A farm management specialist says farmers will benefit from changes to the ARC and PLC programs, as well as crop insurance in the new farm bill. University of Illinois farm management specialist Gary Schnitkey says the 2018 Farm Bill makes improvements to the commodity title I program. Continue reading Improvements to Commodity Title …
Category: Ag News
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Dec 19
U.S. and China to talk in January
Trade talks continue between the U.S. and China. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Bloomberg the two countries have had several rounds of talks in recent weeks and plan to meet in person in January to discuss a broader trade truce. He says both countries are working on “documenting an agreement” before the March 1st deadline. …
Dec 19
Multi-year approach to weed management
Farmers continue to manage weeds with a multi-year approach. Winfield United agronomist Andy Schmidt says herbicide-resistance makes planning ahead essential. “My strategy is looking at the current weed spectrum I’m working with. Do I have giant ragweed (or) marestail? Am I no-till or working my ground?” He tells Brownfield weeds are becoming more detrimental to …
Dec 19
Cattle, hog futures mixed ahead of USDA reports
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle futures were mixed in limited trade volume on position squaring ahead of Thursday’s Cattle on Feed report and Friday’s Cold Storage report. Feeder cattle futures closed weak, pressured by lack of buying interest. February live cattle closed $.32 lower at $122.25 and April live cattle closed $.02 lower at …
Dec 19
Water quality: “Keep the stinkin’ soil in place”
A soil health specialist with NRCS says farmers have five years to make soil changes on their own before they are forced to make changes for water quality. Doug Peterson, who covers the Iowa and Missouri region, says the four Rs need to be followed but together they only reduce nitrogen run-off, for example, by …
Dec 19
U.S. ethanol stocks climb
U.S. ethanol production was unchanged last week, while supplies notched new multi-week highs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says domestic production averaged 1.046 million barrels per day, steady on the week and below the four-week average of 1.053 million barrels. Production has pulled back recently because of negative plant margins, but the industry is watching …
Dec 19
Mild weather continues across the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, any remaining snow cover has been significantly reduced by mild weather. Early Wednesday, snow depths include 2 inches in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and an inch in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The December mild spell has left muddy conditions in some fields and feedlots that had been previously frozen. On the Plains, …
Dec 19
A moisture-laden pattern for the Heartland
A complex storm system developing across the nation’s mid-section will become a more cohesive low pressure system on Thursday over the Southeast. From there, the storm will move almost due northward into eastern Canada by Saturday. Storm-total precipitation—mostly rain—could reach 1 to 3 inches or more across the eastern U.S. Late in the week, rain …
Dec 19
Managing nitrogen for the 2019 growing season
The wet weather throughout parts of the Corn Belt in 2018 caused nitrogen loss and deficiencies. In this Managing for Profit, Dekalb Asgrow technical agronomist Jim McDermott says now is a good time for farmers to evaluate their current nitrogen programs and see if any changes need to be made for the 2019 growing season. …
Dec 18
Reports: China buys more soybeans
Various media outlets are reporting that China returned to the U.S. soybean market on Tuesday for another round of buying, although the exact purchase amounts are not known. Last week, Chinese state-run companies booked about one-and-a-half million tons of U.S. beans, the country’s first major U.S. soy purchases in six months. Talk of the renewed …