Farm News

Cash dairy prices steady to lower Thursday

Thursday, January 9

Cash dairy prices were steady to lower Thursday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Dry whey remains unchanged at $0.74. No sales were recorded. Forty-pound cheese blocks were down $0.0175 at $1.8975. Three sales were recorded at that price. Cheese barrels were unchanged at $1.87. No...

Midwest Meat Summit kicks off in Des Moines

Thursday, January 9

The inaugural Midwest Meat Summit is underway in Des Moines. Margaret Chamas with Practical Farmers of Iowa says the event is all about making connections across the entire value chain. “People producing the live animals on the ground, all the way through the people...

Missouri invests in biofuels

Thursday, January 9

A loan officer with the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority (MASBDA) says the state is investing $3.4 million into the biofuels industry. Jacob Stoehr says it’s aimed at projects that increase the distribution and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel....

Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner

Thursday, January 9

Brownfield’s Mark Dorenkamp attends the Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner The post

Grassley critical of EPA over used cooking oil imports

Thursday, January 9

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is criticizing the EPA for how it verifies the integrity of used cooking oil imports. The Iowa Republican says the agency recently revealed it relies on foreign records to prove the product meets Renewable Fuel Standard requirements. “However, EPA can...

U.S. east coast, gulf port strike averted

Thursday, January 9

A U.S. Meat Export Federation official says Wednesday’s tentative agreement on a new longshoreman’s contract is tremendous news for all of agriculture. Joe Schuele tells Brownfield the unions representing the dock workers agreed on a wage increase in October and worked out their other...

Agriculture is a continued bright spot for Missouri

Thursday, January 9

Missouri’s Director of Agriculture says rural communities have benefited from the significant growth in the state’s agriculture business sector. Chris Chinn says she expects that to continue under Governor-elect Mike Kehoe’s administration. “But I think we’re also going to be going at a faster...

Food costs of HPAI likely underestimated

Thursday, January 9

A livestock economist says the ripple effects of highly pathogenic avian influenza are just beginning to move through the food supply chain. Michigan State University’s Bill Knudson tells Brownfield, “My gut feeling is that the USDA probably is underestimating the impact of avian influenza,...

Port strike averted, but economist says automation should be embraced

Thursday, January 9

A second U.S. port strike has been averted after the union representing 45,000 dockworkers on the east and Gulf Coasts struck a tentative deal Wednesday on a new six-year contract. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the key issue has been port workers fighting...

Most of Arkansas has adequate soil moisture

Wednesday, January 8

Arkansas started 2025 with good soil moisture levels. The USDA says recent rainfall in the state did saturate the ground and cause some flooding, but 95% of subsoil and topsoil have adequate to surplus soil moisture, most of that in the adequate category, which...

Illinois sees warm, wet end to 2024

Wednesday, January 8

December was warm and wet for most of Illinois. The USDA says the average statewide temperatures and precipitation were both above normal, boosting soil moisture and aiding winter wheat development. 69% of Illinois’ winter wheat crop is in good to excellent condition, compared to...

Improving demand supports dairy market outlook

Wednesday, January 8

An uptick in demand is supporting dairy markets. Naomi Blohm with Total Farm Marketing says an increase in milk production weighed on futures prices toward the end of 2024. “But now just in the past few weeks here we’ve seen better demand for domestic...