Photo courtesy Nebraska Department of Agriculture The Nebraska Department of Agriculture has confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza in a flock of 1.7 million laying hens in Dixon County (northeast Nebraska). This is the sixth confirmed case of HPAI in the state. The flock will be depopulated, and the farm has been placed under quarantine with a 6.2-mile control zone established around the affected premises. If producers notice symptoms of HPAI […]
Farmers and ranchers in South Central Nebraska are still assessing the damage from a wildfire that tore through the area last week. “It’s pretty devastating for everyone. That’s for sure.” Time Lowe tells Brownfield the fire started near one of his farms last Thursday morning and destroyed fields of corn and bean stover, pasture land and several pivots. “The stubble is gone. The fertilizer is gone. There’s nothing but bare […]
A leader on biofuels policy in Congress says momentum for an E15 summertime waiver really began to build two weeks ago. Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig tells Brownfield House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked for ideas on how to lower fuel prices. “And this was one of the ideas that we put forward (and) I put it forward. I bet I’ve talked to more Democrats in the last two weeks about what […]
Parched soils are being replenished by heavy rains in parts of southeast Minnesota. Gary Prescher farms in Faribault County and tells Brownfield storms brought one to two inches of rain to his area Wednesday. “Folks in my neighborhood were starting to wonder again if it was going to be a repeat of say 2012 (because) we’ve been extremely dry since last spring.” He says the latest rainfall is soaking in […]
Iowa is one of several states in the Upper Midwest where soils remain too cool to begin planting. Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Meaghan Anderson says soil temps across most of the state were hovering in the low 40’s before the latest warmup. “We have had the 60 (and) 70 degree air temperatures, but they will drop back down later this week and next week. And then hopefully we’ll […]
An ag economist says he expects a tight supply chain situation to get worse by harvest this year. “The outlook is maybe as bleak, if not bleaker than what we’re currently dealing with,” said the University of Missouri’s Ben Brown. Brown says strong demand for ag products, despite elevated costs, combined with a shortage of shipping containers and labor are making a tight shipping situation worse for the ag supply […]
Lawmakers passed several tax bills supported by Indiana Farm Bureau during the 2022 legislative session. Katrina Hall, senior director for policy strategy and advocacy with INFB, is discussing what farmers need to know as they go into effect. House Bill 1002 will help provide relief to individual income taxpayers. “The bill ended up being a relatively longer-term cut to the state income tax which would take our state rates from […]
A Wisconsin corn grower who also works to promote more ethanol use says the return of the summertime E15 waiver is good news for everyone. Tom Gillis is on the Wisconsin Corn Board and the NCGA Ethanol Action Team. He tells Brownfield E15 can easily displace Russian oil imports. “It’s something that we approached the administration about when the Russian Ukraine started so that we could replace the oil imported […]
An executive with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers says farmers should take extra precautions to avoid equipment breakdowns this spring as the industry continues to battle a shortage of parts. Curt Blades tells Brownfield their members are doing what they can to have parts on hand for planting. “Manufacturers are placing a very high priority on parts, specifically those wear parts, because we understand the importance of that seasonality.” He […]
