July 3, 2025

Tar spot prevalent in 5 Iowa counties

A southwest Iowa farmer says he’s concerned about tar spot now that the crop disease has been detected in a nearby county. Ray Gaesser of Adams County tells Brownfield, “We are monitoring it. There was some in Audubon County a couple weeks ago. I haven’t heard of any close by here. All those kind of […] The post Tar spot prevalent in 5 Iowa counties appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Iowa fire departments can train at new facility built by the state

The Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau now has a state-of-the-art training tower at Camp Dodge in Johnston. State Fire Marshal Dan Brown’s office oversees the Training Bureau, which he says has been around for about 100 years. “During that one hundred year history, we’ve never had a permanent training facility like this, never had a […] View Full Story

Study shows corn farming a major driver for U.S. economy

The chief economist with the National Corn Growers Association says a new study shows corn farming is a major driver of the U.S. economy. Krista Swanson says it reaches over 500 different industry sectors in all 50 states. “In 2024, corn farmers in the United States grew 14.9 billion bushels of corn that was valued […] The post Study shows corn farming a major driver for U.S. economy appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Wisconsin budget supports ag exports, dairy processors, research, roads

Wisconsin’s dairy industry will continue to benefit from state budget investments.  Rebekah Sweeney with the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association tells Brownfield the budget provides $2 million in continued funding for the Wisconsin Initiative for Agricultural Exports (WIAE). “It’s been a tremendous return on investment. Last year, for instance, a 500-thousand dollar investment in dairy exporting […] The post Wisconsin budget supports ag exports, dairy processors, research, roads appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Nebraska farmer says there is plenty of uncertainty heading into the summer

A south-central Nebraska farmer says this is one of most unpredictable growing seasons in his career.    Michael Dibbern tells Brownfield margins have been a moving target and it became harder after the Israel and Iran conflict due an increase in fertilizer prices. “My concern going forward are these input prices and what they’ll do […] The post Nebraska farmer says there is plenty of uncertainty heading into the summer appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Global plant genetics company GDM to acquire AgReliant Genetics

Global plant genetics company GDM has announced its plan to acquire AgReliant Genetics. In a statement to Brownfield, AgReliant Genetics CEO Brian Barker says the agreement will enhance innovation abilities to help farmers address agronomic challenges.  Barker is expected to become GDM’s North American business leader. Upon completion, GDM would become the fourth largest corn […] The post Global plant genetics company GDM to acquire AgReliant Genetics appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Northern Iowa rains eliminate drought concerns

A north-central Iowa farmer says a wetter than normal June has made it difficult to get some field work done. Brent Renner tells Brownfield the week of June 23rd was especially wet. “A lot of four-inch reports and some fives in a 24-hour period,” he said. “That’s more than we’d like to see at one […] The post Northern Iowa rains eliminate drought concerns appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Weather forecast not bad for U.S. corn

A market analyst says the weather forecast looks favorable across the Corn Belt so far as the U.S. corn crop goes through pollination. Jody Lawrence with Strategic Trading Advisors tells Brownfield… “There’s no excessive heat and plenty of soil moisture. The Western Corn Belt got a lot of rain in the last week to 10 […] The post Weather forecast not bad for U.S. corn appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Grassley praises One Big Beautiful Bill ahead of final House vote

Lawmakers in the U.S. House have advanced President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill to a final vote. While the House continued debate on the legislation Thursday morning, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says the Senate’s version includes key wins for farmers and ranchers. “Including tax provisions like 199A,” he said. “It also prevents a dramatic increase […] The post Grassley praises One Big Beautiful Bill ahead of final House vote appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

U.S. and Japan work through trade negotiations

President Trump says Japan doesn’t want American grown rice and he’s threatened higher tariffs as a result. Arlan Suderman with Stone X Group says the message from President Trump is likely a point of leverage as trade negotiations continue. “To try and maybe get them to give on other points.” Suderman says the type of […] The post U.S. and Japan work through trade negotiations appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story