Nate Birt  

Farm Journal Welcomes Social Media and News Editor

Nate Birt is an online journalist who spends his days interacting with Farm Journal Media fans on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. He also covers the machinery and irrigation beats for Farm Journal and AgWeb.com.

Nate is a graduate of the University of Missouri, where he received a master’s in journalism and bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science. He has worked as a web producer for the Detroit Free Press; news and online editor at the Boonville (Mo.) Daily News; and local editor for AOL’s Patch.com community news websites in St. Louis. He joined Farm Journal Media this fall.

Nate and his family live in Mexico, Mo.

Send story ideas to nbirt@farmjournal.com. You can follow him and other editors on Twitter @FarmJournal or @AgWeb or drop in at www.Facebook.com/FarmJournal or www.Facebook.com/AgWeb.

Quotes of Note

"The market is saying plant more corn. Experience is saying don't plant more corn. It will be interesting to see what farmers do."—Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois

"It wasn’t too long ago that we had $5 corn. Farmers should not convince themselves that corn markets only have one direction to go." —Bob Utterback, Farm Journal Economist

"Americans could not be more clear … they want us to create jobs and reduce the deficit. If Congress can pass the farm bill, it will create the momentum we need to solve the challenges our country faces." —Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

Stat Rack

Corn yields took a wild ride this year. The following numbers show the plunge USDA’s monthly crop production estimates took as the crop developed.

166 bu. May corn yield estimate

166 bu. June corn yield estimate

146 bu. July corn yield estimate

123.4 bu. August corn yield estimate

122.8 bu. September corn yield estimate

122 bu. October corn yield estimate

122.3 bu. November corn yield estimate

AgWeb provides coverage and commentary of each month’s USDA report at www.AgWeb.com/usda_reports

What a Day! Hot Forage Market

Driving down Highway 46 in North Dakota, a motorist saw this flaming semi load of hay on the side of the road. He helped the driver unhook the truck and trailer, just as volunteer firefighters arrived to put the fire out. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

 If you’ve had one of those days—or caught someone else’s on film—we’d love to share it with our readers. E-mail high-resolution images to sbrown@farmjournal.com, or mail prints to What a Day!, Farm Journal, P.O. Box 958, Mexico, MO 65265. Photos for publication will be selected on a first-come basis.

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