Friday September 26 Ag News - US Hog Inventory Down 1% - CVA Celebrates Coop Month - US Red Meat Production Down 10% - Ag Sec Rollins in KC - and more!

 United States Hog Inventory Down 1 Percent 

United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on September 1, 2025 was 74.5 million head. This was down 1 percent fromSeptember 1, 2024, but up 1 percent from June 1, 2025.   

Breeding inventory, at 5.93 million head, was down 2 percent from last year, and down slightly from the previous quarter.

Market hog inventory, at 68.5 million head, was down 1 percent from last year, but up 1 percent from last quarter. 

Hogs and Pigs by State  (1,000 hd  -  % Sept 1 '24) 
Nebraska ..........:                  3,640         101  
Iowa .................:                 25,100       100  
Minnesota ........:                    8,750         96  
North Carolina ..:                     7,800         96  
Illinois ..............:                     5,550        101  

The June-August 2025 pig crop, at 34.1 million head, was down 3 percent from 2024. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.88 million head, down 3 percent from 2024. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 48 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.82 for the June-August period, compared to 11.72 last year. 

June - Aug 2025 
Nebraska ...:    180,000 sows farrowing - 12.10 pigs per litter -  2,178,000 pig crop (-2% LY)  
Iowa ..........:    450,000 sows farrowing - 11.90 pigs per litter - 5,355,000 pig crip (-3% LY)

United States hog producers intend to have 2.86 million sows farrow during the September-November 2025 quarter, down 2 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and down 4 percent from the same period two years earlier. Intended farrowings for December 2025-February 2026, at 2.82 million sows, are down slightly from the same period one year earlier, and down 4 percent from the same period two years earlier. 

The total number of hogs under contract owned by operations with over 5,000 head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 52 percent of the total United States hog inventory, down 1 percent from the previous year. 



CVA Celebrates National Co-op Month by Giving Back to Local Communities

October is National Co-op Month, a time to recognize the vital role cooperatives play in strengthening rural communities. Central Valley Ag (CVA) is proud to celebrate this month by honoring our mission to serve and support the communities where we live and work.

CVA is organizing a company-wide food drive throughout the month of October to support local food pantries across our service areas. Many food pantries are in need of restocking as they prepare for the busy colder winter months.

From October 1 through October 31, all CVA locations will be collecting non-perishable food items to donate to their local food pantries. This initiative is not only about giving back but also about coming together as a cooperative to make a difference to those around us.

Each participating location is teaming up with a local food pantry and will be working hard to collect as many donations as possible. CVA would like to continue doing their part to help their communities by making a $250 corporate donation to the location that donates the most to the pantry and their community.

Community members and partners are encouraged to join us in this effort. Whether you are dropping off a few canned goods or helping to spread the word, your support helps make this campaign stronger and more impactful.

“We know that many food pantries are in need, and we want to do our part to support the communities that support us," said Nic McCarthy, CEO of CVA. "Being part of a cooperative means stepping up when our neighbors need help, and this food drive is one small way we can make a big impact."

We believe that cooperatives are built on community. This October, let’s continue to show what that truly  means by working together to give back to those around us. 

To learn more about how you can get involved or where to donate, reach out to your local CVA location.

Together, we can make this Co-op Month a time of action, support, and community



NWB Announces Intern for the 2025-2026 School Year

The Nebraska Wheat Board (NWB) is excited to announce the 2025-2026 Nebraska Wheat Intern.  Abby Hirschman of St. Paul, NE is currently a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) pursuing a degree in Agribusiness with minors in Animal Science, the Engler Entrepreneurship Program and the Krutsinger Beef Scholars Program.  Along with her classes, Abby is active in a variety of clubs and organizations at UNL.  She is a member of the UNL Range Management Club, serving as the chapter’s social media specialist.  She is also a member of the Collegiate Farm Bureau, St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center and Young Nebraska Cattlemen Association.  Growing up on a farm that raised livestock and crops, Abby developed a deep passion for the agriculture industry at an early age.  

