The first rain in weeks arrived in Michigan Sunday but USDA officials say more is needed. The agency says 91 percent of the topsoil moisture is in short to very short supply across the state. Fire conditions remain rated in the ‘extreme’ category in Northern Michigan. Farmers have nearly finished planting, with corn rated at only 38 percent good to excellent and soybeans at 30 percent. Winter wheat condition dropped […]
USDA says soil moisture has improved slightly in South Dakota in the last week and crop conditions vary. In the latest crop progress and conditions report, the agency says topsoil and supplies are rated 53% short to very short, an improvement from the previous week. Subsoil moisture supplies are about the same as the previous week with South Dakota’s pasture and rangeland conditions rated 51% fair. Sixty-eight percent of the […]
Forage supplies continue to decline in Missouri due to the dry conditions. USDA’s latest Crop Progress and Condition report says supplies are 63% short to very short as hay cutting continues. Missouri’s stock water supplies are 58% adequate. Pasture conditions declined slightly in the previous week at 54% fair to good. Topsoil moisture supplies are 63% short to very short with subsoil moisture at 68% short to very short. Corn […]
The number of young people getting involved in FFA is growing, both nationally and in Wisconsin. Cheryl Zimmerman is the Executive Director for the Wisconsin Association of FFA. She tells Brownfield FFA membership is up. “National FFA is almost to the million mark, of almost having a million students involved in this organization. In Wisconsin, we’ve experienced another record-breaking year for the number of students involved in FFA.” And with […]
U.S. corn and soybean condition ratings declined over the past week. That followed another round of generally warm, dry weather in parts of the Midwest and Plains, and while there was rain in parts of the region over the weekend, it wasn’t nearly enough to break expanding drought conditions. The USDA says 61% of corn is called good to excellent, 3% less than last week, with planting officially wrapped up […]
Jul. corn closed at $6.17 and 1/4, up 13 centsJul. soybeans closed at $13.72 and 3/4, down 13 and 3/4 centsJul. soybean meal closed at $397.40, up 20 centsJul. soybean oil closed at 53.98, down 61 pointsJul. wheat closed at $6.33 and 3/4, up 3 and 1/2 centsJun. live cattle closed at $179.07, up 85 centsAug. feeder cattle closed at $239.05, up 5 centsJun. ...
Nineteen states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for allowing California to ban the use of existing tractor-trailers and heavy-duty vehicles in 2036. At that time, California will require most trucks, tractor trailers and vans to have zero emissions, meaning they must be electric, hybrid or fuel cell electric vehicles. In the petition for review filed in a U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. earlier this month, attorneys general say […]
Missouri lawmakers passed a bill to charge a person with felony if they hinder a transfer of livestock. The offense would be a class E felony for the first time and a class C felony for any subsequent offenses. Representative Brenda Shields from St. Joseph says loads of hogs were being tampered with in a hog processing plant in her district. “They would slow down or stop the truck, throw […]
A technical service representative with BASF says dry conditions are causing farmers to rely on post-emergence herbicides for weed control. Jared Roskamp, based in Missouri, tells Brownfield pre-emergence herbicides didn’t always activate. “That made the early strategy of weed control a little more erratic. Some areas got enough rain where pre-emergence herbicides are holding really well and other fields didn’t get enough rain until later and there are weeds popping […]
