U.S. corn shipments to Mexico have slipped in recent months and Mexico in no longer the number one buyer of American corn. A Bloomberg article says it may be a sign that trade tensions are forcing the country to look elsewhere for corn in case the U.S. is no longer a reliable supplier. Sales through May of this year were …
Agri View: Transporting Crops
Everett Griner talks about how transporting crops has changed in today’s Agri View. Growing food and fiber on our farms is one thing. Getting it to consumers is another. It is a system that is nothing like it was one hundred years ago. In its early days, the railroad moved almost everything that was produced in volume. It was the …
Legislature Seeks Spring Trial in Conservation Funding Fight
News Service of Florida Attorneys for the Florida House and Senate have asked a judge to schedule a trial during the last week of March and the first week of April in a long-running battle about whether lawmakers have properly carried out a 2014 constitutional amendment that required setting aside money for land-conservation efforts. The request, filed Monday in Leon …
Demonstrating Careful Antibiotic Stewardship
by Jim Mulhern, President, and CEO National Milk Producers Federation The rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria seen in the United States and elsewhere in the world is frequently and unfairly blamed on antibiotic use in agriculture. This is unfortunate because it tends to mask the real problem: misuse of antibiotics in human medicine. The reality is that the vast majority of …
USDA Options for Livestock Producers Dealing With Drought
Dry and or drought conditions are nothing new to livestock producers in the Southeast. But this year, some of the areas suffering the most have been in the Northern Plains. And in a story from Rod Bain, we learn more about some of the tools in the USDA tool shed that can assist livestock producers facing drought conditions, particularly from …
Growing Veggies by Vertical Gardening
If you enjoy growing your own veggies, Cathy Isom tells you why vertical gardening is the way to grow. She also clues you in on how to do it without putting a dent in your pocketbook. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. To grow your own fresh fruits and veggies in a garden at home you don’t …
Rabobank Issues Report on Declining Wheat Acres
Rabobank issued a report this week saying U.S. wheat acres have been on the decline for 35 years. This growing season, wheat acres are at their lowest point in 100 years. Those lower acres over a long period of time are going to have some ripple effects. RaboResearch Grains and Oilseed Analyst Stephen Nicholson found that the decreasing number of …
Brazil Delays Decision on Ethanol Import Tariff
Brazil’s Chamber of Foreign Trade announced this week it would delay a decision to put an import tariff of 17 percent on U.S. ethanol. U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight, Renewable Fuels President and CEO Bob Dineen, and Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor put out a joint statement on the decision this week. The groups were encouraged by …
Optimism Returning to the Ag Producers Barometer
The Purdue/CME Group’s June survey shows producers are a little more optimistic about their financial position than they were last year. The shift is why the June index reading of 131 was unchanged from the May survey. The index has held steady for three straight months and remains well above the low levels of last November. The shift in producer …
Ag Groups React to RFS Volumes for 2018
Some advanced biofuels were cut when the Environmental Protection Agency released its proposed renewable fuels volumes for 2018. The American Soybean Association wasn’t pleased with the lack of growth proposed by the EPA in biomass-based diesel volumes as well as a reduction in advanced biofuels. A.S.A. President and Illinois farmer Ron Moore called it disappointing and a missed opportunity for …