January 9, 2025

An associate professor at Purdue University says robotics could help farmers increase efficiency to advance their operations. Jian Jin says LeafSpec is a plant phenotyping device. “It’s very labor intensive for humans to operate this kind of the sensor in the field,” he says. “We need to develop the robots to help deploy those sensors […] The post How robotics is helping shape the ag tech space appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An Iowa farmer is growing a business she describes as an online farmer’s market for meat.  Katie Olthoff of Stanhope says she co-founded Chop Local during the pandemic because so many Midwestern farmers could not get their livestock to market. “They were looking for more ways to connect with their customers, and we knew that […] The post Chop Local an online farmer’s market for meat appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The state climatologist for Iowa says he’s concerned about river levels heading into spring. Justin Glisan with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says he’s closely monitoring the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. “We turned the faucet on somewhat in November and December. We did see some rebound in inland streams, but the larger […] The post Low river levels top of mind for Iowa’s state climatologist appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza in the eastern part of the state. A backyard flock in Oakland County has tested positive for the virus, the first flock in the county with a confirmed case since 2022 and Michigan’s eighth case in the past 30 days. The […] The post Backyard poultry HPAI positive in eastern Michigan  appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A U.S. Representative from Iowa says she’s focusing on several ag-related issues in 2025. Republican Ashley Hinson says farmers will need more certainty when it comes to agricultural trade. “The past four years we’ve had an administration that has not prioritized trade and those opportunities for our producers,” she said. “I’m looking forward to working […] The post Rep. Hinson outlines 2025 ag priorities appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Cash dairy prices were steady to lower Thursday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  Dry whey remains unchanged at $0.74.  No sales were recorded.  Forty-pound cheese blocks were down $0.0175 at $1.8975. Three sales were recorded at that price.  Cheese barrels were unchanged at $1.87.  No sales were recorded.  Butter was unchanged at $2.60. No sales were […] The post Cash dairy prices steady to lower Thursday appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

District 16 State Representative Kendell Culp says 2025 is a budget year and Indiana agriculture will have to compete for limited resources and funding.  He tells Brownfield, “Coming from local government myself, with my background as a county commissioner in Jasper County, I think it’s important to realize that you have to have adequate funding […] The post The challenges of a budget year in the General Assembly appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The inaugural Midwest Meat Summit is underway in Des Moines. Margaret Chamas with Practical Farmers of Iowa says the event is all about making connections across the entire value chain. “People producing the live animals on the ground, all the way through the people selling it to or serving it to people who are eating […] The post Midwest Meat Summit kicks off in Des Moines appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is criticizing the EPA for how it verifies the integrity of used cooking oil imports. The Iowa Republican says the agency recently revealed it relies on foreign records to prove the product meets Renewable Fuel Standard requirements. “However, EPA can independently or definitively determine the authenticity of the product. The EPA […] The post Grassley critical of EPA over used cooking oil imports appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story