Agriculture

A north Iowa farmer is cutting back on fertilizer. Josh Nelson grows corn and soybeans near Belmond and says he planted some cover crops last summer to help with nitrogen and developed a plan to spray liquid nitrogen over the top when burning his cover crops down. “I’ve actually cut my fertilizer rates by a significant amount compared to years past to where my corn, if things go well, I’m […]

Pork export sales hit a marketing year high during the week ending April 20th. The USDA says Mexico was the biggest buyer of U.S. pork, picking up 60% of the weekly total, followed by Japan and Canada. Corn, soybeans, soybean meal, wheat, cotton, and rice also saw week-to-week improvements. Beef export sales were half of the previous week’s total, soybean oil sales were down, and sorghum had a net reduction. […]

Relatively soft demand has depressed the natural gas market. CoBank energy economist Teri Viswanath says prices around $2.30 per One million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) are a far cry from where they were a year ago. “We had a very light heating season, we now have ample supply (and) high inventories (so) it’s pressuring prices.” Natural gas is used to produce synthetic fertilizers including nitrogen and she tells Brownfield a […]

Sporadic rainfall in the Great Plains did little to help the crop outlook and alleviate drought conditions. Southwestern Kansas farmer Gary Millershaski says he’s been waiting for some moisture to begin planting, and an inch of rain will help. “Where we’re going to plant some dryland corn and a lot of milo, this is going to help that more than anything.” He tells Brownfield that was the first time in […]

A recent study by Purdue University, in partnership with the United Soybean Board, shows no statistically significant relationship between increased use of soybean oil in biofuel production and retail food prices for consumers. Over the past decade, the amount of soybean oil used in biofuel production has quadrupled. Until recently, though, retail prices for soybean oil – an ingredient for margarine, cooking oils, and salad dressings – have remained stagnant. […]

Members of Congress recently introduced legislation that would allow beef processed in a non-USDA inspected facility to be distributed interstate.  Todd Wilkinson, a cow/calf operator from South Dakota and the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says this poses a threat to food safety. AUDIO: Healthy Living on food safety ...