There is no shortage of data available to farmers today. The challenge is turning all that information into action that can make a difference in the field. At the 2026 Farm Progress Show, Brownfield talked with Kyle King, Head of Digital Farming, North America, for xarvio FIELD MANAGER with BASF, ab
The crop claims manager with COUNTRY Financial says harvest season is one of the most important times of year for farmers to communicate with their crop insurance agent. Dylan Houser says a summer of rough weather means crop insurance claims are likely for many farmers this year. “So, if you suspect
Kubota has built its reputation on equipment that is simple, reliable and practical, and now the company is taking a thoughtful approach to bringing new technology to its machines. At the 2026 Farm Progress Show, Brownfield talked with Brent Newkirk, Product Manager for Work Smart AutoSteer at Kubot
A United Soybean Board director sees livestock consumption as a cornerstone of soybean demand. Laurie Isley farms in Michigan and says USB continues to study usage. “Particularly with the hog industry looking at how soybeans can not only help with rate of gain, but can also help with some of the hea
A climatologist says crops in the western and northwestern Corn Belt could see some of the greatest drought-related impacts this growing season. “Parts of the Dakotas, Southern Minnesota, even into portions of Wisconsin, Northwest Iowa, Northeast Nebraska. There’s been a pocket of the region that re
Midwest Dairy is highlighting the role that nutrition has in consumer diets at this year’s Nebraska State Fair. Ashely Larson says there are several exhibits that demonstrate its importance. “We really focus on the high protein aspect of dairy where you get your protein and it’s keeping you fuller l
Standing beside a soybean plot at the 2026 Farm Progress Show, Brownfield got a firsthand look at technology designed to tackle one of the challenges farmers often can’t see until it’s already causing damage – nematodes. BASF’s Nemasphere™ nematode resistance trait is designed to help protect soybea
U.S. ethanol exports remain on a record pace more than halfway through 2026. The Renewable Fuels Association says ethanol exports during July were down 3% from June at 199.5 million gallons, while the year-to-date pace is 13% faster than 2025’s all-time high at 1.41 billion gallons. Canada was the t
The director of the University of Missouri’s Food and Ag Policy Research Institute says farmers are expected to receive sizeable farm program payments from the USDA this fall. “You’ll have corn payments which are significant and cotton payments which are large as well, but it’ll be across the board.
The senior dairy analyst with Terrain says the expansion of large-scale dairy farms is changing the structure of the industry. Ben Laine says there are fewer farms but more milk is being produced. “If you can milk more cows and spread out your overhead costs across a larger herd, you tend to have a
New Holland is bringing artificial intelligence to the forage harvester with technology designed to keep the machine dialed in as conditions change. The new FR920 Forage Harvester, with 911 horsepower, uses ForageCam and AI-driven technology to continuously monitor crop and machine conditions and au
An extension agronomist with Iowa State University says weather conditions this summer have been conducive to several corn diseases. However, Rebecca Vittetoe, who covers the east central part of the state, says the variable weather has played in farmers’ favor. “I could find northern corn leaf flig
Odds are increasing that Hurricane Lowell will result in adverse weather conditions—including high winds, heavy rain, and a storm surge—across Hawaii’s western populated islands, Lihue and Niihau, near the end of Labor Day weekend. Lowell is not expected to make landfall but should pass just to the
Ad hoc government assistance has become an increasingly important part of the farm safety net. Alejandro Plastina, the director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at the University of Missouri, says ad hoc payments accounted for about 12 percent of net farm income from 2018 through
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were higher on technical buying, feeders did have additional support from the weakness in corn. October live cattle closed $4.12 higher at $214.30 and December live cattle closed $4.410 higher at $216.12. October feeder cattle closed $6.72 h
Soybeans were modestly higher on fund and technical buying. Near-term finishing weather looks hot and dry in large parts of the region, potentially limited yield in those areas. Assuming solid domestic crush demand and strong new crop export business hold, any significant crop loss would have a big
An ag researcher says farmers can start planning management changes that could help them benefit from 45Z Clean Fuel Production tax credit. Michigan State University’s Bruno Basso tells Brownfield, “I think the biggest and the lowest hanging fruit is to optimize nitrogen management because that has
Dec. corn $5.40 and 3/4, down 2 and 3/4 centsNov. soybeans $13.16 and 1/4, up 6 centsOct. soybean meal $348.60, up $5.70Oct. soybean oil 69.63, down 101 pointsDec. Chicago wheat $7.54 and 1/4, down 19 and 3/4 centsOct. live cattle $214.30, up $4.12Oct. feeder cattle $321.10, up $6.72Oct. lean hogs $
A pair of agricultural economists with the University of Illinois say they expect most farmers to continue to face tight margins in the 2027 crop. During a recent FarmDoc webinar, Gary Schnitkey says market prices for both corn and soybeans have improved over the past month and project positively. “
There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the Trump administration’s plan to import up to 300,000 metric tons of beef. Josh Maples, an ag economist with Mississippi State University Extension says, “How much of this is actually new beef versus beef that was coming anyway, and we just don’t
The Michigan House Agriculture Committee Chair says new legislation would allow sales of E15 gas year-round. Representative Jerry Neyer tells Brownfield split state regulations currently prevent eight counties from selling E15 during the summer unless waivers are granted. “It was done for pollution
2026 corn and soybean production could end up being highly regional. Rich Nelson, chief strategist for Allendale Inc., tells Brownfield the results of their annual yield survey generally show the impact of widespread dry weather in parts of the Western Corn Belt, with two states standing out for cor
The organic grain mentorship coordinator with The Land Connection says a long-awaited financial assistance opportunity is now open for organic producers. Kaite Bishop says the USDA is accepting applications for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program. “For 2025 and 2026, so there had been some
A group of Republican lawmakers has asked President Trump to implement policies that expand market access and create certainty for cattle producers. But, Congressman Adrian Smith tells Brownfield, the recent announcement to import foreign beef in an attempt to lower consumer prices was the wrong mov
The U.S. Meat Export Federation says Mexico’s trade restrictions following a recent scrapie detection has limited market access for U.S. sheep and lamb producers. Courtney Heller, director of technical and export services, says the move has added additional uncertainty for the industry. “We don’t ha
Cash dairy prices were mostly up Thursday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Dry whey was up $0.01 to $0.75. One sale was reported at that price. Forty-pound cheese blocks were up $0.0025 to $1.4775. Four sales were reported ranging from $1.47 to $1.4775. Cheese barrels were unchanged at $1.5325. N
In this Farm Progress Show interview, Brownfield’s Brent Barnett meets with Grant Kimberley and Brent Swart from the Iowa Soybean Association about the state of US soybean exports and the 2026 growing season for soybean growers. The post Soybean exports, crop quality top of mind for Iowa Soybean Ass
Farmer suicide and mental health are the focus of a new six-part limited television series. Sam Goldberg is the creator and producer of Perfect Sundays. “Perfect Sundays is about a family grappling with the recent suicide of their patriarch, but they’re picking up the pieces and they’re trying to re
At the 2026 Farm Progress Show, Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig met with reporters to announce a new record cover crop cost-share signup, nearly tripling cover crop acres in the Greater Des Moines Watershed. The Secretary was also asked about beef producer sentiment, MCOOL and voluntary meat product lab
September is rice month in Missouri, with the official proclamation made this week in the Missouri Bootheel. Mollie Buckler with USA Rice works closely with the Missouri Rice Council and tells Brownfield “Missouri is fourth in the nation historically for rice production. Typically, around 200,000 ac
