Author: staff

By Ryan Hanrahan Reuters’ Jody Godoy reported at the end of this past week that “the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is probing farm equipment maker Deere over the company’s repair policies, according to a filing made public on Thursday. The investigation, authorized on Sept. 2, 2021, focuses on repair restrictions manufacturers place on hardware or software, often referred to by regulators as impeding customers’ ‘right to repair’ the goods they purchase.” “The probe was made public through a filing by data analytics company Hargrove & Associates Inc, which sought to quash an FTC subpoena seeking market data submitted to it…

Drive across the Iowa countryside, and you’re likely to see hog barns in the distance. Much of the nation’s pork is produced in these long, metal-sided buildings, with hog production concentrated in the Midwest and North Carolina. But few people not directly involved in pig farming have the chance to look inside — until about four years ago. Using GoPro cameras and social media, Sawyer Whisler brings the public behind typically closed doors to see what day-to-day life is like on a modern hog farm. The sixth-generation farmer prides himself on being 100% transparent, sharing numbers, answering questions, and showing…

The necessity that mothered Landon Tomica’s award-winning Shop Hack entry was organization on a budget. “I needed a way to organize my sockets, which were lying in a drawer, but really didn’t want to spend the money on the organizers I had seen in stores and online,” the Trenton, Kentucky, farmer explains. “I never liked my sockets rolling around in the drawer, but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money organizing them.” Tomica helps out on his family’s farming operation in the southwest Kentucky community in addition to working as a repair technician at a Hutson Inc. dealership…

Soybean futures higher overnight; ethanol output jumps to highest in a month Gil Gullickson 1. Soybean futures slightly higher overnightSoybean futures were modestly higher in overnight trading as planting in Brazil, the world's largest exporter of the oilseeds, remains well behind schedule and as drought spreads in the U.S.Farmers in the South American country were only 8.2% done with planting as of this week, consultancy AgRural said. That's less than half of the 17% that was in the ground at this point last year. Extremely dry weather has plagued producers in growing areas so far this season. Still, rain has been falling…

The past few years have undoubtedly been tough for everyone in the ag sector. Low commodity prices and high costs have slimmed margins for everyone. The equipment sector has seen its share of bumps and bruises. Post-COVID supply caught up with demand, and dealership lots went from bare to crammed full of inventory. Expensive late models, low-hour inventory, and high interest rates slowed the purchasing of new and used equipment.  But 2025 could be when the equipment markets swing in the other direction.  Used Inventory Sales The last quarter of the year historically sees the most significant swing in used…

By Ryan Hanrahan The Des Moines Register’s Kevin Baskins reported Thursday that “John Deere has announced another round of layoffs in the Quad Cities affecting 287 workers, including 80 in Davenport.” “The other layoffs, effective Jan. 3, are of 200 workers at the company’s Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois, and seven at its Seeding and Cylinder operations in Moline, Illinois, the company’s headquarters city,” Baskins reported. “In a company statement KWQC-TV posted on its website, John Deere emphasized the layoffs were not a result of moving production to other facilities but rather due to a sluggish farm economy. Demand for…

By Cami Koons The emerald ash borer, a non-native, wood-boring insect that affects ash trees, has been detected in all Iowa counties, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced Thursday.  The metallic-looking green beetle was first discovered in Iowa in 2010 and has made its way westward throughout the state through the inadvertent movement of infected firewood and other ash products.  Emmet County, on the northern border of the state, was the final holdout.  IDALS collected samples of a declining ash tree in Armstrong in early October and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service…

With five new cases, California accounts for 11 of the 25 cases of human infection by the bird flu virus in the United States this year, said the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday. Additional cases were expected among individuals in contact with infected dairy cattle, said the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The risk to the general public remains low, said the CDC. It recommended that people exposed to infected or potentially infected animals wear protective equipment, such as gloves, masks, and goggles. All of the California cases were people who had contact with animals on different farms, said the state…

December corn ended the day down 2¢ and the week down 11¢. This was the second consecutive week the contract closed lower. November soybeans closed down 18¾¢ for the day. Week-over-week the contract was down 35½¢. This was the third week in a row November soybeans closed lower. December wheat contracts closed lower for the day and the week, breaking a three-week streak of higher closes. CBOT wheat ended the day down 16¾¢. KC wheat closed down 15¼¢. Minneapolis wheat was down 12¼¢. “Despite strong export sales, the corn market was pressured by sharp declines in both soybeans and wheat,…

Red flag warnings have been issued throughout the Midwest because of warm, dry conditions and low humidity while the chance for significant precipitation throughout the region looks slim.  The risk for igniting field fires remains high for farmers with wind gusts as high as 45 mph in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota. According to Dennis Todey, director of the USDA Midwest Climate Hub, risk for fire is here to stay. “When harvest is done, that removes one level of risk but our overall potential for fire is still with us,” Todey said.  Most people don’t think of winter as…