U.S. poultry production was up sharply in May. The USDA says production of 4.585 billion pounds was up 8% on the year, with a 7% increase for chicken to 4.085 billion pounds and an 18% jump in turkey to 487.532 million pounds. The chicken slaughter was up 5% from last year at 829.837 million head and the turkey slaughter was 15% higher at 19.104 million head, with average live weights […]
An Eastern Iowa farmer says he’s losing hope in his hay crops unless there’s a significant change in the weather soon. “There’s cracks in the hay ground that I can stick my hand into go past my wrist.” Dave Walton tells Brownfield his alfalfa crop is struggling, and that’s not good news for the fall and winter months. “Our first cutting was short about 30 percent. Our second cutting was […]
Mexico has placed a 50 percent tariff imports of white corn. a move that could aggravate trade tensions with the United States. In a call with reporters on Monday, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said the US will continue to follow the trade dispute settlement process under the Unites States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that was filed because of a ban on biotech corn. “We expect and anticipate that our response to any […]
Tar spot is showing up in Missouri earlier than usual and crop specialists are encouraging farmers to scout corn fields. Mandy Bish, a plant pathologist with University of Missouri Extension, says the fungal disease isn’t usually confirmed until late August or September. She tells Brownfield minimal cases are being confirmed in northern Missouri (and parts of Iowa), likely due to mild June temperatures. “We’re roughly 3 to 4 degrees cooler […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Aeronautics and Space Administration have agreed to work more collaboratively to improve agriculture and earth science research. The agencies intend to explore ways to improve crop performance and other science-based goals to create more climate-resilient food systems. The memorandum of understanding includes supporting a free online tool, Crop-CASMA, which uses soil data to track droughts, floods, plan crop planting, and forecast yields. The […]
An agronomist with Ohio-based Seed Consultants says a challenging spring season has created some issues in fields. Matt Hutcheson says a wet start to the season turned to moderate drought across much of the state in June. “There were excessively wet conditions in many areas creating fieldwork and planting delays. When we have wet field conditions, we usually see some compaction issues and some issues where fieldwork may have […]
A bill that’s been introduced into the US House would require that US-grown commodities are included in international food aid programs. Kansas Representative Tracey Mann tells Brownfield the goal of his legislation is simple. “To be sending not money, but to be sending commodities because it benefits our ag producers, US shippers and it benefits the people that receive it on the other end. We’ve seen a drifting away from […]
Missouri soybean growers spent part of June in Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, and Germany. Missouri Soybeans Merchandising Council Chairman, Aaron Porter, says the mission included visits with producers, customers, and policy makers. Porter, who farms in Southeast Missouri, says growers and staff on the trip talked to people about how European customers can benefit from what Missouri soybean growers have to offer. ...
A U.S. Congressman from South Dakota is sponsoring a bill with U.S. Congressman Jim Costa from California that restricts states from issuing different labeling requirements for pesticides already approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Dusty Johnson says the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act requires product labels to be based on science. “Unfortunately, there are states finding loopholes and it’s creating a fair amount of confusion across the country.” American Soybean Association’s […]
