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The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is reporting the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial poultry flock. The department tells Brownfield a 35,000-bird turkey flock in Muskegon County was confirmed with the virus and has been depopulated. Allison Brink with Michigan Allied Poultry Industries tells Brownfield the farm is working with authorities to address the situation and to ensure there is no disruption in […]

Adjustments to crop insurance could boost U.S. crop production and alleviate some market pressure. University of Missouri ag economist Ben Brown said the Biden administration’s interest in increasing crop production and acreage could offset conflicting factors like rising loan rates. “The conversation now has switched to ‘how do we use crop insurance to increase production’,” Brown said. “And I think some of [the administration’s] proposals actually have potential to bring […]

Pork export volumes for the first quarter of 2022 have been on a steady decline from year-ago levels, and a livestock economist says it’s largely due to China. University of Missouri’s Scott Brown.  “In January we were 96-million pounds below a year ago,” he says.  “In February we were down 202-million pounds and this month we’re down 386-million pounds.  It’s not going in the right direction.” Brown says if last […]

Michigan’s first Office of Rural Development is outlining initial priority areas. During a roundtable Wednesday morning, Deputy Director Sarah Lucas told reporters the office plans to focus on workforce, housing, and broadband needs in Michigan’s rural communities to start. “A lot of communities have lost a lot of their young people in the last several decades which has really impacted the pipeline for our workforce and has left a lot […]

A dairy economist says the Upper Midwest remains the most ideal location for milk production growth. Nate Donnay with StoneX tells Brownfield water availability for cows and feed production is a major factor for where dairy expansions are even possible. “It’s going to be tough, or tougher than usual, to expand the herd and expand production in the western part of the U.S.,” he says. Donnay says regional divides are […]

A southern Iowa beef producer says rising prices have been one of the biggest challenges facing the industry. Justin Ewalt of Tabor tells Brownfield, “People have to be prepared for that not only in the goods we buy, but also in the food industry and food sector,” he said. Ewalt says one way for consumers to avoid high prices at the grocery store is to buy in bulk from a […]

A Nebraska Sandhills rancher says high winds across the Great Plains have created grazing challenges she’s never dealt with before. Jaclyn Wilson of Lakeside tells Brownfield says wind and drought have created erosion issues.  “We’ve got sand drifts, especially over on the background lot, but dad has talked about (it) and not seeing it in ages. That’s something new.  We’re going to have to run a blade on the outside […]

Brian Fuchs with the National Drought Mitigation Center says the long-term outlook calls for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. “We may see some intensification and we may some drought plateauing and kind of sticking at the same level that it’s at.” He tells Brownfield widespread rainfall brought immediate relief, but that could change. “If we jump right into consistent 90-dgree weather with wind again, we will be having […]

U.S. ethanol production and stocks both moved higher last week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production averaged 991,000 barrels a day, up 22,000 on the week and 12,000 on the year. Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Resource Economics says producer margins are well below the late 2021 highs but remain in positive territory thanks to solid demand, even with corn prices close to multi-year highs. The Renewable […]