August 22, 2025

A leading educator on raising dairy calves has died. Dr. Robert Elliott James, best known as Dr. Bob, helped start the Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association, now known as the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association.  The former Virginia Tech professor and consultant with Down Home Heifer Solutions was instrumental in developing DHIA’s Gold Standards for […] The post Dr. Bob James dies appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Red meat and poultry supplies in cold storage are tighter than a year ago. The USDA says red meat stocks on July 31st, 2025 fell 5% on the year at 825.569 million pounds, with an 11% drop in pork more than canceling out a 1% rise in beef. As both beef and pork production during […] The post Red meat, poultry in cold storage below last year appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The USDA says 1.598 million cattle were placed into U.S. feedlots during July 2025. That was 6% below July 2024, reflecting tighter available supplies, partially because the U.S. border with Mexico remains closed to feeder cattle imports due to New World screwworm concerns. That was towards the high end of pre-report estimates and included a […] The post Cattle placements at high end of estimates appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Red Crown Rot has been confirmed for the first time in Ohio. OSU Extension soybean pathologist Horacio Lopez-Nicora says it has similar foliar symptoms to Sudden Death Syndrome. “The leaves retain that green color in the veins, but in between those veins, the tissue starts getting yellow and will eventually die,” he says. “The stem itself […] The post Red Crown Rot confirmed in Ohio for the first time appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president of the Iowa Foundation for Agricultural Advancement says their organization is committed raising funds for ag youth. Matt Heiller tells Brownfield IFAA rewards the hard work of grand champion and reserve grand champion livestock projects at the Iowa State Fair. “Every day they are spending in the barn – as a family, down […] The post IFAA continues mission to provide funds for ag youth appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A cropping systems agronomist encourages farmers to plant winter wheat in narrow rows to gain yield. Michigan State University’s Manni Singh tells Brownfield, “We have a lot of data showing that going to rows narrower than 7.5 inches in winter wheat, (to) 5-inch row spacings, does pay off.” “It can give you five to 10 […] The post Consider narrow rows when planting wheat appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The laboratory director for Farmers Edge says soil testing can help farmers manage their fertilizer expenses. Patrick Visser tells Brownfield soil tests can provide a detailed analysis of nutrient levels in crop fields. “Combining soil testing with a great agronomy program can certainly improve your yields, maximize yields where you’ve lost potential, address issues of […] The post Soil testing helps growers make timely, informed decisions appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A southeast Minnesota farmer is concerned about lodging as his corn crop matures. Jason Keck says there’s been plenty of moisture in Steele County this summer, which has helped the crop grow but limited root depth. “In southern Minnesota we’ve had two big wind events that’ve come through. We’ve seen some standability issues, it was […] The post Minnesota farmer concerned about corn lodging appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A policy advisor with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says farmland values surprisingly rose 3% in the second quarter of 2025 from a year earlier. David Oppedahl tells Brownfield, “With the financial conditions looking a little weaker for agriculture, you would maybe anticipate some more weakening of farmland values as well.”  He says, “But […] The post Second quarter land values spurred by development demand appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The owner of At East Orchard in central Indiana says the ag industry provides opportunities for veterans to thrive in life after service.  Joe Ricker tells Brownfield, “We’re an educational farm that helps veterans learn what they can do and what opportunities are out there for them. We have a little bit of everything from […] The post Indiana farmer says agriculture provides benefits to veterans  appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story