Category: Ag News

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Soil Health Institute releases strategy on soil health adoption

The Soil Health Institute has released a strategy to help farmers when deciding whether to adopt soil health practices. Wayne Honeycutt, president and CEO of the Soil Health Institute, says adopting soil health practices can improve a farmer’s bottom line while also reducing nutrient loss to waterways and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.   “It’s one …

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2019 Pioneer Media Day

Brownfield Anchor/Reporter Ken Anderson will be on the ground in Johnston, IA August 13 for the 2019 Pioneer Media Day. Continue reading 2019 Pioneer Media Day at Brownfield Ag News.      

Milk futures near $18, cash dairy mixed

Milk futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed the week in mixed trade, approaching the $18 level, while cash trade was limited. July Class III milk futures down a penny at $17.41.  August down three cents at $17.66.  September up seven cents at $17.99.  October nine cents higher at $17.99.  November through February contracts four …

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Japan adds detector dogs in efforts to prevent ASF

Japan is stepping up its detection systems as African Swine Fever continues to spread throughout Asia.  Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service has introduced a significant number of detector dogs to major and local airports to protect the country’s livestock from the disease.  Earlier this year strains of the virus were isolated in meat products intercepted from …

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MDARD approves $525,000 in additional ag grants

The Michigan Agriculture and Rural Development Commission has approved six additional investment projects this year through the Food and Ag Investment Fund. The latest round of grants will increase the use of Michigan milk and cream, support potato and forest product sectors, increase food manufacturing and ag diversity. The largest grant of $175,000 was awarded …

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USDA: record monthly cattle on feed total

The USDA says placements of cattle onto feed during June were down 2% on the year at 1.756 million head, but that was still more than what some analysts were expecting. DTN says estimates ranged from 93.2% to 105.7%, with an average of 97.7% of a year ago. Most of those were cattle weighing less …

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Forage specialist says to wait on nitrogen for fescue

A University of Missouri forage specialist is warning farmers to hold off on nitrogen applications until August. Craig Roberts said some farmers have been applying it too early this year, losing the benefit of the fertilizer. “If we apply nitrogen fertilizer right now, we’ll simply be fertilizing the annual grass weeds,” Roberts said. He said …

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USDA: cattle inventory steady, calf crop down

The USDA’s cattle inventory numbers point to a modest industry contraction later this year. The USDA estimates this year’s calf crop at 36.3 million head, down slightly from 2018, with all cows and heifers that have calved also declining slightly because of a 1% decline in milk cows. All cows and heifers were reported at …

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Report: Large loans drive further increases in farm lending

A new report compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City shows the volume of non-real estate farm loans in the second quarter of this year increased 11 percent over last year. That’s the fastest pace of growth for those loans, in the second quarter, since 2011. Operating loans, which comprise the majority of …

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Strong growth in the biobased products industry

At the recent BIO World Congress in Des Moines, we received an update on the growth of the U.S. biobased products industry from Kate Lewis, deputy program manager for USDA’s BioPreferred Program. AUDIO: Kate Lewis Continue reading Strong growth in the biobased products industry at Brownfield Ag News.