Author: staff

Valentine’s Day is upon us, that annual holiday wherein we are required by law to express our undying love and devotion to our Significant Others. Failure to comply with this law is punishable by a lengthy banishment to the doghouse. I once pointed out to my wife that this rule is unevenly enforced, that males tend to be found in violation a lot more often than females. Much to my delight and surprise, I found a box of chocolates on my desk the next Valentine’s Day. My delight was dimmed somewhat when I opened it and discovered that all of…

Top Third Ag Marketing helps farmers become better agricultural marketers with the goal of marketing crops and livestock in the top third of prices. Mark Gold and his team provide AGDAILY.com with the latest information and a look ahead in their audio commentary. Listen here! https://www.agdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/top-third-agdaily-2025-02-10.mp3 The post Markets in Minutes: Top Third looks ahead for week of Feb. 10, 2025 appeared first on AGDAILY.

In 2018, farmers in Nova Scotia, Canada, noticed a pest they hadn’t seen in a long time — the European corn borer. The pest was introduced to the United States in 1917 and spread to most major corn-growing regions by the 1940s.  Coined “the billion-dollar pest,” the European corn borer caused yield loss by burrowing into cornstalks and feeding on them until the introduction of Bt corn in 1996. The main indicator of the borer is a horizontal line of shot holes in the corn leaves. The discovery in Nova Scotia led researchers to investigate throughout Canada, where they continued…

By Jeff Beach A bill that would have required carbon dioxide pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions to pay property taxes in the first 10 years of operation in North Dakota failed Thursday in the state Senate.  Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, sponsored Senate Bill 2320 that would have removed a tax exemption for interstate carbon dioxide pipelines such as the Summit project. North Dakota law requires the state to reimburse counties for the property tax they would have collected for the first 10 years the pipeline is operating.  Summit Carbon Solutions is attempting to build a 2,500-mile pipeline network across five states, ending in…

1. Corn, Wheat Futures Higher in Overnight Trading Grain futures were higher in overnight trading as concerns ease about an immediate trade war with Mexico, the biggest importer of corn from the U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he would hold off on imposing 25% tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada.  The planned tariffs, announced Saturday, were paused after the countries said they would continue to implement plans to secure their borders with the U.S.  That eased concerns about potential retaliatory tariffs from Mexico and Canada.  Still, a 10% tariff on Chinese imports took effect on…

By Cami Koons ALTOONA — Monte Shaw, executive director of Iowa Renewable Fuels Association urged industry leaders and farmers at the association’s summit Tuesday to pursue expanding markets and to be wary of “looking in the rearview mirror.”   Leaders in ethanol, biofuels, and associated markets from across the country gathered at the Prairie Meadows Event Center in Altoona for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association annual summit, this year with a theme of “fuels of opportunity.”  Shaw, in an opening session, shared his observation of a divide he sees in Iowa.  “It’s a divide between people who think everything is fine, and…

Pesticides are powerful tools on the farm, but they are not without risk. Understanding the essentials of pesticide safety can help prevent unintended exposure for people and the environment. February is National Pesticide Safety Education Month, and this is a great time to review pesticide safety practices on the farm.  “Today, pesticides are used in and around homes, apartments, workplaces, farms, and a myriad of other settings to control weeds, insects, disease-causing organisms, rodents, and other pests,” said Fred Whitford, PhD, director of Purdue Pesticide Programs at Purdue University. “That means everyone benefits when we focus on pesticide safety education.”…

In late August 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final version of its Herbicide Strategy. The strategy is intended to bring the agency into compliance with its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect more than 900 federally endangered and threatened species from herbicides’ potential impacts.  As a result, farmers can expect to see changes in drift and runoff mitigation measures required on labels, as products are registered and reregistered moving forward. This requires a shift in how pesticides are to be managed, down to the field level.  What Changed From the Draft? The EPA…

By Anna Liz Nichols Nearly one-third of counties in Michigan have had confirmed cases of bird flu since 2022.  Alpena County is the latest to join the ranks of those counties that have detected cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), according to a Monday news release from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). The virus began sweeping through every state starting in 2022 as the COVID-19 pandemic was waning and nearly 150 million wild, commercial, hobby, and backyard birds have been affected nationwide to date, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Counties all over Michigan have detected cases…

By Ryan Hanrahan Reuters’ Karl Plume reported Tuesday that “grains merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland posted its lowest fourth-quarter adjusted profit in six years on Tuesday on weak oilseed crush margins and uncertainty over U.S. biofuel policy and said it is cutting costs and slashing up to 700 jobs to weather the market downturn.” “Chicago-based ADM said it aimed to cut costs by $500 million to $750 million over the next three to five years via job cuts and lower raw materials and manufacturing costs,” Plume reported. “Reuters had reported last week that the grain trader would soon start laying off employees in…