Farmers watching Panama Canal issues

U.S. farmers and agricultural groups are closely watching developments around the Panama Canal. Mike Steenhoek is with the Soy Transportation Coalition. He says, “Soybeans are the number one agricultural customer of the Panama Canal. We typically ship at least 600 million bushels of soybeans through the Panama Canal every year en route to our customers…… Continue Reading

Protocols in place to allow live cattle imports from Mexico to resume

Imports of live cattle from Mexico are set to slowly resume this week after a two-month pause following the detection of New World Screwworm on Mexico’s southern border.   Ethan Lane, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, says this is good news.  “The protein supply chain is tight at the…… Continue Reading

NASDA outlines 2025 policy priorities

One of the big priorities for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in 2025 is state cooperative agreement funding. The farm bill, food systems, pesticide regulations, and PFAS round out the organization’s list of priorities. RJ Karney is NASDA’s senior director of public policy. “The federal and state cooperative agreements are designed to…… Continue Reading

Research finds deer prefer sweeter soybean varieties

Researchers are studying the taste preferences of deer to help mitigate crop damage. Michigan State University’s Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center Director James DeDecker tells Brownfield linking bear damage in corn silage trials to sugar levels has opened the door for more wildlife mitigation research. “The bears were preferring the sweeter, more sugary hybrids, and…… Continue Reading

Michigan FFA Foundation grants in high demand

The director of the Michigan FFA Foundation says the demand for agriscience grants has significantly increased. Alex Schnabelrauch tells Brownfield, “Since 1994, the Glassbrock grants have been awarded to chapters, and this year we had 31 schools across the state apply for just nine awards.” The $22,500 in funding will support educational resources for experiential…… Continue Reading

American Bankers Association outlines farm bill priorities

The senior vice president of agricultural and rural banking policy with the American Bankers Association says the industry has several goals for the next farm bill. Ed Elfmann tells Brownfield, “Here’s our farm bill priorities.”  He says, “Increasing the guaranteed loan limits, modifying the beginning farmer and rancher programs fixing something called the Down Payment…… Continue Reading

Minnesota farmer frustrated no new farm bill in 7 years

A central Minnesota farmer is frustrated Congress has not passed a new farm bill since 2018. Roy Schneider operates a diversified crop and livestock farm near Foley. “It is a little frustrating to see that we’re just not getting the job complete, I’m disappointed. But I’ve seen enough politics (to) understand that there’s a bit…… Continue Reading

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