Field Posts

There were a lot of divergent expectations going into the 2022 midterm election, after a tumultuous year of national and state level politics. For the agricultural community, the end of the election season means that the 2023 farm bill season will be starting in earnest, especially after the new members of the house and senate ag committee are chosen and seated.  Here to help us unpack who won, wh...

The November WASDE dropped Wednesday, Nov 9th, offering just a few small surprises for a market that was expecting USDA to hold steady from the October numbers. With more than 90% of the 2022 crop out of the field, the department is honing in, making minor adjustments to the crop size, but not enough to relieve the incredibly tight supply situation across all the major grains.  DTN’s Todd Hultman...

Just in the last year or so, Congress and the USDA have determined to spend more than $3 billion dollars on what’s being called climate smart agriculture– including projects and pilots carried out by private companies and nonprofits to help support the ag industry in its efforts to improve soil health and reduce negative impacts on the planet.  Progressive Farmer reporters and editors have been ke...

Since 2005, DTN Progressive Farmer has been selecting two farmers every year from various parts of the country to participate in their annual View from the Cab Project.  These farmers spend a full year getting to know DTN’s Pamela Smith as they work through  weekly calls and check-ins, sharing their stories and their seasons with the rest of the broader farm community.  2022’s farmers are no excep...

The October WASDE dropped Wednesday, October 12th, and this month’s estimates include insight from farmer surveys as harvest gets underway across the country. Markets have rallied as USDAs numbers inch closer to those reported by Gro Intelligence and other yield tours, though outside influences are holding down prices in some regions. DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to help us link the data from the r...

From the Federal Reserve’s moves to raise interest rates to the war in Ukraine to droughts around the world, the challenges facing the global ag sector are many– begging the question, how does a thoughtful farm manager keep up.  Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us to talk more about key issues that she’s been focusing on this year, related in particular to the economy, and wha...

As farmers across the country get into the thick of harvest, a late season hurricane– Ian – slams into the Southeast, threatening to disrupt work across the Carolina’s, Georgia, even up into Virginia and over into Kentucky and Tennessee. Otherwise, however, a relatively dry forecast offers a mix of benefits, a positive outlook for getting through harvest quickly, but no relief from devastating dry...

The Biden Administration’s big announcement in 2021, announcing new funding specifically aimed at increasing competition in the US’s meat packing sector, was not by far the first sign that ranchers and feedlots alike are feeling the sting of tough conditions, even while consumers paid record high prices at the meat counter.  In the wake of such funding, a number of new meat packing facilities have...

With harvest well in view for most farmers, plans for winter down time are also coming into focus. For years, DTN’s Ag Summit has been helping farmers prepare strategically for the uncertainties in the markets, weather and current events of the year to come, and this year is no exception.  We’re talking to DTN’s Katie Dehlinger today, who brings up updates on what to expect from the all virtual ev...

The September WASDE dropped Monday, September 12th, and with harvest looming and the crop looking lackluster, grain markets in particular are on tender hooks as they await any new information about the 2022 stocks.  DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to unpack some surprise adjustments that USDA made ahead of the September 30th report. And as corn and soybeans information gets an update, he’ll put it in...

It’s just weeks away from the end of another year for the cattle market, and the most recent news for and from the markets has been discouraging. But for DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart, the next steps for savvy cattlemen are clear– don’t panic, and keep the fundamentals in mind.  Today, we’ll talk through the latest data with ShayLe, checking in on feed markets, drought impacts, and slaughte...

Senior Editor for The Progressive Farmer Joel Richenberger is fresh off a visit to the 2022 InfoAg conference, and has been digging into the rapidly maturing world of drone technology since his return.  What was once a piece of fringe equipment used for scouting and photography has this summer grown into a valuable implement that farmers around the country are using for precision spraying. Not one...

