Mike Pearson takes a look at the stories that shaped the agriculture business in 2024.

The defining challenge of 2024 was the drought. The Eastern Corn Belt was hit really hard especially Ohio and Indiana.

Many livestock producers were forced to downsize their herds due to a hay storage as a result of the drought.

The lack of rainfall caused yields to drop as much as 15 percent below average.

The Iowa and Illinois area had enough rain. However, national row crops took a hit and it pushed grain prices higher.

Flooding in the Spring delayed planting leaving many fields waterlogged in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arkansas areas.

Hurricane Helene took a tool on the Appalachian region in the fall destroying cotton fields and Pecan trees.

These weather disasters caused many farmers to rely heavily on crop insurance to mitigate the disasters.

HPAI was also a big story in 2024. The states of Minnesota and Iowa were forced to cull millions of birds.

This sent egg prices soaring especially this holiday season when they hit $7 per dozen.

Over 500 dairy herds in California were also impacted by HPAI and caused over a 3 percent drop in dairy production last month.

Producers across the country have been forced to spend millions on biosecurity to protect their operations.

Related:Farm Progress America, Jan. 16, 2025

And finally, supply chain disruption has also been an issue in 2024. There has not only been supply chain disruption but labor disputes as well. First, it was at the railways and then the ports. And it's probably not ever yet with port strikes possible in 2025.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness.