Market Features

This week, President Trump, again, delayed raising tariffs on China for another 90 days. The current tariff on imports of most Chinese goods stands at 10%. Tariffs on imports from dozens of other countries also went into effect.

The last in the series of five retrospectives of the first 50 seasons of Market to Market.

John Gilbert is a fourth generation farmer. He and his brother Greg raise hogs, beef cattle and soybeans on 800 acres of land in Hardin County, Iowa.

This week, four scientists who contributed to the Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment presented the results of the study to the public.

To make sure rural community members and business owners keep a bit of their focus on their local newspapers, a Kansas newspaper publishing company has done everything from themed treasure hunts in downtown businesses, to annual concerts to a Friday community happy hour in the newsroom.

Rail giants Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have agreed to a merger valued at $85 billion.

This week, the Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony about the Department of Agriculture’s plan to reassign staff currently based in Washington D.C. to five cities around the country.

This week, a trade framework was established with Japan, America’s number four trading partner. Imports to the U.S. will be charged a 15% tariff on all goods - 10 points lower than the threatened 25% tariff.

This week, the House Agriculture Committee heard testimony about the difficulties the pork industry is experiencing in the wake of California’s Proposition 12.

Located on a tributary of the Kalamazoo River near Allegan, Michigan, the Swan Creek Dam helps manage water flow and provides residents with recreational opportunities such as fishing and kayaking.

As development pressure grows alongside metro areas, will more farmers seek agricultural conservation easements? This legal maneuver offers a way to permanently protect land for agriculture but means sacrificing development potential.

This week, while another round of tariffs was announced by the White House, the inflationary effects of previous tariffs have begun to appear.

This week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins promised to find a balance between deporting undocumented farmworkers while not disrupting the agricultural supply chains they support.

Our two producers for 2025 are dealing with extremely different stories this growing season. We go in for a mid-season check up.

This week, President Donald Trump moved his  deadline for imposing tariffs on countries who have yet to make a deal with the U.S. from last Wednesday to August 1st. Those who fail to make a deal are being threatened with an additional 10% increase in duties. 

This week, the Polk County, Iowa supervisors released their scientific assessment study of the water quality in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, which merge in downtown Des Moines. 

This week, heavy rains lowered nitrate levels in Iowa’s Raccoon River, but water usage restrictions remain in place.

When the Civil War ended, measures briefly allowed former slaves to petition for Confederates’ abandoned or confiscated farms - in one of America’s first attempts at land redistribution to formerly enslaved people. But it largely failed.

Several rounds of rain struck parts of the Midwest this week. Iowa fields southwest of Des Moines were under water as isolated rain amounts between 5 and 8 inches fell early in the week. 

This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing on the nominations for leadership positions in the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Water restrictions in central Iowa have been eased, but high levels of nitrates continue to be of concern to operators of the state’s largest water plant.

This week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins gave testimony to the House Agriculture Committee about the initial months of her tenure at the USDA.

This week, David Miller ushers in the late oughts and the early teens with the stories that dominated our coverage. Which also includes a headline of our own. Here is our Cover Story.

The cattle market is still sorting a small herd, cycles of drought and the consumer situation. Dr. Derrell Peel of Oklahoma State University gives insight on all three factors.

This week, the Senate Special Committee on Aging heard testimony on the challenges facing aging farmers. Witnesses stressed that both the estate tax and profitability are hurdles to bringing a new generation to the farm.

President Trump and President Xi talk on the phone about trade. Trump says a sit down between both sides will happen.

President Trump’s tariff strategy took a legal hit Wednesday only to gain new life Thursday.

Recently, the two countries have been at odds because of Mexico’s failure to honor those water delivery mandates that help provide water to U.S. farmers in South Texas.

A list of many commodity groups and elected officials on the Make America Healthy Again committee.

Severe weather started last weekend in Missouri as officials estimated more than $1 billion in damages in St. Louis alone from a storm.

When Illinois resident Tam Wei saw an influx of people to Illinois from her homeland in the 1970s and 80s, she decided she had to do something.

This week, the economy adjusted its economic expectations after President Trump retreated on his tariff strategy with China.