DTN’s 5th annual Digital Yield Tour wrapped up just days ago on August 12th, 2022, and yield estimates meaningfully lower than USDA’s left some surprised and others feeling validated.   Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us to reveal the latest estimates that Gro Intelligence published during the tour, including granular estimates for 10 key midwestern states and national yield...

The August WASDE dropped Friday, August 12th, and with the broader US economy reckoning with turmoil and the global harvest still uncertain, markets were eager for the information infusion from USDA.  DTN’s Lead Analyst Todd Hultman joins us to unpack some of the adjustments the department made that moved markets as analysts zero in on final estimates before harvest. He covers the drought picture,...

A host of factors — from the war in Ukraine to the global pandemic — have been putting the refined fuels market through the wringer, both in the US and around the globe.  The result — record low inventories in recent months for fossil fuels from gasoline and diesel to propane and natural gas. The inevitable price increases have helped contribute to price inflation for consumers, but for farmers, t...

DTN’s 5th annual digital yield tour is just a few days away-- taking place August 8th through August 12th.   With the help of cutting edge data from Gro Intelligence, including satellite imagery, AI and machine learning that updates day by day, the tour promises to add some very timely clarity on what as currently an uncertain crop picture.  Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us...

Farmers and ranchers across the US are in the thick of the season, and watching carefully as even the slightest weather shifts move markets. What has been a hot, dry, and drought-stricken summer for many has ag commodity watchers on the edge of their seats as harvest looms, and the size and condition of the corn, soybean and wheat crops, among others, come into sharper focus.    DTN’s Team Lead fo...

Transitioning a farm from one generation to the next is a many stepped process, some of which are legal or financial, but many more of which are personal, interpersonal, and emotional. And that can make this work really, really hard.  Today, DTN Special Correspondent Elizabeth Williams joins to talk more about her series on the process of succession planning. She’ll share wisdom she’s learned in h...

Since the now infamous occurrence of a class of compounds described as forever chemicals on a West Virginia farm years ago led to devastating consequences for animals and humans alike, EPA, state regulators, and scientists have been detecting PFAS across the country, in soil, water, and even human blood.  High concentrations of PFAS in some areas have led authorities to prohibit farmers in multipl...

The USDA’s June 30th acreage report has been long anticipated– as conditions over the months since the March prospective planting report have shifted considerably.  DTN’s lead analyst Todd Hultman joins us today to put the report’s findings into perspective– as ag markets have softened, and that trend looks to continue, despite market fundamentals.  Todd unpacks his expectations going into the rep...

For many months now Boerson Farms has been at the center of a federal investigation, led by the IRS. This comes after a number of lawsuits were filed against the farm in recent years, primarily attempting to force Boerson Farms to pay money owed to companies both local and national, that had provided products and services used to operate the farm’s 83,000 cropland acres. One creditor, Helena Agri-...

The 2022 Ag Symposium was held by the Kansas City Fed May 23rd and 24th, and the theme of the bank’s annual event is help wanted in agriculture .  Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us to talk more about what she heard from President of the Kansas City Fed, Esther George, and from various Fed economists who have their attention trained on the ag sector as inflation climbs, globa...

The June WASDE dropped Friday, June 10th, and what is usually a quiet report ahead of a more interesting USDA missive at the end of the month did not disappoint.  Nevertheless, DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to unpack the smaller updates that the department made to their production and stock estimates, and to talk about why even small tweaks matter in today’s historically tight supply situation. We’l...

After months of back and forth on various legislative proposals, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees both sat down for a hearing in recent weeks to learn more from industry leaders about the problems and needs of the cattle market when it comes to price transparency.  In light of the added recent hardships of rising feed prices and inflation in the grocery store, many ranchers are looking...

On May 19th, the annual Winter Wheat Tour wrapped up its survey of the Southern Plains wheat crop, which were estimated yields based on the results of 550 stops through the region. Progressive Farmer Crops Editor Matt Wilde made his way to Kansas with dozens of other industry experts to participate in collecting the data, and reports what he saw on the ground.  Today, we’ll talk about crop develop...