May 21, 2025

Widespread rainfall this week has brought much-needed relief to on-going drought conditions for some farmers in eastern Nebraska. Lukas Fricke of Ulysses, 90 minutes west of Omaha, says he received more than an inch of rain. “I cannot even describe it. It is so significantly dry. We’ve had to move a ton of soil to […] The post Eastern Nebraska farmers get rain, finally appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A north central Illinois farmer says the recent rains are welcomed. David Mool, who raises corn, soybeans, and cattle in northern McLean County, says the dry fall has continued into a relatively dry spring in his area. “Or wet periods have been few and far between or have been fairly variable.”  He says, “Yeah, we […] The post Rains welcomed appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Beck’s Hybrids is expanding its genetic research and corn breeding programs in the Western Corn Belt. President Scott Beck tells Brownfield a new 400-acre facility near Seward in Eastern Nebraska will help develop crops that are tolerant to the region’s climate. “This breeding station will help us identify products that can handle heat, drought, wind […] The post Beck’s Hybrids cuts ribbon on new Nebraska research facility appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

John Deere plans to invest $20 billion in the U.S. over the next decade. Chief Financial Officer Josh Jepsen tells Brownfield the announcement reiterates the company’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing. “Our roots are in manufacturing here in the U.S. we’re 188 years old. And the vast majority of that in the Midwest, really in Iowa […] The post John Deere to invest $20 billion in U.S. over next decade appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

U.S. ethanol production had a week-to-week increase. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production averaged 1.036 million barrels per day, rising 43,000 from the previous as some plants wrapped up seasonal maintenance and moving 17,000 above a year ago. Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development says estimated operating margins for the average […] The post Ethanol production rises as domestic supply dips appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The USDA’s next Cattle on Feed report is out Friday. Charley Martinez, University of Tennessee ag economist says, “I’m always interested to see just where we are in terms of total numbers.” He tells Brownfield that recently released reports from the USDA have noted the indefinite suspension of live cattle imports from Mexico. “I would […] The post Previewing Friday’s On Feed report from the USDA appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Interest in sustainable aviation fuel is soaring in Asia. Minnesota Soybean Growers executive director Joe Smentek recently traveled to Hong Kong as part of a USDA trade mission and says there were discussions about the carbon scores of SAF feedstocks. “Hong Kong is really interested in sustainable aviation fuel, so it’s really important to be […] The post Hong Kong interested in American-made SAF appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A small grains breeder at the University of Illinois says results from this year’s Illinois Wheat Association annual winter wheat tour are encouraging. “No news is good news.  We didn’t really see anything out of the ordinary.” Dr. Jessica Rutkoski says despite weather challenges the tour of roughly 20 southern Illinois counties shows a relatively […] The post Illinois wheat growers optimistic about ’25 crop appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story