Throughout her childhood, Abby was heavily involved in her local 4-H organization, taking on a variety of projects that helped cultivate her strong leadership skills. She continued to explore her passion for agriculture and build her skills by being an active member of the St. Paul FFA chapter.  Abby remains an active member of the National FFA Organization, where she plans to pursue her American degree.

With the desire to get more involved in Nebraska’s agriculture industry and expand her knowledge of crops, Abby applied for the Nebraska Wheat Board internship.

“My curiosity about Nebraska’s wheat industry led me to apply for this internship, as I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of this aspect of agriculture,” said Hirschman. “I am excited to get involved this year and work on behalf of Nebraska wheat farmers.”

During this experience, she is most excited for the opportunity to learn directly from producers and industry leaders, while also gaining skills in communication and outreach.

“The best way to grow is to put yourself in places you don’t know much about yet,” said Hirschman, adding that she hopes to walk away from this internship with both a deeper understanding of Nebraska’s wheat industry and valuable skills she can use in her future career.

The NWB Internship Program will run in accordance with the 2025–2026 school year, beginning in August and concluding in May. Throughout the year, the intern will gain hands-on experience in communications and outreach by assisting with social media management, content creation, graphic design, event coordination, and other projects that support the wheat industry. The internship is designed to provide professional development opportunities while allowing the student to tailor the experience to their individual interests and career goals.

The Nebraska Wheat Board administers the check-off of 0.5% of net value of wheat marketed in Nebraska at the point of first sale. The board invests the funds in programs of international and domestic market development and improvement, policy development, research, promotion, and education.



National Corn Growers Association Joins Ag Industry Efforts to Modernize Pesticide Drift Model Used by EPA, Incorporating Mitigation of Drift Reduction Technologies

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has joined the project to modernize the pesticide drift model software AGDISP (Agricultural DISpersion). AGDISP, developed by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1980s, is used by EPA to model the movement of spray in the environment after it has been released from a sprayer. The modernization effort is being carried out by the AGDISP Modernization Project (AMP) whose goal is to update and improve AGDISP.  AMP was established two years ago to rewrite the coding of the AGDISP model using a modern, well-supported computer language.

AMP, established by the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) two years ago, is investing $600,000 over five years to modernize AGDISP. The funding raised to date—$370,000—comes from a generous $35,000 donation from NCGA this week, after last month’s generous $35,000 donation from the Cotton Foundation. Funding also includes a five-year, $250,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control via the American Mosquito Control Association; and $50,000, to date, from the National Agricultural Aviation Research and Education Foundation.

These improvements to AGDISP are essential to improve accuracy and make the model accessible to other software developers so AGDISP can be further adapted to include modeling of other drift reduction technologies and application conditions to benefit all stakeholders across the pesticide industry, regardless of application type (aerial, ground, unmanned aerial, etc.).

A modernized AGDISP will more accurately estimate off-target spray movement for all types of pesticide applications when EPA conducts ecological, endangered species, and human health risk assessments. It will also allow the drift reduction benefits offered by new application technologies and techniques to be recognized by EPA, which in turn should result in less restrictive and more flexible application requirements on labels. A key feature of the modernized version of AGDISP is that it will continue to be available to the public and an open source. This means the EPA can use it for risk assessments and companies developing new application technologies can incorporate it into their research. 

A modernized AGDRIFT model will also set the stage for real-time, site-specific risk assessments to be conducted in the future. It will result in a professional applicator equipped with modern drift reduction technology, ranging from meteorological evaluation equipment, digital labels, data on adjuvants in the tank, application equipment setup parameters, etc., to be programmed into the GPS calculating a real time risk assessment after it is processed through the updated AGDISP drift model thereby allowing for more label flexibility depending on all the drift reduction technologies used.  

