Corn
China’s historic buys last week seem to come with nervousness from other major importers. So, are the higher prices rationing demand? Analysts say it’s not happening with China, yet.
With the run-up in stock prices for GameStop, AMC and others, could corn, soybeans or cattle be next? Listen to what Tommy Grisafi of Advance Trading had to say about it on U.S. Farm Report this weekend.
China’s appetite for U.S. corn seems unstoppable. Just this week, daily sales of corn to China added up to a new record.
GrainCoat is a grain marketing tool designed for tracking inventory, and aimed at simple data entry and crop projection for multiple years: inventory, offers, contracts and management in one app.
An OSU corn plant just set a world record for the most agricultural data gathered in farming history for a single plant across an entire growing season.
Randy Dowdy says a gas line company is responsible for major topsoil losses on his record-breaking farmland.
Crops don’t wait for irrigation, and now means now when it’s time to water. Solid end-of-season irrigation maintenance goes a long way in preventing problems the following crop year during crunch-time. Before the grip of winter sets in, checks and repairs are vital.
Slugs are an accepted part of the bill for many agriculture operations, but as numbers rise, particularly in the Midwest, producers are reckoning with a new level of damage. A mild slug presence, sheltered by increasing no till acreage, can usher in a wave of replants, major yield loss and expensive bait control.
Numerous companies are pushing for elbow room at the ag data table, but long-term contracts may be cause for pause for many farmers.
The eastern half of the U.S. is plagued by 50 million acres of fragipan soil. Light in color, fragipan often starts at 1’ to 2’ below the surface and roughly averages 2’ to 4’ in thickness.
What Crop Tour years cling tightest to Chip Flory’s memory? Good, bad and unforgettable, Flory knows there is a meticulous method to the madness of Crop Tour.
Meet three farmers who are stepping back from a complete focus on bulk commodities and carving out personal brands to directly connect with consumers.
Smartphone video rolling, a Mississippi farmer was surprised to find a beaver hammering a quarter-acre of soybeans in broad daylight.
Randy Dowdy, Perry Galloway, David Hula, Kevin Matthews and Matt Miles have consistently produced some of the strongest yields in the history of agriculture. The five friends are separated by 1,000 miles of farmland, yet share a belief that today’s competitor may be tomorrow’s helping hand.
In 2014, Nathan Reed fought for financial breath even after skinning inputs one by one. No matter how he shifted the figures, the pencil always pointed to the glaring expense of biotech seed. With an eye on cost control, he began switching portions of his ground to non-GMO production supported by a minimum till cover crop scheme, and the change led to farm-wide profitability.
When Jack Shoup refused to pay late fees to the Iowa Soybean Association on tardy checkoff payments as the first purchaser of grain at Dinsdale Elevator, he drew a straight line in his Reinbeck dirt and prepared for a legal battle.
U.S. agriculture has a tremendous amount of skin at stake in an off-the-radar fight that may impact the future of groundwater regulations at federal, state and private levels.
Rob Sharkey’s Shark Farmer podcast is finding a hungry audience in agriculture and beyond, attracted by the take-no-prisoners attitude of his weekly show.
Dee River Ranch features a whole-farm irrigation system fed by a 110-acre reservoir. Five 150-hp pumps supply water to 18 pivots and one corner unit across 2,800 acres of corn and soybeans. The results since 2011? Corn profits ranging from $144-$1,093 per acre over non-irrigated ground, and soybean profits hovering between $115-215 per acre over non-irrigated ground.
Macronutrients and tissue testing are gospel in many parts of agriculture, but receiving a consistent, positive yield return on foliar-applied nutrients isn’t backed by replicated research, according to University of Arkansas Extension personnel.
Randy Dowdy shattered soybean records in 2016 after a 171.7 bu. per acre yield with a UniSouth Genetics 74A74 variety. Dowdy’s corn was also exceptional, with four separate AgriGold varieties each significantly surpassing the 450 bu. per acre mark. Here’s how he did it.
Z-Trap 1 is an electronic insect trap allowing for remote monitoring of pest problems. The automated process of capturing and counting insects carries the potential for labor savings and greater accuracy of pesticide applications.
A field of weeds can pay better than a field of corn, and costs almost nothing to produce. No inputs, no sweat equity, no management, no harvest, but plenty of profit in a scheme plucking millions from the pockets of U.S. taxpayers. Percy Carroll and a growing number of Texas farmers say a crop insurance racket is hiding in plain sight.
Ducks are a hunter’s sweetest dream, but can be a farmer’s nightmare akin to flying time bombs expelling rapid-fire payloads of resistant weed seed. Wonder where the next pigweed outbreak will come from? Listen for quacks and honks, and look up. Waterfowl may be a significant source of resistant weed spread.
Hell or high water, producers are often forced to chase markets. However, solid data stacked over multiple years shows the peaks and troughs of a consistent crop rotation system.
Sunlight into energy means fuel for plant growth – the crucial role of phosphorous in crop fields. Cell elongation and division may be the proper scientific description, but a simplified explanation is a better fit: Phosphorus cranks up plant horsepower.
Timing and location are crucial when applying phosphorus to crops. Depending on soil type and condition, application should parallel plant needs to utilize space and tools available.
Good data is the cornerstone of zone management. Management zones must be identified and not created, advised presenter Isaac Ferrie at the 2015 Farm Journal Corn College in Heyworth, Ill.
Peter Blezard believes the most significant technological leap in agriculture for 100 years is waiting on the cusp of farmland -- nitrogen fixation. If he’s correct, agriculture may have an opportunity to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use by 50% in all major global food crops within a decade.
With three modes of action that provide corn rootworm control, Bayer’s SmartStax Pro will hit the market at a time when corn rootworm resistance is top-of-mind.