A board member says the Wisconsin Soybean Program has brought in some interim help after the passing of Executive Director Robert Karls. Tony Mellenthin tells Brownfield there is a transition team in place now. “A group out of Minnesota that’s going to help facilitate us in the interim, Ag Management Solutions, they work with various non-profit agricultural groups. We have a team of individuals who are helping all through this […]
A western Iowa farmer says his planting season is entering the home stretch. Former NCGA president Kevin Ross grows corn and soybeans near Minden. He tells Brownfield, “As long as we don’t get the big gully washer type stuff, we should be able to get planting wrapped up in our area probably in the next week or so.” Ross says they finished planting soybeans last week. “Just this last week […]
A Midwest farmer says he’s seeing scattered soil crusting in his area causing some emergence concerns. KJ Johnson farms in east-central Illinois. “You can see that there are some crops that are already up and look perfect,” he said. “But if guys push the issue, yes there’s some crusting going on.” He tells Brownfield some farmers might have ‘jumped the gun’ and started planting before fields were dry enough. ...
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams continues to advocate for improved healthcare in rural areas. “I was really glad to be U.S. Surgeon General as someone from the Midwest, as someone who had grown up in a rural area, and as someone who could speak to the challenges that rural America faces as we’re dealing with some difficult health problems,” he says. “In the beginning we were really focused on […]
A meteorologist says he’s concerned about how cold weather might impact southern Brazil this week. Eric Snodgrass with Nutrien Ag Solutions tells Brownfield the Safrinha crop finished in dry conditions in northern Brazil, but southern Brazil might get cold. “Twenty percent of the Safrinha crop is grown on the state called Parana, and there’s a risk of their overnight lows getting down into the low 30s, and I’m not predicting […]
A Northwest Minnesota farmer is past the point of waiting for ideal planting conditions. Theresia Gillie grows wheat and soybeans in Kittson County and tells Brownfield a very wet April has prevented her from getting any fieldwork done. She’s hopeful a couple more days of sunshine will allow her to begin planting into a seedbed that will be far from perfect. “It’s just going to be go time. It’ll be […]
Weather has not been the only frustration for a southeast Minnesota farmer this spring. Ryan Buck of Goodhue tells Brownfield they’ve been waiting on an equipment order since last June. “They’re putting it together at the dealership, but they’ve been missing some parts and having some troubles there. So hopefully it will show up before we get done and can use it a little bit.” He says he’s never seen […]
Cattle producers are dealing with extremely high feed costs. Brian Tuttle has a cow/calf herd and runs a small row crop operation in northwest Iowa. He says margins are tight with corn around $8 a bushel. “Just another time for a producer to really know what your costs are and have some risk management in place.” All the corn he raises goes back into the cattle, and Tuttle tells Brownfield […]
The USDA says wheat export inspections as of the week ending May 12th are in-line with what’s needed to meet projections for the current marketing year. The 2021/22 marketing year started June 1st, 2021 for wheat and September 1st, 2021 for corn, sorghum, and soybeans. The USDA’s next set of supply and demand estimates is out June 10th. Wheat came out at 348,048 tons, up 85,129 from the week ending […]
