Author: staff

A study from North Carolina State University has looked at reducing between-farm infections by modeling a new way of routing the trucks that transport feed and livestock between pig farms and from farms to market. The rerouting system showed that even without effective truck cleaning and disinfection, it reduced up to 42 percent of the contacts between infected and uninfected farms via vehicle movements. “Currently, vehicles used to transport feed or pigs are dispatched from a call center, and based on weekly schedules,” said Gustavo Machado, assistant professor of population health and pathobiology at NC State and corresponding author of…

In the USDA Crop Progress report released on Aug. 25, 12 states reported soybeans dropping leaves. Here’s a closer look at the 12 states that reported for that crop growth stage. Louisiana Louisiana is leading the pack with the USDA’s report that 58% of soybeans had reached the dropping leaves growth stage. That’s 19 percentage points ahead of this time last year and up 18 points from the prior week. The five-year average is 37%. The USDA reported that Louisiana soybean condition was rated 0% very poor, 1% poor, 7% fair, 82% good, and 10% excellent. Mississippi The USDA reported 39% of Mississippi…

With USDA projecting record crops, farmers face tough choices on whether to store or sell. Strong demand and disease concerns may offer price support, but weighing storage costs against cash sales is key this harvest. What Happened in the Market The August Supply and Demand Report was extremely bearish on corn. Acres increased from 86.7 to 88.6 million, and yield potential rose from 181 to 188.8 bushels per acre since the July report. Those numbers created a jump in ending stock for the upcoming crop: 2.11 billion bushels, up from 1.66 billion last month. The market dropped to $3.92, putting…

“BPA-free” may not mean safer. A new study from McGill University in Quebec has found that the chemicals replacing bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging could pose risks of their own — disrupting vital functions in human ovarian cells. The research, published in Toxicological Sciences, revealed early signs of toxicity from substitutes widely used in the labels and stickers on packaged meat, cheese, produce, and fish. The findings raise pressing questions about the safety of BPA-free packaging and whether current regulations are leaving consumers exposed to hidden dangers. BPA substitutes disrupt gene expression The research began with the 2023 discovery…

The average condition of the U.S. corn crop remained steady last week, according to the USDA Crop Progress report released Monday. Yet there were some notable changes in conditions at the state level.  Seven top corn-growing states saw an increase in good-to-excellent corn during the week ending Aug. 24, compared to the week prior. Here’s a closer look.  Ohio The Buckeye State saw the greatest improvement in corn conditions week-over-week. For the week ending Aug. 24, 63% of Ohio’s corn was in good/excellent condition. That’s up 8 percentage points compared to the previous week, when just 55% of the state’s…

Bloomberg’s Hallie Gu and Clarice Couto reported that “just days before the start of the U.S. export season for soybeans, the world’s top importer doesn’t appear to have bought a single American cargo for the coming year.” “The impasse between China and the U.S. — long its second-biggest supplier — comes as the two governments negotiate an end to the trade hostilities that have roiled commerce between the countries since Donald Trump returned to the presidency,” Gu and Couto. “American farmers have said the stalemate leaves them headed toward a financial precipice, but U.S. government data suggests that Chinese buyers…

About six months ago I started hearing rumblings of a data center coming to my rural county in east central Indiana. A friend messaged me and urged me to use my voice on social media to speak out against the project. “You have a big reach and you could really help the farmers, as it will affect all of us if they build this one in our county,” my friend said. To be honest, the first thought that came to mind was at least it isn’t a subdivision. I didn’t even really know what a data center was, so I…

With continuing improvements to technology and genetics across the agricultural industry, it’s no surprise to regularly see world records fall. This month in California’s Imperial Valley, father-son grower duo Ralph and Jason Taylor set a new world record for extractable sugar per acre. California is the sixth largest sugarbeet producer in the nation (Minnesota, Idaho, and North Dakota own the top three spots). The Taylors of TNT Management Inc. used Betaseed variety 5678 in a 130-acre field to average 77.91 tons per acre with a sugar content of 17.15 percent. That mean they achieved 22,604 pounds of extractable sugar per…

1. Wheat Futures Lower Overnight on Harvest Pressure Wheat futures were lower in overnight trading as the winter harvest in the U.S. wraps up and collection of spring varieties rolls on.  About 98% of the U.S. winter crop was in the bin as of Sunday, up from 94% a week earlier and on par with the prior five-year average, the Department of Agriculture said in a report this week.  Roughly 53% of spring wheat was harvested at the start of the week versus 36% seven days earlier and just behind the average of 54% for this time of year, the…

According to data compiled by the Successful Farming team, more than 6,000 acres of Iowa farmland are set to be auctioned in Sept. 2025. Listings range from single tracts of less than 30 acres to a multi-parcel auction that includes 646 acres. Here’s a closer look at the farmland expected to change hands across 27 Iowa counties. Lee County Seven Lee County tracts totaling 535.77 surveyed acres will sell via virtual live auction on Sept. 16, 2025. The sale includes full farming rights for the 2026 season and includes productive tillable acreage, improved pastureland, and excellent hunting ground.   The sale…