August 28, 2026: Beef Trade, U.S.-Canada Tariffs and Inspiring the Next Generation of Agriculture

Today on Ag News Daily. I wasn't like, oh, I want to do this. I just recognize that there are some big issues that we're facing and there's a lot of opportunity within those issues that's not being talked about. And I just care way too much about the state. I care way too much about young farmers. I care way too much about the culture of Iowa. And I just don't want to see it going in that direction. Welcome back to another episode of the Ag News Daily podcast. Delaney Howell joined by Michelle Stangler and Farm Progress Show is next week, Michelle. And the start of September is next week. So that means harvest is going to be quickly rolling behind it. But hopefully should be some decent weather for Farm Progress Show next week. And soon in the dairy country world of things, it'll be World Dairy Expo. So now I'm going to kick into show season, especially here into I guess in a few months will be winter, which is crazy to think about. We're already into the last quarter of the year. We are. That is true. It is a little wild to think that we're heading into Labor Day weekend. A lot of folks are headed back to school or have headed back to school already. My social media feeds are certainly filled with kiddos heading back. So it's that time of year again. Football is about to start as well for those collegiate series. We're seeing, you know, NFL preseason games happen. So a good time of year. I think a lot of our listeners appreciate the hustle and bustle of the fall season. But as we think about weather. Heading into this fall stretch rain this week and into next week is going to be reaching some of those driest areas that really need the rain, including Oklahoma, eastern Kansas into Arkansas and the Red River Valley up north. Front is moving out of the Midwest late this week, bringing some isolated showers with it. But most areas picked up little rain. And after a couple of dry days, the patterns are turning more active into the weekend with several showers. So we're seeing some of those driest areas. with the beef intended for ground beef and imported without the out-of-quota tariff. But cattle groups say increasing imports could put pressure on U.S. cattle prices at a time when producers are trying to rebuild the nation's herd. National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Gene Kopenhaver says the imported product will primarily be beef trim, and he questions whether it will have an impact on retail prices. The U.S. Cattlemen's Association also say that cattle futures have fallen sharply since this announcement, creating another challenge for producers considering whether to retain heifers. Various agricultural organizations, including the NCBA and USCA, the Livestock Marketing Association, and American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter to President Donald Trump opposing the plan, saying it could discourage investment in herd expansion. Farm Bureau says the timing is particularly important because many of those spring-born calves are sold between September and November. There's also uncertainty about where the additional beef would come from. That's another part of the issue, with Australia, Brazil, and Argentina among the possible sources discussed by industry representatives. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the administration understands producers' concerns and that rebuilding the U.S. herd remains a priority. She says the administration is, trying to balance tight domestic beef supplies and higher consumer prices while encouraging long-term herd expansion. So we'll continue to share that here on Ag News Daily. But really interesting sentiments and conversation from producers across social media this last week. Certainly that's one that you can find a lot of opinions on if you do a little dicking, but we won't share our opinions. We're going to move on here to our next story, which is New World Screwworm, as we saw a new confirmed case of New World Screwworms. New World Screwworm in Mexico is raising questions about the upcoming reopening of the U.S.-Mexico livestock order this week. USDA began a phased reopening on Monday with the Douglas, Arizona port more than a year after restricting Mexican cattle movements due to the ongoing spread of the parasite. The department also plans to reopen livestock crossings at the Santa Teresa and Columbus, New Mexico ports. And the latest case, was detected in a cow in southern Sonora, about 292 miles from the U.S. border. Mexico has activated additional surveillance and containment measures, including the release of about 360,000 sterile flies. The USDA says that livestock entering the U.S. will undergo full inspections for signs of the New World Screwworm. The department also says resources are in place at Douglas, including personnel, laboratory support, and technology. The USDA is also planning to reopen livestock crossings at New World Screwworm in Mexico. The USDA is also monitoring more than 100 screwworm traps and 8,000 insect traps while using drones and releasing about 100 million sterile