In 2015 Harold Wilken had a problem. He was farming 700 acres of organic grains, but was trucking it hundreds of miles from his eastern Illinois operation for use as animal feed.

This week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins appeared before the House Appropriation Committee to discuss the spending priorities of the USDA. 

This week, the Trump Administration created a tariff carve out on some auto parts to preserve auto production in plants in the United States.

This week, President Trump celebrated his first 100 days in office at a rally in Michigan. The speech included praise for his energy policy but not so much for green energy.

Product found in Utah mine is used for many types of operations from sports stadiums to corn fields.

This week, the Trump administration stated they were negotiating with China to find a solution to the tariff conflict President Trump amplified three weeks ago. 

Rain was more common in the Plains this week than machinery in the field.

Sun drenched fields along the banks of Rio Grande River provide the landscape south Texas farmers need to grow citrus and green leafy vegetables for consumers across the country. But a steady, reliable labor source that is paramount to bringing south Texas commodities to market is in short supply and many growers are worried their crops, and their profits, will be left to wither in the fields. 

For the state of California, taking a bite out of climate change is a high priority.  In recent years, more legislation has sought to bolster long-time efforts, across the board – and for some – solidified the notion that one person’s trash could be another’s treasure.

This week, Americans continued to adjust to the economic ripples of President Trump’s tariffs.

This week, President Trump reversed course on much of his massive tariff plan after a week of chaos in global commodities, bond and equities markets.

Southern states dealt with heavy rains over last weekend causing flooding across the region and several states remain underwater.

Market to Market investigated how well the U.S. complies with its rule that no county may have more than 25% of its eligible cropland acres enrolled in the CRP program. 

Spring weather hammered portions of the Midwest and South this week as tornadoes and violent storms tore a path almost 800 miles long across the countryside.

Satisfying demand for the award-winning, globe-trotting cheddar cheese varieties crafted by Milton Creamery creates jobs and allows for profit-sharing with fellow Mennonite and Amish source dairies.

This week, the Trump Administration placed tariffs on imports from virtually every country on the planet, at rates that are higher than the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariffs of 1930.

America’s farmers will soon have access to relief funds for weather related disaster losses. 

Thursday was the official start of spring but winter held on until the last minute.

What began as an experiment has turned into a side business for a Minnesota farmer.

WOTUS rule gets another look from EPA among other sweeping changes.

What started as research has now turned into a product aimed at stopping the corn root worm.

The daily tariff gyrations from the Trump Administration are concerning some sectors of the agriculture industry.

A public charter school in Florida is offering agriculture lessons at a younger age and more frequently than most schools. And parents are clamoring to get their children in.

This week, the Trump Administration placed 25 percent tariffs on the country’s number one and two trading partners.

The change of seasons are about two weeks away but storms across the country this week reminded everyone that winter is far from over. 

The USDA’s forecast for planted acres of grains shows an increase over the 2024 crop year, but will fall short of 2023’s record plantings.

Over the course of the third set of 10 seasons of Market to Market’s run, we saw two farm bills, a controversy over hog farms, the resolution of several agriculturally based lawsuits, a few innovative ventures, and the first case of BSE in the United States.

While U.S. clothing manufacturing may never return to the booming industry it once was, there may be reason for optimism.

Cold weather blasted across the entire country plunging much of the Grain Belt into record territory with many readings well below zero.

H5N1 continues to spread throughout the nation’s poultry flock, but the pace of spread may be slowing.

The ripple effect from the ongoing outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza continues to put pressure on poultry and dairy producers. 

The New Farmer Academy, created and operated by Tennessee State University, helps budding farmers understand the ins and outs of a business plan by estimating input costs and potential revenues.

For years, Florida's citrus producers have been battling a devastating disease that has wiped out 90 percent of production since 2005.

A sweeping new tariff on Chinese goods is expected to raise consumer prices in the United States. President Trump placed an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports the day after he paused threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days.

Rampant spread of the H5N1 virus is hitting consumers in their pocketbooks. Retail egg prices across the country have sent Americans scrambling to buy eggs at any price, when they can find them.

Trump took the oath of office on Monday from inside the U.S. Capitol as sub-30 degree temperatures were forecast.

