Agronomy News

From Forage to Fertilizer: Iowa Farmers Turn Cover Crops Into A Profit Engine

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:37:00 GMT

Where the borders of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois converge above the Mississippi River, Jack and Maria Smith, alongside their sons Nick and Ted, have turned cover crops into the strategic backbone of their diversified farming operation.

Based in eastern Dubuque County, Iowa, the family combines no-till corn and soybeans with a 420-head beef operation. They utilize a spring and fall calving schedule to produce registered seedstock and yearling bulls, while also finishing select calves.

One of the things that makes their farm unique, Nick Smith says, is how completely they’ve integrated cover crops in all aspects of their operation.

“We cover crop every single acre now. We’ve been able to do that for the last five, six, seven years, somewhere in there,” he told Andrew McCrea, during their recent discussion on Farming The Countryside.

Smith Family Farms got its start in 1853. In addition to their conservation efforts, the family is dedicated to preserving the state’s history through the Iowa Barn Foundation, which has saved more than 300 barns.

(Environmental Stewardship Award Video)

Matching Cover Crops To Cattle And Terrain

Because their land is prone to erosion, the Smiths first used cover crops to protect the soil from heavy rains. However, the practice quickly became a “no-brainer” feed source for their beef herd.

On their steepest slopes, the family often uses a two-year rotation centered on covers. They plant a spring cover crop to graze or harvest, then follow it with a diverse “summer cocktail” that is harvested once and grazed in the fall. This rotation prepares the fields for no-till corn the following year.

“With some of our steepest slopes, that’s what we typically do,” Smith says. “On ground that’s not as steep, we grow more continuous corn.”

Cattle graze the rolling hills that make up a significant percentage of the land the Smiths own in Dubuque County, Iowa.

(Environmental Stewardship Award Video)

Most of the family’s cover crop acres are grazed by cattle at some point.

“In the fall, I would say we’re grazing all of them,” Smith says. He notes that distance and accessibility sometimes limit spring grazing. “Probably 50-plus percent of the acres do get grazed in the spring. It just depends on the weather. You can’t really have the cattle out there if it’s wet.”

Custom “Cocktails” For Summer And Fall

Smith chooses different cover crop mixes based on the season and the next crop in the rotation. For summer covers, he prefers diverse blends based on sorghum-sudangrass.

“We love that stuff,” he says. “It’s really hard to screw it up. It’ll grow pretty much anywhere, and it grows quickly. It’s great feed; cows love it.”

He typically adds legumes like clover and buckwheat to those summer mixes. For fall and winter grazing, the farm relies on small grains and brassicas, including triticale, cereal rye, turnips, and oats. These fall covers are usually seeded in August and September.

The Smiths use a corn-soybean rotation along with some continuous corn. Cover crops help fuel the family’s row crops and feed their cattle herd.

(Environmental Stewardship Award Video)

Smith adjusts his seeding rates based on the upcoming row crop. If a field is headed to soybeans, he seeds cereal rye at a heavier rate.

“Beans like cereal rye,” he said. “If we’ve got a thicker stand out there, that’s not going to bother me.”

If he is planting corn the next year, he uses a lighter rate of cereal rye, especially on fields that won’t be grazed in the spring. The family has also experimented with camelina ahead of corn to add more diversity.

From Planes To Drones — And The Combine

Smith’s father, Jack, began aerial seeding cover crops more than 15 years ago, but the rolling terrain made it difficult to get consistent results.

“In our topography, we haven’t had great success with that,” Smith says. “It’s hard to get good coverage over every acre.”

In recent years, the Smiths have used drones for more precise seeding, especially to drop oats, radishes, or turnips into standing corn to create high-quality fall forage.

“We’ve had years where we’ve had knee-high oats while we’re harvesting corn,” Smith says, though he notes success depends on timely rain.

One of the most significant changes the family made was five years ago when they decided to mount a Gandy air seeder on their combine to plant cereal rye during the corn harvest.

