Author: staff

What Happened in the Market Soybean harvest is wrapping up and corn harvest is moving at a fever pace with a lack of rain this fall. Producers have had little time to rest and have been able to forge on with harvest. Yields have been coming in good for the most part and as expected. With a pick-up in recent demand, prices have held $4 support in corn and $9.80 in soybeans.  As rain began to fall in South America, soybean traders removed about $1 of the weather premium, taking November soybeans back below $10. But with harvest nearly complete,…

The National FFA Organization has announced the winners of its 2024 top achievement awards: American Star Farmer, American Star in Agribusiness, American Star in Agricultural Placement, and American Star in Agriscience. Winners were announced on the stage of Lucas Oil Stadium during the sixth General Session of the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis late last week. The American Star Awards represent the best of the best among thousands of American FFA Degree recipients. The award recognizes FFA members who have developed outstanding agricultural skills and competencies by completing a supervised agricultural experience program. A required activity in…

Halloween enthusiasts have been flooding social media with myriad costumes, ranging from witches and cats to minions, Godzilla, and more. But what hadn’t made the list until now was an homage to Karis Dadson, the viral pig showman known for her unwavering focus in the show ring. Over the weekend, an Arizona couple perfectly captured Dadson’s likeness and mannerisms in their costume, complete with an impressively intense stare and an equally compelling pig by their side. Haley Hanson explained that a coworker had come up to her asking about her plans for a Halloween costume, encouraging Hanson to dress as…

After another productive week, U.S. farmers pushed corn harvest progress further ahead of the five-year average than it’s been all season. That’s according to the USDA Crop Progress report released Monday. Across the top 18 corn growing states, 81% of the crop had been harvested by Oct. 27, up 16 percentage points for the week. That puts corn harvest 17 percentage points ahead of the five-year average.  Corn harvest progress is significantly ahead of not only the five-year average but also last year’s progress. Just 68% of the corn crop had been harvested last year at this time across top…

Educating the next generation about agriculture goes beyond teaching kids where food comes from — it’s about sparking curiosity, building respect, and showing just how much farming shapes our world. Across the United States, programs like 4-H, FFA, Ag in the Classroom, and farm field trips are making agriculture real for students. But Missouri is taking things a step further with a program called Agriculture Education on the Move (AEOTM), and recently, I had the chance to see it in action. What makes AEOTM unique is that it specifically targets third-grade students across Missouri, bringing agriculture directly into their classrooms…

INDIANAPOLIS — This year at the National FFA Convention, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to tour the new equine facilities for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Mounted Patrol and meet all of the amazing officers and horses involved. This was done as a Career Success Tour organized by the National FFA Organization (other tours took place with Stoops Automotive and Driving Wind Farm/Green Gang). After years of not having a permanent residence for the Mounted Patrol, the generous community of Indianapolis decided it was time to change that and came together to raise over $1.4 million to…

December corn is up 2½¢ this morning. January soybeans are up 1¾¢. December wheat contracts are also higher. CBOT wheat is up 6¢. KC wheat is up 5¾¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 4¼¢. “On Monday the grain markets closed lower, as the collapse in crude oil and wet weather in South America pressured the grain markets,” said Al Kluis, managing director of Kluis Commodity Advisors.   “Lower global energy prices will be beneficial for global consumers, who will have more money to spend on food. “The initial reaction to crude oil, gasoline and diesel prices tanking lower usually takes the grain…

With solar energy becoming more common, local officials should consider agrivoltaics, which combine solar panels and agricultural production on the same land, when drafting or amending ordinances on solar siting, said the Center for Rural Affairs on Monday. The center, based in Nebraska, released a “best practices” fact sheet that cited economic benefits from dual use sites and warned that overly prescriptive regulations could backfire. “Adopting dual-use practices offers an alternative to the either/or mentality regarding agricultural and clean energy development,” said the fact sheet. Dual use, also called agrisolar and agrivoltaics, can preserve agricultural land for crops, livestock, and…

For a variety of farm jobs, there’s nothing like a utility task vehicle (UTV), and the used market shows it. These handy machines are relatively affordable options that can increase your efficiency regardless of your operation.  “When the farm economy is great, farmers look at big equipment and new pickup trucks,” says Redo Celli, owner of Celli’s Cycle Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. “When the farm economy is not as great, they look at buying UTVs.” Celli says he’s seeing more used UTVs than usual come through his shop this year.  “A lot of people bought UTVs during COVID for something…

Listen to the Podcast Meet Margie Weiss In this episode, my guest is Margie Weiss, a dairy and crop farmer on a centennial farm near Frankenmuth, Michigan. The Weisses were early adopters of milking robot technology, going directly to this system from their old stanchion barn, skipping over the usual transition of parlor milking. One way their farm diversified to help cover the cost of the robot was to incorporate agritourism, including tours, baking classes, and a fun harvest experience that includes a corn maze. The company that plants their maze uses technology that automatically plants the shape of the…