Your Pro Farmer newsletter (May 4, 2024) is now available

Heavy rains slowed planting across the Corn Belt and caused flooding in far southern Brazil. HRW wheat crop conditions continued to decline amid heat and moisture stress in southwestern areas of the Plains. Both the House and Senate Ag Committees released their farm bill proposals this week and they contained notable differences, primarily on the food and nutrition programs. The House GOP farm bill proposals are far more farmer-friendly when it comes to production agriculture. Key will be if major differences regarding the Thrifty Food Plan, food stamps and conservation funding implementation will derail a final bill. The Biden administration released eligibility guidelines for sustainable aviation fuel tax credits, which we cover in our News page 4 feature. Government testing of ground beef and dairy products from states with confirmed cases of H5N1 in dairy cattle showed them to be virus-free and safe for consumers. On the economic front, the Fed said interest rate cuts are still on the table for this year, despite sticky inflation. We cover all of these items and much more in this week’s newsletter, which you can download here.