Did you miss some news this week? We’ve got you covered. Here’s a collection of the top headlines in agriculture.

Discrimination payments sent to farmers

The Biden-Harris administration is issuing more than $2 billion in payments to help ag producers affected by discrimination. More than 23,000 people who have or had farming and ranching operations will receive between $10,000 and $50,000. Another 20,000 recipients who planned an agriculture operation but were unable to receive a USDA loan will get between $3,500 and $5,000 in assistance. – Farm Progress

Grain giant earnings shrink

Profits for grain giants like ADM, Bunge, Cargill Inc. and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. have been under pressure from ample grain supplies, reversing the windfalls from previous years, when crop losses and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent grain prices surging. Margins from processing soybeans into meal and oil have also eroded. – Bloomberg

Will land values drop as farm profits plunge?

Cropland value and rental rates continued to rise through 2023 for much of the country. But Jon LaPorte, farm business management educator for Michigan State University Extension, says low commodity prices will cause farmers to push back on high land values and rental rates. “With corn being under $4 at this point, there’s a lot of downward pressure and great concern about profitability,” LaPorte says. – Ohio Farmer

Are bird flu cases in farm workers going undetected?

A new study from the University of Texas lends weight to fears that more livestock workers have gotten bird flu than has been reported. The research team detected signs of prior bird flu infections in workers from two dairy farms that had outbreaks in Texas earlier this year. Gregory Gray, who led the study, is confident more people are being infected than reported because of poor surveillance. – NPR

CNH designates ag as core business

CNH Industrial has designated agriculture a core business to be overseen directly by the CEO, part of a host of internal leadership changes. “We need to recognize that agriculture is and will remain our home turf,” said Garrit Marx, CEO. Net sales in agriculture for the quarter totaled $3.9 billion, down 20% over last year. – Agriculture Dive

3 ways 2024 corn differs from 2023

Even if you planted the same or similar hybrids last year and this year, they may not look the same so far this season. An Illinois agronomist notes some common themes for 2024: taller corn, one ear instead of two, and soil compaction. Learn more. – Prairie Farmer

Kinze announces layoffs in Iowa

Kinze Manufacturing in Williamsburg, Iowa announced the layoff of 193 employees this week. Kinze employs 815 workers at its Williamsburg headquarters and manufacturing facilities. The Kinze layoffs come amid a sluggish farm economy that has seen John Deere cut more than 2,000 jobs this year in Iowa and Illinois. – Des Moines Register