“It’s hydraulically powered and blows the seed so it drops right at or through the header, just before the residue goes through the snapping rolls on the corn head,” Smith says. “As that material goes down through the corn head, it basically covers the seed up and helps trap a little bit more moisture there for it to get going.”

Smith can seed about 15 acres per fill. He dismisses concerns that the practice slows down the harvest.

“Everybody’s excuse is, ‘I don’t want to stop harvest,’” he says. “You can refill in 5 minutes with the right kind of tender. We’re saving a whole other trip, saving a lot of fuel, and we’re getting more growth because it’s done earlier.”

Soil Health And Nitrogen Efficiency

Smith credits no-till and consistent cover cropping with improving his soil function. He has observed faster residue breakdown, more earthworm activity, and higher microbial activity.

Earthworms are the only tillage tool on Smith Family Farms operation in northeast Iowa.

(Environmental Stewardship Award)

“The pace of the increases in organic matter have gone up a lot since we started using the combine, because we’re getting seed in every square foot of every acre, and we’re doing it on a consistent basis,” he reports.

Grazing cover crops has also allowed the family to reduce commercial nitrogen rates over the last six or seven years, even as corn yields have increased.

“From an efficiency standpoint, we’re way more efficient as far as pounds of commercial nitrogen applied per bushel of corn,” Smith says. He attributes this to cattle returning nutrients to the soil via manure, though the exact fertilizer value is hard to quantify.

Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) has played a central role in helping the Smiths refine these systems. Nick says he uses the organization’s website, events, and on-farm trials to guide experimentation with new cover mixes.

Labor And The “Cheat Code” Of Cows

Smith says labor is the biggest barrier for most farmers considering cover crops. However, he argues that seeding during harvest removes that hurdle.

“That’s where the combine’s a no-brainer, because that’s not labor — you’re saving time,” he notes.

He also acknowledges that having cattle makes the financial risk much lower.

“Compared to other farmers, we’ve got a mulligan, if something doesn’t work,” Smith says. “If you’re a cash-grain farmer only and you’re spending money on some cover crops and it doesn’t really work, it’s hard to stomach that cost. For us, if we have something that’s a failure, we can still recover some of that cost — and in a lot of years, way more than recover the cost. The cows are a little bit of a ‘cheat code’ for us in that aspect.”

The Smith Family Farms received the 2025 Regional Environmental Stewardship Award for their efforts in sustainability, which were highlighted during the CattleCon 2026 conference.

Listen to the complete discussion between Nick Smith and Andrew McCrae on Farming The Countryside here .

Chinese Scientist Accused Of Smuggling ‘Potential Agroterrorism Weapon’ Into the U.S.

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 23:10:38 GMT

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with trying to smuggle a fungus, Fusarium graminearum, into the United States.

Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements and visa fraud.

The charges against the pair were unsealed in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, on Tuesday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office references Fusarium graminearum online as a “dangerous biological pathogen … which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.”

Fusarium graminearum causes significant diseases in a number of U.S.-grown food crops, including corn, wheat, barley, soybeans and rice.

Diseases caused include Fusarium head blight (scab) in wheat, and two corn diseases Gibberella ear rot and Gibberella stalk rot , which can lower yield and feed quality of silage corn, according to the Crop Protection Network, a partnership of land grant universities.

Toxins the fungus produces can cause vomiting, liver damage, reproductive defects and mycotoxin-induced immunosuppression in humans and livestock, including cattle, hogs, horses and poultry.

One Scientist Arrested, One Returned To China
The 25-page criminal complaint alleges Liu tried to smuggle the fungus through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DMA) in July 2024, so he could study it at a University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend, Yunqing Jian, worked at the time.

Jian had been living in the U.S. and working at the university laboratory since 2022.

The roots of the case involving Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, stretch back to March 2024. That is when Liu applied for a B2 tourist visa to enter the U.S.

(The Detroit News and Sanilac County Jail)

According to the criminal complaint, Jian and Liu had both previously conducted work on the fungus in China.

