Latest News From Ben Potter

The world’s soybean crop has grown by leaps and bounds since 1990, growing 231%. And “the U.S. and Brazil are in a neck-and-neck competition for the top spot,” according to ag economist David Widmar, writing for the Agricultural Economic Insights blog.

New options abound, but the fundamentals haven’t changed

Bob Utterback, president and CEO of Utterback Marketing Services, doesn’t often get called a bull when it comes to grain marketing. But even for him, sometimes the occasion absolutely calls for it, he jokes.

When the 2014 farm bill bumped the 2008 version, several changes occurred – most notably, eliminating Direct and Counter Cycle Payment (DCP) and Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) programs and replacing it with the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. How did farmers in different regions fare with these changes?

Bowery, an indoor farming company that deploys a lot of high-tech solutions – including propriety software systems, robotics and monitoring plants via machine learning – announces it has secured a Series A funding round of $20 million from several investors, including General Catalyst, GGV and GV.

Cover crops can be a wonderful addition to a farming operation, according to Randy McElroy, technology development representative with Monsanto. They do require some extra planning – starting with a different timetable than some farmers may be used to dealing with.

Last year, the National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) unanimously voted to start a national checkoff program that would fund industry research. This week, this goal took a big step forward as NAFA announces  its first-ever request for proposals (RFP) for its U.S. Alfalfa Farmer Research Initiative.

Is it just a cosmetic injury or a signal of real damage?

Did you know U.S. agricultural exports have been traded at a surplus every year since 1959? According to USDA-ERS economists Alex Melton and Bryce Cooke, U.S. ag exports have accounted for around 10% to 11% of total exports in recent years.

President Donald Trump has signed more than 30 executive orders during his first 100 days, and he hasn’t forgotten to get the agriculture industry and rural America involved. Earlier Tuesday, Trump signed the executive order, titled Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America, in front of newly installed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, a 14-member farmer roundtable and others.

Almost perfect – but not quite. That’s how many Midwest farmers would describe the weather so far in April. Temperatures have been amenable, but precipitation has put more than a few planting schedules on pause.

John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, reports that a shipment of rice will travel from the port of Houston/Galveston to the Republic of Cuba - the first shipment of its kind in a decade.

You can sell quite a lot of things on eBay – but you can’t sell corn and soybean bushels. You can sell them on a website called FarmLead, however. The online grain marketplace, which was started in Canada in 2013, hopes to expand significantly in the U.S. this year.

The share farmers receive for farm commodity sales for domestically produced food fell in 2015, the last year such data is available. On average, farmers receive 15.6 cents on each dollar consumers spend on food, according to recent reporting from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).  

The proclamation applauds our nation’s farmers as “endlessly innovative,” as well as being determined, self-reliant and a critical component to the nation’s future.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is no stranger to politics – in fact, after six terms, he’s the longest-serving governor in U.S. history. But his next role as ambassador to China could prove to be the challenge of a lifetime.

In a short statement issued earlier today, AGCO Corporation says it has reached “agreement in principle” to acquire the forage division of Lely Group. Lely’s forage lineup includes a broad range of equipment, including mowers, tedders, rakers, balers and more.

From 1971 to 1977, the EPA hired freelance photographers who ultimately took more than 15,000 photos relating to “environmental problems, EPA activities and everyday life in the 1970s.

Case IH announces it has added the 2160 Early Riser planter to its 2000 series planter portfolio. Farmers can choose from four configurations with a steerable Rowtrac Carrier System or traditional wheeled-carrier option in 32- or 36-row options.

White House officials familiar with the matter say President Donald Trump will sign a measure later today that directs regulators to review the embattled Waters of the United States rule – commonly known in the agriculture industry as WOTUS.

“Proper planter adjustment isn’t difficult, but it can be time consuming. Take some time before planting to make sure your planter is ready to operate at peak performance.”

John Deere says it has responded to small-grain producers who want to drill more acres per day by debuting its largest air cart to-date, the C850. The cart has an 850 bu. carrying capacity, which is 55% larger than previous models.

Since 2005, Swedish-backed Black Earth Farming has emerged as a major landowner in southwest Russia, holding more than 600,000 acres (244,000 hectares) as of 2015. But yesterday, the company announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its Russian operations, distribute the proceeds to its shareholders, and initiate a voluntary liquidation of the company.

Memphis-based AgLaunch Accelerator says it’s critical for agriculture to advance and adapt to keep up. With a fresh $50,000 investment, the group intends to put new technologies into farmers hands, faster.

Variable-rate planting has become easier than ever—here’s what you need to know.

USDA released its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report Feb. 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

AGCO Corporation announces it is bringing to market new White Planters 9800VE Series planters equipped with SpeedTube seed tubes from Precision Planting. This enables the planters to operate accurately at “nearly double traditional operating speeds,” according to Larry Kuster, AGCO senior product specialist.

An Australian family-owned ag machinery company is hoping to make a splash in the U.S. K-Line Ag recently announced it is launching a subsidiary company in North Dakota and will offer its Speedtiller line to U.S. and Canadian farmers.

New Holland Agriculture has announced an expansion of its implement product lines by way of its acquisition of the Grass and Soil business of Kongskilde Industries, part of the Danish Group Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab. This business develops, manufactures and sells tillage, hay and forage implements under various brand names.

It’s true falling farm incomes are pressuring cash rents. But rates typically move slowly. 

This week, an online battle is being fought 140 characters at a time. Three separate incidents sparked off the current agitation on Twitter.

At the very heart of agriculture is the drive to feed the world. AgTech is enabling farmers to do this more efficiently and effectively than ever, and major investors are watching closely.

The United States of America has a new president as of today, but that’s not the only change that happened. The whitehouse.gov website is now populated with Trump administration policy positions, and one of the first ones posted is titled “An America First Energy Plan.”

Much buzz has been generated over John Deere’s 2014 announcement that its ExactEmerge technology could plant accurately at 10 mph. The company has since been looking into other product segments that could get that same “need for speed” treatment.

It’s going to be c-c-c-cold in the Plains and Midwest this weekend. Kait Parker, meteorologist with The Weather Channel, has already been tracking dangerous wind chills as of Thursday, with more expected on the way. Find out which areas are at risk for wheat winterkill if they don't get adequate snow accumulations ahead of the tumbling temperatures. 

Lots of questions and even some answers emerge as the new administration takes shape.

The National Wheat Foundation recently announced the winners of its 2016 National Wheat Yield Contest – the first such challenge in twenty years. This year’s winners captured some truly bin-busting crops.

A 2016 Farm Journal Media equipment and machinery research study revealed that 78% of respondents don’t own or lease a self-propelled sprayer, and another 46% don’t own or lease a pull-behind sprayer. What’s holding them back?

Food production is a global effort, and officials at The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company, say they are willing to cross borders for good business opportunities. Climate recently announced it has acquired VitalFields, a farm management software company based in Estonia.

Hagie Manufacturing LLC has announced it is building a limited number of enhanced STS16 Self Propelled Sprayers. New for 2017, the 1,600-gallon sprayer will include a 375 HP 9.0-liter John Deere PowerTech PSS engine, along with several other improved features.

Charles (Chuck) Grassley has served Iowans in the U.S. Senate since 1981, and citizens of the Hawkeye State have once again reelected him, this time for his 7th Senate term.

It’s mere days from the 2016 presidential election, but that’s far from the only race on the ballot. And some of these down-ticket House of Representatives races are currently running neck-and-neck. Thanks to a pair of online resources, you can easily find out where all the close races are happening.