Milk futures were higher and the cash dairy prices were mostly higher Friday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  May was up $0.42 at $17.80.  June was up $0.44 at $18.07.  July was up $0.31 at $18.33. August was up $0.13 at $18.54.     September through November contracts ranged from three cents higher in October and November to ten cents higher in September.      Dry whey was up $0.0075 at $0.3925.  Ten sales were recorded, ranging from $0.39 to $0.3975  Forty-pound cheese blocks were up $0.0 ..read more

EPA’s emergency waiver allowing E15 sales this summer is heightening conversations on finding a permanent solution. Minnesota Corn Growers Association president Dana Allen-Tully says Congress is considering several bills that would make E15 available year-round nationwide. “I think at this point they haven’t narrowed it down.” She tells Brownfield Minnesota U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, as well as U.S Representatives Angie Craig, Michelle Fischbach, and Brad Finstad are among many lawmakers looking for any way possible to make year-round E15 a reality ..read more

A young farmer says he’s concerned about how new renewable energy projects will impact the availability of farmland. Andrew Braun grows corn, soybeans, and wheat in Clinton County with his family. “We don’t want to tell anyone what they can and can’t do on their own land, but also we know that the government is really pushing for these green energies and subsidizing them to a point where it’s hard to say no when the utility companies come and make you that offer.” He tells Brownfield he doesn’t see an easy solution to siting renewable energy in rural communities ..read more

An Iowa pork producer is hopeful a solution for California’s Proposition 12 is coming in the next farm bill. Trish Cook of Winthrop is a past president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association and says she’s hearing the House is making progress. “GT Thompson, the chair of the House Ag Committee, is also committed to getting some wording in there as a fix for Prop 12 about the restrictions that Prop 12 is putting on interstate commerce ..read more

Researchers at Michigan State University are exploring the possibility of cultivating morel mushrooms in the U.S. Ag economics professor Steve Swinton tells Brownfield, “Even though it’s difficult to cultivate them outdoors and we’re still learning how to do this in the United States, the prices are high enough that there’s hope that with even with fairly low yields, you might still be able to make a profit.” Swinton says foragers surveyed during 2021 reported selling wild morels for around $35 per pound, and prices have only turned higher ..read more

May corn closed at $4.33 and 1/2, up 6 and 3/4 cents May soybeans closed at $11.50 and 1/2, up 16 and 1/4 cents May soybean meal closed at $343.70, up $5.70 May soybean oil closed at 44.38, up 26 points May wheat closed at $5.50 and 1/4, up 13 and 1/2 cents Jun. live cattle closed at $175.67, up 30 cents May feeder cattle closed at $242.00, down 55 cents Jun ..read more

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were mostly higher, and feeders were lower watching Friday’s direct business develop and waiting for the On Feed numbers. June lives were $.30 higher at $175.67 and August lives closed $.02 higher at $173.55. May feeders closed $.55 lower at $242 and August feeders closed $.80 lower at $253.50.  There was a light to moderate direct cash cattle trade that took place Friday.  Live deals were marked at $182 in the South and $183 in the North, steady with the previous week’s weighted averages.  ..read more

Southwest Iowa farmer Jeff Jorgenson says the supply of inputs has improved over the last year, but some prices remain elevated. “I think there’s been some things that have happened in the past couple of years with tariffs and other issues around the globe that have caused us to sit where we’re at. I think we jumped to a little too much of a plateau and now it’s just taking too long to tail off.” He tells Brownfield some farmers have had to make tough decisions ..read more

Severe storms moved across the Midwest Thursday, and central Illinois farmer David Brown is thankful his planter wasn’t in the shed. The Macon County farmer tells Brownfield… “We had a tornado come through and we were very fortunate that nobody got hurt.”  He says, “Our planter had been pulled out in this one particular shed to be ready for our planting season. We had moved it and had it hooked up in another location.” Brown’s machine shed was one of several hit by a tornado ..read more

The senior policy director with the Missouri Soybean Association says a water export bill is getting a second chance in Missouri’s State Legislature. Casey Wasser tells Brownfield in an executive session of Missouri’s Senate Ag Committee Senator Jason Bean’s water export bill, Senate Bill 782, was added to House Bill 2134, which modifies permit requirements and exemptions relating to Missouri’s fertilizer and clean water. “We’re hopeful once that House bill hits the Senate floor, lawmakers can pick up where things left off and it can pass and be sent to the governor.” Wasser says the companio ..read more