Author: staff

There are two types of agricultural track systems – friction and positive drive. Both have benefits and drawbacks, and manufacturers have created different designs of each. I asked four track manufacturers to explain the differences between the two types of track systems and their opinions of each. Here’s what they had to say. CamsoDavid Graden, Operational Market Manager – Agriculture The Friction Drive system is as it sounds. Typically, these are seen in pairs (as opposed to 4 tracks) on a machine. The tracks are elongated and put under tension and, of course, driven by friction. Additionally, the track curves…

DAILY Bites Over 230,000 farms are required to comply with filing Beneficial Ownership Information. Farms structured as either a c-corporation, s-corporation or limited liability company need to pay attention. Failure to file could lead to hefty fines and potential jail time. DAILY Discussion The American Farm Bureau Federation is sounding the alarm as the January 1, 2025, deadline for filing Beneficial Ownership Information with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) looms. According to new analysis from Farm Bureau economists, over 230,000 farms are required to comply with this federal mandate, yet less than 11 percent of…

Two men in Florida have been arrested in connection with a large-scale theft involving a tractor-trailer loaded with around $100,000 worth of frozen poultry. Jorge Lyen Blanco-Diaz, 38, and Raul Bello, 49, face multiple charges, including grand theft of cargo and grand theft of a vehicle, according to authorities who are investigating the case. Numerous news sources note that the theft occurred on Sept. 15, when the tractor-trailer went missing near Old State Road 9 and Northwest 155th Lane in Miami. The truck, valued at $60,000, and the trailer, worth $80,000, were loaded with frozen poultry products worth about $100,000.…

Carolyn Olson, a certified organic corn and soybean farmer in Cottonwood, Minnesota, said the 2024 growing season started off with a wet spring, which made it challenging for some farmers in her area to get their crops planted.  Despite the challenges to get crops in the ground, Olson said the rainy spring was the first time in three years that Minnesota was 100% drought free.  The latest drought monitor map shows that 28% of Minnesota is in D2 severe drought. Forty-three percent of the state is in D1 moderate drought, 25% is abnormally dry, and just 3% is free from…

This week, John Deere announced more layoffs in the Quad Cities. The company announced that 287 employees will lose their jobs at Harvester Works in East Moline, 80 at Davenport Works, and seven from Moline Seeding. Deere’s ongoing workforce reductions have led to more than 900 layoffs in the Quad Cities this year, with the company clarifying that none of the cut jobs will be moved overseas. In July, Deere also cut salaried positions, affecting an estimated 4,500 to 6,000 employees. Additional layoffs this year include: 134 at Seeding and Cylinder in Moline 211 at Davenport Works 279 at Harvester…

Farmers in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota are grappling with the fallout from the sudden closure of Pure Prairie Poultry, an Iowa-based poultry processor that shut its doors in early October. The company’s closure has left over 1 million chickens without care and many contract farmers in dire financial straits, as they are now responsible for feeding birds that can no longer be processed. Pure Prairie Poultry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving behind not only unpaid employees but also 1.3 million broiler chickens across 14 Iowa farms and more across other Midwest states. The situation has been described as particularly…

What happened Corn and soybean prices have plunged over the last two weeks, providing an opportunity for end users to more aggressively seek longer-term needs. In both the corn and soybean markets, prices recently rallied on a lack of farmer selling, dry weather in Brazil, short covering by funds, and the thought that a contract low may be in place. Since then, rain has materialized in Brazil, energy prices have weakened, fund selling has returned, and harvest pressure has advanced — all of which are now providing buyers a second opportunity. Why this is important End users (feed buyers, ethanol…

Travel can be an eye-opening experience that grows our perspectives, and that’s one of the reasons I love doing it. I recently returned from a two-week trip adding Denmark to the list of European countries I’ve visited (Great Britain, Scotland, and Ukraine, also grace the list, if you’re wondering). I also spent a few days in London checking off some must-see places (Buckingham Palace included!) that I missed on my first trip. Although my vacation was far from a comprehensive study of the entire European Union, there were certain observations I made that make sense of the agriculture policies I’ve…

Nearly four dozen climate-smart commodities, from beets and bourbon to corn and yogurt, are on the market two years after the USDA launched the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities project, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday. The $3.1 billion public-private initiative, with 135 demonstration projects, is meant to encourage farmers to adopt climate-mitigating practices on working lands while creating a market for the products. “In fact, speaking of climate-smart commodities, today we have more than 40 of the commodities within this program that are already being sold in the marketplace to a variety of buyers — buyers that include universities,…

Soybean, grain futures lower overnight; broiler egg, chick placements improve Gil Gullickson 1. Soybean, grain futures lower in overnight tradingSoybean and grain futures declined in overnight trading as the U.S. harvest rolls on and amid some positive weather in South America. About 67% of U.S. soybeans were harvested as of Sunday, up from 47% a week earlier and the prior five-year average of 51%, the Department of Agriculture said in a report earlier this week. Forty-seven percent of the corn crop was in the bin at the start of the week, up from 30% seven days earlier and the normal 39% for…