December 4, 2024

A northwest Missouri farmer says weather challenges were the theme of his 2024 growing season. Nodaway County farmer Garrett Wood says it was the most difficult spring he’s ever experienced. “I’ve personally farmed for right at 20 years and it was really tough. We were super wet, then we turned off on a 40-day dry […] The post Missouri farmer reflects on challenging growing season, better than expected harvest appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A southern North Dakota farmer says the 2024 crop year went better than expected on his farm. Josh Gackle raises 2,800 acres of soybeans, corn, wheat, and barley near Kulm. “The soybean crop was so-so and the corn crop was pretty nice. Anytime we can finish up before Thanksgiving it feels pretty good. We avoid […] The post Better than expected harvest for North Dakota farmer appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Broiler hatchery numbers continue to point to higher production. The USDA says 247.672 million broiler-type eggs entered incubation last week, up 2.121 million from the prior week and 2% from a year ago as average hatchability remained around 80%. 189.191 million broiler-type chicks were placed into meat production, a rise of 1.402 million on the […] The post Broiler numbers hold to higher trend appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president of the American Farm Bureau Federation says declining farm incomes threaten the future sustainability of family farms. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall tells Brownfield, “We’re really concerned about some of our farmers being able to get operating loans this year, it’s been a very, very difficult time.” This week USDA forecast […] The post Farm Bureau president raises concerns about farm viability appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A regional sales agronomist with Stine Seed says many farmers are facing tough choices while finalizing plans for 2025. Jake Anderson, who covers the northern third of Illinois, says the down ag economy has many growers looking for ways to save. “If you’ve got really high fertility, I would hesitate to cut back on fertilizer […] The post Some farmers considering cost cutting options heading into 2025 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Farm Bureau members are not giving up on their call to Congress to act on the farm bill. Michigan Farm Bureau’s National Legislative Counsel John Kran tells Brownfield there are too many issues impacting the rural economy to give up on pressing Congress to pass legislation in the final days of their session. “We’ve got […] The post Farm Bureau says Congress still has time to act on the farm bill appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Field trials are helping sorghum growers figure when to apply fungicides to maximize yields. Kansas State University row crop specialist Rodrigo Onofre tells Brownfield research was done on three fields near Bavaria, Dighton and Russell. “We had a positive response from those fungicides either applying at planting or at beginning of flower from those applications,” he […] The post Research helping sorghum growers maximize yields and manage stalk rot appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A western Indiana pork producer says Proposition 12 can create new opportunities to market pork to consumers. Brian Martin says Martin Family Farms implemented loose sow housing in 2006 and they’ve seen the benefits. “Oriented correctly, we have seen a much more calm environment, properly managed,” he says. “We’ve seen it. It can be a […] The post A pork producer’s take on Prop 12 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

There’s more volatility in the cattle markets ahead.  Livestock economist Scott Brown says tight cattle supplies could get even tighter. “Given where we are on the cycle, we need every animal possible,” he says.  Last week, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service placed an import ban on live cattle from or passing through […] The post Import ban on live cattle from Mexico could add more uncertainty to cattle market appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story