A Midwest seed company is seeing a modest uptick in conventional corn interest. Wyffels Hybrids agronomist Brent Tharp says non-GMO sales are up about one to two percent this year. “It’s not a wholesale change, I think there’s guys looking at it (and) experimenting with it.” He tells Brownfield there has been a greater shift …
Category: Ag News
Auto Added by WPeMatico
Mar 22
Flood recovery in parts of the western Corn Belt
Across the In the Corn Belt, showery, windy weather dominates the lower Great Lakes region. Rain has changed to snow showers in some northern areas. Meanwhile, flood recovery in the western Corn Belt continues under a dry weather pattern, allowing producers in the hardest-hit areas to further assess impacts on livestock, stored crops, farm equipment, …
Mar 21
Trump declares disaster in Nebraska
President Trump has declared a disaster in Nebraska. That clears the way for federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts. Governor Pete Ricketts sent Trump an expedited request for federal assistance Tuesday and says he’s grateful for the quick approval. Ricketts says Nebraskans have already been stepping up to begin the journey …
Mar 21
Floods impacting transportation of farm products
The Executive Director of the U.S. Soy Transportation Coalition says flooding is causing problems for farmers beyond delays in field work. Mike Steenhoek tells Brownfield high water is impacting barge traffic. “We’re seeing the size of the barge flotillas being constricted so you’re not having as many of them that you can lash together, so …
Mar 21
Hog futures continue their surge on demand hopes
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, cattle futures ended the day higher on optimism ahead of the cash trade and spillover support from the surging lean hog futures. Cattle on Feed and Cold Storage numbers come out Friday afternoon. April live cattle closed $.32 higher at $129.90 and June contracts closed $.52 higher at $123.90. April …
Mar 21
Parson declares state of emergency
Missouri Governor Mike Parson has declared a state of emergency because of flooding in northern Missouri and worsening conditions along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Traveling with the governor to observe the damage so far is Congressman Sam Graves. Graves says there’s a good chance they won’t be able to produce anything this year, “Because …
Mar 21
Minimum wage increase could hurt rural Illinois communities
The Illinois General Assembly recently passed a bill to gradually increase the state’s minimum wage from $8.25 to $15 dollars per hour. Representative Charlie Meier speaks for portions of Washington, Clinton, St. Clair and Madison counties at the capitol, which are mainly rural farming communities downstate. Brownfield spoke to Meier just before Governor Pritzker signed …
Mar 21
Michigan’s voluntary stewardship program sets national example
The Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Services says Michigan’s voluntary stewardship program can be a role model for other states. Chief Matt Lohr tells Brownfield NRCS and the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program share the same vision: to implement voluntary conservation practices. “I think some of these programs are really great on paper but …
Mar 21
Preparing for a busy spring
An Indiana-based Asgrow/DEKALB agronomist says farmers will need to catch up on fieldwork this spring. Dave Colbert says many farmers were unable to finish fieldwork this fall because of cold and wet conditions. “When mother nature finally says it’s okay to get in the field, we are going to have a lot of catch up …
Mar 21
Weather puts some planting decisions in flux
An agronomist says planting intentions are in flux for much of the Upper Midwest because of ongoing weather challenges. Todd Landsman, territory sales manager for Arysta LifeScience in South Dakota and parts of Minnesota says some growers are just now making seed decisions. “That backs up every other decision that revolves around that,” he says. …