Ag News

Weather has been variable across the Corn Belt this summer, and an agronomist with Mycogen Seeds says crops are being stressed by both too much and too little moisture. Jon Erickson tells Brownfield under either [Read More…]

A corn specialist at Purdue University urges farmers to scout fields for disease pressure before applying fungicide on corn. Bob Nielsen tells Brownfield some farmers in the Eastern corn belt are applying fungicide in places [Read More…]

Cattle futures ended the day lower as the market waits for widespread direct cash business.  August live cattle closed $.50 lower at $106.42 and October live cattle closed $.15 lower at $108.50.  August feeder cattle [Read More…]

Sep. corn closed at $3.46 and 1/4, up 4 and 1/2 cents Aug. soybeans closed at $8.39 and 1/2, up 10 cents Aug. soybean meal closed at $329.10, unchanged Aug. soybean oil closed at 27.73, up 9 points Sep. wheat [Read More…]

Dairy prices were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Tuesday. July Class Three milk was down $.02 at $14.24.   August was down $.18 to $15.00. September was down $.06 to $15.45.  October was up $.04 [Read More…]

Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying. The USDA’s national good to excellent rating was down 2% on the week, because of dry conditions in parts of the Plains and Midwest, with an increase [Read More…]

American Farm Bureau supports the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. AFBF general counsel Ellen Steen calls the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge is a strong choice. “He’s well educated (and has) all the [Read More…]

Jim Friedricks at AgSource Laboratories tells Brownfield they are seeing more Soybean Cyst Nematode eggs earlier than usual, which might  be a reason for growers to review their management and crop rotation plans Continue reading [Read More…]

“Animal liberation” was the focus of a recent national meeting of animal rights activists in California. The Animal Agriculture Alliance had a representative at the Animal Rights National Conference in Los Angeles. Alliance spokesperson Hannah [Read More…]

Iowa’s overall corn and soybean ratings are fairly strong again this week, but the weekly crop progress report notes some trouble spots. Flood-related nutrient loss and crop damage are a concern in the northern two-thirds of the state, [Read More…]

It was another good week for crops in Nebraska. As of Sunday, 86 percent of corn and 83 percent of soybeans were rated good to excellent. Corn silking was 65 percent, compared to 38 average, [Read More…]

Soybeans were higher on short covering and technical buying. Contracts saw a bounce after the recent move to new lows, with no real fundamental backing. Near-term weather in most of the Midwest is seen as [Read More…]

The USDA’s national condition ratings for corn and soybeans declined last week, but overall, both crops remain in generally good condition. Some key U.S. growing areas continued to see warm, dry weather, with an expansion [Read More…]

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were sharply higher, supported by technical buying, while digesting last week’s slow to start direct cash business and watching the distribution of this week’s new showlist. August was $2.37 [Read More…]

Sep. corn closed at $3.41 and 3/4, up 1/2 cent Aug. soybeans closed at $8.29 and 1/2, up 10 and 3/4 cents Aug. soybean meal closed at $329.10, up $3.10 Aug. soybean oil closed at 27.64, down 33 points Sep. wheat closed [Read More…]

Across the Corn Belt, patchy, short-term dryness persists in several areas, including much of Michigan and a broad area centered on northern Missouri, resulting in an increase in stress on pastures and crops such as [Read More…]

Hot, mostly dry weather will prevail for the remainder of the week in northern California and the Northwest, as well as the south-central U.S. Meanwhile, showers will continue across the Southwest, but may become more [Read More…]

  Dairy futures were mostly up on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Monday. July Class Three milk was down $.01 at $14.26.   August was up $.34 to $15.18. September was down $.25 to $15.51.  October was [Read More…]

Farmers in the Upper Midwest are finding new and better ways to seed cover crops. Soil Health Partnership field manager Tricia Verville says growing cover crops in northern states like Minnesota and Wisconsin has been [Read More…]

How will the USDA estimate tariff damages to farmers? “We have analytical procedures that can give us some idea but it’s really going to be really hard,” says Carl Zulauf, Ohio State ag economist. US Ag [Read More…]