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The Michigan Beef Industry Commission is evaluating how to improve its outreach to consumers. Registered dietitian Katie Serbinski tells Brownfield their annual Consumer Beef Tracker survey found about half of Michigan consumers say they are unknowledgeable about how cattle are raised. “We know that the Michigan consumer looks to beef as a nutritious and valuable protein,” she shares.  “They’re a little unsure about how beef is raised, so animal welfare, […]

Consumer desire for renewable and sustainable raw materials is helping make soybeans an ideal ingredient for nonfood uses. In this episode, a farmer leader from Kentucky discusses nonfood uses, products, and partnerships. ...

A Senate Ag Committee hearing is underway to confirm Xochitl Torres Small as the next deputy ag secretary for USDA. Testifying before the committee, Torres Small said her work as Under Secretary for Rural Development helped build her relationships with constituents and USDA employees. “The management side of the position would happily be front of mind for me every single day.” She says the deputy ag secretary serves as a […]

Minnesota Pork has tabbed a former intern as its new director of communications. Bailey Ruen says she grew up on a pig farm near Lanesboro in southeast Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in agriculture communication and marketing. “I was an intern with Minnesota Pork in the summer of 2021, and when I saw the communications job opening I knew I wanted to get back […]

Commentary. It was a beautiful Monday morning in May as I walked out to my Chevy Equinox parked on the slab of concrete beside our “big barn.” The birds were singing, turkeys gobbled in the distance, and a bobwhite quail was calling for a mate. Coffee travel mug and briefcase in hand, I climbed into my SUV, buckled up, stepped on the brake, and pushed the “start engine” button. Nothing. […]

An extension weed specialist says the early planting season and dry conditions means Missouri farmers could make a second pass with the sprayer. “I think we’re probably three weeks ahead of usual, basically a lifetime of a residual herbicide.” Kevin Bradley with the University of Missouri says it is likely pre-emergence herbicides applied in April haven’t been activated due to the dry conditions. “There is a window of time there […]

Across the Corn Belt, despite recent and returning showers, nearly one-half (49%) of the U.S. corn and 35% of the soybeans had been planted by May 7, versus respective 5-year averages of 42 and 21%.  Producers in Iowa planted 41% of their intended corn acreage and 33% of their soybeans during the week ending May 7.  On the Plains, increasingly showery conditions—primarily from Nebraska northward—are slowing fieldwork but benefiting winter […]