This week, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Agriculture appeared for questioning by the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Tim Dufault is done being the farmer of record on his land, but wasn't ready to sell. He's turned to local farmers under the age of 40 to help them start or expand their growing operations.

Tariffs Would Probably Raise Consumer Prices

A University of Missouri researcher is working to pinpoint any unintended consequences of genetic editing so others will know how to do the same.

The year 2024 kept adding to stories of hurricanes, drought, Farm Bill debates and the return of the bird flu.

James Earl Carter, Jr., was born in Plains, Georgia in 1924. While his work would take him far away from his rural home, he was never far from the roots that grounded him. 

Cleanup continues across a swath of the southern United States in the aftermath of severe storms that swept through the region earlier in the week.

A shutdown of the Federal government was averted in a vote late Friday.

The 2024 World Food Prize Laureates had a strong connection before they partnered to lead the world on saving seeds at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The two were honored in Des Moines, Iowa this fall for their work.

On Friday, October 24, 1975, Market to Market kicked off a 50 season run. This retrospective highlights the seasons between 1985 and 1995.

This week, the H5N1 Avian Flu virus continued to disrupt agriculture across the country.

Rural newspapers are rapidly disappearing, but one Kansas publishing company raises question about what leads to their struggles.

President-elect Donald Trump continues to pressure major U.S. trading partners with the prospect of tariffs.

The holidays are a chance for families to gather together to catch up on happenings with each other but sometimes the conversation can shift in a hurry.

The Senate Agriculture Committee was released the a draft of the Farm Bill for consideration.

The United Nations annual climate conference was held this week.

After another cross-country haul, the current giant pumpkin world record holder fell short of his 2,749-pound feat from 2023, but still managed to top the scales again at the annual Half Moon Bay, California World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. 

Ash trees with thinning, upper canopies, flecked bark damage and shoots of new branches at the trunk have become an all too common site across the country. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump cap a nearly 2-year long campaign-run.

The annual event to honor and continue the legacy of Norman Borlaug featured speakers from all around the world. This year's focus was on the growing population of Africa.

Economic and political rivals met this week to improve partnerships as a counterweight to Western economies.

Dams block downstream movement of sediment which can deprive the downstream river system of an essential ingredient needed for fish habitats. 

A return of tariff politics would damage farm incomes, according to a study commissioned by the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association.

A potential solution is on the horizon against the increasingly costly hog disease PRRS: a genetically edited pig that the federal government is in the process of considering for commercial release.

Cars were seen trying to outrun tornadoes as the twisters were some of the first things to make landfall as part of Hurricane Milton.

A strike by dockworkers on the East Coast has been suspended after an agreement on wage hikes was reached late Thursday.

Clean up is slow in the path of Hurricane Helene as basic infrastructure needs are being restored even though the effects of the storm could be felt for decades.

A study from Common Sense Institute looks at the disappearing options for health care in Iowa, especially in rural areas

Former President Trump has threatened to use one of the trade tools he is famous for invoking to shape the farm economy.

Experts say an adult can be submerged in a bin filled with corn or soybeans in as little as 20 seconds – a tragedy all too common in rural America.

The ongoing spread of bird flu across the nations poultry and dairy herds poses a concern beyond those species.

The remains of hurricane Francine continue to dump moisture on the southeast.

Proposition 12, the controversial California law that dictates how much floor space sows need if pork from their offspring is to be sold in California, doesn’t appear to have had an impact on how many Midwest hog farms operate. At least not yet.

Research into the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus that crossed from birds into the nation's dairy herd continues at the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa.

On Friday, October 24, 1975, Market to Market kicked off a 50 season run with its first broadcast under the name “Iowa Farm Digest.”

A burst of late summer heat swept across the country as at least 61 million Americans were under some form of a heat advisory this week. 

In 2015, Harold Wilken had a problem - he was farming 700 acres of organic grains, but was trucking it hundreds of miles from his eastern Illinois operation for use as animal feed.

In the early days of the nation’s history, most clothing worn by Americans was made at home. Mass manufacturing of clothes didn’t take off until the late 1880s, rapidly growing into a booming industry centered in New York City.

Canada’s two major railroads, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, locked out their workers Thursday morning, bringing rail traffic to a stop across Canada.