January 31, 2025

The number of U.S. sheep and goats increased over the past year. The USDA says the sheep and lamb inventory was up slightly on the year, with gains in the breeding and market herds, ewes, and the lamb crop. Wool production in 2024 was down 1% from 2023 due to a lower number of sheep […] The post U.S. sheep, goat inventory rises appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The USDA’s ag prices indices moved higher in December. The index of prices received by farmers was up 5.3% from November thanks to gains in corn, calves, market eggs, and broilers against losses in hogs, milk, lettuce, and broccoli. The dairy index for December 2024 was down 3.7% from November, but up 14% from December […] The post December ag prices up from November appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A farmer leader with Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and Minnesota Milk says the newly approved updates to the federal milk marketing orders are just one step forward.  Lucas Sjostrom tells Brownfield. “No big surprise to us, and we advocated to our farmers, who are the only farmers in the whole country who had the individual vote, […] The post FMMOs set, but more work to do appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The USDA’s long-awaited Cattle Inventory report indicates further contraction of the U.S. herd is likely. At the start of 2025, the number of heifers weighing 500 pounds and heavier were 1% lower than at the start of 2024. That includes 1% year-to-year declines for beef, dairy, and all other replacement heifers. The number of calves […] The post U.S. cattle herd smaller, could continue to contract appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president of the Missouri Soybean Association says protecting water rights is at the top of the group’s legislative priorities. Renee Fordyce, who farms near Bethany, says proactive legislation has been introduced to safeguard the state’s water resources. “Missouri is a riparian state, which means anyone can come take our water.”  She says, “We’re good […] The post Water rights hot topic in Missouri appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The CEO of the Missouri Corn Growers Association says protecting trade relationships will be crucial to the ag economy. Bradley Schad tells Brownfield it’s vital that farmers are protected if U.S. agriculture is hit with retaliatory tariffs. “Making sure that our partners understand that we want free and fair trade,” he says.  “And making sure […] The post Protecting trade a priority appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Ongoing trade tensions and global conflicts are creating uncertainty around the future of U.S. agriculture. National Farmers Union president Rob Larew says the organization has long standing policy around the use of tariffs. “There are times when the use of tariffs can be appropriate and can be useful,” he says. “I think the challenge comes when […] The post Tariff concerns adding uncertainty to U.S. agriculture appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A grain merchandiser says he’s seen a flurry of soybean deliveries this month because of several factors. Jeff Johnston with Zeeland Farm Services tells Brownfield, “It’s almost like harvesting our plants, we actually had to have a few days where we had some plant shutdowns where we weren’t receiving beans because the plants were so full.” Johnston says […] The post Soybean processor sees surge in farmer selling appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story