AMP is essential for all growers and pesticide applicators. Without accurate spray drift risk assessments for aerial, ground, and airblast applications, there exists the possibility of losing access to pesticides critical for protecting crops.

Other AMP stakeholders include pesticide manufacturers, grower groups, university scientists, and representatives from multiple federal agencies.

AMP is incredibly grateful to the National Corn Growers Association for the funding. It is NAAA’s hope that other pesticide industry organizations and grower groups will join in supporting the project. A modernized AGDISP will ensure all pesticide application methods can continue to be used to protect crops grown in the U.S.



USDA Livestock Slaughter Aug '25

Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.15 billion pounds in August, down 10 percent from the 4.59 billion pounds produced in August 2024.

Beef production, at 2.02 billion pounds, was 12 percent below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.33 million head, down 14 percent from August 2024. The average live weight was up 25 pounds from the previous year, at 1,413 pounds.

Veal production totaled 1.9 million pounds, 38 percent below August a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 9,400 head, down 45 percent from August 2024. The average live weight was up 39 pounds from last year, at 353 pounds.

Pork production totaled 2.12 billion pounds, down 8 percent from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 10.1 million head, down 7 percent from August 2024. The average live weight was down 2 pounds from the previous year, at 280 pounds.

Lamb and mutton production, at 10.0 million pounds, was down 5 percent from August 2024. Sheep slaughter totaled 174,900 head, 1 percent below last year. The average live weight was 112 pounds, down 5 pounds from August a year ago.

By State               (million lbs.  -  % Aug '24) 
Nebraska .........:        594.9             90       
Iowa ................:       680.7             92       
Kansas .............:        430.7             85       

January to August 2025 commercial red meat production was 35.2 billion pounds, down 3 percent from 2024. Accumulated beef production was down 4 percent from last year, veal was down 38 percent, pork was down 2 percent from last year, and lamb and mutton production was up 3 percent. 



In Kansas City, Secretary Rollins Speaks on State of Farm Economy, Announces Suite of Actions to Support American Farmers

Thursday, in Kansas City at the Agriculture Outlook Forum, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins spoke on the current state of the farm economy in the United States and addressed the ways President Trump is supporting American agriculture. U.S. farm production inputs are significantly more costly than four years ago, putting pressure on farmers’ bottom line. Between 2020 and now, seed expenses have increased 18%, fuel and oil expenses increased 32%, fertilizer expenses increased 37%, and interest expenses increased by a whopping 73%.

In order to understand why these critical inputs are persistently elevated, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice signed a Memorandum of Understanding that represents a joint commitment by both agencies to protect American farmers and ranchers from the burdens imposed by high and volatile input costs —such as feed, fertilizer, fuel, seed, equipment, and other essential goods—while ensuring competitive supply chains, lower consumer prices, and the resilience of U.S. agriculture and the food supply. The Antitrust Division of DOJ will work hand in hand with USDA — effective immediately — to take a hard look and scrutinize competitive conditions in the agricultural marketplace, including antitrust enforcement that promotes free market competition.

Additionally, labor costs increased 47% since 2020. This increase is driven largely by the high cost of utilizing the H-2A program to secure seasonal labor, specifically the artificially inflated Adverse Effect Wage Rates set by the Department of Labor using USDA data. The USDA Farm Labor Survey was never designed to be used for setting government-mandated wage rates and is duplicative of other DOL data sources. USDA has discontinued this survey. USDA is working daily with the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security to build out regulatory changes that can make the H-2A program more affordable and more accessible for American agriculture.

“President Trump has made it clear: America’s farmers and ranchers will never be left behind. The success of our farmers is a national security priority, and at USDA we are looking at every option to ensure the future viability of American agriculture. The last Administration’s policies drove up inflation and ignored the needs of farmers and ranchers while not opening new markets abroad. The cost of doing business for farmers and ranchers increased drastically, and commodity prices slumped. The Trump Administration is holding these companies accountable and will investigate why input prices have not come back down,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “Relief is already reaching farms and ranches, but more help is still needed. ECAP payments, combined with our international food assistance purchases, help producers navigate market volatility, pay down debt for the 2024 crop year, and move American grown commodities to people in need in countries around the world. American farmers produce the most nutritious, safe, and high-value food in the world, and USDA is proud to stand with them at home and abroad.”

