Category: Ag News

Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award winners recognized

April 20, 2019

From left to right, Cheyenne, Angela and Russ Sundstrom, winners of the 2019 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award; Governor Pete Ricketts; Steve Martin with A-FAN; and Homer Buell with the Sand County Foundation Board. A ranch family from southwest Nebraska has received the 2019 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award. Russ and Angela Sundstrom own and operate the …

Ricketts slams committee’s property tax relief plan

April 19, 2019

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts has slammed a property tax relief plan put forth by the legislature’s Revenue Committee, saying it would result in “the largest tax increase in Nebraska history”. The committee proposes to increase the state sales tax rate by three-quarters of a cent in order to help fund 500 million dollars in additional …

Trump and pointless tariff fatigue

April 19, 2019

Someone has to tell the president, “Enough with the tariff threats” with U.S. trading partners. Agriculture can’t afford the outcome. I was wading through the he-said, she-said articles this week generated by the prospect of a U.S.-EU bilateral trade deal – President Trump says ag is on the table, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, says …

Cattleman’s Beef Board names new CEO

April 19, 2019

The Cattleman’s Beef Promotion and Research Board has hired Gregory Hanes as their new CEO. Hanes, of Colorado, is chairman of the U.S. Ag Export Development Council. He was previously with the US Meat Export Federation and spent 11 years living in Tokyo as the USMEF’s Japan director. Chuck Coffey with the Beef Board says …

Warmer; short-term drier spell on the Plains

April 19, 2019

Across the Corn Belt, rain is shifting east as a slow-moving cold front clears the region, though cool, showery weather lingers over the Ohio Valley. Drier weather behind the front will allow fields to dry and producers to resume corn and soybean planting; however, soils likely remain waterlogged in western portions of the region. On …

Warmer; wet pattern centered on the Plains

April 19, 2019

A storm over the Tennessee Valley will drift northeastward and stall, while an accompanying cold front taps into tropical moisture as it sweeps across the East Coast States. The net result will be a wide swath of 1 to 2 inches of rain (locally more) across the eastern third of the nation over the next …

One million pledged to dairy Beverage Innovation Center

April 18, 2019

Wisconsin’s dairy farmers and state government are investing in additional dairy product research. Governor Tony Evers told the Cheese Industry Conference that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will invest 750-thousand dollars, “to establish the Beverage Innovation Center, a new center for excellence that would be housed in the Center for Dairy Research on the University …

USMEF Spring Conference

April 18, 2019

Brownfield’s Meghan Grebner will be on the ground in Kansas City, Missouri May 22 to 24 for the USMEF Spring Conference. Continue reading USMEF Spring Conference at Brownfield Ag News.

Eminent domain bill advances to Senate

April 18, 2019

The Missouri House has given approval to a bill that would prevent private companies from using eminent domain. The bill, HB 1062, sponsored by Rep. Jim Hansen, was written to head off construction of the Grain Belt Express power transmission line, which would run through eight Northern Missouri counties. The Missouri House spent time Tuesday …

Iowa ethanol leader: ‘No justification’ for more RFS exemptions

April 18, 2019

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association executive director Monte Shaw (l) and Iowa ag secretary Mike Naig discussed small refinery exemptions at a news conference Wednesday in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The head of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) says if the EPA approves more RFS exemptions for small oil refiners, it will “irreversibly undermine” the Renewable …

Ohio farm numbers up three percent in census

April 18, 2019

The 2017 Census of Agriculture shows nearly 78,000 farms in Ohio, up three percent from the last census in 2012. Ohio State Statistician Cheryl Turner says small farms saw the biggest increase. “The number of farms where it really increased is the 1-9-acres and the 10-49 acres- the small farms in the ag urban areas …

Missouri corn grower is kept from field by wet weather

April 18, 2019

Wet weather continues to delay field work in parts of the Corn Belt. Jay Schutte was on the cusp of being able to begin field work until weather intervened. “We had about 4 inches of snow last Sunday and it’s really set us back some,” Schutte told Brownfield Ag News. “It’s going to be a …

Aurora opens second organic dairy plant

April 18, 2019

Aurora Organic Dairy opened its second processing plant this week in Columbia, Missouri. Construction began almost two years ago. The company, based in Boulder, Colorado has another processing facility in Platteville, Colorado, and eight farms in Texas and Colorado. Most of Aurora’s milk comes from company-owned farms, but they buy from third-party producers who meet …