Officials further allege Jian received funding from the Chinese government for her research on the pathogen in China. They also claim she is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Jian, who was arrested by the FBI, remains in federal custody. On Thursday, her detention hearing was adjourned until 1 p.m. June 13 to allow time for a new defense attorney to get up to speed.

Liu was sent back to China last year after changing his story during an interrogation at the Detroit airport about red plant material discovered in a wad of tissues in his backpack, the FBI says.

The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China, which makes Liu’s arrest unlikely unless he returns.

In a statement released on June 3, the University of Michigan said it condemns “any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission.”

“It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals,” the university added. “We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution.”

In a statement released on June 3, the University of Michigan said it condemns “any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission.”

(Michigan News Source)

Boyfriend Spills Intentions To Investigators
An article in The Detroit News said Liu told investigators during an interrogation at the Detroit airport he planned to clone the different strains and make additional samples if the experiments on the reddish plant material failed, according to the government.

“Liu stated that he intentionally hid the samples in his backpack because he knew there were restrictions on the importation of the materials,” an FBI agent wrote. “Liu confirmed that he had intentionally put the samples in a wad of tissues so CBP officers would be less likely to find and confiscate them, and he could continue his research in the United States.”

Liu told investigators he planned on using UM’s Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory to research the biological materials, the FBI agent wrote.

“Liu stated that, while he was in the United States, he would have free access to the laboratory at the University of Michigan on some days, and that other days his girlfriend would give him access to the laboratory to conduct his research,” The Detroit News article reported.

Before preventing Liu from entering the U.S. and sending him back to China, the investigators found messages between the couple that indicate Jian previously smuggled biological material into the U.S., the FBI agent wrote.

The messages are from August 2022 and discuss smuggling seeds into the U.S.

Lawmakers Respond To The Criminal Complaint
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that the Justice Department “has no higher mission than keeping the American people safe and protecting our nation from hostile foreign actors who would do us harm.”

“Thanks to the hard work of our excellent DOJ attorneys, this defendant — who clandestinely attempted to bring a destructive substance into the United States — will face years behind bars,” the attorney general says.

“I can confirm that the FBI arrested a Chinese national within the United States who allegedly smuggled a dangerous biological pathogen into the country,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on Tuesday.

(FBI)

FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the arrest of Jian late Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

“This case is a sobering reminder that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences … putting American lives and our economy at serious risk.”

U.S. Custom and Border Protection, Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon says the criminal charges against Jian and Liu are indicative of CBP’s critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate its agricultural economy and cause harm to humans.

“This was a complex investigation involving CBP offices from across the country, alongside our federal partners,” says Raybon in a prepared statement. “I’m grateful for their tireless efforts, ensuring our borders remain secure from all types of threats while safeguarding America’s national security interests.”

Your next read: Surveillance State: Game Wardens Sued for Secret Private Land Intrusions in Alabama

'Stay Tuned, We'll Be Right Back With Your Forecast'

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:02:27 GMT

What if you could know the timing of significant weather events for your area during the next six months with 91% accuracy?

Now you can, according to Gary Lezak, a former meteorologist with KSHB-TV in Kansas City turned weather entrepreneur.

Lezak’s business, Weather 20/20, provides weather-based data analytics on a global basis to its customers, who range from farmers to retailers to general consumers.

Eighty Years In The Making
Lezak learned in the mid-1980s that a weather cycle exists, an insight he attributes to Jerome Namais, who first addressed the concept in the 1940s. Namais, a renowned American meteorologist, was Chief of the United States Weather Bureau’s Extended Forecast Section in Washington, D.C. from 1941 to 1971.

“What it’s all about is the weather pattern above us – the river of air that goes across North America through the westerly belt, across to Europe, Asia, and then back around across the Pacific. That jet stream flow, that river of air above us, has an order to it,” Lezak told Andrew McCrea, host of the Farming The Countryside podcast, during a recent conversation.

For the next 20 years Lezak continued to study the weather cycling concept, refining what he learned as he went along.

