Markets are closed Monday, delaying some economic reports, but we'll track corn and soybean sales out in the countryside. We'll also have the latest Cattle on Feed report at week's end.
The Land Investment Expo this week in Des Moines, Iowa, highlighted 2025 investment trends, emphasizing natural gas growth, U.S.-China tensions and global risks. Speakers spotlighted overall U.S. economic strength, infrastructure challenges, geopolitical instability and agriculture's vulnerability to trade policies.
Pushing back on some criticisms last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released an interim technical rule for how corn, soybeans and sorghum producers could measure and lower their carbon-intensity scores on the farm. The rule addresses feedstocks for biofuels and how they could potentially qualify for the 45Z tax credit.
The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general in Minnesota and Illinois filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging John Deere's equipment-repair practices are driving up costs for farmers. The lawsuit filed in Illinois asks for a permanent injunction against Deere.
Energy Information Administration data show overall ethanol production in the United States averaged 1.073 million barrels per day (bpd) in the week ended Nov. 29, down 46,000 bpd week-on-week.
