A pest management expert says livestock producers should be thinking about fly control as temperatures warm up this spring. Gene Spellman, swine sales manager for Central Life Sciences, says fly populations are beginning to emerge. “There are multiple ways to evaluate the return on investment for controlling flies in a livestock environment. Horned flies alone…… Continue Reading
Herbicide plans impact profitability
A technical service representative with BASF says farmers are facing increased challenges from herbicide resistant weeds at a time when every bushel matters. Kurt Maertens, who covers eastern Iowa & western Illinois, says weed escapes impact the bottom line. “If we’re not getting them controlled, obviously they’re competing for that space, nutrients and water.” He…… Continue Reading
Record-breaking flood impacts Ohio River traffic
Recent heavy rain is impacting transportation on the Ohio River system. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says flooding was heaviest near Cincinnati as of Monday. Data from the Water Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association shows the river crested at 60.79 feet shortly after 4:00 pm Monday in Cincinnati, breaking a…… Continue Reading
Michigan dairy farmers invest in Whitecaps training center
Michigan dairy farmers have partnered with West Michigan Whitecaps to help train future Tiger baseball players. United Dairy Industry of Michigan’s Noelle Nachreiner tells Brownfield the dairy checkoff has worked with the Midwest League team for several years to promote the state’s top agricultural product. “This year we decided that we wanted to take that partnership a…… Continue Reading
Year-round E15 could help boost domestic corn demand
The president of the National Corn Growers Association says finalizing year-round access to E15 is another way to boost domestic demand for corn. Illinois farmer Kenneth Hartman Jr. tells Brownfield, “For every 1% that goes into ethanol, higher than the E10, it’s about 400 to 500 million bushels of corn, that would be ground. It’s…… Continue Reading
Nebraska farmer says there’s marginal drought improvement
A Northeast Nebraska farmer says drought conditions have improved slightly ahead of the growing season. “It’s not unlike what we’ve experienced the last couple of years, maybe just a little bit better than it was last year.” Greg Anderson grows soybeans near Newman Grove, and says the area received around an inch of rain recently.…… Continue Reading
Popular Illinois cover crop program faces cut
The executive director of the Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts says farmers across the state are speaking out about a proposed cut to a popular cover crop program. Eliot Clay says the “Fall Covers for Spring Savings” initiative would see $300,000 less next year in current budget proposals. “The state itself is…… Continue Reading
Cheese & butter higher Tuesday at CME
Cash dairy prices were steady-to-higher except for nonfat dry milk Tuesday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Dry whey was unchanged at $0.4925. No sales were recorded. Forty-pound cheese blocks were up $0.0325 at $1.7025. Eight sales were recorded, ranging from $1.67 to $1.7025. Cheese barrels were up $0.0750 at $1.7550. Two sales were recorded at $1.7450…… Continue Reading
University of Wisconsin offers help to growing food & farm businesses
Wisconsin food and farm businesses looking to expand or create value-added products have help available through the Universities of Wisconsin Office of Business Entrepreneurship. Paula Gilbeck tells Brownfield the Food Finance Institute, the Small Business Development Center, and the Center for Technology Commercialization have been around for years, but few businesses know about them. She…… Continue Reading
Grassley, Klobuchar ask EPA to raise RVOs
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says the U.S. EPA needs to raise Renewable Volume Obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard. “Under the Biden administration, RVO levels were set extremely low. As a result, we saw many biodiesel plants idled over the past two years.” The Iowa Republican says he’s joined a letter with Minnesota Democrat Amy…… Continue Reading
