Favorable crop yields in southeast Iowa, farmer says

A farmer in southeastern Iowa says his 2025 harvest was near his five-year average. Tim Meyer tells Brownfield, “Lot of 225 to 250 bushel corn on our farm, so you sure can’t be disappointed in that. The beans were consistently 70 to 75.” He says he was especially pleased with his corn-on-corn acres. “I do…Continue Reading

Fast harvest in central Iowa

A central Iowa farmer says he was pleasantly surprised by the pace of this year’s harvest season. Morey Hill raises corn and soybeans near Madrid. “I thought from all the rain and humidity we had in July that it would take a while for things to dry down. But boy it seems like we hit…Continue Reading

Hemp growers urge lawmakers to fix regulations instead of ending industry

A pair of Illinois hemp growers say legislation included in the Senate bill to reopen the federal government would erase a multi-billion-dollar industry. “If they sign that bill into law, they’ll have outlawed everything in my shop.” Stacy McCaskill founded Hempstock Pharms in Woodstock in 2019 and says the bill’s limits of .4 milligrams of…Continue Reading

HPAI outbreaks expanding across Michigan

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is reporting several additional cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The state says three commercial flocks in Ottawa County have been confirmed with the virus, bringing the county’s total to 10 for the year, mainly on commercial turkey operations. Two backyard flocks have also been confirmed in…Continue Reading

Communication is key throughout the succession planning process

An associate attorney at Ag and Business Legal Strategies says it’s never too early to take the first step in the succession planning process. Austin Peiffer says communication is key.  “Those conservations are hard, and they can be uncomfortable, but it’s worse when they don’t happen,” he says. “A death in the family is a difficult and stressful time. If you add on a…Continue Reading

Cash dairy prices mixed Wednesday

Cash dairy prices were mixed Wednesday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  Dry whey was unchanged at $0.75.  No sales were recorded.  Forty-pound cheese blocks were down $0.08 at $1.5525.  Four sales were recorded, ranging from $1.5775 to $1.6275.  Cheese barrels were down $0.03 at $1.6450.  No sales were recorded.  Butter prices were unchanged at $1.50.…Continue Reading

Peel: cattle herd may stay low into 2026

An ag economist says it will be January before more details are known about what’s happening with the U.S. cattle herd. The size of the U.S. cattle herd remains at its lowest point in 75 years. “We’ll see when we get the next January 1 numbers whether we actually stabilize the herd at the current…Continue Reading

Little change in bill language to reopen government

A Wisconsin Congressman says the spending bill he and other House members will vote on has no major changes and could have been passed in September.  Republican Derrick Van Orden represents the Third Congressional District. He tells Brownfield, “It’s the same one with a different date. Now, what they’ve added are ag appropriations, which I’m…Continue Reading

Playlist