Across the Corn Belt, bitterly cold weather covers the upper Midwest, where Friday morning’s low temperatures ranged from 0 to -20°. Cold, breezy weather prevails across the remainder of the Corn Belt, with snow showers confined to the upper Great Lakes region. On the Plains, frigid conditions continue to grip much of Montana and the …
Category: Ag News
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Feb 15
Soybeans up ahead of more talks with China
Soybeans were modestly higher on short covering and technical buying. At least some progress was made in this last round of talks with China and more negotiations are expected in the coming week. Crop weather in South America looks non-threatening to favorable, including rain in dry parts of Brazil. Harvest is ongoing in Brazil, so …
Feb 15
Cattle futures mostly lower, still waiting for direct cash
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were mostly lower, closing before the start of the week’s widespread direct cash business. February was up $.50 at $126.62 and April was down $.20 at $127.17. Feeder cattle were lower ahead of widespread direct trade. March was $1.47 lower at $142.60 and April was down $1.27 at $145.22. …
Feb 15
ASF education efforts continue
Swine veterinarians around the U.S. have been busy this winter educating pork producers about African Swine Fever (ASF). Iowa State University Swine Extension Veterinarian Dr. Chris Rademacher says one of challenges is that many of ASF’s symptoms resemble other familiar pig diseases. “Early on it’s going to look, unfortunately, like some of the other stuff …
Feb 15
More progress reported in U.S.-China talks
U.S. trade officials are describing this week’s talks with China as “productive” and say they made headway on some of the most difficult issues. Speaking to reporters this morning in Washington, President Trump confirmed the negotiations are going well. “We’re very much working very closely with China and President Xi, who I respect a lot—a very …
Feb 15
New soy processing plant coming to Michigan
Wisconsin-based Quality Roasting has announced it will build a $10 million soybean processing plant in Michigan’s Thumb. Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Jeff Mason says the new facility in Reese will make the state’s agriculture and food-processing industries more competitive and benefit livestock farmers and consumers. Construction should start by April and finish in time …
Feb 15
Illinois minimum wage bill sent to Governor’s desk, Representative calls it devastating to agriculture
A southern Illinois state representative says the passage of a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 will be devastating for Illinois agriculture and rural communities. “We can’t raise our price on corn or beans because it costs us more to put in. Our prices are affected on the world level. We …
Feb 15
Sustainable farming practices prevent soil erosion, improve soil health
Since he began to farm while in high school, Greg Thoren has worked to keep soil in place. “Erosion is a very large factor. [There are] a lot of waterways, a lot of conservation practices that have gone in place in our county,” said Thoren, describing Jo Daviess County in the hilly northwest corner of …
Feb 15
Replacement demand driving equipment sales
The vice president of North America for Case IH says despite the sluggish farm economy equipment sales have increased slightly. Scott Harris says 2019 is shaping up to be a lot like last year. “I think we’ll continue to build on the replacement demand that really drove our industry in 2018,” he says. Lower farm …
Feb 15
Wide-ranging temps; active pattern all to continue
Western storminess will gradually shift eastward, allowing widespread, locally heavy precipitation to taper to scattered rain and snow showers. Still, coastal and mountainous areas of California could receive additional precipitation totaling 2 to 6 inches. As Western storminess wanes, significantly below-normal temperatures will continue to dominate the West. Meanwhile, a series of disturbances will affect …