Agriculture

A Kansas cattle producer says drought and a wildfire have created difficult forage management decisions. Ethan Dickerson of Paradise tells Brownfield he doesn’t want to overgraze new growth in pastures from recent moisture. “They’re going to have to get fed some really expensive hay for awhile.  It’s something we’re going to have to live with because we can’t turn out on it until mid-season and our stocking rates are going […]

A seed expert says corn tar spot and rootworms remain a concern for growers. Alex Renk with Renk Seed tells Brownfield tar spot wasn’t expected to be an every-year problem, but so far, it has.  He says it takes special conditions for tar spot to develop, and he cannot recommend changing corn varieties to avoid it. “You’re just not going to get any varieties that are necessarily better or worse […]

US Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri says the relocation of two USDA research agencies in 2019 has benefited the ag industry. He tells Brownfield Kansas City, Missouri is a perfect home for the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “What the department is finding is they are getting – as they thought they would – a great workforce coming out of these land grant institutions,” Blunt […]

Farmers and ranchers in parts of Kansas are trying to secure access to water while others face the threat of floods. Governor Laura Kelly says producers in Western Kansas are running out of water because the Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted. “We’ve been working with our farmers and ranchers over the last few years to really help them find modified ways to produce crops so that they lessen the need […]

A southern Wisconsin seed breeder says he expects the planting pace to pick up in Wisconsin late this week.  Alex Renk with the Renk Seed Company in Sun Prairie tells Brownfield he’s ready when the field conditions are finally right. “The soil moisture is good. You know, we got a lot of rain, nothing too heavy, and so once we start getting that temperature and sunlight, things are going to […]

Good record keeping is not only beneficial for farmers during the current growing season, but for the upcoming year as well.  In this Managing for Profit, UPL Tech Services Lead Lynn Justesen details all the information farmers should include in their crop scouting notebooks. ...

An ag trade expert says supply chain disruptions are far from over as COVID-19 lockdowns continue in China. Gregg Doud, with Aimpoint Research tells Brownfield while backlogs at US ports are clearing up, “We are going to have a conversation here very soon about nothing coming from China. It is déjà vu all over again for us on some of these supply chain issues I’m afraid.” Doud says there is […]

A Congressman is critical of the USDA for not returning to normal staffing levels at Farm Service Agency offices.   Dusty Johnson from South Dakota tells Brownfield that USDA’s COVID guidelines kept FSA staff out of their offices longer than necessary, forcing farmers and ranchers to communicate from long distances. “The beauty of things like the FSA offices in the past is that you had a real human being that you […]