A U.S. Representative from Iowa says the ag industry deserves the certainty of a new five-year farm bill. Republican Randy Feenstra tells Brownfield many farmers at the 2024 Farm Progress Show expressed concerns about crop insurance. “When you’ve got corn at $3.60 and soybeans at $9.40, that’s a killer,” Feenstra said. “We’ve got to increase…… Continue Reading
Scout for tar spot in September
An agronomy manager with Wyffels Hybrids says tar spot scouting needs to be a priority as harvest approaches. Eric Wilson says many farmers have stepped up their management of the disease. “I feel like more farmers sprayed fungicide this year than they did a year ago with a better corn price,” he said. “That’s a…… Continue Reading
Iowa farmers discuss harvest timelines at Farm Progress Show
Some Iowa farmers say they’ll start harvesting crops in September while others plan to hold off until October. Davenport farmer Robb Ewoldt says he expects to get combines in the field in the next two weeks. “I think we’ll have some corn by the 15th of September,” he said. Brent Renner of Klemme tells Brownfield,…… Continue Reading
Nunn critical of Senate Ag Committee leadership over farm bill
A Republican member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee looking for progress on the farm bill is frustrated with Senate Ag Committee leadership. Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn says he and his colleagues in the House have worked hard on bipartisan legislation. “The Senate has kind of a laundry list of things they’ve talked about, very…… Continue Reading
Cover crop research explores supplemental N ahead of soybeans
University of Wisconsin teams are working on ways to help cover crops get established faster and stronger in the fall. Soybean specialist Shawn Conley tells Brownfield weather in northern states can make establishing a cover crop between harvest and frost challenging. “If you look at the total number of acres, we only have about 8%…… Continue Reading
Cattle, hog futures higher to end the week
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were up, supported by higher boxed beef during the session. October live cattle closed $.70 higher at $178.60 and December lives closed $.85 higher at $177.55. October feeder cattle closed $1.07 higher at $237.75 and November feeder cattle closed $.85 higher at $235.25. There was some…… Continue Reading
Soybeans, corn, wheat up ahead of Labor Day
Soybeans were higher on short covering and technical buying. It was a dry August in much of the region, leading to some concerns about yield. Still, a lot of Friday’s gains were end of the month, pre-holiday short covering as the trade is expecting a record yield, for now. Parts of the Midwest and Plains…… Continue Reading
Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: August 30, 2024
Sep. corn closed at $3.78, up 6 and 1/4 centsSep. soybeans closed at $9.82, up 8 and 1/4 centsSep. soybean meal closed at $311.60, up $5.00Sep. soybean oil closed at 43.14, down 3 pointsSep. wheat closed at $5.32 and 3/4, up 7 and 3/4 centsOct. live cattle closed at $178.60, up 70 centsSep. feeder cattle…… Continue Reading
Low Mississippi River levels again
A hydrologist with the National Weather Service in western Kentucky says water levels on the lower Mississippi River are low again as the new crop marketing year begins. Mary Lamm tells Brownfield it’s not unusual for this time of the year and she’s not too concerned yet. “It’s the third year in a row that…… Continue Reading
Delayed harvest in eastern South Dakota
A farmer in eastern South Dakota says he’s expecting a later-than-usual harvest for corn and soybeans this fall. Dave Ellens says it will likely be the end of September before soybean harvest begins, due to planting season delays and late-season rains, but it should be a better-than-expected soybean crop. “There’s a lot of four-bean pods…… Continue Reading