By the early 2000s, Lezak was blogging about what he had learned, eventually calling the concept he developed the Lezak Recurring Cycle (LRC). He founded Weather 20/20 in 2008.

“The LRC is all about the cycle,” Lezak says. “After many years of practicing it, 20 to 30 years of using it, we are able to predict when and where and a little bit of the what,” with regard to weather, he told McCrea.

The core tenet of the LRC is that a unique weather pattern establishes itself every year. It starts to set up in early October, with develpment continuing through early January. By then, Lezak says the pattern can be identified and predictions of every day’s weather around the world can be produced.

Based on the LRC, Lezak says he can predict with a 91% accuracy level when and where there will be major weather events – from snowstorms to hurricanes to droughts – for the next seven to eight months in the U.S.

“That (timing) is the sweet spot of the LRC and fits agriculture perfectly,” Lezak says.

He adds that Mother Nature still creates weather disruptions he can’t predict 9% of the time, based on influences such as El Nino, La Nina and the Arctic Oscillation.

Lezak’s take on the accuracy of weather forecasts differs from what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports, though an apples-to-apples comparison is not available.

The NOAA says a seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time. However, a 10-day—or longer—forecast is only right about half the time.

Agriculture Takes Notice
As Lezak was honing the development of the LRC in the early 2000s, fellow meteorologist, Dean Wysocki, then based in Nebraska, learned of it and reached out to Lezak for more details.

Wysocki started using the information he learned during his broadcasts, noting that Nebraska farmers were hungry for more accurate weather insights and predictions.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s a game changer. That’s the easiest way to put it,” says Wysocki, who joined Lezak on the podcast.

Wysocki, now based in Fargo, N.D., got LRC certified and began telling farmers in the Dakotas and Minnesota about its benefits.

“It’s a major piece of long-term weather forecasting, and the accuracy on it has just been amazing,” Wysocki says. “We’ve signed up between about 50 to 100 in our ag community and we’ve got nothing but positive feedback. Is it 100% correct? No, nothing is, but it’s a great tool to have on your tool belt.”

The Weather Outlook Ahead
During the conversation with McCrea, Lezak and Wysocki shared some of their weather predictions for late winter and early spring 2025, based on information the LRC has provided. Here are three of their predictions:

1. Lezak says a La Nina, which is the cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean, has a grip currently on parts of the western and upper Corn Belt areas, but he expects that to ease up.

“That grip that it has tends to shift precipitation patterns to the eastern Corn Belt. That’s not good for Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota,” Lezak says. “It shifts precipitation patterns to the East, but that grip we think is going to be let loose by March.”

2. Wysocki says he foresees a wetter spring, in March and April, for most of the Dakotas.

“We’ll get our moisture that we need in March and more than likely into the first part of April, and that should be good for planting season,” he says. “I’m still concerned about the western Dakotas into areas of Montana and Wyoming, worried that they’ll remain dry.”

3. With regard to drought, Lezak encourages farmers to keep an eye on the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, as he says droughts are constantly either shrinking or expanding.

“It appears that over the last year or so that areas of drought, as we look at the entire nation, have begun to decrease,” he says. “This one has been shrinking for weeks, and that is a good sign. The likelihood of that trend continuing is high.”

Wysocki and Lezak offered additional weather insights during their conversation with McCrea. You can hear more of those specifics on the podcast, available here:

Your next read: With More Arctic Air Set to Blast the U.S., Why This Winter Could Be Remembered for Its Extremes

Corn Maverick: Cracking the Mystery of 60-Inch Rows

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 21:21:50 GMT

Terra incognita. When Bob Recker turned off every other row on his no-till planter, doubled the plant population, and punched seed into Iowa soil, he crossed into the uncharted territory of 60” row corn. Success or failure, Recker was about to bathe his corn—and weeds—in sunlight, and attempt to maintain yield with only half the growing space.