flies each week across Mexico and Texas. New World Screwworm larvae infest wounds in warm-blooded animals and can cause severe injury and death in many cases if untreated. U.S. cattle producers are watching the reopening closely because Mexican feeder cattle could contribute to the domestic supplies, as you just mentioned there, Michelle, while U.S. introduction of the pest, will create significant losses for farmers and ranchers in an already tight environment here as we look at the domestic cattle herd. Looking more into some dairy news, the U.S. dairy industry over the past year has invested about $13 billion in new processing capacity over this past year, creating additional demand for milk producers. That's according to the National Milk Producers Federation CEO, Greg Dowd, and he says the investment is happening across the country from Chobani, facilities in New York and Idaho, to Fairlife and new cheese processing projects in Kansas and Texas. He calls the level of investment extraordinary and says the additional processing capacity should strengthen demand for dairy producers. He says the growth also creates some questions about how milk and dairy products will move across the country. As processing capacity shifts geographically, supply chains will need to adjust to match production with new facilities. Transportation costs could become another challenge, particularly if diesel prices remain elevated for an extended period. Dowd says the industry will be watching how those logistics evolve as the new processing capacity comes online. Well, the Pro Farmer Crop Tour wrapped up late last week and southern Minnesota stood out as one of the stronger areas for corn and soybean production during that tour while scouts found more variability across the state of Iowa. Agritalk host Chip Flory, who led the western tour, says Minnesota has put together another strong crop. Slaving pod counts in the state were up nearly 1% from last year and more than 15% above the three-year average. The state's estimated corn yield is about a 199, which was down slightly from last year but remained more than 8% above the three-year average. As we mentioned, of course, Iowa scouts found a wider range of results with nitrogen issues contributing to some of the lower yields. Row Farmer ultimately projected the 2026 national corn yield at a 173.2, about 5% below last year and the first non-record estimate in three years and significantly below where we saw the latest WASDE report. The organization expects about 15.344 billion bushels of corn and soybeans provided a slightly brighter outlook, projected national yield of 53.3 bushels per acre and production of 4.8 billion bushels per acre. Row Farmer also predicted that the national yield of 53.3 bushels per acre would be about 5.7 billion bushels. Commodity analyst Mike Zuzalo says his own farmer survey showed stronger corn potential than the pro-farmer crop tour results and he said his aligned more closely with the USDA's WASDE estimate. He also says that the lower pro-farmer corn number could push ending stocks below 1 billion bushels and support higher prices heading into the September USDA WASDE report. So I know a lot of farmers are certainly watching that to see where they should be at for new crop sales. And we may see some fireworks in that September report. Yeah, it's certainly moving some prices a bit higher for some of our grains. But looking into some tools for producers, especially on the crop side of things, as that soybean harvest approaches, fall can be a good time for farmers to check fields for nematodes that can quietly reduce yields. The Soy Checkoff says sampling soil shortly after harvest can help identify soybean cyst nematode and other nematodes. Even when plants show few symptoms above ground. Soybean cyst nematode is considered the leading soybean pathogen in North America and can reduce yields by as much as 30%. The Soy Checkoff helped fund new soybean nematode management guides developed by university plant pathologists and nematologists. The guide covers soybean cysts, root knot, root lesion, and renaform nematodes along the way. The Iowa State Fair wrapping up last week in the rearview mirror and Minnesota State Fair underway this week. We're talking about young people and their path into agriculture. Joy Van Weingarten's journey was not always a straight one. You might recognize her from her TikTok and Instagram channels. She stumbled into agriculture influencing during COVID-19 and has built a following since then online as Joy of All Trades. I got up with her at the Iowa State Fair to talk about her journey in agriculture and how she's been able to do that. and how she uses social media with the next generation. Well, I have followed you for a long time on Instagram. I appreciate some of the things you're trying to do for young people in agriculture for kind of rethinking how we approach agriculture. And I want to talk a little bit more about that. But before we do, tell me a little bit about your journey with how you became an influencer on Instagram and TikTok and all these channels. Gosh, I hate that word. I've never heard that