Expanding Markets
The One Big Beautiful Bill provided an additional $285 million each year in agricultural trade promotion and facilitation to help American agriculture expand markets overseas. While this funding does not kick in until next year, USDA repurposing Biden-era funding to kickstart this program one year early, with $285 million on October 2nd of this year launching the America First Trade Promotion Program to expand market opportunities for American agricultural products.

Emergency Assistance for Farmers
After expediting emergency aid payments of more than $8 billion to over 560,000 farmers since March, Secretary Rollins today released the $2 billion in remaining funding for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) and announced the purchase of more than 417,000 metric tons of American grown commodities to support international food assistance programs. Together, these actions represent billions in support of American producers, helping them weather economic uncertainty at home while expanding markets for U.S. agriculture abroad.

International Food Assistance Purchases
At the same time, USDA is investing $480 million to purchase commodities from American farmers for international food assistance programs, including McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition and Food for Progress. These purchases will provide critical school meals and nutrition projects in countries such as Benin, Honduras, Mozambique, Pakistan, and Senegal, while also removing trade barriers and ensuring market access for U.S. agricultural exports in countries including Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Vietnam, Nigeria, and Nepal.

USDA is providing $240 million to purchase U.S. commodities for six McGovern-Dole projects, which will utilize 56,170 metric tons of U.S.-grown food — a 50 percent increase from 2024. Food for Progress implementing partners will receive $240 million to sell 361,000 metric tons of U.S. commodities abroad, a 12 percent increase from 2024, with proceeds reinvested to build markets for American agriculture.

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service will publish details of the fiscal year 2025 McGovern-Dole and Food for Progress funding allocations once all contracts are finalized.

ECAP Payments and Supplemental Disaster Assistance
Of the $10 billion authorized under ECAP, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already delivered over $8 billion to eligible producers to offset higher input costs and falling commodity prices. Today, USDA is releasing the remaining ECAP funding that will be delivered to approved producers within the week, bringing the final payment factor to 99 percent. ECAP payments are based on planted and prevented planted crop acres for eligible commodities in the 2024 crop year and are issued automatically to producers with approved applications.

In addition to ECAP, USDA has provided more than $2 billion through two rounds of Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) assistance to livestock producers impacted by drought and wildfires, and floods. Producers have also received over $5.5 billion through Stage 1 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, with Stage 2 assistance to be announced in October.



FFAR Develops Decontamination Strategy for HPAI-Infected Milk  

The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus is present in the milk of infected cows, and to limit on-farm spread, requires cost-prohibitive and resource-intensive on-farm pasteurization and heat decontamination treatments. The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Texas A&M AgriLife Research are investing $300,404 in a Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research (ROAR) grant to develop effective, farmer-friendly decontamination strategies. 

Milk harvested from infected animals is currently recommended for on-farm heat treatment and pasteurization to minimize the spread of the virus to other cows and dairy workers. Yet, this approach is not feasible for individual farmers due to the high cost of the necessary equipment and facilities, and the large volume of milk produced by modern dairy herds.  

“Dairy farmers need tools and strategies to prevent the further spread of avian influenza in their herd once it is detected,” said Dr. Miriam Martin LeValley, FFAR scientific program manager. “Equipping farmers with a cost-effective, on-farm decontamination tool will minimize economic losses and reduce risks for farm workers. FFAR’s rapid funding will help deliver this solution for farmers.” 

