Crop Production NAICS 111

Jun 23, 2025 - Tracking Tar Spot

• Agronomists are encouraging farmers to be on the lookout for tar spot after the disease was confirmed in corn fields in two midwestern states in June, AgWeb reports. Tar spot, a foliar disease of corn caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis, was first confirmed in the US in 2015 in Illinois and Indiana. The Crop Protection Network reported the disease was found on June 11 northeast Kansas and Indiana. Corn crops with extended periods of leaf wetness – due to fog, high relative humidity, or rain – are most vulnerable, according to Bryant Luers, LG Seeds field agronomist. Tar spot develops rapidly, overwinters in residue and can travel airborne from neighboring fields making it nearly impossible to eradicate completely. It’s also more aggressive than typical Corn Belt diseases. Tracking daily humidity levels is a good way to scout for the disease.
• Failure to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would require US farmers and ranchers to pay about $9 billion more in federal taxes – or about $5,155 per year in taxes for the average farm, according to a recent American Farm Bureau Federation analysis. The AFBF warns additional taxes could cost 49,000 jobs, as farmers look to cut expenses, and potentially add up to $3 billion in lost wages at a time when US farmers are already struggling with higher costs and lower prices for their crops. While farmers support the tax provisions in President Trump’s budget proposal, other provisions, notably the elimination of nearly $300 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding are less popular and threaten farm incomes. According to a 2025 USDA Economic Research Service report, the loss of the SNAP program spending will reduce farm income by about $30 billion.

• As part of its dismantling of the USAID, the Trump administration has halted the Food for Peace program, which provided a market for US crops and helped to feed 4 billion people in more than 150 countries since its inception in the 1950s, The Wichita Eagle reports. However, Trump’s shutdown of the US Agency for International Development is facing pushback from Republicans in farm states. To safeguard the program and billions of dollars in wheat, rice, and other farm product sales, two Kansas Republicans are pushing legislation to move it to the US Department of Agriculture. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said food aid had proven its value in fostering political stability abroad, bolstering US national security and providing markets for US crops, adding “By moving this program closer to the producers who grow these crops, we can help reduce waste and make certain our farmers have access to this valuable market.”
• After threatening to slap steep fees on China-linked ships entering US ports, the Trump administration revised its plan to lessen the impact on US agriculture and energy exports, The Wall Street Journal reported in April. Trump’s initial plan was roundly criticized by agriculture industry executives, who said it would hobble US farm exports. The administration’s revised plan is to base the fees largely on vessel capacity, resulting in lower fees for smaller ships arriving at US ports. The US Trade Representative is also looking to ease the charges on ships carrying agricultural exports like soybeans and timber, according to WSJ. The USTR’s original plan, announced in February, was to charge Chinese-built vessels between $500,000 and $1.5 million for each port call. The port-fee plan is part of an effort by the Trump administration to revive shipbuilding in the US, which lags behind other countries.