In 2017, Recker kicked open the door on 60” row corn, and exposed a ton of questions on sunlight capture, weed suppression, cover crops, and much more. According to Recker’s triune agricultural gospel, or triple bottom line, every farmer must make money, grow food and take care of the soil—and he believes 60” row corn could become an avenue toward improving all three facets on the right operation, without trimming yield.

A Jug of Sunshine

Recker’s question: If every other row is a zero yield, can a corn field gobble enough sunshine to reach equivalent yield, as compared with standard 30” rows? The query is typically rendered by most growers as a snowflake-in-hell proposition—i.e., it ain’t happening.

However, Recker pays little mind to the confines of consensus. A retired John Deere engineer, Recker has fueled a post-machinery career as an independent researcher with an increasingly large sustainable bone. Owner and founder of Cedar Valley Innovation in Waterloo, Iowa, Recker is intensely focused on improving farming’s triple bottom line—money, food and soil: “I retired in 2008, knowing that I wanted to give something back to the American farmer for feeding me for so many years. I started studying and became more interested in smaller data sets, even down to the yield of a single corn plant.”

Recker’s initial approach to 60” rows was a combination of heavy experimentation with a mix of configurations, and a heavy focus on photosynthesis and the edge effect. In a field of corn, the outside row, along with the on-deck row, both see significant yield benefits from sunlight. However, go inside beyond those two rows, and the shaded plants generally revert to broad acre yields.

“Randy Dowdy is correct: You can’t buy a jug of sunshine,” Recker explains, “but you can still leverage corn’s ability to use sunshine because it is universally available.”

Experimenting with narrow corn strips, Recker tried 12-, 8-, 6-, 4-, and 2-row corn, particularly noting the promise of 4-row corn: “Maybe God meant for corn to be grown 4 rows wide on 30” rows, with a skipped row on either side.”

“Whatever the configuration, we all know the edges always yield so well. Even discounting the fanciness on variety, fertility and population, the edge rows always yield big. I’m trying to figure out how to harvest sunlight and that’s where the 60” rows came from. I was challenged by a friend to try wide rows, and it seemed crazy, but I was willing to try and find out what would happen.”

Nature Abhors a Vacuum

Prior to 2017, Recker tried alternate 20” and 40” rows, noting a slight yield increase. In 2017, he planted eight varieties on 16 half-mile rows, each separated by 60” (almost five acres total), on commercial corn production land in Iowa. Accounting for the adjoining 30” corn planted at a 34,000 population, Recker doubled all the 60” corn to a 68,000 in-row population to accomplish the same field population.

“American farmers have scar tissue from people promoting things that don’t work, so I wanted to avoid claiming a yield benefit or drag due to a different population. I kept the elements simple, treating one variable at a time. My corn got all the same treatments as the adjoining commercial corn and we planted the same day. My commercial grower/collaborator is excellent and highly vigilant in weed control, and that made a big difference.”

Recker’s 2017 60” corn, with half the ground space empty, produced a surprising result—statistically equivalent in yield to the rest of the field. “It started gaining interest from farmers because it was so easy to do, required no equipment changes and provided easy equipment access to the corn,” Recker describes.

Yet, as corn surges on sunshine, weeds thrive on solar power all the more: Nature abhors a vacuum. “Yes, you’re giving weeds a great chance to get established in the open space,” Recker says. “You must have a residue base already in place or a good weed control strategy.”

For a grower solely focused on growing corn, Recker recommends adherence to 30” rows, but for someone interested in taking advantage of the open row space, Recker urges consideration of cover crops, companion crops or grazing potential. “No BS. Do 30” if you only want corn, and don’t do 60” without something in between the rows. Done right, you can get much healthier crop dividends, and a grazing opportunity may be the biggest bonus.”

In 2018, Recker recorded 30 growers trialing 60” corn across nine states. He obtained results from seven plots without cover crops, and five plots utilizing cover crops. All told, the 12 plots showed an overall yield decrease of 5%, with a plus/minus of 10%, according to Recker. “If you’re enthusiastic about cover crops or grazing, the results are very interesting. Or if you think this could be fine-tuned and done better, it also grabs your attention.”

