U.S. Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman released an updated draft farm bill late Friday that would allow nationwide year-round E15 sales and revises state cost-sharing requirements in the nutrition program. The bill permanently authorizes nationwide year-round sales of E15, expanding consumer
The chairman of the Missouri Rice Council says fertilizer has been his biggest expense this growing season. “Urea was probably $300 to $350, a ton more expensive this year versus 2025,” says Rance Daniels, a farmer in southern Dunklin County. He says it’s not just fertilizer, fuel prices have been h
The CEO of the National Grain and Feed Association says rail transportation delays into Mexico are just one issue being addressed as U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations continue. Mike Seyfert (Sigh-fert) tells Brownfield Mexico has a zero-tolerance policy on soil, which slows the movement of p
Missouri Ag Director Chris Chinn is joining Governor Mike Kehoe on a trade trip to Panama next week. The governor’s office says a delegation of state leaders will focus on attracting future investment from prospective companies and promote Missouri for trade. Panama is already a trading partner with
The Good Food for Michigan Project has developed a new pledge to encourage collaboration and broader local food access in the state. Michigan impact manager at the Center for Good Food Purchasing, Melanie Tran, tells Brownfield, “Good food purchasing is defined as buying Michigan-grown and produced
Some Congressional Republicans are requesting the Trump administration make direct improvements to the H-2A guest worker program. Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi is leading a bicameral group of lawmakers calling on the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security to address
Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling, adding to what would have already been a steep weekly decline. Traders are monitoring generally favorable development weather in most of the region. That’s helping to alleviate some of the concerns about potential damage during July’s hot, dry stret
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were mostly higher Friday, waiting for the rest of the week’s direct trade, and feeders were up on the decline in corn. August live was up $.52 at $231.75 and October was down $.20 at $227.5. August feeders were $1.55 higher at $348.02 and September wa
The vice president of Nebraska-based Moving Parts, LLC says his expectations are for an average U.S. corn crop this year. Scott Custard tells Brownfield, “We’ve kind of made it through corn pollination in decent shape. That next two to four weeks are going to be critical for grain fill. There are ar
Sep. corn $4.40 and 3/4, down 5 centsAug. soybeans $11.72, down 5 and 1/4 centsAug. soybean meal $312.20, down $1.90Aug. soybean oil 67.12, down 123 pointsSep. Chicago wheat $6.39 and 1/4, down 24 and 1/4 centsAug. live cattle $231.75, up 52 centsAug. feeder cattle $348.02, up $1.55Aug. lean hogs $9
Ethanol production continues to run at high levels. Scott Richman, chief economist at the Renewable Fuels Association, tells Brownfield says part of the reason is fundamental, “We’ve got very solid ethanol demand, and also what’s going on with U.S. and global fuel supplies.” And Richman says that wh
A technical development lead at Syngenta says growers should be scouting for ear rot ahead of the 2026 harvest season. Dean Grossnickle says the impacts can extend beyond the growing season. “Ear rots can cause a lot of quality loss in our grain,” he says. “When we harvest it, that is actually going
The director of agronomy for Heads Up Plant Protectants says white mold has yet to show up in the Upper Midwest this growing season. But Nolan Berg tells Brownfield that doesn’t mean it should be ignored. “If we’ve been getting rains in the last couple weeks and your soils are wet, you may be at […]
A crop protection specialist says many farmers are dealing with weeds that are increasingly difficult to control. Lynn Justesen, technical services lead for UPL, says weed management efforts are still in full swing across the country. “We’re doing our second and third trips on soybeans now,” he said
Collaborating to help improve herd health in the swine industry. Nebraska Pork Producers Association Executive Director Seth Mitchell says the industry would like to eliminate both Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and PED. “It’s an ambitious goal, but I think that’s where we as a
ADM says it will be making upgrades at four existing plants in the next three years, adding 700,000 metric tons of annual crush capacity. Storage improvements, optimization work and equipment upgrades are happening at the Frankfort, Indiana facility, expected to be completed by late 2028. There will
Mid-State Specialty Eggs is opening a new plant in mid-Missouri, expected to be online by the end of the calendar year. The company says this new facility in Sedalia will include state-of-the-art egg processing capacity, offering egg grading, breaking, along with processing whole eggs, egg whites, a
A group of researchers at Purdue University are looking to expand the use of biofuels in traditional diesel engines. Dr. Greg Shaver, professor of mechanical engineering, says the Purdue Biofuels Consortium is focused on creating new market opportunities for farmers. “The idea is to be able to take
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is searching for new groundwater sources in northeast Missouri to improve drought resilience. Scott Kaden with the Missouri Geological Survey-Water Resources Center is the project manager and technical lead for the effort. “The goal is to identify where i
Cash dairy prices were up Friday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Dry whey was up $0.01 to $0.6925. Two sales were reported ranging from $0.6925 to $0.6950. Forty-pound cheese blocks were down $0.04 to $1.5725. Fifteen sales were reported ranging from $1.53 to $1.5725. Cheese barrels were unchang
An agronomist is concerned as southern rust continues moving north. Grant Harms with Corteva Agriscience says the corn disease is blown in from the south and has been detected in Iowa. “So knowing that we have southern rust history in these regions of the bread basket doesn’t mean that we’re going t
Direct cash cattle business has been inconsistent this week, with scattered trade reported. So far, in the South, lived deals have been at mostly $231 to $232, which is $1 to $2 higher than the previous week’s weighted averages. Dressed deals have been at mostly $365, also steady with the prior week
An agronomy manager with Wyffels Hybrids says corn aphids are once again causing issues for some Midwestern farmers. Robby Meeker, who covers the eastern half of Illinois and all of Indiana, says the insects are blown into the region on stormfronts each season. “It seems to be isolated mainly to the
The chief atmospheric scientist with Nutrien Ag Solutions says strong El Nino weather patterns typically cause problems for farmers in South America. Eric Snodgrass says the warming of the waters in the central Pacific alters the jet stream and influences the main growing regions of Brazil. “Once th
The new CEO of the United Soybean Board says the organization is focused on creating new market opportunities for U.S. soy in 2027. Courtney Knupp says growing domestic demand is just one way to boost farmer profitability. “There’s a lot of versatility in this product,” she says. “That includes soy
An ag economist says the pork industry has reasons for optimism, but challenges remain. Matt Erickson with Terrain there are a few factors helping support prices. “Exports still remain above what we saw in 2025. That’s positive. I look at some of the other things like disease-related issues like PRR
Organized rainfall moving into the middle and upper Mississippi Valley will continue to shift eastward, delivering much-needed moisture for reproductive to filling corn and soybeans in the central and eastern Corn Belt. Storm-total rainfall should reach 1 to 3 inches in many areas of the Midwest. Si
August weather can make or break a soybean crop, and Andre Reis, a soybean specialist at the University of Missouri Extension, says he’s optimistic about how the month is expected to begin. He says weekly rains are needed to drive yield and rain is in the forecast. Hear more in this week’s Managing
The CEO of Pivot Bio says the reality of volatile input costs continue to weigh on farmers. Chris Abbott tells Brownfield it’s a different situation than previous years. “When you had the Russia and Ukraine conflict, you had commodity grain price go up at the same time. So you got a little bit of in
Corteva Agriscience is introducing a new herbicide available to soybean growers in 2027. Corteva technical field agronomist Ron Geis says Enclosa is a novel pre-plant and preemergence herbicide that controls broadleaf and grass weeds. “If giant ragweed is a problem, if bur cucumber is a problem, if
