The American Farm Bureau Federation is supporting a working group that will address one of the biggest issues facing the ag industry: labor. John Walt Boatright tells Brownfield farm country is at a critical juncture. “We continue to see a shrinking domestic workforce. We continue to see a rising reliance on guest worker programs.” Members of the House Ag Committee have formed a working group to analyze the issue. In a joint statement, […]
At least two Midwest agriculture directors would like to see adjustments for emergency haying and grazing Conservation Reserve Program acres in the next farm bill. Minnesota Ag Commissioner Thom Petersen tells Brownfield with the widespread drought, the issue got a lot of attention during the Midwestern Association of State Departments of Agriculture meeting. Petersen is the MASDA president. “We were honored to have FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux join us. In […]
Wisconsin’s new law providing 150 million dollars to improve agriculturally important local roads will allow towns to fund extra culverts farmers can use to run manure lines. Representative Travis Tranel Tranel says the intent of the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program is to improve weight-restricted roads, and make them last longer, so funding manure culverts makes sense. “They would score very well with a lot of agricultural economic activity, and then […]
John Deere go to market manager for planters Lina Pham says Deere recently introduced the new 1725C stackfold planter that comes in several configurations. She tells Brownfield the 1725C is factory equipped with a full agronomic suite to help farmers improve yields and profits. ...
A southern Illinois wheat farmer says the harvest has been in full swing this week. Mark Krausz tells Brownfield the crop did okay this spring despite weather challenges. “Good emergence, good planting, but winter was a little cruel to us. It got really wet.” This prevented him and several other farmers from making timely applications of fertilizer and other inputs, but Krausz says the recent dry weather hindered grain fill. […]
The United States is falling behind its competitors in reducing global trade barriers, according to a recent report by Corn Refiners Association. President and CEO John Bode says the report tracks new market-opening trade agreements entered into by the U.S. and its major economic competitors since 2010. “Since 2010, China has entered into 12 new market opening trade agreements and other major competitors have entered into lots of new agreements. […]
Eastern Iowa farmer Dave Walton says drought has already taken its toll on his crops. “Our corn has been rolling most afternoons for the past two or three weeks. We’re living on subsoil moisture and the surface moisture is basically gone.” He tells Brownfield his soybeans are in worse shape. “They’re stunted right now. I have beans that were planted two months ago and they’re ankle high right now. That’s […]
Missouri’s Ag Director is the new president of the Midwest Association of State Departments of Agriculture. MASDA consists of 13 state ag departments including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Chris Chinn was elected at the MASDA meeting in Minnesota this week and will take over as president in September. Chinn tells Brownfield she will oversee the Midwest delegation. “Mainly, […]
East Central Kansas farmer Paul Renner says his winter wheat harvest has been a mixed bag so far. “We’ve harvested about four or five fields. The high has been about 45 bushels per acre and low has been in the high teens to mid 30s.” He tells Brownfield the crop struggled through weed pressure, immense drought stress and early freeze, but late season rain brought some optimism. “It’s been a […]
