Brownfield

The chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture said the proposed ag budget would reduce spending by removing Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack’s discretionary use of the Commodity Credit Corporation. The CCC was created to stabilize, support and protect farm income and prices. It can also help maintain balanced and adequate supplies of ag commodities and helps in an orderly distribution. The CCC was used to provide funding to farmers […]

A coalition of Republican governors is asking Congressional leaders to reintroduce a bill that would prevent states from impeding interstate ag trade.   Governors representing more than half of US pork production sent a letter saying their request is a result of the US Supreme Court upholding California’s Proposition 12 rule, which requires pork to be raised in a specific manner to be sold within the state. Absent from the […]

India’s Minister of Agriculture has awarded Verdesian the Global Leadership Award in Biostimulants and Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) Solutions at BioAg India.  R.K. Goyal, managing director South Asia & South East Asia for Verdesian Life Sciences says the award is a testament to both the NUE biostimulant technology and the work of the Verdesian team in India.  He says Verdesian is just beginning to scratch the surface of how its […]

Commentary. The most recent United States Drought Monitor, produced in partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska and the United States Department of Agriculture and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shows nearly all of the Midwest is experiencing some level of drought. For many, especially in the western portion of the Midwest, drought has been ongoing for multiple years. It is the second year of […]

Several agriculture groups are asking the House Committee on Appropriations to remove a policy rider from Fiscal Year 2024 ag budget that would impact the Packers and Stockyards Act. In a letter to lawmakers, more than 102 groups, including the National Farmers Union, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association and R-CALF USA said the policy rider prevents USDA from publishing rules to strengthen the effort. U.S. Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President Lia […]

The Illinois Conservation Management Program has released new data highlighting conservation efforts by more than 400 farmers in the state. Laura Gentry with the Illinois Corn Growers Association tells Brownfield the Business Case for Conservation summarizes their findings since the program began in 2015.  She says 2022 data continues to show that farmers who follow the University of Illinois suggested Maximum Return to Nitrogen Rate (MRTN) are most profitable. “And […]

The USDA has projected domestic beef consumption to decline for both 2023 and 2024.  David Widmar with Agricultural Economic Insights says that could spell trouble for the cattle industry and the overall farm economy.  “We have less pounds of beef being demanded or utilized by consumers and it’s going for lower price,” he says.  “That means it’s lower revenues, lower calf prices, lower cow prices, lower passenger rent, lower passenger […]

Some Wisconsin FFA members are learning mechanical skills by restoring old tractors. Advisor Matt Reinders has been the agricultural instructor at Edgar for the past nine years and taught at Loyal for nine years before that.  His classes have been restoring old tractors the entire time. “I do have some students that have been around this stuff but I also have some students that have never turned a wrench, really, […]

Across the Corn Belt, a compact, slow-moving storm system centered near Lake Erie is resulting in cool conditions and beneficial showers in portions of the eastern Lakes States.  Wednesday’s high temperatures will remain below 80°F in Michigan and portions of neighboring states.  Meanwhile, warm, dry weather prevails west of the Mississippi River.  On June 11, Midwestern topsoil moisture rated very short to short ranged from 35% in North Dakota to […]