Researchers led by Dr. Sushil Paudyal, assistant professor of dairy science at Texas A&M University, are evaluating the effectiveness of chemical controls in decontaminating milk. They are also assessing the health impacts of feeding decontaminated milk to calves. Identifying an effective chemical decontamination strategy will equip dairy farmers with a cost-efficient way to slow the spread of HPAI on their farms and repurpose milk from infected cows. 

 “Our goal is to develop a practical, science-based solution that dairy farmers can implement quickly and affordably,” said Dr. Paudyal. “We are collaborating with the University of Georgia to identify effective on-farm decontamination strategies that help reduce the spread of HPAI and protect both animal and human health.” 

FFAR’s ROAR program rapidly funds research and outreach in response to emerging or unanticipated threats to the U.S. food supply or agricultural systems. 



Soaring demand for dairy foods fueled a US butterfat boom, but cheesemakers need milk protein levels to catch up 

Consumer demand for products like cheese, butter and yogurt that rely on protein and butterfat content continues to drive dairy sales growth in the U.S. and abroad. Over the past decade, milk delivered to U.S. dairy processing plants has become more nutrient-dense with higher levels of the two key components to meet rising demand. However, the pace of growth in butterfat content has far exceeded protein, which creates challenges for U.S. cheddar and American-style cheesemakers that rely on a more balanced ratio of the two.

According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, excessive butterfat levels can impact cheese quality. In the EU and New Zealand, the two largest dairy exporters, the protein-to-fat ratio has remained far steadier, averting the issues U.S. cheese makers are facing.

“U.S. dairy producers did an exceptional job increasing butterfat levels in milk to meet demand,” said Corey Geiger, lead dairy economist at CoBank. “For 10 years, the market couldn’t supply enough of it, and now there’s an oversupply – it’s almost too much of a good thing. Cheesemakers strive for a protein-to-fat ratio near 0.80. Anything significantly lower than that can reduce cheese quality and compromise production yields.”

In recent years, butterfat percentages in U.S. milk have been increasing at twice the pace of protein. From 2000 to 2017, the protein-to-fat ratio held rather constant at 0.82 to 0.84. In the ensuing years, the ratio gradually slipped to 0.77. That is increasingly a concern for cheesemakers as more than one-half of the U.S. milk supply is destined for cheese production.

The disproportionate growth of butterfat in relation to protein in U.S. milk when compared to the EU and New Zealand could put U.S. cheesemakers at a competitive disadvantage. The EU is the world’s largest dairy exporter, followed by New Zealand. The U.S. is the third largest exporter of dairy products and ingredients. Unlike America’s global competitors, domestic cheese processors face added costs for rebalancing their milk supplies, which reduces efficiency and could ultimately impact pricing at the farmgate.

Geiger said U.S. cheddar cheesemakers face a growing need to standardize milk either by adding a source of protein like milk protein concentrate or by pulling excess butterfat out. “If cheddar makers don’t standardize inbound milk, fat levels may climb too high and cheese quality could decline as higher fat generally yields a softer cheese,” said Geiger.

In the U.S., Multiple Component Pricing has incentivized butterfat and protein production. From 2000 to 2014, the protein price exceeded butterfat, resulting in rather equal growth between the two components. However, butterfat pay prices exceeded protein prices in eight of the past 10 years. That fueled the butterfat boom, which producers achieved through animal genetics and feeding strategies. Those practices could be shifted to achieve a greater balance between butterfat and protein if the proper price incentives are in place.

Cheese yield pricing could also give farmers incentives to produce milk with a higher protein-to-fat ratio. Geiger said looking to the future, farmgate milk needs to have a protein-to-fat ratio more in line with how milk is utilized to make the entire industry more efficient.

“Regardless of the current challenges associated with excess butterfat, most signals continue to point upward for milk component demand. That represents an opportunity for dairy farmers to produce more milk components so dairy processors can fulfill demand in both domestic and global markets. And advances in research and efficiency are among several reasons the U.S. dairy industry remains on a strong growth trajectory with $10 billion in dairy plant investment coming online through 2028.”