Ag Briefs: Dry weather impact felt across state

Dry weather impact felt across state

Warm and mostly dry weather opened a wide window for farmers to complete planting and begin harvesting hay, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Planting of most field crops nearedcompletion in most areas. Reports of irrigation being started in some areas were received. Topsoil moisture condition rated 22% very short, 42% short, 35% adequate. Subsoil moisture condition rated 13% very short, 37% short, and 49% adequate.

The winter wheat condition was rated 75% good to excellent statewide, down 6% from last week. The first cutting of alfalfa was reported at 63% complete, with all hay condition reported as 77% good to excellent statewide, down 2% from last week.

USTR asks for dispute settlement with Mexico over corn ban

The United States Trade Representative has filed a formal dispute settlement with Mexico over its ban of biotech corn for human consumption and animal feed. USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai says the US has repeatedly conveyed its concerns that Mexico's policies are not science-based, and any ban disrupts exports, markets, American innovation and food security.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says USMCA was written to ensure producers have full and fair access to markets in all three countries. He says the ban doesn't embrace fair, open and scienced based rules and biotechnology has been proven safe for decades, Brownfield reported

National Corn Growers Association President Tom Haag said it could take over a year before a ruling is made.

Enter the '23 World Forage Analysis Superbowl

Entries are being accepted for the World Forage Analysis Superbowl, which is open to all forage producers across North America. The 2023 contest, held in conjunction with World Dairy Expo, is set to award over $26,000 in cash prizes, made possible by generous award sponsors.

The deadline to submit corn silage samples is July 12, while all other entries must be submitted by Aug. 24. The $35 entry fee provides entry into the contest along with a detailed sample analysis that is sent to entrants after judging is complete. Entry forms are available at www.foragesuperbowl.org or by contacting any of the following sponsors.

Dairy will seize generational FMMO opportunity

National Milk Producers Federation announced that the formal process of modernizing Federal Milk Marketing Orders is now officially underway after the USDA has moved forward with its request by announcing an "action plan." The USDA's announcement moves the issue toward the national federal order hearing.

Jim Mulhern says that once USDA conducts some preliminary steps and sends out its hearing notice – likely late July – the stage is set for the hearing, which could begin as early as August and take 6-8 weeks. Once all the testimony is considered, USDA would be on track to put forward a final plan for a producer vote in 2024. Assuming that's successful, Mulhern says implementation would begin late next year.

Drought tightens grip across Corn Belt

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows a remarkable recovery in drought across the Plains versus declining conditions in the Midwest, as drought expands its grip and moves into the East. Farmers in Corn Belt states are concerned about the impact on crop conditions, especially in areas where the subsoil moisture has been depleted over the past year.

USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey, who helps author the drought monitor, says the changes in the map over the past four weeks show the story best, with some major improvements across the Plains and with deepening drought in the Midwest, Farm Journal reported.

Survey reveals state's most popular fruit & veggie

In a study conducted by health and fitness experts at Total Shape, Wisconsinites were found to choose apples as their most popular fruit, with mangoes ranking second. Mushrooms were the Badger state's most popular veggie.

The experts used Google search data to examine the search volumes of fruit and vegetables across each state. Overall, the study reveals Apples are the most popular fruit across the US.

Wild blueberry crop impacted by drought

The nation's production of wild blueberries slipped a bit last year as some growers contended with drought. Wild blueberries are smaller than their cultivated cousins and are widely used in frozen and processed products such as smoothie mixes. Maine is the only state in the U.S. where the blueberries are harvested commercially. Data from the USDA says the 2022 harvest of the blueberries fell a little more than 25% to 77.5M lbs.. That was still a relatively strong year, and the third-most since 2017.

WCGA sponsors '23 competition for WI's best whiskey

Craft distilleries in Wisconsin will once again compete for top honors at a national whiskey tasting competition In St. Louis in August 2. Competition is limited to whiskeys that utilize some corn, which is almost all U.S. craft whiskey.

The 2023 competition will for the first time award a trophy for Top Farmer-Distiller, the top scoring whiskey produced by a distillery whose owner(s) operates a working farm.

Russia limits Ukraine grain shipments

The United Nations is warning of a new threat to global food security. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Russia is limiting the number of ships allowed to pick up Ukrainian grain at Black Sea ports in its campaign to get Kyiv to open a pipeline for a key ingredient of fertilizer to get to world markets.

He expressed serious concern that only 33 ships departed from Ukrainian ports in May, half the number compared to April, and exports of grain and other foodstuffs totaled just 1.3 million metric tons last month, less than half the amount of the previous month. He said Russia is limiting ship registrations to Yuzhny, one of the three ports under the grain deal.

AFBF expands right-to-repair initiative with AGCO, Kubota

The American Farm Bureau Federation signed a memorandum of understanding with both Kubota and AGCO, further expanding the Farm Bureau's initiative to empower farmers and ranchers to make timely, cost-effective repairs on their own equipment.

Following agreements with John Deere and CNH Industrial Brands earlier this year, the AFBF has signed agreements with about 70 percent of agricultural machinery sold in the states, AgDaily reported.

President of the AFBF, Zippy Duvall said these agreements represent ongoing efforts to ensure farmers have access to the tools necessary to keep their equipment running and to keep food on the table for families across America.

Land O'Lakes: US carbon farming payouts top $5M in '22

Truterra LLC, the carbon farming and sustainable agriculture unit of Land O'Lakes Inc paid U.S. farmers $5.1 million in 2022 for capturing and storing 262,000 metric tons of carbon via sustainable practices, the company announced on May 24.

The payments to 273 growers enrolled in its carbon program were up from about $4 million paid out in 2021 for sequestering 200,000 tons of carbon, the U.S. farm cooperative said in a release.

Animal rights activists protest octopus farm plans in Spain

Animal rights activists have gathered in Madrid to protest plans for the construction of a large-scale octopus farm. They said Sunday that there are no laws in the country or the European Union to guarantee the welfare of octopuses in captivity. The farm is scheduled to be built next year in Spain's Canary Islands.

Protesters showed concern for jailing these solitary clever animals in pools. But the company behind the project claims their scientific research guarantees the welfare of the octopuses whose meat is considered a delicacy in many countries.