News
Today’s agriculture headlines and expert perspectives serving farmers, ranchers, crop consultants, livestock nutritionists and the entire U.S. ag community.
Biofuels are responsible for 10% of the inflation in food values, and the high volatility in the agricultural commodity markets is likely to continue through 2009, USDA Chief Economist Joseph Glauber says.
Watch and hear about new name and numbering system John Deere is incorporating. Farm Journal Machinery Editor Margy Fischer was in Sarasota, Fla. last week for the Deere roll-out of some of its new technology.
DOJ not blocking Smithfield purchase, however
Got sprouts? Wet conditions and tight husks are causing some kernels to sprout in the ear. Here’s what it means.
Jim Bower, president of Bower Trading, talks about what the election means to commodities.
Democratic Party to confront challenging agenda
Excessive rains across the Plains could be jeopardizing the health of the U.S. hard red winter wheat crop, analysts at weather research firm Planalytics say.
Corn cobs could soon contribute to the nation’s fuel supply. Poet is currently expanding its corn ethanol facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa, into one of the world’s first cellulosic ethanol plants. Once complete in 2011, Project Liberty, will produce 125 million gallons of ethanol per year, with 25 million gallons coming from corn cobs.
Fieldwork came to a halt across North Dakota in recent days as a barrage of ice and snow brought more complications to an already slow harvest pace, according to AgWeb Crop Comments.
Persistent drought is draining resources from farmers and ranchers in several counties across the Lone Star State with the inadequate field moisture deteriorating crop quality and forcing ranchers to dip into their supplemental feed stocks prematurely.
A farm economy that’s swung from unparalleled optimism to uncertainty in just a matter of months might appear to be a repeat of two decades ago, but there’s more to the story than meets the eye, said two Purdue University agricultural economists.
CQ now adds president of National Black Farmers Assn. as among Ag Secretary possibilities
Expect an accident. But give your children an edge to help with the fender benders. It’s a great responsibility and a very exciting moment, driving for the first time. There is a lot to learn about Anti-Lock Brakes, air bags, defensive driving and distractions.
Knowing your soil water-holding capacity is essential to setting realistic yield goals
Look for more ethanol plant bankruptcies soon. Mark Lakers, president of Ag and Food Associates, an Omaha, Neb., middle market merger and acquisitions investment bank, expects as many as 40 Chapter 11 filings by the end of January.
No producer wants to throw away money, especially when the majority of input costs are on the rise. As harvest time approaches, many producers will be flipping the switch on their grain bins and watching their energy bills soar. Tom Dorn, extension educator with University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County, provides advice on how to avoid common and costly mistakes when drying grain.
How long will it take Obama administration to change U.S. trade policy toward Cuba?
Corn basis at -45¢ and soybeans in the -90¢ area have a lot of growers up in arms—and wondering if cash prices have lost all relationship to futures.
Corn and soybean basis levels were higher this week as sharply lower barge rates and a slow-paced corn harvest helped fuel the gains. For the week, corn basis was up 4-cents a bushel while soybean basis levels climbed 10 cents on average around the country.
The transportation bill for barge operators on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers is skyrocketing. Currently, barge rates are at their highest mark since 1990. Seasonable demand, late harvests, damaged crops, and a shrinking barge fleet are all to blame.