With the festive holiday season in the rearview and a continued lack of daily sunshine, January through March can certainly feel like the dreariest months of the year. But are some states more prone to this seasonal sadness than others? A new Forbes Health study determined which U.S. states are most likely to be affected by winter blues, analyzing factors such as the average amount of sunny days, the average amount of daylight hours and the prevalence of mental health struggles throughout the winter months.Idaho ranked in the top 10 for highest rates of anxiety (21.6%) and depression (16.7%) symptoms during the winter.

Corn and soybean acreage will shift across the U.S. in the spring of 2024, but perhaps not by as much as what market prices are currently forecasting...USDA published its 2024 winter wheat sowings report in early January, finding a 6% annual decline in winter wheat acres, bringing expected acreage down to 34.4 million acres – the 10th-smallest winter wheat acreage on record.

While improved from previous years, drought continues to impact winter wheat conditions. Prices are softening as Russia floods the export market with cheap wheat. Producers will face headwinds from wheat prices declining faster than production costs and pressure from higher interest expenses.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Market Analyst Tyllor Ledford compiles a comprehensive “World Wheat Supply and Demand” summary for three USW Board of Directors meetings each year. Using the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report as her primary source. The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) had a bearish impact on the market, as the estimates quantified the sustained record export flows from the Black Sea and increased ending stock levels.

The European Commission is looking into ways of allowing eastern EU member states to restrict farm imports from Ukraine as it extends trade liberalisation with Kyiv for a further year to June 2025. The EU has suspended import duties, quotas and trade defence measures for imports from Ukraine since June 2022 to support its economy after Russia's invasion. However, cheap Ukrainian grain exports have sparked protests by governments, farmers and truckers in neighbouring countries such as Poland and Hungary.

Shipping disruptions in the Red Sea due to attacks from Houthi rebels and the ongoing, drought-induced slowdown of goods through the Panama Canal are driving up freight costs and putting a focus on the vulnerabilities of key chokepoints in agricultural shipping lanes. Freight costs haven’t reached the levels seen during the worst of the pandemic-related supply chain snarls in 2021 and 2022, but the disruptions have forced the diversion of shipping to longer, slower routes or through alternate ports.

Argentina's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries announced Friday the country had taken the first steps towards paving the way for future wheat exports to China. "In an important step for Argentine exports, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) included Argentine companies authorized to export wheat in the Online Quarantine Registration System of Establishments authorized to export vegetables, animals, and their products that enter China," a press release from the ministry read.