Agriculture

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is canceling all live bird exhibitions at fairs and other gatherings because of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the order begins immediately and at minimum lasts 30 days after any new infection in the state. Speaking to Brownfield at the Midwest Turkey Federation Convention in Minneapolis Wednesday, Iowa Turkey Federation director Gretta Irwin said there have not been […]

The CEO of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association is pleased with changes to the Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program. David Preisler tells Brownfield eligible producers will have more time to apply. “The new deadline is April 29th, and even if a person has applied already, there is the option to change your application because now we have a little more clear direction from USDA on what will be eligible.” He […]

The US Meat Export Federation says the adjustment of Japan’s safeguard on US beef is good news for the US beef industry.  President and CEO Dan Halstrom.  “The fact that we can get some sort of a resolution that gets us on a level playing field is absolutely fantastic news,” he says.  “If we’re on a level playing field we’ll be able to win with our high-quality product.” The US-Japan […]

While export sales were down significantly for many commodities this past week, beef sales hit a marketing-year high and were up 40% on the week.  Increases were primarily for South Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan.  Rice export sales were also noticeably on the week. On the flip side, soybean export sales dropped 67% on the week, corn sales were down 47%, and wheat sales were down 7%.  Cotton sales declined […]

Dairy farmers from northcentral Wisconsin discussed a possible plan for future milk pricing.  Local chapter members of Wisconsin Farmers Union and Wisconsin Farm Bureau are talking about what’s called the Dairy Revitalization Plan, a growth management concept revised by University of Wisconsin dairy economists Mark Stephenson and Chuck Nicholson. This concept would require farms that expand past predetermined limits to pay a market access fee that would be paid to […]

The United States and Japan have reached an agreement to increase the beef safeguard trigger level to prevent a higher tariff from being imposed on US beef. During a call with reporters, Assistant US Trade Representative for Agriculture Affairs and Commodity Policy Julie Callahan says it is a win for both countries. “It will allow American farmers and ranchers to meet Japan’s growing demand for high quality US beef and […]

By stealing water and nutrients from the crop, weeds are on the biggest yield robbers farmers face each growing season.  In this Managing for Profit, Lynn Justesen, UPL Tech Service Lead says UPL offers a new herbicide solution for soybean growers targeting some of the toughest to control weeds. ...