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Frost advisories are in effect for parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. Although temperatures fell into the low 30’s overnight in northern Illinois, it likely didn’t harm plants. Michigan might experience a possible frost on vegetation as temperatures also reach the mid-30s. According to the national weather service, frost still remains possible for southern Wisconsin with rain in the forecast for tonight into tomorrow.

Just-signed Japan deal secures second largest corn export market for U.S. farmers.

October 11, 2019   When optimum moisture content achievement a challenge, taking dockage is sometimes the better option. For harvest time, thirteen percent is the optimum moisture content for soybeans. But, since it can be tough to hit the thirteen percent benchmark, some experts say it may be more profitable, to take dockage.

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture points to the nation's pig farmers as a demonstration of how the proper use of antibiotics keeps both humans and animals healthy.

The Social Security Administration announced Thursday that 2020's cost-of-living adjustment will be 1.6 percent, a slight increase from the 1.4 percent average over the past decade.  

Sam Williams, 22, is officially following in the footsteps of his grandfather Hank Williams and his father Hank Williams Jr.  

China flies in over 900 breeding pigs from Denmark to replenish their herd. Reuters reports this is the first import of live breeding stock since the first African Swine Fever outbreak last year. Reuters reports, the virus wiped out more than half of China's herds, while official government reports estimate losses at much less. Many Chinese producers are building new farms and restocking herds that were previously infected. Meanwhile, Korea finishes culling hogs infected with Africa...

The Minneapolis Federal Reserve confirms lower corn and soybean production this year. The bank covers 6 states in the Midwest and expects to see soybean production decline by 26 percent, compared to the national drop of 20 percent. Corn fairs slightly better with a projected 10 percent drop from last year compared to 4 percent nationally. The bank says producers have suffered under severe weather that caused record planting delays and that soybeans have taken an additional hit from ...

U.S. and China temper hopes of a possible deal ahead of trade talks. According to the south China morning post, the Chinese delegation may cut its trip short. Negotiators were scheduled to arrive in the capital on Thursday. If no progress is made, U.S. tariffs on $250 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods are slated to rise to 30% from 25% on October 15th. This marks the 13th round of talks between the global powers since last year. According to Politico, while the President has no...

It has been seven weeks since the Holcomb, Kansas, Tyson plant fire and cattle futures markets are mostly back to business as usual. That's according to Oklahoma State University economist Dr. Darren Peel. He says the fire caused a dramatic ripple effect from the loss of fresh beef in the wholesale market. In response, The choice boxed cutout jumped more than $23 to $239.87 at its peak. But the cash feeder market dropped on long-term uncertainty with fed cattle taking the biggest hit...

Forecasters predict winter weather will descend into the northern plains and the northwestern corn belt this week. Economist Arlan Suderman, with INTL FCStone warns a freeze event could lower corn yields once the kernel's starch line is only halfway to the black layer. This could be one of the most challenging harvest seasons in quite some time for U.S. farmers. Considering how much of the nation's corn crop was planted extremely late after the wet spring, Suderman says we could be l...

Several in farm country applaud President Trump's U.S. Japan trade deal. The announcement is a welcome win for the heartland as other trade agendas stall in congress. Details are still coming in, but according to the preliminary deal, Japan will eliminate or reduce tariffs on $7.2 billion dollars worth of U.S. farm goods. Farmers have been operating at a disadvantage in Japan since the White House backed out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. The new pact with the island nat...

There's plenty of ‘hemp hype’ in farm country, but there have been some challenges, including making sure the THC level stays low enough to keep it legal. Politico reports the legal threshold is 0.3 percent; anything above that classifies the crop as marijuana. Hemp growers are calling for a national testing standard on measuring THC. USDA says it will release federal guidelines for hemp ahead of the 2020 growing season.

