In fact, November soybean futures, the nearby contract, opened Monday, Oct. 14, at $9.405 per bushel and closed at $9.405, an almost unheard of result given that U.S. farmers are in the middle of their annual soybean season and the White House is in the middle of another monthly China tariff fight.

Continue Reading

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program on Oct. 29. This program, as required by the 2018 farm bill, creates a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States. “As mandated by Congress, our program requires all hemp growers to be licensed, and includes testing protocols to ensure hemp under this program is hemp – and nothing else,” Perdue said.

Continue Reading

Is soybean yield not quite what you expected for some fields? Are the disappointing fields repeat offenders? Your past yield maps may be trying to tell you something. Soybean cyst nematode could be the culprit, and there’s one sure way to find out if it could be plaguing your acres. Start with accurate identification. SCN affects a wide variety of soil types, and typically an environment conducive to good soybean yield is also conducive to SCN reproduction. Yield losses may be particularly dramatic in drier years — conditions much of the state experienced this summer.

Continue Reading