Food & Farming
Where it stands
As of 20 July 2026
The growing weather has turned kind, but the money around the field has not — input costs are high, margins are thin, and the beef herd cannot rebuild quickly.
Forces in tension
17 grower groups ask the DOJ to act; Bayer's glyphosate duty bid withdrawn
crops sold below cost for years; June tractor sales down 18%
USDA lifts the steer forecast to a record $251.10; a herd takes about three years to rebuild
rain across the Plains, Midwest and South; Kansas's ninth-wettest June since 1895
Ukraine's monthly shipping capacity cut from 6m to 4m tonnes; wheat up 29c
FDA and USDA still disagree on what counts as ultra-processed
What to watch
Whether the federal fertilizer investigations move before farmers buy inputs for next season, since input costs are committed months ahead of a planted crop.
This board is the synthesized picture of 9 recent Food & Farming editions. It describes where things stand — the forces, not a forecast, and never advice on what to do.