Late-winter U.S. agriculture faces rapid swings: intermittent rain/snow, brisk post-frontal winds, and patchy frost from the Southeast to western valleys. Fieldwork windows are short and regional. Watch West Coast storm-track pulses, Gulf-front showers/storms, and Southern High Plains fire weather. Protect blooming crops and livestock; consult local NWS forecasts.
On-the-go soil sensors mounted on planters map soils in real time, calibrated with lab cores to guide variable-rate seeding, nitrogen, lime, and planter downforce. Fusing EC/EMI, vis–NIR, gamma, and compaction data improves input efficiency, yield stability, and sustainability, with payback in 1–3 seasons despite moisture, residue, and calibration challenges.
U.S. farm policy this week centers on securing funding, negotiating farm-nutrition packages, and clarifying environmental, water, and trade rules. Expect congressional oversight, draft text, USDA and EPA updates, and trade signals. Producers watch crop insurance, conservation enrollments, compliance guidance, biofuels incentives, and export data shaping risk management and planting decisions.
Corn futures rose slightly on strong export sales to South Korea and Spain, while soybeans and wheat fell on technical selling and profit-taking. Argentina is expected to boost corn acreage by up to 20%, and Brazil is on track for a record soybean harvest of 6.23 billion bushels. Chicago and Kansas City wheat both posted modest losses. Broader ag indexes showed mixed results, with corn up and live cattle down. Global supply prospects and export activity remain the main drivers in the grain markets, keeping sentiment cautiously balanced despite short-term price swings.
U.S. PPI surged 0.9% in July, dampening hopes for a large Fed rate cut next month. Equities ended mixed, with tech giants offering support while small caps lagged. Treasury yields and the dollar rose, reflecting reduced dovish expectations. Asian markets slipped on the inflation news, though Japan gained on strong GDP. Commodities held steady. Intel jumped after reports of potential U.S. government investment. In crypto, XRP plunged 7% amid $1B in liquidations, Bitcoin fell below $117K, while Ethereum rose. Earnings remained a mixed bag, with Foxconn and Birkenstock beating estimates but Deere disappointing.
EPA ships a new field app (“PALM”) that puts pesticide-mitigation guidance (spray-drift & runoff calculators, Herbicide/Insecticide Strategy tie-ins) on farmers’ phones for quick, compliant decisions in the field. Conestoga Energy buys SAFFiRE Renewables (Southwest’s biofuels unit), gaining IP and a planned Kansas pilot to convert corn stover with NREL-licensed tech toward SAF/low-CI fuels. Deere’s update spotlights precision-ag softness: Q3 beat, but guidance narrowed; its Production & Precision Ag revenue fell 16% y/y, underscoring cautious farm capex despite long-run tech ambitions.
The American Petroleum Institute challenged an EPA proposal to award fewer RINs to imported biofuels, sharpening a fight with farm groups backing domestic feedstocks. USDA’s Farm Service Agency opened low-interest Physical Loss Loans for Minnesota producers hit by severe storms. On Capitol Hill, Reps. Zach Nunn and Emanuel Cleaver introduced the Rural Housing Service Reform Act to modernize USDA housing programs. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service also posted FY2026 SNAP cost-of-living adjustments, influencing farm-bill nutrition spending.
Corn Belt was mostly dry and warm; Northern Plains saw scattered storms; Central/Southern Plains were hot and largely dry; Delta/Southeast were hot with spotty afternoon storms; West stayed mostly dry. Next 7 days: Heat holds in the western/central Corn Belt into the weekend, with storms and a modest cool-down early week. Northern Plains get recurring storms and slightly cooler temps. Central/Southern Plains stay very hot, easing midweek with storm chances. Delta/Southeast keep daily scattered storms. PNW remains mostly dry; California stays hot and dry.
Stocks were flat as a hotter-than-expected PPI lifted Treasury yields and trimmed Fed-cut odds. The S&P 500 was little changed while the 10-year rose; the dollar firmed, oil gained and gold slipped. Over the next week, watch Retail Sales, Industrial Production, Housing Starts/Permits, FOMC minutes and Jobless Claims. Expect data-driven, range-bound equities; yields biased higher on strong prints; a supported USD; oil moving with demand/geopolitics; and gold sensitive to real-yield moves.
Next week’s ag trade hinges on Pro Farmer Crop Tour (Aug 18–21), Monday Crop Progress, Thursday export sales, and weather outlooks. Corn: sideways to softer amid large U.S. supply unless tour/exports surprise; watch ethanol midweek. Soybeans: two-way with slight upside if pod counts or warm/dry maps hit; new-crop sales key. Wheat: rallies likely fade without export strength. Softs choppy; cattle supported but volatile, hogs track product values. Treat moves as headline- and weather-sensitive.
A new wave of laser-guided, camera-equipped robots is zapping weeds between crop rows, helping specialty-crop growers cut herbicide use, save labor, and boost yields—while forcing equipment makers to solve tough challenges in vision accuracy, uptime, and ROI.