The North American Meat Institute has filed a lawsuit against the state of California, to block enforcement of the voter-approved, "Proposition 12." The measure requires farmers, who market in the state, provide more space for animals being raised for food. The North American Meat Institute, whose members include processors such as Tyson Foods and retailers including Walmart, said enforcing Proposition 12 would hurt producers and consumers by significantly increasing their ...

Flooding affected spring planting this year, and now, it could make harvest a challenge too. DTN Senior Ag Meteorologist Bryce Anderson says he has seen ‘firsthand’ what’s going on and thinks it will impact farmers working to get crops out of the field. He also worries a lot of precipitation this winter could mean challenges ahead of next spring. He says the peak flood levels have likely passed in most areas, but there's still too much water overwhelming farm count...

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue came by the RFD-TV studio this morning to discuss trade deals, ethanol reform, and calls for a fair cattle market.

Farmers just coming into the game experience challenges. A new USDA report shows farmers with less than 10 years of experience struggle with financing the operation and gaining access to land and equipment. They are likely to work off the farm, they earn less income, and have more debt than established farmers.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - When Beijing announced it was exempting 16 U.S. goods from retaliatory tariffs, Chinese firms hurried to call Proliant Dairy Ingredients in the heart of American farm country. Among the products included in China’s first batch of exemptions last month was whey permeate for animal feed, a dairy byproduct sold by Iowa-based Proliant. While seen as a goodwill gesture ahead of talks to end the U.S.-China trade war, the exemption from a 25% retaliatory tariff im...

More and more people are heading to the drive-thru, leading to longer wait times. We spend an average of 255 seconds in the drive-thru lane in 2019, 20 seconds longer than the year before. 

ATLANTA (AP) — More than 45 million people across 14 Southern states are now in the midst of what’s being called a “flash drought” that’s cracking farm soil, drying up ponds and raising the risk of wildfires, scientists said Thursday. 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2019 – U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Scott Hutchins announced today that the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has invested $11 million in research that will support specialty crop farmers. “This collaborative public-private research effort will focus on applying innovative solutions to pest management problems that often are otherwise not available to specialty crop farmers,” said Hutchins, who leads ...

Bayer says Dicamba complaints are down in 2019 overall but Illinois has a record number of cases. The state's 590 complaints are up from 330 in 2018 and 246 in 2017. For other states, complaints trend down over the past two years. Bayer's Crop Science President says the company is looking into what's happening in Illinois. He says farmers had the date to apply Dicamba extended from June 30th to July 15th. Since weather delays caused many farmers to plant late this could be part of th...

China buys more U.S. pork and soybeans. New weekly export sales data shows 1.56 million metric tons of soybeans and 3500 metric tons of pork. Those numbers come from the week ending September 26th. USDA shares some private sales activity this week, including another 252,000 metric tons announced today. New purchases and next week's trade talks have renewed optimism the U.S. China dispute will end soon but one Rabo agri-finance analyst doesn't agree. Steve Nicholson says he thinks Chin...

California dairy farmers get closer to reaching their methane reduction goal with new funding. An additional 102-million-dollars was awarded to support methane reduction projects now totaling to 206-million-dollars in all. There are 229 projects in total. The California Department of Food and Ag estimates 2.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases will be reduced each year, which equates to 25-percent of the states 2013 inventory for livestock and dairy manure methane emissions. The...

A U.S. Lawmaker asks USDA to investigate an imbalance in produce prices. In a letter to the USDA, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says between 2012 and 2017 returns for specialty crop growers remained the same while wholesale shares increased. Some say competition from Canada plus higher U.S. wages could contribute to the disparity. United Fresh says increasing consumption is key to raising prices paid to farmers.

A rising trend in antimicrobial resistance threatens livestock production in low-income countries. According to a University Of Zurich study, high rates of antimicrobial resistance in animals were found in underdeveloped regions across northeast China, northern India, Iran, Turkey, and southern Brazil. Scientists say developing countries are also at risk. The research team says their open access web platform could help target interventions against the resistance and assist a transit...

Members of Congress are back in their districts this week, and the Chamber Of Commerce is pushing them to speak with constituents about passing the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement before Thanksgiving.

