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A startup company is transforming how the soybean industry extracts soy protein to help improve animal health. President and founder of Satavie Lassie Jakobsen says their water extraction technique creates a higher-quality protein when it’s extracted from soybean meal. “Highly digestible, and that’s what adds up to it. Being healthier is essentially just because there’s no undigested portions of it that go through the animal, which is usually what will […]

The United Soybean Board says its Chief Executive Officer will leave her position at the end of the year. Polly Ruhland has led the organization for the past six years during which USB underwent a governance restructuring and crafted a new strategic plan to advance the soybean industry. The board will start the search process for new leadership in July. ...

Michigan House Agriculture Committee Chair Reggie Miller has introduced legislation that would give farmers the ability to repair their own equipment. The Agricultural Equipment Repair Act bans manufacturers from restricting farm equipment maintenance to authorized service providers. Michigan Farmers Union President Bob Thompson says his organization supports the legislation. “We want to make sure that those that do have the expertise, knowledge, and ability have the proper tools and software […]

A policy priority for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association passed during the recently completed legislative session. President Bob Worth says the association has been seeking to raise the valuation limit of the Homestead Tax Credit for nearly three years. “The Homestead Tax Credit has not kept up with the value of land. As the land goes up, the acres that we’ve got to use the Homestead Credit on shrunk considerably.” […]

Reports about a large cheese purchase by the USDA to aid schools and food banks has a dairy leader wondering if there might be a downside. Laurie Fischer with the American Dairy Coalition tells Brownfield it’s unclear if or when USDA would buy around 47 million pounds of cheese, but she’s paying close attention because her farmer members want to avoid repeating recent history. “Well, we are looking at it […]

The top ag official in Iowa is concerned about the implications of Proposition 12. Ag Secretary Mike Naig tells Brownfield the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the California law opens a pathway for large states with big markets to dictate to smaller states their preference in how anything is produced. “Certainly it’s going to impact the pork industry. But I do think it opens the door, it’s a very […]

The USDA is reporting another mixed week for U.S. export sales. For the week ending May 25th, old crop soybean, soybean meal, cotton, and sorghum sales were up, while corn, rice, and soybean oil were down with another marketing year low for wheat. Reported new crop sales for those commodities were routine. Pork export sales fell from the previous week and beef was modestly lower. Export demand is influenced by […]

A Nebraska farmer says the historic tax cut package recently signed into law will help provide some certainty for his operation’s financial outlook. Nathan Dorn tells Brownfield his landowners were paying extremely high property taxes. “Every time they get their property tax statement, I get a call saying rents are too low and that’s a direct correlation to my balance sheet.  My landlords raising rents because property taxes went up […]

Listen to this episode of the Compeer Financial podcast where Greg Steele, Senior Dairy Lending Specialist at Compeer Financial, discusses what the diary industry looks like in 2023. Sponsored by Compeer Financial ...