United States
Soybean, wheat, cotton planting down: USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA’s) March Acreage Report, which is survey-based, says corn planting is up 5 per cent year over year at 95.3 million acres, but soybean, wheat and cotton are all down, with cotton taking the biggest dip at 12 percent (9.87 million acres planted). Corn represents the highest-planted commodity measured in the report, with soybean close behind at 83.5 million.
The biggest increases in corn acreage are estimated to all come from the South, with Arkansas up 42 percent, Mississippi up 41 percent and Tennessee up 29 percent. The entire Midwest is also seeing higher corn acres.
U.S. tractor, combine sales indicate broader concerns in ag industry
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers released its figures for February 2025 on agricultural equipment sales, with figures indicating that the downward trend continues across facets of agricultural production. Agricultural tractor sales were down 17.7 percent in the U.S. compared to February 2024, with combines down 48 percent. Canada saw a similar drop for combines at 32.1 percent year over year, although it posted an increase in tractor sales of 18.6 percent. Curt Blades, SVP of the AEM, said in a statement the recent and continued decline, which is in stark contrast to several years of healthy growth in the pandemic and immediate post-pandemic era, reflects current market challenges “including global trade concerns about tariffs,” the organization remains optimistic about the long-term future of the equipment industry. “The resilience and adaptability of our industry have been proven time and time again. We are confident that, through innovation and collaboration, equipment manufacturers can navigate these challenges and emerge stronger, continuing to support the essential work of farmers and agricultural professionals worldwide.”
Despite the lower figures, so far the softer 2024 and 2025’s trend lines follow those of 2022, 2023 and the five-year average, with sales of both tractors and combines peaking primarily in April with a second, slightly smaller peak in October.
Canada
Nuffield scholarship applications open April 1
Nuffield Canada will accept a new intake of scholar applications beginning April 1 for its 2026 cohort. The program offers scholarships of $20,000 to mid-career men and women aged 25 to 50 with a passion for agriculture and who aim to challenge themselves in a self-directed program of international travel and study. Scholarship recipients can come from all areas of primary production and any part of agriculture, from production to value added processing to governance or communications. Applications are found at www.nuffield.ca and close June 30.
Husband-wife duo named Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmers
Canada’s Farm Show, which took place in Regina, concluded last week and named its 2025 Outstanding Young Farmers. Brady and Lindsay Funk, a husband-wife farming duo, were awarded for their work on their farm, Braylin Acres, near Swift Current. Their farm includes Canada’s largest subsurface drip irrigation project, which involves the installation of subsurface water lines a little less than one foot below the topsoil and watering from the ground up at the root zone of the plants, which include pulses, cereal crops and oilseeds. The Funks will compete among other Outstanding Young Farmer inductees from across the country in Toronto this coming November.
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