Some Iowa farmers received much-needed rain last week, which helped improve crop conditions. The USDA says as of Sunday corn condition improved to 61% good-to-excellent. Four percent of the crop is silking. Soybean condition improved to 53% good-to-excellent. Twenty-five percent of the crop is blooming, five days ahead of last year. USDA says some reports were received of farmers getting equipment ready to start the oat harvest soon. The state’s […]
There was spotty rainfall across Missouri in the last few days, but a farmer in north-central Missouri says his corn and soybeans could use additional moisture. Kyle Durham from Carroll County tells Brownfield the non-irrigated corn is starting to show drought stress. “We’re starting to see corn leaves rolling and starting to see a few leaves down around the bottom of those plants respond to the dryness,” he says. “The […]
The President of the Wisconsin Bankers Association says part of Wisconsin’s budget bill would improve farm and business lending. Rose Oswald Poels tells Brownfield the budget language would give banks a tax break if they make commercial or ag loans of five million dollars or less. “It would really give banks the ability to lower some of the borrowing costs for their small business and farm customers.” Poels says the […]
Dry conditions have Wisconsin farmers concerned about their crops. Steve Knoebel (kin NAY bull) farms near Helenville between Madison and Milwaukee, and he tells Brownfield his fields haven’t seen a drop of rain in more than three weeks. “It’s pretty critical now. We’re really getting to be, we really need some rain here pretty quick or these things are going to start going downhill fast.” Knoebel rates his corn and […]
The president and CEO of CountryMark says improvements could be made to the Renewable Fuel Standard as the nation aims to decarbonize the transportation sector. Matt Smorch tells Brownfield, “the Renewable Fuel Standard has done a great job of getting more renewable fuels into the energy mix and has been helpful in the ag community. We’re supporters of ethanol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel and I think there are opportunities to […]
Crop conditions remain variable in Michigan following inconsistent rains across the state. Golden Harvest Seeds Michigan agronomist Charles Scovill tells Brownfield crop emergence is dependent on if seeds found moisture at planting. “We’ve got crop out there right now that’s two to three inches tall side-by-side crop that’s 18 to 20 inches tall, and that’s going to cause some real challenges when it comes to harvest this fall,” he shares. […]
Corn for ethanol use during May sent mixed signals. The USDA says 437.541 million bushels of corn were used for ethanol production, up 6% from April as some plants resumed operation following seasonal maintenance, but down 2% from May 2022 on questions about sustained demand. Production of distillers dried grains with solubles was 1,702,061 tons, an increase of 5% from the previous month, but a decrease of 10% from the […]
A farmer in south-central Kansas says winter wheat harvest is nearing the finish line. Tim Turek says the wheat could be harvested this week if there are windows of warm, dry weather. He says half inch rains over the last few weeks are making harvest last longer. “It’s kind of a struggle harvesting some of it,” he says. “We’ve started spraying some, wind-rowing some and chopping through green stuff. We’ve […]
An agronomist says the crops in the Dakotas and Minnesota have received some much need rains in the last week. Rick Swenson with Peterson Farms Seed says the timing is just right. “Basically, everything out there including the corn and soybeans are doubling, tripling or quadrupling in height in the next few weeks. Limiting moisture is one of the biggest negatives,” says Swenson. “If we can have that pattern shift […]
