Farm News
Predatory vultures attack calves in southern Illinois
Cattle producers in southern Illinois are facing a threat from the skies. Vultures that swoop down and prey on young calves are raiding a growing number of farms.
Categories: Farm News
Higher-profit farms control costs when margins tighten
Editor’s note: The following was written by Robert Tigner, University of Nebraska agricultural systems economist educator, for the university’s CropWatch website.
Categories: Farm News
Ending NAFTA could cause rural `depression,' Grassley says
President Donald Trump risks triggering a “depression” in the nation’s rural areas if he withdraws from NAFTA, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said. He also urged Trump to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement to counter China.
Categories: Farm News
Study shows cover crops may increase yields over time
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Farmers need more research showing cover crops increase yields, reduce erosion and add nutrients back to the soil in corn-soybean rotation before they adopt the practice, says University of Missouri researcher Ranjith Udawatta.
Categories: Farm News
Crop insurance premiums likely lower in 2018
When Steve Johnson looks ahead at the decisions farmers may face regarding crop insurance in 2018, he can’t help but compare it to the excitement college basketball fans often have as the NCAA tournament nears.
Categories: Farm News
Russia is exporting more wheat than any country in 25 years
It’s been a long time since any country shipped out as much wheat as Russia.
Categories: Farm News
Farm show offers products, skills to get more out of acres
The Western Farm Show returns to the American Royal Complex in Kansas City, Mo., for its 57th year, Feb. 23-25.
Categories: Farm News
Deere raises sales forecast amid signs of farm recovery
Deere & Co., the world’s largest farm machine maker, raised its full-year sales forecast, and there’s reason to believe that good news will keep coming.
Categories: Farm News
Rail crunch leaves oil, wheat stranded out on Canada's prairies
A shortage of rail cars in Canada is leaving grain and oil shipments stranded on the Prairies, sending crude prices plummeting and leaving farmers in a cash crunch.
Categories: Farm News
Big farms still buying pricey Deere tractors despite crop slump
U.S. farmers’ incomes are set to plunge to a 12-year low, but that’s not enough to stop them from splurging on new tractors and combines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Categories: Farm News
Dairies assess feed during price downturn
With low milk prices continuing a long run, dairy producers are doing what they can to weather the storm. That means striving to achieve more efficiency, and holding off on big purchases.
Categories: Farm News
Next round of NAFTA talks said to move up a day to start Feb. 25
The upcoming round of talks to renegotiate NAFTA will start one day earlier than previously announced in order to accommodate ministers’ schedules, according to two people familiar with the plans.
Categories: Farm News
Pork operation grows with Illinois family
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Aptly, in a year when trade dominated the topics at the Illinois Pork Expo in Springfield, the patriarch of the 2018 Illinois Pork Producer Family of the Year has long been a leader in promoting international exports.
Categories: Farm News
Continued drought complicates farm operations
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Most of Missouri remains in a drought, according to a map released Feb. 8 by the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Categories: Farm News
Producers losing cattle margin due to high hay price
ATLANTIC, Iowa — Fresh snow covered the ground as Zak Kennedy walked through biting February wind to check on cattle.
Categories: Farm News
Pea boom goes bust as Canada farmers ditch pulses for canola
Just a few years ago it seemed like Canada’s farmers couldn’t get peas into the ground fast enough, but they’re now falling out of favor.
Categories: Farm News
U.S. touts NAFTA progress with Mexico as Trump criticizes Canada
The Trump administration is once again signaling trade talks are going better with Mexico than Canada.
Categories: Farm News
McDonald’s sets out to become a ‘credible chicken player’
Forget those old chicken patties. McDonald’s Corp. has a master plan to become the new Chicken King.
Categories: Farm News
China's strongest weapon in a trade war with Trump may backfire
As tensions escalate between the U.S. and China, one crop is emerging as the most powerful weapon in a potential trade war: the soybean.
Categories: Farm News
ISU economists outline benefits of reducing nitrates
AMES, Iowa — A study conducted by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University explores the potential economic benefits to drinking water, recreation and health through meeting the targets of Iowa's statewide strategy for reducing nutrients.
Categories: Farm News