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A field crop entomologist says black cutworm pressure has increased in parts of Illinois this season and the pest could begin feeding this week. Kelly Estes with the University of Illinois tells Brownfield several storms allowed moths to migrate this spring and based on trapping dates, larvae could start causing injury to corn plants anytime.   “Earlier flights were in late April and early May so projected cutting dates start […]

The USDA has announced more than $390 million in funding to help rural communities foster long-term economic growth.   The Rural Partners Network was launched in April 2022 and expanded in November 2022 and has dedicated staff in 10 states and Puerto Rico.  Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the Rural Partners Network works to reverse decades of persistent poverty. “We are working in those communities with nearly 800 partners in a […]

An ag meteorologist says warm, dry weather is in the forecast for the Midwest through Memorial Day. Drew Lerner with World Weather Incorporated says that’s good news for planting progress and crop emergence. “Even though we have dryness out there, the priority is to get seed in the ground so when it starts raining, the crop can take advantage for yield.” Beyond the next week, Lerner says the rain and […]

An ag economist says this week’s Livestock Slaughter report will provide a more robust look at what’s happening with the U.S. cattle herd.  University of Missouri livestock economist Scott Brown says year-to-date cattle slaughter is running about 3% behind year-ago levels, but he wants to see the breakdown of the numbers in this week’s report from the USDA. “What does beef cow slaughter look like in any indication we’re building […]

Uneventful weather will cover many parts of the country for much of the week, although exceptions may include heavy rain along the southern Atlantic Coast and mid- to late-week showers and thunderstorms across the Plains and Rockies.  Five-day rainfall totals could reach 2 to 4 inches or more in Florida and southern Georgia, while 1- to 2-inch totals may occur across the nation’s mid-section, extending into the Rockies.  In contrast, […]

Across the Corn Belt, warm, dry weather favors fieldwork, including corn and soybean planting, as well as winter wheat development and summer crop emergence and growth.  However, smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to drift southward, mainly in the upper levels of the atmosphere, contributing to hazy, filtered sunshine. On the Plains, widely scattered showers are occurring from Kansas southward.  Recent and ongoing showers across the central and southern Plains have […]

A public hearing will be held Tuesday on one of the biggest ag-related budget requests in Wisconsin.  The Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government will take testimony on four bills.  One of them is Senate Bill 247, the proposed agricultural roads improvement grant program. Wisconsin’s coalition of agriculture groups supports the bill, as do key budget writers Senators Joan Ballweg and Howard Marklein on the Joint Finance Committee.  The […]

A central Wisconsin farmer wishes he could plant more soybeans, but he’s sticking to his original plan.  John Eron farms in heavy clay west of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.  He’s planting corn as planned because it’s too late for him to switch over to soybeans. “We’d like to just because of the markets crashing, and we have a lot more success with beans here, but the problem we run into is […]