Japan will continue its trend of planting more wheat and less rice in the 2023-24 marketing year, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA’s preliminary projections also have the shift from rice to wheat continuing in 2024-25. The USDA’s latest forecast sees wheat harvested area increasing by 3.5% and production rising 10% to 1.17 million tonnes in the upcoming marketing year, while rice acreage is projected to decline by 1.1% to 1.48 million hectares with output falling slightly to 7.45 million tonnes.

Russia said top agricultural commodities trader Cargill Inc. will stop exporting its grain, adding to uncertainty over the future of Black Sea crop shipments. As the biggest wheat exporter, Russian grain is vital to global crop trade and food supplies. A bumper harvest there last year helped wheat futures drop more than 40% from a record reached just after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Although Cargill is a big exporter of Russian wheat and a huge Western crop merchant, the government said the firm’s decision shouldn’t affect overall shipments from the country.

Morocco has emerged as the biggest export outlet for European Union wheat in 2022/23 as sales to other destinations have been curbed by revived Black Sea competition after war disruption eased. In a year marked by Russia's invasion of fellow grain exporter Ukraine, the EU sold heavily at the start of the July-June export campaign as importers sought alternatives to Black Sea grain. With increased import needs after a drought-hit harvest last year, Morocco became a bigger-than-usual outlet for EU wheat and has overtaken Algeria as the bloc's top destination.

The official Feb. 6 deadline to respond to the 2022 Census of Agriculture has passed. However, that was not a 'hard deadline'. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will continue to accept completed census questionnaires through the spring. The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years and provides a complete assessment of the nation's farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The Census is used is to shape policy and farm programs, target rural services, and in locating staff and facilities. This is an attempt to ensure all farmers and ranchers are represented in this widely used data, said Ben Johnson, director of NASS’ Idaho field office.

Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and her colleague Rep. Dan Newhouse, both of Washington, introduced legislation Thursday to protect the four lower Snake River dams. The move comes just a few days after President Biden said he is committed to working with Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho and Washington senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats, to save Columbia and Snake river salmon.

Visit Farm State of Mind for resources for farmers, ranchers and their families who are experiencing stress and mental health challenges.

Early winter wheat entries are eligible for a drawing for a free one-year Business Plan subscription to Bushel Farm (formerly FarmLogs)! This software gives farmers a ground-level and big-picture view of their farms’ operational and financial performance.