Author: staff

As someone who is passionate about crop protection and enjoys helping growers make the best decisions for their operations, Logan Dinkla has found the ideal job. Dinkla is an agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection. His territory includes parts of central, south central, and southwest Iowa. He’s also a contributing agronomist for Successful Farming’s coverage of USDA’s Crop Progress report.  An Iowa State University alumnus, Dinkla has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural studies and is pursuing a master’s degree in agronomy. He’s been with Syngenta for four years. Before the agronomy role, which he’s had for a year and…

A bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the shortage of rural veterinary services has been introduced in Congress. The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would exempt student loan repayments from taxable income for veterinarians working in underserved areas, similar to an existing provision for physicians. The goal is to encourage more veterinarians to serve in regions where they are most needed. “By addressing the burdensome taxes on the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, this legislation would allow more veterinarians to serve in the rural and underserved communities most in need and help ensure ranchers and farmers have access to these essential veterinary…

A little past 9 a.m. CT, May corn was up 4¾¢ at $4.62 per bushel. May soybeans were up 10¢ at $10.24¾ per bushel. May wheat contracts were also higher. CBOT wheat was up 3¢ at $5.40 per bushel. KC wheat was up 1¾¢ at $5.58¾. Minneapolis wheat was up 4¼¢ at $5.96¼. “It’s “April Fools Day” today, which is why President Trump said that he would not announce his reciprocal tariff plan today,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodity economist at StoneX. “Instead, he will announce it tomorrow, on what he is calling ‘Liberation Day.’ We should get information from…

By Carl Zulauf, Gary Schnitkey, Jonathan Coppess, and Nick Paulson In the Farmdoc Daily of March 3, 2025, we documented the importance of the 1991 farm bill policy decision to give U.S. farmers the freedom to make planting decisions less constrained by government commodity programs. That article focused on corn, soybeans, and wheat, the three largest-acreage farm program crops. In this article, we extend the analysis to other 1991 farm program crops, as well as hay, the third largest U.S. field crop in acres. These crops have evolved into three groups. Corn and soybeans have become the foundational crops of modern agriculture. Their acres are large and increasing. Hay…

No nice weather ever goes unpunished in our neck of the woods. We had a fabulously clement March, with nearly no snow and temperatures that were generally agreed to be “not too bad.” We didn’t receive any snow during our state high school basketball tournaments. These events are usually guaranteed to deliver at least one major blizzard. Few complained about our open winter. An exception might be the folks who operate snow removal businesses. Some became so desperate that they began to look for people who suffer from severe dandruff. Because the weather was so pleasant, my wife and I…

What state does USDA expect to plant the most acres of corn this year? The agency answered that and many other questions with the release of the 2025 Prospective Plantings report on March 31. Across the country, U.S. farmers are expected to plant 95.3 million acres of corn in 2025, said the report. Iowa This year, Iowa is expected to lead the nation in acreage planted to corn. USDA expects 13.5 million acres to be planted with the crop this season, according to the March 31 report. That’s more than 13% of the total U.S. corn acres the agency expects…

Producers surveyed across the United States intend to plant 95.3 million acres of corn in 2025, up 5 percent from last year, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Planted acreage intentions for corn are up or unchanged in 40 of the 48 estimating states. Acreage increases of 400,000 acres or more from last year are expected in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. If realized, the planted area of corn in Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, and South Dakota will be the largest on record. Soybean growers intend…

After the market close, May corn was up 4¢ at $4.57¼ per bushel.May soybeans fell 8¼¢ at $10.14¾ per bushel.Karl Setzer, partner with Consus Ag Consulting said: “The early portion of [Monday’s] trade was spent getting final positions in place ahead of the USDA [Prospective Plantings report and quarterly Grain Stocks report], as well as month and quarter end. This favored soybeans and wheat, as those two markets have seen the most selling pressure recently. Soybeans were also supported by a push for uncommitted acres and strength in the energy complex.” Setzer added: “Wheat was also stronger [Monday], taking support…

Cow size has been on the rise for decades. Cows today weigh 1.4 times as much as their predecessors in 1980. In fact, cow weight is rising 100 pounds every 10 years. Why has this occurred? “Producers get paid for pounds, so ‘growth-bulls’ are selected, and the biggest heifers are retained,” said Ron Scott, Ph.D., cattle nutritionist with Purina Animal Nutrition. This has achieved positive outcomes as producers aim to maximize profit by increasing pounds of production and selling heavier calves each year. While this breeding and management strategy has shown its merits, on the output side of the equation,…

Carbon Robotics has introduced Carbon AutoTractor, a tractor autonomy system designed to improve efficiency and reduce labor needs. Powered by Carbon AI, the system can be installed on existing tractors and is remotely monitored by Carbon Robotics operators, who provide real-time oversight to ensure smooth operation. Developed with input from farmers, Carbon AutoTractor aims to address key barriers to autonomous tractor adoption, such as frequent stoppages, complex supervision, and systems that struggle with continuous operation. “Too often, autonomy in agriculture has been overpromised and underdelivered,” said Paul Mikesell, CEO and founder of Carbon Robotics. “We built Carbon AutoTractor to change…