Industry Ag News 7/7

The American Soybean Association is pleased to announce the hiring of Mariah Wollweber as senior director of marketing and communications. Wollweber joins ASA’s senior leadership team today, based in the Washington, D.C. office.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research is launching a multi-institutional study to develop and evaluate systems that deliver treatments to trees affected by citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing. The three-year, $1.1 million project is supported by the Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

In celebration with America 250, USDA will be hosting the Great American Farmers Market on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during National Farmers Market Week. The market will run this summer from August 3rd to August 8th, and musical performers, farmers, and vendors will be invited to join the historic event.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture concluded an inbound trade mission with a high-level Moroccan agricultural delegation June 22–28, 2025. The visit further strengthened bilateral agricultural cooperation and deepened ties between the U.S. and Morocco, laying important groundwork for continued engagement. The mission also opened new avenues for collaboration and future trade opportunities.

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has released a new report detailing the critical nature of the corn refining industry and its work to support rural economies across the country. The report comes amid suggestions that foods should be considered Ultra-Processed based on the content of certain ingredients or use of production practices, a classification that fails to consider nutritional content.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, with support from Farm Credit, is seeking applicants for the Veteran Farmer Award of Excellence. The award recognizes U.S. military veterans or service members for excellence in farming or agriculture and positively impacting local communities.
The honoree will receive a $10,000 cash prize plus reimbursement in travel and other expenses incurred for him/her and one guest to attend the American Farm Bureau Convention in Anaheim, California, Jan. 9-14, 2026. Applications deadline is September 2.

The thirty-seventh annual Georgia Peanut Tour will be held Sept. 16-18, 2025, in Valdosta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The tour brings the latest information on peanuts while giving a first-hand view of industry infrastructure from production and handling to processing and utilization. Tour stops will be made in several peanut producing counties in South Georgia.

Starting at the end of July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will mail the Grape Inquiry – August 2025 survey to approximately 2,000 U.S. growers. The survey asks for grape acreage and projected production. NASS will forecast 2025 grape production based on the information collected. The 2025 U.S. grape forecast will be released at noon ET, Aug. 12, 2025, in the Crop Production report.

With connection and collaboration at the heart of its mission, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) hosted its fifth annual Women and Mentors Retreat on June 25 and 26 in Chicago, Illinois. The Women and Mentors retreat is designed to create a diverse network of individuals who wish to empower women in agriculture. NCGA would like to thank all of our sponsors for making the Women and Mentors Retreat possible for the fifth year in a row: Syngenta, FMC, Bayer, John Deere and BASF.

Thirty high school seniors from across Missouri completed the eleventh annual Helping Youth Prepare for Excellence (HYPE) FFA Academy June 24-26 in Jefferson City, Mo. The three-day academy is designed to inform and empower agriculture students to effectively engage in issues impacting Missouri agriculture. The annual event was sponsored by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council.