A central Illinois farmer says soybeans he planted in late February look great. Brad Wade of McLean tells Brownfield 40 acres were planted on the 27th, more on the 29th, and the rest of the crop was in by mid-March. “First trifoliate is coming out, it just couldn’t look better. We’ve been through a couple close calls on frost, but I think we’re over that now. So the beans look fantastic.” He says planting soybeans early gives growers the best opportunity to maximize yield ..read more

Milk futures and cash dairy prices were higher Friday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  June Class III milk was up $0.31 at $19.21.  July was up $0.21 at $19.26.  August was up $0.10 at $19.29. September was up $0.05 at $19.29.     October through December contracts ranged from four cents higher in October and December to ten cents higher in November.      Dry whey was up $0.0050 at $0.3950.  Ten sales were recorded, ranging from $0.3950 to $0.40.  Forty-pound cheese blocks were up ..read more

The ranking member of the Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee says lawmakers should be cautious using the Commodity Credit Corporation to fund part of the new farm bill. John Hoeven told reporters at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Washington Watch “when it comes to our farmers and ranchers and when we’ve had other droughts and other problems, we’ve turned to the CCC. The other thing is you’ve got a real scoring problem.” CCC funds are typically used to implement specific programs established by Congress, including farm income, price support and conservation programs in the ..read more

Expansions to the U.S. Inland Waterway system will continue to provide a competitive advantage for American farmers on the global market.                   Lock and Dam 25 on the Mississippi River, just north of St. Louis, is one of seven U.S. locks slated to expand in the coming years.  Stan Born, Illinois farmer and board member with the US Soybean Export Council, says it’s needed because the competition is catching up. “Historically, we’ve had a competitive advantage because of the reliabili ..read more

The chief ag negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says the first container ship has made it through the Port of Baltimore. A bridge collapse at the end of March has slowed the traffic going in and out of the port and Doug McKalip says “we had an 11-foot channel come online about two weeks after the accident and a 14-foot channel south of the wreckage come online and now, a 35-foot channel just four weeks after the ship hit the bridge.” McKalip says the goal is to open a deeper shipping channel for two-way vessel traffic to 50-feet by the end of May ..read more

The director of USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub says the spring rains have improved soil moisture across the Corn Belt more than he was expecting, but drought isn’t over yet. Dennis Todey says “there are deeper soil profile issues and we also have some groundwater issues that are ongoing.” Todey says the areas that received widespread rains have full ponds and wet soils, but some fields also have newly emerged crops in standing water, which could require a replant ..read more

Jul. corn closed at $4.60 and 1/4, up 1/2 cent Jul. soybeans closed at $12.15, up 16 cents Jul. soybean meal closed at $372.20, up $7.30 Jul. soybean oil closed at 43.08, down 16 points Jul. wheat closed at $6.22 and 1/2, up 18 and 1/4 cents Jun. live cattle closed at $176.67, down 12 cents Aug. feeder cattle closed at $254.75, down 47 cents Jun. lean hogs closed at $98.95, down 97 cents Jun ..read more

Soybeans were higher on fund and technical buying, adding to the week’s gains. Most forecasts have more planting delaying rain in the U.S. and further harvest delays in Argentina and southern Brazil, which are also impacting quality. There is also a chance of flooding in parts of southern Brazil outright destroying what’s left in the field. Unknown destinations bought 122,000 tons of old crop U.S. beans ahead of the open. That could turn out to be China when it’s time for delivery and can be viewed as routine given Brazil’s dominance of the global market reflected in the relative lack of priv ..read more

A southwestern Indiana farmer says weather has continued to be a problem this planting season.  Ben Kron says he has concerns about yield loss. “The later we get, it definitely affects it,” he says. “I mean on beans, anything after about the fifteenth of April, you’re losing half a bushel a day on beans.” He tells Brownfield another concern is weed control.  “Driving down the road right now and there’s some fields that I can see that guys definitely need to get out there and spray,” Kron said ..read more

U.S. cheese export volumes hit a new monthly high during March. American Farm Bureau Federation’s chief economist Roger Cryan tells Brownfield, “We’ll see where the sales go.” “Our best overseas market for American cheese is Mexico,” he says. Cheese exports for the month were up more than 20 percent from last year with Mexico buying the second-largest monthly volume on record. The U.S. Dairy Export Council says despite that strength, dairy exports for March fell seven percent and are down three percent for the first quarter ..read more