Planting is underway for an Eastern Kansas farmer. Lance Rezac says he started today. “(We) started planting corn. Our insurance date is here. The ground is really dry and mellow and it’s working well.” He tells Brownfield there’s adequate soil moisture. “We got a couple of good snows in March that actually gave us moisture and we have some moisture to work with now,” Rezac says. “It is really dry. […]
A former Monsanto employee has been sentenced by a federal court in Missouri for trying to sell trade secrets of The Climate Corporation to China. Xiang Haitao plead guilty in January to economic espionage after trying to leave the U.S. for China in 2017 with a proprietary predictive algorithm, the Nutrient Optimizer, used in The Climate Corporation’s online platform. Haitao will serve 29 months in prison followed by three years […]
Wisconsin has confirmed its third case of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Kevin Hoffman with The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection tells Brownfield the third case is at a non-commercial farm with about 200 turkeys and ducks south of Milwaukee. Hoffman says the birds have already been depopulated and cleanup efforts continue. The ag department is encouraging flock owners to keep their birds indoors and follow strict biosecurity measures […]
Soybeans were able to gain support following USDA’s World Ag Supply and Demand report that came out ahead of midday on Friday. USDA’s estimated soybean ending stocks fell 25 million bushels from last month to 260 million. The Buenos Aires Grain exchange recently lowered its soybean ratings further, adding support into the market. CONAB, Brazil’s equivalent of the USDA, recently lowered its soybean production estimate to 122.4 million metric tons. […]
The agriculture education sector is turning to industry professionals to fill a large number of open teaching positions. Lisa Oellerich, President of the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers tells Brownfield in their state alone, “We have 68 openings and there are approximately 30 graduates to fill those openings.” She says the teaching vacancies are from retirements, teachers leaving the field during and after the pandemic, and growth in ag […]
The USDA has left the ending stocks for US corn unchanged, tightened soybean supplies, and raised wheat supplies. Corn came out at 1.44 billion bushels, unchanged from March. USDA did move 25 million bushels from feed use to ethanol use. The average farm price is estimated at $5.80, up $.15. Soybeans are seen at 260 million bushels, 25 million less than last month on higher export projections. The average farm […]
The USDA has left its outlooks for U.S. rice and cotton ending stocks unchanged from March. Rice ending stocks are projected at 34.5 million hundredweight, unchanged from last month, changes to domestic use and residual offset each other. The average farm price is estimated at $15.70 per hundredweight, down $.20. There were no changes to the domestic balance sheet for cotton, with an average estimated farm price for upland cotton of […]
The USDA has lowered its 2022 forecast for total red meat and poultry, with a reduced forecast for pork and poultry offsetting higher projections for beef. Beef production is seen at 27.7 billion pounds, 140 million more than in March due to higher placements and an increased slaughter pace for both fed and non-fed cattle. The average price of $139.50 per hundredweight, is unchanged from last month. Beef imports grew […]
An ag meteorologist says April’s cooler and wetter than normal start in the Midwest is bringing relief and delays to many regions. State climatologist for Michigan Jeff Andresen says expected rain in the coming weeks should knockout dryness across much of the Upper Midwest that carried over from last season. “That is expected to gradually decrease or dissipate with time,” he says. He says Michigan has already seen some major […]
