For Sheridan Skala, Owatonna, Minnesota (Steele County, family farm heritage) Friday, July 31, 2026. Filed by The MI Farm AI Desk. Weather, Steele County, MN
What this means for today: Showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Cloudy, with a high near 69. East wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 2 and 3 inches possible. Source: NOAA National Weather Service via the MI Farm AI weather layer for Steele County, MN, pulled this morning. Hour by Hour, the day ahead
Source: NOAA National Weather Service hourly forecast and station observations, pulled this morning. Spray WindowSpray window is MARGINAL today. Wind at your nearest weather station is about 9 mph right now, gusting 9 (the hour-by-hour table above is the NWS forecast, which can read lower). If you go, check your product label first, keep the boom low and the speed down, and watch your gusts and any ground-level inversion. Grain and Livestock, corn, soybeans, wheat, cattleFutures board (front month): corn Dec 2026 $4.6700/bu (+0.2125, +4.77%); soybeans Nov 2026 $11.8825/bu (+0.1100, +0.93%). Chicago board, as of 2026-07-31.
Source: Chicago Board of Trade. Cal's Market ReadOvernight, corn slipped about 2 cents; and beans slipped about 1 cents. Recent trend, over the last 5 sessions, corn has eased and beans have eased. That is the backdrop your cash bid is moving against. Here is our read on why. Cutting the other way, demand still reads firm per Morning Ag Clips: New MSU Extension Farm Stress Training Toolkit. Honest truth, the tape does not hand us one clean reason today, so take this as our best read, not gospel. Stocks are steady going into the open, S&P futures close to flat. A calm Wall Street is what your banker likes to see, it keeps the rate and input-cost backdrop behind your operating note quiet for another day. Cal Wall Street, yesterday's close
WHY IT MATTERS FOR YOUR FIELDS Decision DeliveredYour decisions for today and the week ahead:
What to Watch Today
From Cal's News DeskThe 10 stories that moved across the wires since yesterday's Brief, sourced, dated, and verifiable. Each one carries Cal's review, the same one the news page shows, with a link to read it straight from the source. 1. Boozman hopeful about SNAP deal before Aug. 6 farm bill markup
"We're working on it," Boozman told Agri-Pulse when asked about the odds of Republicans and Democrats reaching a deal over upcoming changes in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Boozman on Thursday said the talks are focusing more on a potential one-year delay. Disagreement over cuts and structural changes made to SNAP in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act threatens to unravel attempts to get a new farm bill through Congress. The prospect of a two-year delay lacks broad Republicans support, she told Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
Read the full article. Agri-Pulse, Thu Jul 30, 2026 4:58 PM CT 2. Farm Bureau Analysis Details Concern About Available Commodity Credit Corporation Funds
While the increases in the farm safety net through the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act were welcome, there are concerns about USDA receiving enough funding for the safety net to work. Newton shared, "For close to 100 years now, USDA has used the Commodity Credit Corporation to implement congressionally established programs, and today, those programs are really the Farm Bill programs that farmers and ranchers have come to depend on. If the Commodity Credit Corporation doesn't have liquidity, USDA's hands are really tied," he added. "[While] potentially have[ing] to delay or prorate these important programs that farmers depend upon without additional borrowing authority and if USDA is out of liquidity, there's going to be some important policy decisions that need to be made, or Congress is going to have to step in and replenish the CCC," stated Newton.
Read the full article. Hoosier Ag Today, Thu Jul 30, 2026 8:37 PM CT 3. Mexico Advances White Corn Commercialization Strategy
The Mexican government reached an agreement with grain traders, flour millers and the food industry to advance the commercialization of the 2026 Spring-Summer white corn harvest in the states of Campeche, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Queretaro and Tlaxcala, according to Mexico Business News. According to Bloomberg, "Chicago soybean futures fell the most in more than two months as a pause in fighting between the US and Iran eased fe...
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Thu Jul 30, 2026 4:38 PM CT 4. $25M Awarded To New Facility In Screwworm Fight
Rollins visited the livestock inspection facilities at the Douglas, Arizona, Port of Entry, yesterday, highlighting the department's measures taken ahead of the planned reopening of the port to livestock trade on Aug. During her visit, Rollins also announced USDA's commitment to invest $25 million toward the opening of a new sterile fly dispersal facility in Arizona to strengthen the nation's long-term response to New World screwworm (NWS). "The phased nature of the (Mexican border) reopening means it will likely take some time before significant numbers will cross the border, and...
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Thu Jul 30, 2026 4:35 PM CT 5. Pivot Bio CEO: rising input costs continue to pressure farmers ahead of 2027 crop decisions
Chris Abbott tells Brownfield it's a different situation than previous years. We haven't seen that, right? Our corn really looks really good. Abbott and Boedeker spoke during Pivot Bio's One Million Thanks Buddy Seat Tour in late July.
