Cattle futures lower to start the holiday-shortened week

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were lower, feeders were sharply lower on technical selling.  The market battled rumors of a disease outbreak during part of the trading session, but once those rumors were dispelled, markets were able to move off the day’s lows.  A spokesperson for the USDA says the report that New…Continue Reading

Planting winding down in Iowa

Corn and soybean planting is winding down in Iowa. USDA’s latest weekly crop update shows corn at 95 percent planted and soybeans at 92 percent. Corn is 76 percent emerged, with 83 percent rated in good to excellent condition. Soybean emergence reached 60 percent, and 80 percent is considered good to excellent. The first cutting…Continue Reading

Early indicators suggest farm labor cost  increases ahead

The Great Lakes Ag Labor Services general manager says inconsistencies in the USDA’s latest farm labor survey continue to trouble farm employers. Sarah Black tells Brownfield, “You could be in a room with 100 farmers and ask them  who got the farm labor survey, and you might be lucky if one raises their hand.” She…Continue Reading

Wisconsin farmer says corn looking very good, soybeans okay

A southern Wisconsin farmer says his corn looks good, but the soybeans are struggling a little. Ryan Nell raises crops on 22-hundred acres near Juneau, Wisconsin.  He tells Brownfield planting was delayed a few times by wet weather, and the nearby tornado from nearly two weeks ago brought minimal damage and rain. “We got an…Continue Reading

Concerns remain about the future of conservation program funding 

A program associate with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy says the future of conservation funding remains in limbo.   Michael Happ says some farmers enrolled in conservation programs still haven’t received their payments. “A farmer might be going into their USDA office just for some help, but USDA has determined in the past that these…Continue Reading

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