West-central Iowa farmer Jeff Frank says his planting season has come to a close. “We’ve had a few good days and a lot of people got a lot of corn in,” he said. “Beans are probably 70 percent done in our area.” He tells Brownfield he finished corn planting on April 27th and soybeans the week of May 9th. “My corn is all up and probably a third of my […]
Soybeans were sharply higher on commercial and technical buying. Old and new crop export sales were up on the week, with China back in the market, but still not at expected levels. Demand from China has been impacting by COVID lockdowns and unloading delays at port, while soybean demand in general has been somewhat impacted by relatively high prices and the recent trend in the dollar. China’s National Grain and […]
A new study shows the effectiveness of USDA foreign market programs in boosting ag exports. Chair of the Coalition to Promote Agricultural Exports Robbie Minnich tells Brownfield every dollar invested in the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program returns $24.50. “These programs increase cash receipts by over $12 billion per year so they are working well,” he says. Unfortunately, he says funding for the programs in […]
A Wisconsin farmer says upgrading the technology on his planter will pay off. Ben Augustine has a dairy herd and grows about 15-hundred acres of corn for grain and silage and another 500 acres of soybeans. He tells Brownfield, “If there’s one tool on your farm that’s going to make you money, or make-or-break you is your planter. You know, if it don’t do a good job, you’re not going to […]
The USDA says commercial U.S. red meat production during April 2022 was 4.546 billion pounds, down 3% from April 2021. That was due to slower slaughter rates for cattle and hogs, which canceled out higher average live weights. Beef was reported at 2.327 billion pounds, 1% lower than last year, with a slaughter of 2.183 million head, also 1% lower, and an average live weight of 1,373 pounds, a gain […]
Consumers revealed how they define a healthy food items in the 2022 Food and Health Survey by the International Food Information Council. Ali Webster is the director of research and nutrition communications with the council. Healthy Living: Click here for more information. ...
An Indiana Farm Bureau task force is working to outline organization priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill. Bob White, director of national government relations with INFB, says the farm bill task force includes a variety of producers. “It includes members who have expertise in nutrition, dairy, crop insurance, risk management, row crop production agriculture, specialty crops, and livestock,” he says. “There were a couple of people on the task […]
The CEO of food company based in Africa says he’s seeing the benefits of adding U.S. soy to his product line. Samuel Ntim-Adu with Yedent Agro Group of Companies in Ghana tells Brownfield he uses soy protein for poultry and other animal feeds. “The U.S. soybean is one of the most quality soybeans. Once you get it in your products, it helps. The quality of it is superb and also […]
The National Association of Wheat Growers says nearly three-quarters of U.S. winter wheat is in severe to exceptional drought. Western Kansas grower David Schemm tells Brownfield parts of his state haven’t received more than inch of rain in over a year. “I took my yard stick that I was using to measure rows and do counting and stuck it in a crack that was an inch wide. You can see […]
