The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 93rd Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum featured speakers from John Deere and Rabobank who presented perspectives on how their companies will meet the challenges and opportunities of the agricultural economy in 2017 and beyond.

This is Wednesday’s report of the grain prices and trends prepared by the USDA and the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

China already buys about two-thirds of the soybeans traded on the planet. Over the next decade, the USDA expects global soybean trade to increase by 25 percent, of that about 85 percent will be because of Chinese purchases.

After focusing successfully on crop production for the past two years, the 2017 edition of “Farming and Ranching for the Bottom Line” will put more attention on beef cattle topics. The unique event, scheduled for February 28 at Bismarck State College, is a joint effort of the Area 4 Soil Conservation Districts, USDA’s ARS and NRCS, NDSU’s Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station, and BSC.

Doyle Lentz has grown barley, wheat, soybeans and canola for decades on his land in North Dakota, a farm that has been in the family for generations. Just outside of Rolla, North Dakota, a town of about 1,300 people west of the Red River Valley, his rolling, fertile land might seem a world away from coastal ports, international business deals and the very idea of “globalism.”

The British red meat sector has said it ‘looks forward’ to dealing with new US President Donald Trump after his inauguration. With Mr Trump having been inaugurated yesterday , the British red meat industry is looking forward to ‘continued good progress’ towards opening up the American market to lamb and beef products; a market which could be worth A 20 million a year for Welsh red meat alone.

The “certified organic” seal is synonymous with healthy living and clean eating. But what exactly does it mean? And who decides what is or is not certified organic? In the United States, food is certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The US Department of Agriculture’s call today for public comment on the Organic Trade Association’s application to create an organic check-off program comes at a time when sales of organic products in the US are soaring but hampered by limited domestic supply. “The popularity of organic products has never been higher,” according to the trade association which estimates organic product sales reached $43.3 billion in 2015, “up a robust 11% from the previous year’s record level and far outstripping the overall food market’s growth rate of 3%.”

Secretary Tom Vilsack left the Agriculture Department a week before his tenure ends and before President-elect Donald Trump has chosen his replacement.