Replant FAQ’s
Every spring during planting season it’s always the hope of producers that Mother Nature will provide perfect growing conditions. Temperatures that aren’t too hot or too cold. Rains that come gently just when our crops need it. But we know that’s not how it works. After planting if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate it can […]
Precision Ag
The use of precision technology in agriculture and the data collected from it has been steadily growing for the past decade or so. The amount of data that can be collected seems endless. Many of us ask ourselves, now that I have this data what can I do with it? How can I utilize […]
Land Values
Missouri Agriculture Lenders Express Mixed Feelings on Land Values The following article was written by Ben Brown, MU Extension- Agriculture Business and Policy Team When asked, producers- with a smile and a laugh- will likely say their lender is the most pessimistic within their circle of advisors- well at least outside university economists. Lenders are […]
Market Thoughts
The USDA Ag Forum is estimating a huge increase in corn acres for 2023 with a prediction of 91 million acres compared to 88.6 million last year. USDA is also predicting an average yield of 181.5 bushels per acre. This is almost a 5% increase over last year’s yield of 173.3 bushels per acre. […]
Marketing with Crop Insurance
February has come and gone and the spring minimum guarantee prices for crop insurance have been set. The spring guarantee for corn is set at $5.91. This is a penny higher than last year. Soybeans are set at $13.76 per bushel. This is down 57 cents from last spring, but still a historically high […]
CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTURE
Today we are faced with more changes in agriculture than ever before. The Corona virus has brought attention to the vulnerability of our entire economic, political and social systems. I have never seen a time in our country’s history when it was harder to get factual information. The air waves are filled with opinions, hate […]
FUNGICIDES AND INSECTICIDES- DOES IT PAY TO SPRAY?
With profit margins looking thin for both corn and soybeans, there is a temptation for many producers to avoid applying fungicides and insecticides. Is this a good decision or does it pay to spray?Corn and soybeans both suffer from fungal diseases. Some years are worse than others so the producer must spend ample time scouting […]
MARKET OUTLOOK
The rest of this year could remain challenging for all agricultural commodities. The press has been loaded with reports of increased buying from China at historic levels, but prices have not responded. This is in part due to the burdensome supplies of nearly all commodities including the meat markets.The economy, pandemic, unrest and increased competition […]
LOOKING AT THE MARKETS
At the beginning of August, prices for most commodities were very depressing. Since then, all markets have rallied a significant amount for various reasons. However, we must remember that market prices are just a snapshot in time.CornDEC 20 corn on August 1 was $3.20 per bushel, by mid-September this market had rallied over 50 cents […]
CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM- CFAP2
On September 17th the USDA announced there would be a $14 billion expansion made to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The program, called CFAP 2, is providing financial assistance to producers in effort to offset the effects of COVID-19 in the ag industry. Like the first set of payments made, this program is administered […]