President Donald Trump announced July 24 that U.S. and Japanese trade authorities have reached a trade agreement that lowers tariffs imposed on Japan and brings investment funds in to support U.S. infrastructure.

On July 4, President Donald Trump signed a budget reconciliation bill that brings significant funding to the ag sector. The House of Representatives passed the nearly 900-page bill, nicknamed the One Big Beautiful Bill, on July 3 with 218-214 votes, after the Senate passed the bill on July 1 with a 51-50 vote.

If you have tuned into the news recently, you may have noticed that the road has gotten a little bumpy.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced in early February that the U.S. is resuming cattle and bison imports from Mexico.

“The market sometimes, or at least now, feels like we've gone from good, to difficult, to different. And I think one of the most significant things about the current hay market right now is that things are very different,” market analyst and hay exporter Scott Courtright told attendees at the California Alfalfa and Forage Symposium.

Josh Callen, market analyst and publisher of The Hoyt Report, gave attendees at the California Alfalfa and Forage Symposium an update on hay markets in the western U.S.

Boosts and breaks come at different times and in different forms for everyone, but the important thing is to take them when you have the chance and, when the opportunity presents itself, be the helpful friend or kind stranger someone else may need in their day.