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A start-up company says it’s developing an eco-friendly $750 million fertilizer plant that will increase supplies for the Western Corn Belt and produce zero-carbon ammonia. Farmer Andy Jobman says Project Meadowlark’s facility in the Central-Nebraska town of Gothenburg will diversify the region’s fertilizer production. “We’ve fought a lot of high prices and volatile prices in the last few years.  Hopefully this additional source will create some stability and opportunities for […]

A U.S. Senator says the Environmental Protection Agency is sending mixed signals to the agriculture industry over its biofuels policy.   Republican Pete Ricketts of Nebraska tells Brownfield the benefits of ethanol and biodiesel are clear, and EPA should’ve increased the Renewable Volume Obligations. “The RVO numbers themselves are disappointing, especially from an administration that wants to reduce carbon in the environment.” Ricketts and Minnesota Representative Brad Finstad sent a […]

The chief economist for the USDA says while farm incomes won’t reach the record levels of 2022 this year, the overall outlook for the farm economy is strong. Seth Meyer tells Brownfield, “It would be hard to match 2022’s farm income,” he said. “When you look at 2023, our estimates are that it will be lower, but that it will remain above average.” According to USDA data, U.S. net farm […]

A survey of Wisconsin bankers shows optimism about the economy.  Rose Oswald Poels with the Wisconsin Bankers Association tells Brownfield their semi-annual survey surprised her as member bankers had a more positive outlook than they did six months ago. “They do see some signs of inflation easing and I think that you know, we’ve seen validated by actions of the Fed recently where they did not choose to raise rates […]

A Wisconsin horse has tested positive for West Nile virus.  Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection officials say the affected horse is a 21-year-old paint mare in Dunn County.  It’s the first case of West Nile in Wisconsin this year. The disease can cause brain inflammation in horses and people, and it is fatal in 30% to 40% of horses showing signs of illness.  While humans can be infected, […]

A farmer in south central Missouri says while conditions in his area are better this year than last, hay yields have been inconsistent. Gary McClure, from Laclede County, tells Brownfield… “I am not as disappointed in the yield as I thought I was going to be when we started out, because we hit some areas that were pretty close to normal, but then we hit dry spots that didn’t produce […]

There are a lot of decisions that a farmers need to make every farming year. Justin Wolfe, president of Syngenta Seeds says the new Research and Development center in Malta, Illinois, enables the company to pull together decision science and artificial intelligence. It can then be coupled with modern breeding and biotechnology. By incorporating a modern agronomy approach, Syngenta can not only invent the product, but also help make it […]

A Southeast Nebraska farmer says some of his crops may not recover from damage sustained during Thursday’s severe storms. Logan Bredemeier farms near the Missouri River near Falls City and tells Brownfield was some hail and significant wind gusts. “I haven’t really seen any hail damage out of hit since it was small and short duration. We did have some corn knocked pretty flat.  Nothing broke off, but not likely […]

A plant pathologist with the University of Missouri Extension says a few soil-borne soybean diseases are being confirmed. Mandy Bish tells Brownfield charcoal rot is showing up early in Missouri because of the drought. She says fungicides aren’t an option to manage the disease and farmers should use the drought as a chance to learn. “To see where we have those problems. With charcoal rot and other soil-borne diseases, this […]