Seasonal warmth, heat & rainfall to continue across most of the Heartland

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for the likelihood of near- or above-normal temperatures nationwide, except for cooler-than-normal conditions in the Pacific Northwest.  Meanwhile, near- or above-normal rainfall across much of the eastern half of the U.S., as well as the nation’s northern tier, should contrast with drier-than-normal weather in southern Florida and…Continue Reading

Wean-to-finish pig mortality trending the wrong way

A swine veterinarian says mortality rates in wean-to-finish pigs are on the rise. Dr. Dave Baumert is with Zoetis Pork. “Pigs from the time they start in the nursery to when they eventually go to market, mortality if we looked at those numbers ten to fifteen years ago they were bouncing about six percent. The…Continue Reading

Cattle futures mostly lower heading into Friday

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle closed mostly lower, watching direct business develop.  August live cattle closed $1.07 lower at $216.95 and October live cattle closed $.67 lower at $214.35.  August feeder cattle closed $.17 higher at $311.25 and September feeder cattle closed $.25 lower at $310.55.  It was a solid day…Continue Reading

Corn ekes out modest post-WASDE gain

Soybeans were lower on commercial and technical selling. The USDA made no changes to the domestic supply and demand tables this month, with not a lot of adjustments on the global side of the ledger either. CONAB did increase its soybean production guess for Brazil to 169.606 million tons on an improved yield estimate. CONAB’s…Continue Reading

Pipeline veto draws mixed landowner reactions

Farmers and landowners in Iowa have had mixed reactions to Governor Kim Reynolds’ veto of a bill that would have limited the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines. “Eminent domain is not good for rural Iowa, said Lee Tesdell, a landowner from Slater. Tesdell says the governor’s veto is disappointing. “The CO2 pipeline would…Continue Reading

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