March 18, 2026

A member of the Board of Governors with the Illinois Beef Association says education is a key to sustaining consumer demand for beef. Betsy Pech, who was a long-time agriculture education teacher that also raises Hereford cattle in Logan County, tells Brownfield, “Especially right now with beef at an all-time high, both on markets and […] The post Consumer education key piece of sustaining beef demand appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Broiler hatchery numbers continue to point towards higher production in 2026. The USDA says 253.714 million broiler-type eggs were set into incubators, up 1.352 million on the week and 2% on the year, with the average rate of hatchability rising fractionally to 78.7%. 196.116 million broiler-type chicks were placed into meat production, an increase of […] The post Broiler hatchery numbers up sharply on week and year appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A California dairy farm is contesting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s linking of their raw milk cheese to a multi-state E. coli outbreak. The FDA says over a span of six months, seven people from California, Florida, and Texas were confirmed to have Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. More than half of the illnesses are in […] The post RAW FARM challenges FDA after raw milk cheese cited for multistate E. coli outbreak appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Several ag groups have urged the Trump administration to ease fertilizer import constraints due to rising input costs and supply disruptions. Lesley McNitt, vice president of public policy with the National Corn Growers Association, says the recent import duties on Morocco have led to price increases for U.S. farmers. “Since the phosphate duties have been put in place, […] The post Ag groups pushing for long-term action as fertilizer supply concerns continue to rise appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A U.S. Senator from Missouri says he’s expecting a response soon from fertilizer companies and the U.S. Attorney General as to whether there’s been price gouging or market manipulation during the Iran conflict. Josh Hawley tells Brownfield “I want to know why it is fertilizer prices are just skyrocketing, doubling or tripling from where they […] The post Hawley demands transparency, DOJ probe into soaring fertilizer prices appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The CEO of the Missouri Soybean Association says there’s no silver bullet to fix rising input costs in agriculture. Casey Wasser tells Brownfield the issue has been building for years. “This is a problem, if not addressed soon, is going to plague the next generation.” Ad-hoc assistance from the USDA is helping farmers in the […] The post No quick fix for rising farm input costs appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The U.S. ethanol supply moved higher over the past week as demand dipped. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says ethanol stocks were the largest since April 2025 at 26.407 million barrels, up 827,000 on the week, partially due to production running ahead of average, but down 168,000 on the year. Ethanol production averaged 1.093 million […] The post Ethanol stocks close to one year high as demand, production decline appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story