Wisconsin may be America’s Dairyland, but there’s another bovine-related food abundant here: beef. In fact, the number of beef farms here is growing even as the number of dairy farms is declining. (Wisconsin State Farmer)

The Illinois State Fair Box Office has opened for purchasing 2021 grandstand tickets. The state fair runs from Aug. 12-22. (WAND)  

Where is trade policy under the Biden administration headed? What will influence markets? Daniel Whitley, acting administrator at the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, outlined seven critical factors that will influence U.S. and global agricultural markets during the next decade. (Star Courier)  

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly acknowledged that the food situation in the secretive country is troubling amid reports of food shortages and inflated prices for basic goods. (CNBC)

Parts of Iowa and Illinois are dealing with varying levels of drought and farmers in the Quad Cities region are hoping for rain. The vast majority of Iowa is under some level of drought. Illinois is around 20 percent. Both are expected to increase when the weekly report is released Thursday. (KWQC)

The last couple of years have been brutal for the ethanol sector, coming off the 2019 situation of federal government reducing ethanol demand through small refinery exemptions and trade wars and 2020 bringing pandemic-induced demand destruction and challenges. While speaking on a panel at the Farm Futures Business Summit, Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, says 2021 appears to be offering a much-needed recovery as the industry ramps up to meet growing export and domestic demand. (Farm Progress)