brownfield

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is working to shape a Cattle Contract Library pilot program.  Bruce Summers is the administrator for AMS.  “Congress gave us until September 30, 2023 to design and implement this pilot,” he says.  “That’s 16 months and not a ton of time.” Chelsea Good with the Livestock Marketing Association says the pilot Cattle Contract Library should focus on three areas.  “The first is ease of use,” […]

The USDA says beef production was a monthly record for March at 2.506 billion pounds. That’s up 1% on the year with a slight increase in the slaughter pace to 3.015 million head and a twelve-pound gain in the average live weight at 1,384 pounds. March’s dairy cow slaughter was 297,200 head, up 30,700 from February, but down 5,000 from March 2021. The year-to-date dairy cow slaughter is 824,600 head, […]

A South Dakota farmer is hoping for rain as he plants alfalfa in dry conditions.  Travis Mockler farms near Centerville, in far southeastern South Dakota.  He tells Brownfield he hasn’t had snow all winter, and last week’s blizzard that hit the western part of the state didn’t bring him any moisture. “It’s soft out there so that’s nice, but very dry. We’re putting some hay in right now. Maybe next […]

Agricultural organizations are critical of the Biden administration’s direction on environmental policy. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says the final phase 1 revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA are disappointing and a move backward.  He says AFBF is disappointed the administration is reversing common-sense reforms and returning to a slow and cumbersome review process that will make dealing with supply chain and drought issues worse, […]

Brownfield Ag Meteorologist Greg Soulje says the extended forecast is showing signs of drought improvement.  “We anticipate some delays in spring grain planting and additional improvement to drought for the Northern Plains. The Western Corn Belt locale should be okay. we’ll get timely rains and there may be some delays offset by days of opportunity for fieldwork. Probably some wetter corridors would include parts of the I-70 corridor south into […]

A group of leading ag economists is projecting strong net farm incomes for the next couple years. John Kruse is with the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute… “We’ve got very strong commodity prices that’s leading us to very strong net farm income levels,” Kruse said. “We have to keep an eye on our fuel and fertilizer expenses on that side, and possibly labor here.” He said the […]

Southwest Indiana farmer Mark Seib says accessing parts is a challenge this planting season. “That’s getting to be more and more of a concern for all the farmers. I used to go to one dealership and get almost everything I needed and now to do that same parts run, I have to go to two or three dealerships to get everything unless I want to sit and wait for it […]

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed legislation incentivizing use of higher biodiesel blends. Andrew Larson with the Illinois Soybean Association tells Brownfield the bill has been a cornerstone initiative of their organization for 3 years. “We were successful in getting legislation passed and signed this week by the governor to extend the state sales tax exemption on biodiesel blends of 10% and higher for the next few years.” The legislation […]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is urging funding to small farmers to combat a food insecurity crisis that is being worsened by the Russian – Ukrainian war. “We must quickly support the most vulnerable populations with social safety nets,” Yellen said. “And target support for small holder farmers, so they can continue to produce.” Yellen said even as the U.S. escalates its trade sanctions against Russia… “We reiterate our commitment […]