China Makes Another Big Buy of U.S. Corn

COVID-19 can't keep Americans from opening new businesses. Details in today's AgDay Minute.

#FJFieldFieldDays: How COVID-19 Transformed Machinery Auctions

We’ve seen seven to 10 years of technology advancement with online equipment buying and selling condensed into less than a year. That’s the takeaway from Greg Peterson, founder of Machinery Pete, as he looks back at the past nine months of online auctions. Log on to Farm Journal Field Days now for more insights.