Author: staff

By Brooke Thorington, WRKF-FM PLAQUEMINE – It’s planting season for sugarcane farmers in Louisiana as they replenish fields that are older than three years and no longer yielding as much sugar. When President Donald Trump said he wanted Coca-Cola to use sugarcane in its signature drink, instead of high-fructose corn syrup, it brought a lot of attention to the industry. Patrick Frischhertz is the son-in-law of an eighth generation sugarcane farmer. He’s been in the business for close to 16 years, and he oversees St. Louis Planting in Plaquemine. The company farms sugarcane and soybeans. When Trump boasted he’d convinced…

By Leah Douglas WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture moved to terminate union contracts with thousands of employees of its animal health and food safety inspection agencies, according to documents seen by Reuters, as one union on Wednesday challenged the firings in court. The notices sent to union leaders at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday evening said the action was aligned with President Donald Trump’s March executive order to exclude some federal workers from collective bargaining because their agencies have national security missions, the documents show. The Trump administration also…

With almost everyone in the agricultural industry antsy about the followup to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s debut MAHA Report, The New York Times began reporting Thursday evening that it has received a leaked draft of the new version, dated Aug. 6 — one that appears to temper many of the concerns ag producers would have about the Health and Human Services secretary’s attack on modern pesticide use. According to the NYT, the draft report says that environmental regulators will work with “food and agricultural stakeholders” to ensure that the public is aware of an confident in existing pesticide review procedures,…

By Naveen Thukral and Ella Cao SINGAPORE/BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Reuters) – U.S. soybean exporters risk missing out on billions of dollars worth of sales to China this year as trade talks drag on and buyers in the top oilseed importer lock in cargoes from Brazil for shipment during the key U.S. marketing season, according to traders. Chinese importers have finished booking soybean cargoes for September, taking around 8 million metric tons, all from South America, three traders told Reuters. For October, Chinese buyers have secured about 4 million tons — half of their expected requirement — also from South America, the traders…

Shorter days and cooler nights mean it’s nearly time to pull the combine out of the shed and prepare for harvest. While it can be tempting to start as quickly as possible, building in a few days pre-harvest to thoroughly inspect your machine can save downtime and expense later — when you may not have the time to spare.  “My theory has always been: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” said Jake Koehn, technician at Diamond K Combine Repair in Lakin, Kansas. “You can do the repairs in the shop, in a controlled environment, where it’s…

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that his office is leading a bipartisan coalition of 11 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting cattle ranchers in their fight against manufacturers who market foreign-sourced beef under the “Product of USA” label. “Ranchers in South Dakota and across America work hard to produce the highest quality beef products in the world,” Jackley said. “The ‘Product of USA’ label is a brand that reflects the quality of American beef.” The case stems from a lawsuit filed by South Dakota ranchers in federal district court after the U.S. Department of…

December corn ended the day unchanged at $3.97¼ per bushel. November soybeans closed down 15¾¢ at $10.28½ per bushel.  December CBOT wheat ended the day down 3¾¢ at $5.24½ per bushel. December KC wheat closed down 2¢ at $5.26 per bushel. December Minneapolis wheat was down 4¢ at $5.92. “Soybeans are starting to lose their support from Tuesday’s surprise cut to ending stocks in the WASDE [World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates] report,” said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting. “A bearish [weekly U.S. Export Sales] report weighed on soybeans as well. Heavy cancellations were seen in both corn…

An Illinois community is mourning the loss of a 16-year-old from Virden on August 12, who reportedly died following a farm implement accident.  According to news reports, the high schooler, Nolan C. Kiel, was operating a piece of farm equipment when the incident occurred about 25 miles outside of Springfield.  When officials arrived on scene, the teenager was pronounced dead at 11:56 a.m. by Macoupin County Coroner Anthony Kravanya, as reported by WLDS. Kiel was reportedly operating farm equipment when the accident took place.  No other vehicles were involved. Emergency responders from multiple local agencies — including the Virden Fire…

August is historically the time for combine and header sales, and this year is looking to be no different. Often combines and headers buy and sell in tandem, but not always – and in today’s economic environment some buyers are choosing to keep their combine but update their heads. Draper heads are becoming more popular because of the speed at which they can be used and their smooth delivery into the feeder house. Chopping heads can also catch a premium because they can eliminate a second pass when managing crop residue. While equipment dealers may be in the mood to…

New innovations aim to boost demand for these crops by using them to help revolutionize industries and deliver sustainable solutions for everyday life.  Animal agriculture is still the top market for soybeans, consuming 33 million metric tons annually. Corn also plays a leading role in livestock feed, as well as ethanol production. But in addition to those mainstays, corn and soy are now showing up in unexpected places such as textiles, tires, plastics, and even as a skin substitute for burn victims. Carla Schultz farms in Michigan’s Thumb and sees the benefits of soybean meal to her farm’s pork and…