Ukrainian grain and oilseeds crop sector losses could exceed $3.2 billion in 2023 due to the high cost of logistics as well as fuel and fertilizer price hikes, which threaten to reduce sown areas in the next and coming years, farmers unions said on Thursday. Ukraine is one of the leading global producers and exporters of food and its agrarian sector has been traditionally profitable. Ukrainian authorities and farmers did not report financial results in 2022.Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine shipped the bulk of its exports through deep-water ports in the Black Sea, which have been fully or partially blocked since February 2022.

USDA’s latest Grain Transportation Report from the Agricultural Marketing Service highlighted National Agricultural Statistics Service data on grain storage capacity for both on-farm (including bins, cribs and sheds used to store grains and oilseeds on farms) and off-farm facilities (including elevators, warehouses, terminals, mills and crushers). As of Dec. 1, 2022, the U.S. had 25.4 billion bushels worth of total grain storage capacity: 11.8 billion (47%) of off-farm storage and 13.6 billion (53%) of on-farm storage.

From sea to shining sea, each state in the United States exports food and agricultural products. These U.S. exports continue to strengthen the rural economy by bringing in billions of dollars in revenues and supporting tens of thousands of jobs. Each year, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) opens and preserves access to foreign markets, protecting and expanding U.S. export opportunities.

A delegation of commodity importers from China on Monday signed agreements to buy billions of dollars’ worth of agricultural goods, mostly soybeans, during a ceremony in Iowa, the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) said on Tuesday. The agreements, signed at the China-U.S. Sustainable Agricultural Trade Forum, were the first such bulk signings since 2017 between top soybean importer Beijing and the U.S., the world’s second-largest supplier of the oilseed. The deals also included corn, sorghum and wheat, the U.S. Soybean Export Council said.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) are pleased that U.S. wheat growers now have the opportunity to increase global food assistance and expand export market access under new USDA funding programs announced Oct. 24, 2023. USW and NAWG thank Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for releasing the new funds that will directly benefit U.S. wheat farmers and their overseas customers.

Jumping into a farmer’s tractor is one way Rich Bupp tries to make the transition to regenerative agriculture easier. Farmers employing regenerative agriculture concentrate on improving soil health through crop rotations and less tillage. “Because I have a background in no-till, farmers starting to incorporate it will hire me to run the no-till planter so I can set it up and adjust it so it is performing in those conditions,” he said. Soil health and remediation, water management and mechanical systems are Bupp’s specialties.