U.S. corn and soybean planting lagged again last week. That was due to more wet, cooler than normal weather in some key growing areas, but forecasts for most of the Midwest this week have warmer, drier conditions, which should help planting pick up steam. The USDA says 22% of U.S. corn had been planted as of Sunday, compared to the five-year average of 50%, with 5% emerged, compared to 15% […]
Farmers are urging lawmakers to protect the safety net in the next farm bill. Minnesota corn and soybean grower Bill Gordon, who served as president of the American Soybean Association in 2020, tells Brownfield high commodity prices aren’t here to stay. “We’ve seen in the past those prices start to step back and we overproduce. Or that’s great for the area that has the production, but what about the drought […]
A central Missouri farmer is deciding between managing cattle feed costs and capitalizing on a strong soybean market. Bill Betteridge tells Brownfield he’s expecting a hay crunch. “When you have beans at the price they are, it’s just hard to devote any of that ground to hay,” the Cooper County farmer said. “I don’t know when the cattle sell off or the cow numbers are going to come down but […]
A north-central Iowa farmer says they are finally getting a break in the weather. St. Ansgar farmer Chris Edgington says they need a solid two-week window to get their crops in the ground. “The clock is definitely ticking,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen in every area all the time.” But, he tells Brownfield, “Hopefully some of these storm events that they are talking about coming […]
Farmers continue to be less optimistic about farmland values, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. Jim Mintert is director of the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture. “This is taking place in an environment where we continue to see auctioneers, for example, report record high farmland prices. Farmers are very aware of how much farmland values have increased over the last roughly 18 months or so and […]
A northwest Illinois farmer says a warm, dry forecast will pick up the planting pace in Illinois this week. Randy DeSutter of Woodhull tells Brownfield he started planting corn on April 26th and had a good week, finishing up May 2nd. “Around here some people planted beans, some people planted corn, some people did nothing, but I think this week a lot will get done. It is going to be […]
Across the Corn Belt, another significant rain event is keeping fieldwork at a virtual standstill across the Dakotas and western Minnesota. In contrast, a sudden heat surge across the remainder of the region favors a gradual acceleration of corn and soybean planting activities, due to rising soil temperatures and drying fields. Later Monday, high temperatures should reach 90°F or higher in many areas west of the Mississippi River, including parts […]
Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for the likelihood of near- or above-normal temperatures nationwide, except for cooler-than-normal conditions in western Washington and the far upper Midwest. Meanwhile, near- or below-normal precipitation from the Pacific Coast to the Mississippi River should contrast with wetter-than-normal weather across much of the eastern one-third of the U.S. ...
The USDA says export inspections for the week ending May 9th were mostly lower than the week before. 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 Thursday, May 12th at Noon Eastern/11 Central. Wheat came out at 236,847 tons, down 155,596 from the week ending April 28th and […]