word. I'm like, that's not me. I accidentally stumbled into content creation during COVID, which ironically, I think there's actually a lot of people that share that story. I was graduating from Iowa State at the time and TikTok became a thing. I thought it was really dumb. I thought it was a really stupid app. I'm like, someone's trying to recreate mine and it's going to fail miserably and it's really dumb. Of course, I downloaded it and I was like, you know what? I think I can make some stuff that's better than what I'm seeing. And from there, it literally just kept going. I grew my Instagram, Facebook, TikTok still. And I really started making content just about like relatable things. It was about like being an Iowa farm kid, being a country kid, being an Iowan, just like lifestyle stuff where I was like, honestly making fun of a lot of like other relatable things. And then from there, I just kept making content about whatever I wanted and make it about recipes. I make it about health, my health journey. I make it about conservation, water quality, agriculture, just kind of everything, fitness, whatever. And from there, it just kept growing. And here we are. I accidentally built a monster and I get to be, yeah, exactly. But it's been really fun because I haven't just like paid an amaze for me. Like I'm not just making content about one thing. I make content about whatever. Like I recently competed in a two gun competition. It was my first time doing a two gun competition. And I was like, I'm just going to document my process. I'm going to talk about what I'm doing for workouts to prepare for this. I'm going to go out to the shooting range and I'm going to talk about what I'm doing or like what my gun setup is. And it was just fun. Like I feel like my content has just become like a let me just share and talk about an extension of you. Yeah. And then just like, like also just open it up for other people. Like have fun and try new things and not be afraid to try new things. Because I think if you can be someone that shows like, hey, I don't know what I'm doing or like I don't know a lot about this, but I'm trying this new thing or I'm getting into this. It gives other people permission to like be a newbie at something. And low key being a newbie at something is so fun. Like not knowing what the heck you're doing, but doing it anyway. I think, I think that's just life. And I think we all need to just start being comfortable with being uncomfortable. And yeah, now we're now we're here. Yeah, six years later. And so on top of being an influencer, you also are a farmer, which is a very busy and rewarding job as well. Tell us a little bit about your farm in Central Iowa. Just row crop. We're just row crop on the farm. I would like to see that change in the future. I think there's a lot of different options that are coming down the pipeline. Not just like whole food based, but like livestock based as well. I really believe in the nutrient cycle closing the gap. So I'd love to see livestock back on the landscape at some time too. But just row crop and yeah, that's me in Iowa pretty much in a nutshell. And you farm with your dad or your siblings? Yep. That's an experience in and of itself. It is. It sure is. So the podcast or the influencer journey makes a lot of sense. You were bored during COVID. You wanted to do that. What made you decide to come back to the farm? So I'm not, I don't live on the farm currently, but I just see there's a lot of opportunity that's coming. It's not being exploited. And I think there's a way to get into it and then and raise the ships if that makes sense. Like right inside raise all ships. And I just think if there's a way that we can show people in this system, if we can show people different options, that's the best way to one, get adoption and also just bring awareness around the issue. You know, a lot of people that follow me are urban people. They either didn't grow up on a farm. They don't know a lot about ag. They don't even know about conservation. But a lot of them at this point know about our water quality problem. And as I hear you talk today and I've seen from your videos, I have a deep appreciation for the fact that you have a very strong set of beliefs and values and you stick to those regardless of what other people think. And I think that authenticity comes through in the content you create. And so I'm curious to understand when you started doing content creation you were bored because of COVID. I think a lot of people can relate to that. But has your goal shifted in why you continue to show up on social media? No. No, it really hasn't. Because it was never my intention. So it wasn't like, oh, I want to do this. And I just don't want to see it going in the wrong direction. And that's kind of been my North Star because if you have anything other I think than like purpose and passion and doing it, it's really easy to get sidetracked on social media. Social media can absolutely be a trap and a hole and it can make you feel isolated. It can make you feel egotistical. It can have all these other bad effects. So if I would let that bother me, I wouldn't