Grains

Factors Influencing Global Grain Production

More than ever before, producers live in a global marketplace. South America came off a record soybean crop, which pressured U.S. prices, and Russia picked up the slack in planted wheat acres. Tracking global grain production and weather lets producers see factors that could affect future cash receipts. Here are several to monitor. United States: Keep Eyes Peeled For Jet Stream Activity The U.S. is in a period of limited grain market activity. “Anything that [affects] the grain markets during winter is...

Read more...

Forage: Create the Future

The well-known saying is something along the lines of “You never know what the future holds.” We all know what that means. It is saying that you don't know what will happen tomorrow, often encouraging us to not worry about what will happen because we can't control it.  And in some ways, the saying is correct. Certain things are out of my control, so I shouldn't spend a lot of time fretting or worrying about things I can't control. Let's...

Read more...

Does Residue Grazing Affect Later Crop Yields?

Stalk grazing appears to have no negative effect on subsequent corn or soybean yields. Grazing on harvested corn fields provides a fall and winter management option for cattle owners and an income opportunity for landowners. Baling corn residue also provides an option for farmers to sell bales for feed or bedding.  Either process does, however, remove nutrients and organic material from a field, while grazing also recycles some nutrients and organic material in manure. Grazing or baling practices could affect subsequent crop-management...

Read more...

TPP-11 Agreement Heightens Concerns about Market Access

The 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)* recently announced plans to move forward with a modified trade agreement. U.S. Meat Exporter Federation (USMEF) Economist Erin Borror explains that if the agreement, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is implemented without the United States as a participant, it will create significant tariff rate advantages for competitors of U.S. beef and pork. The U.S. has free trade agreements in place with several CPTPP countries, but...

Read more...

The Touchy Issue of Pesticide Drift

It’s been 20 years since the RoundUp Ready soybean revolutionized crop production, providing farmers with a powerful tool to control yield-robbing weeds and usher in widespread adoption of conservation tillage methods. However, nature has caught up with the herbicide-resistant technology. Glyphosate-resistant weeds now pose a major challenge for producers, especially in the Southeast. Dicamba has been heralded as the solution to add to farmer’s repertoire to combat RoundUp resistance. Studies have demonstrated dicamba is effective used in conjunction with RoundUp,...

Read more...