Brownfield News

From left to right, Craig Floss of Iowa Corn, Monte Shaw with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and Grant Kimberley with the Iowa Biodiesel Board

Iowa renewable fuels advocate held a news conference Wednesday to discuss the EPA’s biofuels proposal. 

Monte
Shaw with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says White House and EPA
officials are trying to reassure the ag and biofuels industry that the 15
billion gallon ethanol goal will be met.

Continue reading Iowa ag leaders respond to EPA’s biofuels proposal at Brownfield Ag News.

     

Harvest is in full swing in the eastern corn belt. DEKALB Asgrow Technical Agronomist Roy Ulrich says crops are better than expected considering the wet spring and the drought-like conditions this summer.

“Yields
are better than expected, but we have some areas that are probably below
average for yields,” he says. “It’s a little bit of a mixed bag on what we’ve
got it just depends on where you go.”

Advice
he has for growers is to prioritize fields for harvest.

Continue reading Ohio agronomist says crops are better than expected at Brownfield Ag News.

     

The
National Milk Producers Federation is pointing towards multiple science-based
studies that say real dairy products are better for human health and the
environment.

NMPF’s Alan Bjerga says a University of St. Andrews in Scotland study shows milk outperforms water for hydration because lactose helps slow the emptying of fluid from the stomach.  He says another study from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Heart Association recommends that children under 5 drink only milk and water, specifically warning against giving young children plant-based beverages.

Continue reading NMPF points to studies showing real dairy benefits at Brownfield Ag News.

     

Missouri could see effects of the blizzard that hit North and South
Dakota late last week. If weather in the Dakotas warms it will melt the snow
and send it down the Missouri River, according to Chris Chinn, director of the
Missouri Department of Agriculture. Missouri farmers continue to deal with high
water as they recover from flooding that’s already happened this year, said
Chinn.

“We’re all praying that we have a light winter so there isn’t going to be a lot
of additional snow,” Chinn told Brownfield Ag News, “so that our farmers here
in Missouri have that needed break to get their levees built, to get back in
their homes, to do that clean-up process.”

If more floods are coming, Chinn says areas that have already seen the greatest
flood impact will need the most attention.

Continue reading Dakotas blizzard runoff could impact Missouri at Brownfield Ag News.

     

At the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange, live cattle ended the day firm to higher ahead of
widespread direct cash business with additional support from higher wholesale
values during the session.  Feeder cattle
were mostly higher on the same factors.  October
live cattle closed $1.35 higher at $112.35 and December live cattle closed $.42
higher at $113.87.  October feeder cattle
closed $.22 higher at $145.22 and November feeder cattle closed $.15 lower at
$145.92. 

Direct cash cattle trade activity has been at a standstill through midweek. 

Continue reading Cattle futures waiting for cash business at Brownfield Ag News.

     

A Wisconsin ethanol producer says the EPA’s new biofuels blending plan is not what he was expecting.  Neal Kemmet from ACE Ethanol in Stanley, Wisconsin tells Brownfield the industry had a deal to help make up for the wrongs committed by the EPA over the last three years, where refinery exemptions dropped ethanol demand by 4.5 billion gallons. “We had agreed upon a mechanism to kind of make up for that going forward, or at least minimize the damage.

Continue reading Ethanol producer questions if Trump administration shares Midwest concerns at Brownfield Ag News.

     

International visitors who attended this week’s Global Ethanol Summit in Washington D.C. are now embarking on tours that highlight the U.S. ethanol value chain.

The U.S. Grains Council is helping lead the delegations, which USGC president Ryan LeGrand says represent 60 countries.

“They’ve gone out to various states to see what we have to offer in terms of ethanol production, the efficiencies we have throughout the supply chain, and just learning more about what it is that we do and how we’re able to provide an affordable and clean fuel to the world.”

He tells Brownfield the tours will include stops at ethanol plants, fueling stations, and farms.

Continue reading Delegation makes stops along Minnesota’s ethanol value chain at Brownfield Ag News.

     

An extension soil specialist is concerned wet conditions and
a late harvest will lead to extensive compaction this fall.

Jodi DeJong-Hughes with the University of Minnesota says ideally, farmers know when to stay out of wet fields.

“But that is not going to be an option for quite a few people this year.”

And if working in saturated soil is unavoidable, she tells Brownfield axle load and tire inflation management can make a difference.

Continue reading Compaction concerns evident with harvest pushed back at Brownfield Ag News.

     

Fall fieldwork is getting backlogged by adverse weather.

Scott German in southeastern North Dakota tells Brownfield
harvest fell further behind because of last weekend’s blizzard.

German, who finishes hogs, says the chances of getting manure on this fall are diminishing by the day.

“Our storage units are all but full, and it was extremely wet before the snow and rain, so we can’t get that done.”

He says there’s usually a long to-do list once the crop is off and a short amount of time to check every box.

Continue reading Fall backlog piling up quickly at Brownfield Ag News.

     

Dec. corn closed at $3.91 and 3/4, down 1 and 1/2 cents
Nov. soybeans closed at $9.28, down 6 cents
Dec. soybean meal closed at $304.80, down $3.00
Dec. soybean oil closed at 30.40, up 1 point
Dec. wheat closed at $5.13 and 1/4, up 6 and 1/4 cents
Oct. live cattle closed at $112.35, up $1.35
Dec. lean hogs closed at $70.62, down $1.50
Nov. crude oil closed at $53.36, up 55 cents
Dec.

Continue reading Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: October 17, 2019 at Brownfield Ag News.