A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

The global cotton market is experiencing notable volatility and structural change as 2025 draws to a close, with developments abroad shaping the outlook for U.S. growers, shippers, and merchants. Internationally, a combination of high global stockpiles and subdued demand from major textile-consuming economies has kept cotton prices under sustained pressure and near multi-year lows. This bearish tone is attributed in ...
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America’s farmers are celebrating some recent changes to US farm labor policy while struggling to fill the gaps left by others. There is relief over changes to how H-2A worker wages are calculated, which is estimated to save farmers more than $2 billion every year. At the same time, some farmers are forced to scale back dairy herds or watch ...
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Funding across the Agrifoodtech space was down -32% in Q3 2025 compared to the previous quarter, and down nearly -50% compared to last year, according to preliminary data from AgFunder. Deal count is also down, and overall funding in Q3 was led by just a few big fund raises that AgFunder calls “a handful of bright glimmers against an otherwise-gloomy ...
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As the cool temperatures start settling in, we will all be reaching for cozy sweaters to fight the chill. Once upon a time, odds were very high that any given sweater in an American’s closet was made with 100% US-produced wool. Those days are long gone and it’s nearly taken the US wool and sheep industries with it. This holiday ...
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Before becoming the iconic Autumn symbol it is today, the pumpkin was often a food of last resort for early American settlers. The colonists learned how to grow the squash from Native Americans, who considered it one of the “three sisters,” along with corn and beans. They would grow the squash along river banks next to maize and beans, a ...
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As the US and Mexico continue to hammer out details of a new trade deal, a problematic old deal between the two neighbors is back in the spotlight. The “1944 Water Treaty” obligates Mexico to deliver an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water annually to the US over a five-year cycle. The most recent cycle ended on October 24, with ...
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Researchers at the University of Maryland have identified the gene responsible for a rare and potentially transformative trait: the ability of some wheat plants to produce three ovaries per flower instead of the usual one. Each ovary can mature into a seed, meaning WUS-D1 activation could potentially triple wheat yields. The study appeared on October 14, 2025, in the Proceedings ...
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US ethanol exports are on track for a record high in 2025, driven by increasing international demand. Through the first seven months of 2025, exports are up +9% 2024's already record-setting volume. This strong export growth is pushing overall US fuel ethanol production to new highs, even though domestic consumption remains flat.Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows ...
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One of the biggest questions at the heart of the recent "State of the Industry Report" commissioned by Dairy Management Inc. was simple but significant: Where will all the milk come from? For decades, milk chased plants. Today, plants are chasing milk. The wave of new processing capacity represents 8% to 10% of current U.S. milk production, yet production has ...
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Cody and Jennifer Hoseth are the owners of “Lone Crow Ranch” in Washington state. The first-generation ranchers have about 1,000 head of cattle, two meat markets, a butcher shop, and a couple of 24-hour vending machines where they sell their farm-fresh beef and pork. It’s a long way from where they started, with zero cattle, land, money, or experience.  Cody ...
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