Brownfield » Managing for Profit

Taking into account an exceptional year

Bob Meyer — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:27:35 +0000

As fall harvest approaches it is also time to assess your corn hybrids with an eye towards what you will choose to plant next year. But this has been an exceptional year; heat and moisture have pushed crops well ahead of average…so how do you take that into account when assessing your hybrids? That is the same dilemma which faces those developing the hybrids; Ed Grote Ph.D. is Senior Research Scientist at Pioneer’s research facility in Janesville, Wisconsin.

AUDIO: Grote talks about the process

A check on crop conditions

Dave Russell — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:15:14 +0000

Last week at Becknology Days, I talked with Jim Riggs, Marketing Consultant for Beck’s Hybrids about crop conditions in Beck’s marketing area. Jim says that compared to the last few years he’s seeing a lot of differences from one area to another, from good crops on poorer soils in the south, to holes caused by heavy rains in June in Illinois. to late season drought stress in western Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

AUDIO: Jim Riggs, Beck’s Hybrids (3:00 MP3)

Farmers markets specialize in fresh and local

Tom Steever — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:00:52 +0000

Demand is growing for food marketed directly from farmers to consumers. As a result, farmers markets are becoming more plentiful and range in sophistication from the humble to the elaborate. The trend is nothing new at City Market on Kansas City’s north side. That facility’s market master, Deb Connors, explains that improvements have made it possible for buyers to shop with greater confidence and for sellers to have a viable place to market the produce they grow.

AUDIO: Deb Connors (3 min. MP3)

Iowa hog producer goes antibiotic-free, cage-free

Ken Anderson — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:00:07 +0000

Pork producer Dirk Westrum of Stratford, Iowa has a 1,200 sow farrow-to-finish hog operation. In a recent interview at the Iowa State Fair, Dirk told us how he is now producing antibiotic-free, cage-free, natural pork for a niche market—and he also talked about the nifty new feeding technology he is using.

AUDIO: Dirk Westrum (3 min MP3)

Refuge-in-a-bag

Bob Meyer — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:39:11 +0000

If you have ever planted genetically modified crops you are familiar with refuges. A number of seed companies are working on the development of refuge-in-a-bag technology where there are a set number of non-gm plants mixed in with gm seed. Pioneer has just introduced Optimum AcreMax 1 which features refuge-in-a-bag for corn rootworm…Ed Grote is senior research scientist with Pioneer in Wisconsin.

AUDIO: Ed Grote Ph.D. talks about the technology

FAPRI sees brighter farm economy

Julie Harker — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:42:31 +0000

MU FAPRI – the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri – has released its mid-year baseline report. I talked with FAPRI crop analyst Scott Gerlt about what it means to producers.

AUDIO: Scott Gerlt (3 min. MP3)

Seed wheat tough to come by

Dave Russell — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:30:45 +0000

Pioneer was anticipating a trend back to more normal wheat acres, but then the drought in Russia and a run-up in the price of wheat changed things. Brian Deverman, Pioneer Wheat Business Manager for North America and Canada says the combination of factors has caused seed wheat to be in short supply this fall.

AUDIO: Brian Deverman, Pioneer (3:00 MP3)

…how does your garden grow?

Tom Steever — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:00:06 +0000

In this case, the reference is to soybean and corn fields and the ‘gardener’ is Charles Hinkebein of Chaffee, Missouri, just shy of the Show Me State’s Bootheel. They’re short of rain this season and Hinkebein is fortunate that he irrigates. It’s the Mississippi River channel water and a few other interesting ingredients in which Hinkebein has strong faith. He’s also enthused about his Asgrow Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans, and why not; one year they peaked at 109 bushels to the acre. But it’s the way he coaxes them through to harvest that is interesting.

AUDIO: Charles Hinkebein (3 min. MP3)

Wyoming dairy producer strives to reduce costs

Ken Anderson — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:00:41 +0000

When you think of the dairy industry, you probably don’t think of Wyoming. But at the recent Cattle Industry Conference in Denver, we talked to a Wyoming dairy producer. Scott George lives between Cody and Powell in extreme northwest Wyoming. In fact, he’s only 50 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone Park. Scott told us that, like his Midwestern brethren, he constantly looking for ways to reduce costs in his dairy operation.

AUDIO: Scott George (3 min MP3)

Linking dairy around the world

Bob Meyer — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:23:11 +0000

Recognizing the increasingly global scope of the dairy industry, the University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) established the Babcock Institute for International Dairy Research and Development in 1991 to help link the dairy industry in the United States with the rest of the world.

Karen Nielsen says the Babcock Institute transforms emerging dairy industries and strengthens the U.S. dairy industry through customized dairy training programs, conferences, research, and market analysis.

AUDIO: Nielsen talks about the Babcock Institute