U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. This program, as required by the 2018 Farm Bill, creates a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States. “At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we […]

ARC-IC (Agriculture Risk Coverage – Individual) has received less attention than ARC-CO (ARC – County) and PLC (Price Loss Coverage).  ARC-IC is operationally more complex, thus harder to explain and understand.  It pays on only 65% of program base acres while ARC-CO and PLC pay on 85% of base acres.  Nevertheless, ARC-IC is worth considering […]

The future of U.S. pork belly supplies isn’t so clear despite reports of an impending bacon shortage in 2020, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist. David Anderson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist, College Station, said numerous recent reports regarding a bacon shortage in 2020 could be based more on expectations than current reality. Anderson said […]

It happens every year. A field is about to be harvested and something is awry.  Perhaps the plants are lodged, ears are poorly filled, or pods shrunken.  What happened to my crop? From a plant disease perspective, it is nearly impossible to provide any useful information to the producer.  Many pathogens that can cause crop […]

Producers in several states, including North Dakota and Minnesota, have been affected by extremely wet and snowy conditions this fall. “Impacted producers covered by crop insurance should contact their insurance agent as soon as possible to determine what actions they can take,” encourages Ron Haugen, North Dakota State University Extension farm management specialist. According to […]

The post-harvest period is an excellent time to sample for soybean cyst nematodes (SCN), the most yield-limiting pest in soybeans. Soybean cyst nematodes often go undetected but cause more yield loss in Nebraska and across the U.S. than all other soybean diseases combined. Yield losses of over 30% have been documented in healthy-looking soybean fields. […]

The goal for any farmer holding grain in storage should be to obtain a better price for that crop in the spring or summer than the price offered at harvest. Some farmers put grain in the bin looking to sell it by hitting a grain marketing “home run,” i.e., selling all of their grain in […]

Reuters writers Heather Timmons and Hallie Gu reported last week that, “U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that Beijing commit to big purchases of American farm products has become a major sticking point in talks to end the Sino-U.S. trade war, according to several people briefed on the negotiations. Farm Policy@FarmPolicy  “@realDonaldTrump: We’re ahead of schedule on phase […]