Read the full article. Brownfield Ag News, Thu Jul 30, 2026 3:43 PM CT 6. InnerPlant Launches CropVoice for Disease Control in Soybeans & Corn
CropVoice Whole Farm builds on the success of the company's InnerSoy sensors that are genetically engineered to emit an optical signal when infected, and adds InnerCorn sensors so farmers can protect both crops. CropVoice Whole Farm provides soy and corn farmers with insights to determine the best times to make confident spray decisions and provides them with data to confirm an infection before symptoms are visible in the field." For decades, farmers have relied on indirect signals such as weather forecasts, scouting reports, soil conditions, and historical disease pressure to guide crop protection decisions. Just one good idea will pay for your subscription hundreds of times over. Provide expert analysis and decision support to increase productivity and profitability.
Read the full article. No-Till Farmer, Thu Jul 30, 2026 11:00 PM CT 7. Board of Peace reaches agreement to disarm Hamas in Gaza, Trump says
Trump hailed the agreement as a "monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY" in the region. "The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases. The board is chaired by Trump. "Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE."
Read the full article. Washington Examiner, Thu Jul 30, 2026 6:01 PM CT 8. New MSU Extension Farm Stress Training Toolkit
Since 2016, Michigan State University (MSU) Extension's Managing Farm Stress educational programs and resources have helped thousands of agricultural professionals and farm families address economic, weather-related and personal challenges. Rural stressors can include loneliness and social isolation, limited access to healthcare and other essential services, financial constraints, unpredictable weather and crop conditions, market uncertainty, labor shortages, caregiving responsibilities and stigma associated with seeking mental health support. Michigan State University Extension also offers a variety of programming and resources to support yourself or loved ones undergoing mental health distress. The article, part of the Telling the Story Project, recounts the VanderWeele family's experience following a fatal tractor rollover on June 24, 2009, [...]
Read the full article. Morning Ag Clips, Fri Jul 31, 2026 2:56 AM CT 9. Michigan Youth Livestock Scholarship Winners
"MDARD is committed to improving quality of life in Michigan, and that includes ensuring our young people have access to the education they need to pursue fulfilling, good-paying careers in agriculture, food processing and veterinary science," said MDARD Director Tim Boring. In addition to the awards above, more than $62,000 of "Sale-a-bration" proceeds were deposited into the Michigan Education Saving Plans and the MYLSF scholarships for youth exhibitors who compete in judging and showmanship events at the Michigan Livestock Expo. The Livestock Conservancy Microgrants Program continues to put funding into the hands of its most important conservation partners those stewarding genetic treasures for the security of tomorrow's food and fiber systems. "One project, specifically, that I've worked [...]
Read the full article. Morning Ag Clips, Fri Jul 31, 2026 2:47 AM CT 10. Topp-View continues dairy tradition at the Ohio State Fair
Eric and Mary Topp, along with daughters Madelyn and Mackenzie, discuss their years of exhibiting, the work required to develop quality cattle, and the opportunities available through the Open Show. This video is part of an Ohio Ag Net series highlighting the families behind the Ohio State Fair Open Shows, presented with support from Farm Credit Mid-America.
Read the full article. Ohio Country Journal, Thu Jul 30, 2026 3:44 PM CT Cal's ReceiptCal's Receipt is the running ledger of every call this desk made for your farm, what was at stake, whether you followed it, and what it actually saved (or cost). Append-only, and every dollar cites its source. You will find it on your farm Dashboard, on the Farm Services desk. Open the Dashboard from the button at the bottom of this Brief. Today in Farm SafetyWear a properly fitted dust mask or respirator in grain dust, moldy hay, and confinement barns. Years of breathing it cause farmer's lung and chronic bronchitis. A surgical mask is not enough for mold spores, match the respirator to the dust. Source: National Ag Safety Database; NIOSH agricultural respiratory health. Cal Local ObituariesNo local obituaries for your area in today's papers. The Coffee ShopToday in Farm History, Purdue University chartered 1869On May 6, 1869, the Indiana General Assembly chartered Purdue University at Lafayette, Indiana, with a $150,000 gift from John Purdue. Purdue became Indiana's land-grant institution under the 1862 Morrill Act and opened to students in 1874. Source: Purdue University archives; Indiana Historical Bureau. [CAL'S QUIZ]
The 1929 Federal Farm Board (first federal crop-price support) spent about how much by 1932, and failed?
(a) $50 million
(b) $500 million
(c) $5 billion
(d) $50 billion
Answer at the bottom of the Brief. [CAL'S JOKE]
The grain bin sweep auger crawled around the bin all afternoon. The farmer's grandson said, "It's slow." The farmer said, "It's patient. There's a difference. The sweep knows the difference. You will too."
The MI Farm AI Desk
Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen, your AI Agronomist and Editor in Chief Quiz Answer(b) $500 million buying wheat and cotton. It failed because supply kept growing, teaching the architects of the 1933 AAA that you have to control supply, not just buy surplus. Source: USDA Economic Research Service Depression-era policy history.
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The MI Farm Brief is the independent daily farm intelligence brief that earns zero when you buy inputs. Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen is the editorial persona of the MI Farm AI desk, the AI-orchestrated production team that produces this Brief every working morning. The Monthly Receipt is signed by the Founder, MI Farm AI. Honest. Independent. Loyal. Transparent. The HILT Covenant.
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Signed by Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen, Editor in Chief, The MI Farm AI Desk.