Farmers in Iowa are trying to stay optimistic but say the next two weeks are critical for getting some rain or they’ll be seeing significant yield loss.

According to USDA, Russian-speaking hackers are the likely suspects. The Office of Personnel Management and two organizations within the Department of Energy also were apparently targeted or breached.

Illinois crop ratings have dropped like a rock with only 33% of soybeans and 36% of corn rated good to excellent in this week’s USDA crop progress report.

Under the bill, the USDA and the FDA would become members of CFIUS and their powers would be expanded to better consider ag needs when it decides if a purchase would create national security risks.

Many Midwest farmers are seeing their corn crop struggle from compaction, nutrient deficiencies and herbicide carryover. Some of these issues can be addressed yet this season.

With all the talk about artificial intelligence, there’s a new debate: is AI actually real or just a combination of Siri and other search databases? John Phipps addresses a U.S. Farm Report viewer’s skepticism.