Ag News

Tart cherry production was down in the United States last year.  Overall, 41 million fewer pounds were produced in 2023, with just 200.2 million pounds grown.  USDA says there was about one-thousand fewer acres in [Read More…]

Farmers are encouraged to proactively manage high interest rates. Barry Benson, VP of Agribusiness banking at Omaha-based FNBO, says persistent inflation is preventing the Federal Reserve from lowering rates, meaning ag producers will continue incurring [Read More…]

The evolution of agriculture has also led to advancements in the ag lending industry. Aaron Johnson, president and CEO of Farm Credit Illinois, tells Brownfield a lot’s changed over his 40-year career. “Back in the [Read More…]

Rainy weather is keeping planters out of Wisconsin fields. Mark Hoffmann raises corn and soybeans near Whitewater, in the southeastern part of the state.  He tells Brownfield he was able to plant some soybeans Monday, [Read More…]

A Michigan farmer says he’s still dealing with the repercussions of a wet harvest season. Scott Wilson tells Brownfield he couldn’t plant winter wheat last fall, so corn is going into most of those fields. [Read More…]

A rural sociologist says community support during the planting season can help prevent farm accidents. Dr. Florence Becot with Penn State University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program tells Brownfield working long days to get crops in [Read More…]

An artificial intelligence chatbot is being tested by Extension programs throughout the country. Oklahoma State University Agriculture Dean Jayson Lusk tells Brownfield the online tool has been trained using Extension factsheets developed by land-grant universities. [Read More…]

A number of urban high school students from Freeport, Illinois are getting hands-on with agriculture thanks to an Illinois corn checkoff effort. In this Managing for Profit, Highland Community College Ag Instructor Justin Ebert tells [Read More…]

Soybean oil is one of the most versatile natural oils and can be used in a rapidly growing list of new applications. On this week’s episode of Seeds of Success, an Iowa Soybean Association director [Read More…]

An agronomist says exceptionally dry winters can lead to higher cases of herbicide carryover in the spring.  Jason Mefford, who’s based in west central Missouri with AgriGold, tells Brownfield… “That’s a pretty big concern.”  He [Read More…]

In this week’s Managing Mental Health, a partnership with the Missouri Department of Mental Health and Brownfield Ag News, Osceola, Missouri FFA members Bailey Wheeler and Claire Salmon say talking about suicide and mental health [Read More…]

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for the likelihood of below-normal temperatures across much of the South, East, and lower Midwest, while warmer-than-normal weather will prevail in southern Florida and areas northwest of [Read More…]

Shane Wucherpfennig with the Wood County, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Department tells Brownfield he’s trying to establish a program where farmers can grow harvestable buffer zones, giving the land and water the benefits of [Read More…]

Asian longhorned ticks have been detected in Illinois; it is the 20th state to discover the pest. The tick was discovered in Morgan County during a routine tick surveillance. University of Illinois Extension educator Teresa [Read More…]

Planting progress in Illinois made modest gains last week. Scott Halpin, who farms in Grundy County in northeastern Illinois, tells Brownfield… “We do have a little bit of beans in on our farm and a [Read More…]

Weather continues to slow down planting progress for many Wisconsin farmers.  USDA statistician Greg Busler says only 3.2 days were suitable for fieldwork in the week ending Sunday, and  the rains benefited small grains and [Read More…]

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were mostly lower, and feeders were lower ahead of the week’s direct business.  Feeders had additional pressure from the higher move in corn. June live cattle closed $.30 [Read More…]

Farmers in Arkansas were able to make some planting progress last week, despite rainfall keeping many out of the fields for about half of the week. The USDA says 91% of corn is planted and [Read More…]

Corn planting jump started last week in Michigan. Jim Zook with Michigan Corn tells Brownfield warmer soil temperatures have allowed farmers to plant more. “We’re to the point now that the soil temperatures have now [Read More…]

The second annual Celebration of Modern Ag on the National Mall is underway in Washington, D.C. John Deere director of precision ag marketing Darren Havens says industry partners are displaying farm equipment and technology to [Read More…]