Author: staff

The Turn the Bag Blue & Gold program from Brevant seeds provides FFA students with the opportunity to gain industry experience and fundraise for their chapter. Once selected for the program, students from participating chapters can begin selling 200 special edition blue-and-gold bags of Brevant seeds for the following season. For the 2025 sales season, the program raised $62,790 in donations on the local, state, and national levels; since its inception in 2017, the program has donated over $365,000. Participants from six FFA chapters across the Corn Belt partner with the Brevant seeds team to sell the special edition bags…

Ryan Hanrahan Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported Monday that “the Agriculture Department is expected to open applications for economic aid to farmers by the deadline of Friday.” “USDA chief Brooke Rollins promised farmers at the Commodity Classic at the beginning of March that the funds would be ready by that deadline. Senate Ag Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) told (Politico’s Morning Agriculture) on Friday he’s spoken with Rollins and expects the funds to start flowing on time,” Yarrow reported. “Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) confirmed USDA is ‘very close’ and said last week that farmers can expect an announcement of open applications soon.”…

Proper tire inflation is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to create a noticeable impact on your farm’s fuel consumption. “You can actually save a lot of money by getting the right air pressure, because you’ll have the optimum footprint,” said Dusty Hininger, Firestone Ag field sales trainer. “Realistically, sometimes it’s up to 4% savings, maybe even more, depending on how far away your air pressures are.” Hininger said the biggest issue is that most farmers don’t know what their equipment actually weighs. After getting an accurate measurement, knowing how much to inflate your tires is simple.  Firestone field…

Model year 2026 Early Riser planters will have new features designed to help farmers know exactly what is happening with each row unit, according to Case IH.  Early Riser 2150 Conceal, a dual-band, two-by-two nutrient application system, will be factory-installed on Early Riser 2150 units, allowing for more precise placement of nutrients that plants need during early development, the company said.  “These changes aren’t necessarily outwardly visible, but they do increase data transmission and give additional row unit feedback,” said David Brennan, planter marketing manager for Case IH North America. “We’ve added liquid flow monitoring visualized through the Pro1200 display…

At the close on Monday, May corn was up 2½¢ at $4.61 per bushel. May soybeans closed down less than a penny at $10.15½ per bushel. May CBOT wheat closed up 11½¢ at $5.68½ per bushel. May KC wheat was up 19½¢ at $6.05½. May Minneapolis wheat was up 13¼¢ at $6.15. “Wheat made double-digit gains led by Kansas City futures, as more weather premium is being factored in,” said the Grain Market Insider newsletter by Stewart-Peterson Inc. “Warmth, dryness, and strong winds in the U.S. southern Plains remains a key focus, with 27% of U.S. winter wheat in drought…

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig encouraged eligible Iowa farm owners to apply for Century or Heritage Farm recognition as part of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s (IDALS) program.  The program was created by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) and IDALS to honor families who have owned their farms for 100 years and 150 years, respectively. To be recognized in 2025, completed applications must be sent or received by IDALS by June 1, 2025. The ceremonies honoring 2025 Century and Heritage Farm families will be August 14, 2025,  at the Iowa State Fair’s Livestock Pavilion. To…

Sometimes, the solution you need is right in your own backyard — or near it. Farmers who grow wheat and other grains have struggled since at least the 1800s to tame the wheat stem sawfly (Cephus cinctus), an insect that gets inside grain stalks and topples them, reducing yields. A variety of defensive approaches, from pesticide to crop rotation, have had only limited success. Now, scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are exploring a solution that leverages the sawfly’s natural foe to significantly reduce the harm it causes. If it works, it could become a critical part of the integrated…

Hundreds of U.S. meat processing plants, including major pork producers, could face export disruptions as their access to the Chinese market nears expiration, Reuters reports. These facilities were granted eligibility under a 2020 trade agreement, but with that deal expiring, their registrations remain uncertain. The lapse could impact billions in U.S. meat exports at a time of strained trade relations. Industry leaders have pushed for renewals, but approvals remain unconfirmed, raising concerns over market losses. The U.S. Meat Export Federation reported that U.S. beef exports were valued at over $415 per fed steer or heifer, while pork exports totaled more…

By Mei Mei Chu and Tom Polansek BEIJING/CHICAGO, March 17 (Reuters) – Beijing has renewed registrations that allow hundreds of U.S. pork and poultry facilities to export to China, industry groups said on Monday, after lapses threatened shipments to the world’s largest meat importer. The renewals are a relief to U.S. farmers and meat companies as they navigate trade disputes with major agricultural importers, including China and Canada, under President Donald Trump. China is understood to have renewed for five years registrations for U.S. pork and poultry facilities that expired in February and over the weekend, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the USA…

On Tuesday, March 18, FFA student members, advisors, and leaders across the country will come together to share the importance of agriculture with elected officials and their communities as part of National Ag Day. National Ag Day, which is being celebrated on March 18 this year with the theme Together, We Grow, is a day designated to celebrate the industry that feeds, fuels, clothes, and sustains a growing world and the critical role agriculture plays in our culture and economy. Organized by the Agriculture Council of America, this day is an opportunity for others to learn how agriculture provides safe,…