Major state officers for the upcoming year were elected Thursday during the Illinois State FFA Convention. Delegates cast votes in person for five state offices and elected Rachel Hood of the Rushville-Industry FFA Chapter as President. Derek Sample from the Sesser-Valier FFA Chapter was elected as Vice President. Levi Maierhofer of the Seneca FFA was selected as Reporter. Haley Bode of the Waterloo FFA was elected Secretary and Kate Colgan […]
Soybeans were modestly lower on profit taking and technical selling, adding to the week’s losses. The fundamentals are bullish, but crush margins have narrowed and there was spillover from crude and soybean oils. July did manage to hold above $17 and the old crop/new crop spreads continue to reflect that bullish supply and demand situation. The trade is monitoring U.S. weather for the very tail end of planting and early […]
Milk futures were mostly down and cash dairy prices were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Friday. June Class III milk was up $0.01 at $24.30. July closed down $0.21 at $23.56 and a loss of $0.70 over two days. August closed up $0.03 at $24.13. September was down $0.02 at $23.92. October through May contracts ranged from three cents lower in March to nineteen cents lower in October. Dry […]
A major oil and gas player is expanding its business into biofuel production. Chevron has completed its acquisition of Iowa based biofuel producer Renewable Energy Group. Clean Fuels Alliance America is applauding the acquisition of its member refineries. Alliance CEO Donnell Rehagen tells Brownfield the move is a signifier of a fast growing market. “As we start to see investments coming from traditional oil and gas refiners, I think for […]
A state climatologist says the world’s largest aquifer is not at risk of depletion despite prolonged drought in the Great Plains. Nebraska’s Martha Shulski tells Brownfield there should be increased precipitation over the next decade for the the Ogallala Aquifer. “In terms of precipitation change, I see a decent amount of recharge taken place. That’s in the shorter term. It could be a different story longer term if rates of […]
A recent study commissioned by the US Meat Export Federation shows red meat exports add value to corn and soybeans raised in the US. The Juday Group conducted the study using 2021 export data. Founder Dave Juday says beef and pork exports accounted for 537 million bushels of corn usage. “That is about $2.9 billion,” he says. “But the bigger value comes in what red meat exports contribute to the […]
A South Dakota entrepreneur is working with local college students to update a software program to better predict the cattle futures market. Todd Gagne, with the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, first created the program with his spouse in the early 1990s for a local rancher. “Essentially what he was doing was looking in the futures market, figuring out when his cattle would be ready to go to […]
The head of the Illinois Beef Association says foreign animal disease preparedness continues to be a priority for members. Josh St. Peters says if a disease like African swine fever was detected in the state, it would have wide-ranging impacts on other livestock species. “Because if there were stop orders put in place or we had to restrict the movement of livestock in specific counties or regions of the state […]
The Senate Ag Committee’s second field hearing is underway in Arkansas. Farmers taking part in the hearing made it clear that a long-term safety net needs to be a priority – regardless of the crop. Nathan Reed a diversified farmer from eastern Arkansas says there will be price declines from where we are today. “Current input costs when paired with reduced commodity prices are not sustainable,” he says. “Recent disasters […]