USMCA would boost the economy, ITC says

April 18, 2019

The U.S. International Trade Commission has found that the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement would have a positive impact on the U.S. economy if it was fully implemented and enforced. The commission says provisions that reduce uncertainty about digital trade and some new rules of origin in the automotive sector would have the biggest impact on …

Limited livestock trade heading into the long weekend

April 18, 2019

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle futures were mixed in light trade with support from this week’s higher cash trade. And there was position squaring ahead of the long holiday weekend. Feeder cattle futures closed higher with support from the higher cash trade and the weaker move in corn. Today’s Cattle on Feed report …

Report: U.S.-China trade deal could be finalized next month

April 18, 2019

Senior U.S. and Chinese officials are reportedly scheduling more face-to-face trade talks in an effort to finalize a deal by early May. Bloomberg reports U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plan to travel to Beijing the week of April 29th, followed by a Chinese delegation coming to Washington the next week. …

Quiet close for corn, soybeans, and wheat

April 18, 2019

Soybeans were modestly higher on short covering and technical buying, rallying slightly after a mostly weak start to the day. Contracts saw a bounce off the multi-month lows, but continue to watch harvest progress in South America, expecting large crops out of both Argentina and Brazil. Celeres raised its outlook for Brazil’s crop to 115.8 …

MO NRCS declares local disaster in five counties

April 18, 2019

Missouri NRCS has issued a local disaster declaration for five counties in northwest Missouri affected by flooding along the Missouri River, “Emergency Watershed Program, the EWP, is USDA/NRCS’s recovery program from natural disasters when they occur. And that’s what we’ve got up in northwest Missouri in the Missouri River system, of course, with that flooding …

Missouri FFA Convention

April 18, 2019

Brownfield’s Tom Steever will be on the ground in Columbia for the Missouri FFA Convention April 25 and 26, 2019. Continue reading Missouri FFA Convention at Brownfield Ag News.

Getting in front of early season disease pressure

April 18, 2019

Spring weather can be unpredictable – and this year has been no exception already. The inclement weather farmers have been facing could leave growers battling additional crop disease this year. In this Managing for Profit, Brent Titus with Arysta Life Science explains what growers should watch for in the coming weeks. Continue reading Getting in …

State Weather Alerts

South Dakota Flood Warning

Flood Warning
...the Flood Warning Continues For The Following Rivers In South Dakota... Big Sioux River At Watertown - Broadway Avenue .the Following River Forecasts Include Forecast Precipitation Through The Next 24 Hours. Any Additional Future Precipitation Could Affect The Forecasts. ...Read More.
Effective: April 20, 2019 at 1:52pmExpires: April 28, 2019 at 12:00amTarget Area: Codington

Flood Warning
...the Flood Warning Continues For The Following Rivers In South Dakota... Snake Creek Near Ashton ...the Flood Warning Continues For The Following Rivers In South Dakota... James River At Columbia ...Read More.
Effective: April 20, 2019 at 11:55amExpires: April 21, 2019 at 3:55pmTarget Area: Brown

Flood Warning
...the Flood Warning Is Cancelled For The Following Rivers In Iowa And Minnesota... Rock River At Rock Rapids Redwood River Near Marshall ...the Flood Warning Continues For The Following Rivers In South Dakota...nebraksa...iowa...and Minnesota... ...Read More.
Effective: April 20, 2019 at 10:21amExpires: April 21, 2019 at 2:19pmTarget Area: Beadle

Flood Warning
...the Flood Warning Continues For The Following Rivers In South Dakota... Little Minnesota River Near Peever .the Following River Forecasts Include Forecast Precipitation Through The Next 24 Hours. Any Additional Future Precipitation Could Affect The Forecasts. ...Read More.
Effective: April 20, 2019 at 9:12amExpires: April 21, 2019 at 6:00pmTarget Area: Roberts

Flood Warning
...the Flood Warning Continues For The Following Rivers In South Dakota... Big Sioux River At Watertown Big Sioux River Near Castlewood .the Following River Forecasts Include Forecast Precipitation Through The Next 24 Hours. Any Additional Future Precipitation Could Affect ...Read More.
Effective: April 20, 2019 at 5:10amExpires: April 21, 2019 at 9:10amTarget Area: Codington