Author: staff

According to the latest Crop Protection Network map, positive cases of tar spot have been reported in five Iowa counties so far this growing season. “This is no surprise!” Iowa State University Extension Field Crops Pathologist Alison Robertson wrote in a recent blog post. “Every county in Iowa has a history of tar spot and consequently the pathogen is present.” Corn is grown in all 99 counties, which means the host is present, too. First reported in the Corn Belt in 2015, the disease has been confirmed in Iowa since 2016. Tar spot has also been confirmed in Kansas, Nebraska,…

1. Corn Futures Slightly Higher in Overnight Trading Corn futures were modestly higher overnight on technical buying after this week’s selloff.  Investors who were short the market, or had bet on lower prices, likely bought back contracts and booked profits.  Favorable weather conditions have put a lid on prices in recent sessions.  Still, the condition of U.S. corn was reported at 70% good or excellent at the start of the week, down 2 percentage points from the week prior, the Department of Agriculture said in a report. Four percent of the crop was silking as of Sunday.  Soybean ratings were…

For the third consecutive year, the Louisiana State University (LSU) Les Voyageurs club earned the top prize in the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2024 College Aggies Online (CAO) scholarship program. During the nine-week program, club members host 10 College Aggies events to inform students and community members about agriculture. “We want to be able to educate everyone, whether they come into our major or not, to make sure they have a well-rounded understanding of agriculture,” says Raegan West, the club’s vice president and a junior majoring in natural resource ecology and management with a concentration in wildlife ecology. 2024 States at…

This year, the Purdue University College of Agriculture’s Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) chapter is celebrating its national recognition as the 2024 MANRRS Chapter of the Year and also its 35th anniversary. “This is the first time the chapter has received the prestigious national Chapter of the Year Award,” says Zachary Brown, Purdue MANRRS chapter co-adviser, as well as the assistant director for student recruitment and retention in the Office of Multicultural Programs. “It’s an honor that speaks to the organization’s impressive growth and impact.” The mission of MANRRS is to promote academic and professional advancement.…

From precision breeding in Burkina Faso to AI-powered livestock tracking in Indonesia, 39 individuals from around the globe have been recognized for their groundbreaking work in the food and agriculture space. The World Food Prize Foundation on Tuesday revealed its 2025 Top Agri-Food Pioneers list, celebrating a diverse cohort of changemakers advancing solutions to the world’s most pressing food challenges. Now in its second year, the TAP list spans 27 countries and one territory, honoring scientists, farmers, policy advisors, entrepreneurs, and humanitarians ranging in age from 20 to 79. This year’s announcement marks the 39th anniversary of the Foundation, with…

Legislation has been introduced to help beginning farmers and small-scale manufacturers by “modernizing outdated rules” that the bill’s sponsors say are hindering access to affordable capital. U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) was an original co-sponsor of the Modernizing Agricultural and Manufacturing Bonds Act (MAMBA or S.2100), which has been reintroduced by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). The measure would update the Internal Revenue Code rules for Industrial Development Bonds (IDBs) and First-Time Farmer Bonds (Aggie Bonds), tax-exempt financing tools to make affordable capital available to small- to mid-sized manufacturers and first-time farmers. “Amid all the challenges facing American agriculture, we…

According to the latest Crop Protection Network map, positive cases of tar spot have been reported in 14 Nebraska counties so far this year.  Several industry agronomists have noted, the presence of tar spot is not surprising at this point in the growing season. First reported in the Corn Belt in 2015, the disease has been confirmed in Nebraska since 2021. Tar spot has also been recently confirmed in neighboring Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Illinois and Indiana also reported positive cases this month. What Should Farmers Do “Scouting efforts should be intensified in fields with a history of the disease…

Families celebrating the Fourth of July holiday continue to find high prices at the grocery store, based on the 2025 American Farm Bureau Federation annual marketbasket survey. The average Independence Day cookout will cost $70.92 for 10 guests this year. This is down only 30 cents from last year’s record-high cost. At $7.09 per person, 2025 will be the second-highest cost since Farm Bureau began the survey in 2013. The cookout favorites include cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries, and ice cream, among other products. While the survey does not include an exhaustive list of Fourth of…

Last week, North Dakota was hit with a deadly storm that caused immediate and apparent agricultural damage, with long-term impacts for growers now coming to light. North Dakota Meteorologist Dean Wysocki said in his 30-plus years in the business, he’s never seen a storm like this one. He shared in his Weather and Ag in Focus podcast on Monday, “It was literally a hurricane that was parked over the central and eastern part of the state. Never seen anything like that before.” Wysocki’s cohost, ag expert Bridgette Readel, estimated 100 miles by 100 miles of damage, based on the reports…

A tractor-trailer hauling livestock overturned on Virginia Route 40 in Sussex County, Virginia, on Monday, triggering a rescue operation for over 140 hogs. According to the Virginia State Police, the truck, which was carrying pigs for Smithfield Foods, went off the road and tipped over in the vicinity of Tyrus Road. The driver, Gregory Montez King of Clayton, North Carolina, was not injured but was charged with reckless driving and failure to keep proper control, reported local TV station 3WTKR. Due to the wreck, several of the hogs escaped from the trailer, and some were pinned inside. Virginia State Police,…