Price indicators for key farm inputs tumbled on Monday following news of the U.S.-Iran preliminary peace deal.
The value of urea at New Orleans, a benchmark for North American nitrogen fertilizer, fell about 5% from Friday, or roughly $20, according to Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer for StoneX. That marks a 53% drop from a high earlier this spring, he says.
But, but, but: Slumping corn below $5 a bushel is offsetting the benefit of lower urea prices for farmers, Linville notes. Potash prices that otherwise would seem well valued also “look poor” due to lower grain values, he says.
On the brighter side: Oil prices dropped nearly 5% on Monday to a multi-month low.
President Donald Trump has indicated full ship traffic will resume in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday after effectively being closed off to the U.S. for 16 weeks.
Negotiation period: The deal opens a 60-day window of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Vice President JD Vance, when asked by CNBC if he expects the Strait of Hormuz to stay open beyond the 60 days, said: “Our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term, and that's the sort of thing that we're going to figure out in these technical negotiations.”
Ship lines: Almost 600 vessels remain stuck in the Persian Gulf waiting to go through the strait, with hundreds more idling on the other side, investment analyst Rich Asplund writes for Barchart, citing the global trade and analytics firm Kpler.
U.S. soy crushers expected to ‘go strong’ this summer, analyst says
The latest U.S. soybean crush data signals robust oilseed processing for the June-August quarter, says Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX Group.
The National Oilseed Processors Association on Monday reported soy crush for May at 208.8 million bushels, down from the prior month and below the average analyst estimate, Suderman says.
The lower figure goes against the expectation that strong crush profit margins, propelled by favorable U.S. biofuel policy, would cause companies to forego typical spring maintenance and instead “push the envelope” and keep going, according to Suderman.
“Instead, crushers took the required time to do it right to be properly positioned to go strong through the fourth quarter of the marketing year,” he said. “They'll likely try to push capacity to make up for some of that time going forward, with crush incentives remaining strong this summer.”
EU Parliament’s Environment Committee votes for new gene editing regulation
The Environment Committee of the European Parliament has advanced a new regulation for plants created using gene editing.
The committee quickly adopted the regulation Monday, setting the stage for a full vote by Parliament Wednesday. The vote was 56-32.
The European Commission’s Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare called the vote “an important step for farmers, growers and food security. We are modernizing EU rules on seeds and plant material, while keeping quality and trust at the center,” Oliver Varhelyi said in a post on X.
Opposition remains, including from the organic sector on the continent, but supporters expect the regulation to receive approval Wednesday.
Thompson, Soto seek to boost juice access for WIC families
American families would have greater access to juice through federal aid programs under two new bipartisan bills.
The legislation from House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., and Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., would boost juice availability in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
“Data shows most Americans are not meeting their daily recommendations for fruit or vegetable intake,” Juice Products Association President Jeannie Milewski said in a statement. “As a healthful source of hydration, juice is one cost-effective way to help families meet these recommendations.”
The Juice for Healthy Families Act would raise the maximum monthly juice allowance under WIC to 128 ounces, more aligned with previous juice allowances following USDA’s reduction in 2024.
The Juice Access Improvement Act would give WIC participants juice automatically unless they opt out and choose the $3 cash-value benefit instead.
Grant funding announced for states to root out SNAP fraud
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration is making $5 million available in grants for states to combat fraud in the SNAP program, according to an announcement Monday, as USDA continues to go after fraud in the program.
The issue of fraud has been a point of contention on the Hill, especially during the June 4 House Agriculture oversight hearing with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., said that Rollins was conflating state error rates – which are over or underpayments – with fraud rates. Rollins argued in the hearing that USDA cannot verify the data because individual states report their fraud rates.
During the June 10 Senate Agriculture oversight hearing, Rollins said USDA has pursued over 120 convictions and made $132 million in restitution in the past year over SNAP fraud.
The application deadline for grants is July 17.
North Carolina lawmakers call for tobacco producers to considered for aid
Six North Carolina lawmakers are calling for tobacco farmers to be included in any upcoming disaster aid packages, pointing to rising production costs, reduced commodity prices, weakened export markets and drought the industry has faced in recent years.
In a letter to House and Senate appropriations leaders, the lawmakers called for any disaster or supplemental agricultural relief under consideration to include payments for tobacco producers and for eligibility criteria to account for “the full scope of losses” they face.
In the letter, the lawmakers point to a North Carolina State University analysis that found production costs for tobacco farmers rose 40% from 2021 to 2025, a rate they say is two-thirds higher than the national agricultural average.
The lawmakers include Reps. Don Davis (D), David Rouzer (R), Gregory Murphy (R), Pat Harrigan (R) and Tim Moore (R), and Sen. Thom Tillis (R).
Final word
“We need to get more young people out there and get them interested.” – Colorado State University animal scientist Temple Grandin calling for more efforts to get younger generations involved in agriculture. Grandin noted in an interview with Agri-Pulse that she herself did not come from an agricultural background, but acquired an interest in beef cattle when visiting her aunt’s ranch as a teenager.
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