“I’m not expanding my 60” row research. I’m just encouraging people to do their own experiments and urging them to adapt and adopt this to fit their system, rather than me tell them how to farm. It could be a big deal for cover guys on the right farm. I’m convinced sustainable practices are the right thing, but they must be profitable and not a logistics nightmare.”

Jack Boyer

Practical Farmers of Iowa ( PFI ) seized on Recker’s proposition in 2018, conducting trials on four farms to see if yields would keep pace with conventional 30” rows, and determine if 60” rows could reap significant biomass growth from interseeded cover crops. Results of the trial were mixed on yield. At two locations, farmers saw equal yields between 30” and 60” rows; at two other locations, farmers observed yield declines. Most of the 60” ground showed heavy cover crop growth, but weed control was a challenge, and possibly contributed to lower yields.

(See here for a pdf download of the PFI study.)

Tama County producer Jack Boyer participated in the PFI study, and has also worked with Recker on multiple research projects. Boyer grows corn, seed corn and soybeans, and is 100% no till: “I’ve been working on 30” rows, trying to get cover crops planted earlier, like at sidedress in June. But 60” rows caught my eye because they allow a diverse crop mix and plenty of sunshine.”

As part of the PFI corn study, Boyer planted four segregated strips of 12 30” rows and four strips of 6 60” rows (eight strips covered roughly 3 acres). The overall results were equivalent, with the 60” rows (205 bpa) outperforming the 30” rows (200 bpa) by 5 bu.

In between the 60” rows, Boyer planted cow peas (warm season species), anticipating fast movement and weed suppression, but the weather dipped and the peas sat tight. In addition, the pea presence (legume) ensured Boyer couldn’t use a herbicide without killing the cover—complicating his management. When waterhemp emerged, Boyer pulled the handbrake, came back with a herbicide, killed the covers, and replanted with a multi-species mix after burndown, finally wrangling a degree of good weed control.

“The weeds love sunshine, too, and unchecked, they’ll proliferate with a vengeance. You have to pick a cover crop combination that comes up quickly and spreads quickly to make sure weed seed can’t get started,” Boyer says.

“Overall, the 60” covers grew 10 times the aboveground biomass of the 30”, and the amount of nitrogen captured by the 60” was 10 times that of the 30”. My advice to other growers is to stay with 30”, unless you are really interested in grazing cattle after harvest or improving soil health,” Boyer adds.

In 2019, Boyer has an 10-acre plot of replicated 30” and 60” corn, and has utilized the weed lessons from 2018. “I applied a half-rate of chemicals with a short half-life so the covers wouldn’t be bothered, and later went in with a no-residual cleanup herbicide, planted covers, and got decent weed control.”

Boyer’s consistent plot research has revealed data which may move him away from future 60” study. A mix of annual ryegrass, cow peas and rape seed has performed well under a 30” canopy, according to Boyer. “As individual covers, they didn’t work, but together they appear to have some kind of synergy, and they may be an ideal cover situation for 30” rows. All I’m doing is experimenting and learning. I don’t have cattle so extra biomass is not important to me. Again, if you’ve got cattle, grazing covers could be a serious reason to look into 60”.”

Loran Steinlage

On 750 acres of Fayette County ground, Loran Steinlage perpetually breaks the mold, and has moved his operation toward regenerative practices, on a trajectory from interseeding to companion cropping to relay cropping, with an eye on space for livestock despite a lack of pasture ground. Steinlage, explains Recker, is a “real deal” farmer and doesn’t adhere to convention: “Loran is willing to try stuff and always has something unique going on. You’re not going to find anyone exactly like him and he’ll always tell it like it is.”