A Chicago court rules against giant food corporations in a censorship case. Earlier this year, Kraft Foods and Mondelez were accused of making a $5 and half-million profit by manipulating the wheat market to drive down prices in 2011. The companies sued the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for breaching a gag order, however, a panel of judges threw out the case saying the public comments were legal. CFTC and the companies reached "a binding agreement." in the case.

The number of farmers taking their own lives continues to rise at a staggering rate. The Georgia Farm Monitor's John Holcomb visits with an expert, to explain why farmers are more vulnerable, and what's being done to help them.

Nebraska cattle producers are invited to a rally tomorrow as a call to President Donald Trump to ensure fair cattle prices. The "Stop The Stealin" rally, hosted by the Organization Of Competitive Markets, will take place in Omaha, NE. The idea came together after the Tyson fire in Holcomb, Kansas. One man says the independent cattle producers are having a tough time and the rally will focus on some key points. The rally will be held tomorrow from 9:30 to 4. The National Ca...

China pegs more soybean purchases from the U.S. Agricensus reports Chinese authorities gave seven companies a third exemption from tariffs. The market sources say total volume could be between 1 and 2 million metric tons, but no exact figures are confirmed. This is in addition to the last two rounds which are estimated at 3-4.5 million metric tons. While China exempts some soy from tariffs the trade war is hurting ag exports. Politico says replacing the Asian nation is nearly impossi...

Declining milk prices and profit margins are driving one Michigan dairy farm to switch from conventional milk to 'a-2 milk.' The Michigan Farm Bureau reports on the reason Mooville Dairy is making the change.

As labor shortages plague the heartland, changes to the H-2A visa program becomes a high priority for Congress this fall. According to a recent study: the number of guest worker applications is up 11% in 2019. Employers want a new program to be more efficient, raise the cap of the number of workers, and slower wage growth. In 2016, 69% of farm workers were from Mexico, 25% in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, and 6% from Central America. Half were legally authorized workers. Ag sectors with ...

The Arkansas timber & wood products industry is entering a slowdown signaled by the closing of 2 mills. While local communities will feel the effects, experts don't expect this period to be as severe as the recession in 2006. The Arkansas Farm Bureau has more.

(Reuters) - It looked like midwinter in the northern Rocky Mountains on Sunday as a major storm dumped record snowfall of over 3 feet (91 cm) in places and hard-hit Montana declared a state of emergency to clear blocked roads. An extra 1 to 2 feet (30-61 cm) of snow was expected overnight, with winter storm warnings in effect for western Montana and the mountains of northern Washington and northern Idaho. Snow was also expected in areas of California, Nevada, Wyoming, Oregon and Id...

One of the highlights of the Oklahoma State Fair is the Best Of Wheat Baking Contest, sponsored by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. Don Atkinson reports how the contest brings together grand champions from all generations. Find them online at wheatsquared.com.

Unused food aid funds spark backlash among U.S. lawmakers. According to the Hagstrom Report, $2 billion of the $4 and half-billion dollar annual budget is unspent. During a hearing, U.S. aid leaders told lawmakers the Bureau holds back some funds for weather events. But democratic representatives argue withholding aid from global communities in need is "illegal". A U.S. aid director says the organization will "follow the law" and use the funds for global food aid.

The United States and Japan reach a trade agreement, further opening markets for both countries, and putting the U.S. on a level playing field with global competitors. American Soybean Association President, Davie Stephens, joined us to talk about what this deal means for U.S. soy producers and what he expects to see moving forward.

Ethanol leaders call for President Trump's immediate action on biofuel issues, but some worry an impeachment inquiry could delay a pending reform plan. Over the past two weeks, the President hosted officials from both industries working on a 'giant fix' to the continued refinery waivers handed out by the EPA, but the White House released no details after those meetings. With the UN General Assembly in New York this week and a new impeachment inquiry, ethanol advocates worry their con...