continue to do it. And I have connected with amazing people. I have been able to share a lot of commonalities with people and I think make a difference in a small way. So that's kind of been my North Star of why I'm doing what I'm doing. So as you think then about why you're doing what you're doing, bringing people in to the fold, helping them understand about what the future of Iowa agriculture could look like, you mentioned the three cities and the autonomous tractor and that's not your vision. What is your vision for what the future looks like in the state of Iowa? Diverse small farms and having farmers close to where their consumers are. I do believe in sending our food out of state. Domestically speaking, yes. But I think having true independence in the state, being able to go to the grocery store and know without a doubt that the beef, the chicken, the beans, the tomatoes, anything that's in season is coming from your part of the state. Not even just like Iowa but like you can cut Iowa into four quadrants and like we can grow a lot. We have technology to also help us extend the growing season. Like we have the ability to just consume food that's raised and grown here and I see that being the future. So being more connected with your farmer. I think there's also a future in agritourism. I think there's some potential there that we could tap into more if the Iowa Economic Development Group could kind of get behind that and help figure out ways to help young people do this and just help people in general get more of this here in Iowa. But it's not having people leave the state. Having people leave the state is not a good outcome. And I think we've got to keep people here. We've got to feed them nutrient-dense whole food. We've got to take care of our resources. And Iowa's great. We are so great in so many ways. We have good hunting. We have navigable waters. We have so many rivers. We are there. We just need to put energy and focus and resources into some of those right streams and I think we could see a really cool outcome in the next 20, 30 years. Joy, before I let you go, plug your socials for us so people can follow along with your journey. Yeah, Joy of All Trades. On TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, those are the main ones. On YouTube, not much as well. Awesome. Well, thanks for being on the podcast. I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Well, Delaney, it's always fun to go to a state fair, so really great to continue to share that here on the podcast of some interviews you captured there. But looking into a fertilizer update, farmers here are split on whether to buy fertilizer now or wait for lower prices. Josh Linville, Vice President of Fertilizer at Stone X, says some producers have already locked in anhydrous UAN and urea after prices fell from their highs earlier this year. Others are waiting because current prices still do not pencil out for their operations. He says producers should focus on their own numbers rather than the emotions surrounding a volatile fertilizer market. With harvest approaching and diesel prices also climbing, input costs remain a key concern as farmers plan for next season. You know, we mentioned it earlier in the show and talked about some market influences, but Delaney, what's been hitting the markets here this week? Well, they are, we're seeing grains start to consolidate a little bit about after some of those recent gains and excitement that came out from lower numbers from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour with corn and soybeans correcting after some of those short bounces higher we saw. Wheat faces expanding trading limits after a sharp rally as well as the Black Sea fighting is continuing to disrupt Russian export capacity which could increase demand for U.S. wheat and other feed grains. In the corn markets all contracts moved above $5 on the board but stronger prices are beginning to get some pressure there as we're seeing some bounces off of those recent highs and mixed messages here with declining crop ratings and lower production. Soybeans, we're seeing some pressure there as well from the energy market losses and uncertainty around the future of biofuels. Fuel demand as well as some of those SREs we talked about earlier in the show and in the cattle markets December live cattle remained range bound this week but are showing signs now of a renewed downtrend especially given some of those announcements we saw from the Trump administration late last week and December hog futures have moved higher but their contract excuse me from their contract low but continue to face some selling pressure there as well as we wrap up the end of the summer grilling season. and the summer rallies that we took. typically see in the lean hog market. So that is a quick look at markets for this week, Michelle, but we've got a lot going on next week with Farm Progress Show. So again, if you're going to be around, we'd love to say hi. Shoot us a note at Ag News Daily on all of our major social media platforms. But what do you say with that, Michelle? We let the people go. Let's let them go. Thanks for watching!