Agricultue Shorts

The Van Trump Report said China is developing "high-protein" corn to help decrease its dependence on soybean imports. Researchers in China have engineered corn varieties containing +10% protein, two percentage points higher than conventional strains. Each one percent protein increase could reduce China's soybean import demand by 8 million tons annually . . . The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that Nebraska corn stocks on March 1 totaled 949 million bushels, up 17% from 2024; soybeans stored totaled 146 million bushels, up 20%; wheat stored totaled 33.5 million bushels, up 51%; and sorghum stored totaled 11.2 million bushels, up 179% . . . According to the USDA Economic Research Service, labor costs accounted for about 64 cents of each dollar spent on food-away-from-home meals in 2023, 20 cents per dollar higher than food-at-home.