Agriculture

The Illinois Soybean Association, Specialty Soya Grains Alliance and World Initiative for Soy in Human Health is hosting trade teams from Cambodia and Myanmar this week. Shane Frederick with SSGA tells Brownfield the Fork to Farm event is an opportunity to connect people along the entire specialty soybean supply chain and answer questions from foreign buyers. He says they talked a lot about the growth of their Identity Preserved Assurance […]

A forage specialist says the back-to-back drought years are causing a shortage of hay in South Dakota. The U.S. Drought Monitor says 78% of South Dakota is experiencing dry conditions with 5% of the state in extreme drought. Sara Bauder with South Dakota State University Extension says the first cutting of alfalfa wasn’t bad this year, but the grass isn’t growing back. “There’s just not moisture and it’s been very […]

Jul. corn closed at $6.37 and 1/4, up 6 and 1/2 centsJul. soybeans closed at $15.21, up 26 and 1/2 centsJul. soybean meal closed at $414.60, up $3.90Jul. soybean oil closed at 59.51, up 157 pointsJul. wheat closed at $7.27 and 1/4, down 9 centsAug. live cattle closed at $170.60, down 17 centsAug. feeder cattle closed at $233.67, down 27 centsJul. ...

The USDA has announced $2.7 billion in funding for school meal programs and emergency food networks to purchase American-grown commodities. The Commodity Credit Corporation funds will give states $1.3 billion for school meals, and an additional $1 billion to purchase USDA vendor-supplied commodities for emergency food programs.  The Agriculture Marketing Services solicits for vendors on an ongoing basis for over 200 different foods for schools, food banks, and families. Products […]

An Illinois row crop farmer says it’s dry, but he’s still optimistic about getting a good crop of soybeans and corn. Bryan Severs raises soybeans and corn in east central Illinois near Potomac. He tells Brownfield, “Things look surprisingly well for the lack of rainfall that we’ve had this year. Basically, in our area since the beginning of April, we’ve had a little over an inch of rainfall since planting.” […]

Nearly an inch of rain has made all the difference for Michigan Thumb-area farmers. Neil French, ADM edible bean grower relations manager, tells Brownfield he can’t remember a growing season that had more than a month of no rain at the beginning. “We had cool nights, we had no insect pressure, we had no chemical damage,” he shares.  “The crop was amazing to everyone that was involved—how good it looked […]

An ag economist says consumers are leaning into the good vibes as they navigate some of the inflationary pressures, like food.Lance Zimmerman, chief protein analyst at Rabobank says the pandemic forced a lot of consumers to eat at home and learn how to cook good meals at home.  In today’s post-pandemic world – that’s something consumers are still doing.  AUDIO: Healthy Living on weathering the inflation storm ...

A weed extension specialist says control efforts have been hindered by dry conditions. Michigan State University’s Christy Sprague tells Brownfield soil-applied herbicides need moisture to activate and that’s been in short supply. “A lot of those soil-applied products really did not get moved into the soil and are not showing a lot of good performance,” she shares. Sprague says weeds have also stopped actively growing which has created some limitations […]

Beck’s Agronomist Travis Coleman says although timely rains are needed, many crops in southern Indiana are in good shape. “In talking with growers every day, that is definitely the first topic of conversation—how dry it is or how dry it has been,” he says. “As I walk a lot of acres, I don’t see that drought stress or heat stress really showing itself today. I’m not as concerned. I do […]