Michigan livestock representatives say the proposed state beef checkoff could be simplified. During the first of three listening sessions, participants Thursday discussed concerns about the proposed rate of 10 cents for every $100 of gross value, capped at a dollar. Jimmy Lambert with Superior Livestock Auction says marketers aren’t opposed to a state checkoff but don’t want to see it collected on a percentage basis. “There is not one of […]
USDA’s latest investment to increase independent meat and poultry processing capacity will impact 17 states including Brownfield states Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says 15 grants totaling $115 million are being awarded to help bolster markets for small and mid-sized farms. “The notion of getting big or getting out just runs counter I think to the heritage of American agriculture.” Vilsack announced […]
A livestock economist says beef cow slaughter numbers indicate expansion of the US cattle herd won’t happen anytime soon. University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says the year-to-date beef cow slaughter is 4.95% of beginning inventory. “Cow slaughter is not down enough that we’re actually building cow inventory. You have to get at below four percent of that beginning inventory before you talk about real increase in beef cow inventory.” For […]
An extension specialist says drought conditions could create weed control challenges throughout the growing season. Aaron Hager with the University of Illinois tells Brownfield pre-emergence herbicides have been less effective this year because there hasn’t been enough rain. He says that could create additional challenges later in the growing season. “It could put a lot of pressure on the post-emergence herbicides, simply because of the much denser weed spectrum. It […]
Jul. corn closed at $5.81, down 9 centsJul. soybeans closed at $14.83, up 32 centsJul. soybean meal closed at $403.00, up $1.20Jul. soybean oil closed at 60.83, up 121 pointsJul. wheat closed at $6.53, down 2 and 3/4 centsAug. live cattle closed at $174.50, up 62 centsAug. feeder cattle closed at $242.37, up $2.12Jul. lean hogs closed at $95.45, up $1.17Jul. ...
Soybeans were mixed on bull spreading. Beans were watching the weather while getting ready for Friday’s planted area and quarterly stocks numbers. Those reports are out at Noon Eastern/11 Central. Weather-wise, even if the critical month for beans is August, soil moisture improvements are definitely welcome, but that has some with high winds and hail in parts of the region, causing at least some damage. Old and new crop weekly […]
An ag meteorologist says smoke from Canadian wildfires has the potential to repeat through the fall. Michigan’s state climatologist Jeff Andresen tells Brownfield the current flow of the jet stream from east to west into the Midwest has been unusual and brought with it some of the worst air quality seen across the globe. “Those fires themselves reflect long-term dryness in those areas of Canada,” he says. “That’s why the […]
The USDA’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs shows the potential for at least some industry contraction later this year. The U.S. breeding herd on June 1st, 2023 was slightly lower at 6.146 million head, generally in-line with pre-report expectations. The breeding numbers do show steady to higher numbers in several key states, even with relatively high feed costs and questions about industry impact from California’s Proposition 12, but the inventory was […]
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its litigation partners have filed a motion to vacate the Biden administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule following the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision. The Environmental Protection Agency has announced intent to issue a revised version of its WOTUS definition before Sept. 1. Mary-Thomas Hart, chief counsel for NCBA tells Brownfield fully rewriting the WOTUS definition is the only path forward following the Supreme Court’s […]
