Agri-Pulse Food and Ag Summit and Ag Exports to Iran Possible
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Labor shortages, rising costs and water access emerged as key concerns for farmers during discussions at the 2026 Agri-Pulse Food & Ag Issues Summit, held earlier this month in Sacramento, with policymakers and agricultural leaders.
Dan Sumner, ag economist at U-C, Davis, said changes affecting immigrant laborers have caused uncertainty for some farmers, with the threat of immigration raids worrying farmers and workers, adding there’s a bunch of fear out there.
**American farmers could gain a new export market if ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran lead to an agreement allowing unfrozen Iranian assets to be used for food purchases.
Vice President J.D. Vance says the Trump administration wants any released Iranian funds directed toward purchases of U.S. agricultural products, including corn, soybeans, and wheat.
Iran reportedly has billions of dollars in frozen assets held abroad, including in Qatar.
**Wheat export inspections improved last week, while corn and soybean moved lower.
The latest USDA report shows over 393,000 metric tons of wheat were inspected for overseas delivery, up from 358,000 the previous week and ahead of the same week a year ago.
Corn inspections totaled 1.45 million metric tons, down from 1.65 a week earlier.
Soybean inspections fell to about 241,000 metric tons from over 533,000.
