Author: staff

John Deere announced updates to the John Deere and Hagie sprayer lineups — upgrades developed to give farmers cleaner fields with less weed competition, and more yield potential. “Application equipment makes an average of three passes over the same field during a growing season,” said Josh Ladd, John Deere go-to-market manager for application. “The updates we are bringing to farmers this season are designed to help them save on input costs and reduce crop damage – two things that help a farmer’s bottom line.” See & Spray Updates See & Spray Select Variable Rate See & Spray technology continues to…

With another growing season quickly approaching, Ryan Gentle’s days will soon be filled with a lot more windshield time as he works fields and visits farmers from as far south as St. Louis to as far north as Galena, Illinois. Gentle is an agronomist based in west central Illinois. A University of Illinois alumnus and former farm kid, Gentle is a contributing agronomist for Successful Farming’s coverage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Crop Progress report. He works for Wyffels Hybrids, with a territory encompassing a large chunk of his home state.  Gentle spoke with Successful Farming about how he…

John Deere announced new planter technologies designed to make planting more efficient, helping farmers get the crop in during tight windows due to weather and other conditions. Three new technologies: seed-level sensing, fertilizer-level sensing, and active vacuum automation, give farmers more information needed to keep planters running.  Seed-Level Sensing  This logistics feature provides farmers a more accurate look at the level of seed remaining in the tank. Currently, farmers estimate time to empty based on previous experience or general visual indicators and often have to stop and manually check remaining seed. Seed-level sensing places a tank sensor that measures the volume of…

At the market close, May corn was down 11½¢ at $4.69½ per bushel. May soybeans were 11½¢ weaker at $10.25¾ per bushel. “An early attempt at a rally [Friday] was met with selling pressure, particularly in corn and soybeans. Improved weather in South America that is allowing for rapid harvest in both Brazil and Argentina is putting more inventory into the global market.” Karl Setzer, Partner with Consus Ag Consulting said, “This comes at a time when the U.S. government is placing additional tariffs on the United States’ top trade partners, causing uncertain demand outlooks.” Setzer added, “The U.S. may…

Consumers will find no relief from rising egg prices this year. That’s the most recent scenario from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s forecast on overall food costs. This week, the USDA’s Food Price Outlook summary report predicted all food prices will increase and “rise slightly faster than the historical average rate of growth.” But it’s egg prices that has everyone digging deeper into their wallets. On the retail level, the USDA report forecasts a 41 percent rise in egg prices this year. If that rate holds, that means eggs could cost nearly $7 a dozen based on January’s Consumer Price…

Florida lawmakers will consider putting an end to the use of fluoride in drinking water, banning use of the word “milk” to describe plant-based alternatives and address many agricultural concerns currently impacting the state’s farmers. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson told the Herald-Tribune the Florida Farm Bill addresses health concerns about fluoride in water supplies, milk-alternative labeling, eliminating “red tape” for gun owners, and issues with drones for hunters. Simpson also called on President Donald Trump and federal politicians to follow Florida’s lead and pass a national farm bill that is long overdue. He says a lack of action at…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said his proposed 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on Tuesday, along with an extra 10 percent duty on Chinese imports because deadly drugs are still pouring into the U.S. from those countries. The fresh China tariffs, in addition to the 10 percent tariff levied on February 4, coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday, a setpiece political event where Beijing is expected to unveil its main economic priorities for 2025. The announcement also leaves Beijing less than a week to publish countermeasures, as the…

John Deere announced the release of the next generation perception system, a precision upgrade kit for select tractor models that brings autonomy to tillage work. This system is available as a precision upgrade for model year 2022 and newer 9R and 9RX tractors and model year 2020.5 and newer 8R and 8RX tractors. Select model year 2025 Deere tractors are autonomy-ready from the factory.  “We have been working with test customers for five years to bring an autonomous solution to the market,” said Christopher Murray, Deere go-to-market manager for embedded technology. “Autonomy helps farmers hit their ideal operating window by…

Warmer-than-average temperatures have settled in throughout the majority of the Midwest as the end of February draws near. According to meteorologist Bret Walts from BAM Weather, the “worst of winter” is in the rearview mirror for many states in the Midwest. Looking ahead to the growing season, Walts said states in the Eastern Corn Belt like — Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio — will most likely see persistent rain. That means farmers may have a difficult time getting in the field.  “It’s a very active pattern in March and into April, and I think some folks in those areas may struggle…

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, replicate it! The Non-GMO Project is embracing this phrase to once again mislead consumers, promote false food narratives, and earn some money. It announced the launch of its newest label: Non-UPF Verified. This “helpful” label will let you know that a food product is free from ultra processed foods. Ostensibly, the marketing initiative claims this will aid shoppers to make healthier choices. You’re probably already aware of Non-UPF’s older sibling: the Non-GMO Verified label. That’s the one with the annoying little orange Monarch butterfly that appears on a variety of food products, whether…