In 2017, Steinlage planted a plot with alternating corn rows of 30” and 60”, with cover crops in between. He noted standard cover crop growth in the 30”, but lush, knee-deep biomass in the 60”. “It’s pretty clear to me that if you’ve got livestock, 60” is the perfect opportunity to get a post-harvest grazing option very quick. We can maintain yield from what we’ve seen, and get good tonnage for livestock the very day we harvest,” he says.

Steinlage is all no till and 100% interseeded on corn acreage. Once again, in 2019, Steinlage is testing a 60” plot. “I do something different each year and I’ll push even with minimal success. Right now, we’ve seen phenomenal no till organic corn on corn with almost zero purchased inputs,” he describes. “I hope to bring livestock back on the farm, but minimizing inputs is my focus at present.”

“I try to set up everything for relay cropping in the fall, but Mother Nature unfolds her hand in the spring, and we really don’t know our rotation sometimes until June 1.”

Steve Walder

Steve Walder grows a mix of conventional and organic crops in Vermilion County, Ill., in addition to fulltime work as an engineering manager at RhinoAg . Walder has consistent giant ragweed control issues in organic corn. “I heard about 60” rows and controlling these weeds was my initial thought because I knew I’d be able to get between the rows much easier and have 50% fewer rows with weeds. Secondarily, cover benefits were a factor that would help keep organic inspectors satisfied and build soil health and nutrient levels, which are particularly important in organic crops.”

Walder planted 12 acres of 60” organic corn in 2018, and noted a 20% reduction in yield. “Normally I’m at 34,000-36,000 planting population, but part of the yield problem was my populations were off because my planter can’t go up high enough to accommodate a doubling. In the past I have seen similar yield loss on these acres from the giant ragweed pressure.”

In 2019, Walder tried 5 acres of 60” plots, adjusting planting population to 25,500 on 30” and 51,000 on 60”. “This year after harvest I’ll know better if my yield comes close to the 5% percent average drop that others have seen.”

Walder intends to try 60” rows again in 2020: “It takes multiple growing seasons to get a real idea. There are so many variables with weather and you can’t rely on just a couple of years of data. Long term, with the right hybrids and optimal population, and the right cover crops, that 5% yield drag may disappear. This takes time and years of research to get it right.”

Easy to Kill

Beyond 60” rows, Recker urges growers to constantly tinker and experiment on a small percentage of a given operation. For example, he advocates taking a 4% chunk (40 acres) of a 1,000-acre farm and trying unique management. Further, within the 40 acres, he recommends using 4 acres for any outside-the-box growing practice—even if deemed bizarre by conventional agriculture. “Understanding comes from failure. Do the research on a small piece of ground, and then ask the right questions. What does it do for income? What does it do for the total output of the farm? What does it do for the soil?”

Recker isn’t wed to 60” rows—he’s wed to sunlight harvest. “If we find a cover crop or companion combination along with a yield increase, people will adopt any configuration. I’m not there yet. I don’t know what configuration is ideal, but maybe it’s 30”-60” or something else. I’ve done some crazy stuff that usually doesn’t work, but I’m not afraid to go find answers. I’m convinced that in the near future, the yield winners across the country are going to be using different row configurations.”

“Somewhere out there is a soil scientist or agronomist, that is just like me, wanting to do more and leverage their abilities into this,” he continues. “My network of farmers and researchers is often the crazy bunch because they are willing to listen and think about what might be possible.”

As automation and driverless technology increase across agriculture, Recker says the importance of row configurations will become prominent. Smaller equipment, he believes, may be a catalyst. “Things are going to change; they always do,” he adds. “Autonomous vehicles will be the economic, agronomic and sociological winners. The vineyard industry already uses automated equipment to get up and down the rows, and is already close to 60” spacing. That tells me something about what may happen with row crops.”

Recker never sugarcoats his findings, welcomes criticism from all corners, and coats his reflections with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, but the maverick researcher has little patience for the incurious: “What have you got to lose? Do something no one else is trying and pay attention to the details. Don’t listen to the crowd because an idea is like a young plant just sprouting—it’s very easy to kill.”

For more, see:

Descent Into Hell: Farmer Escapes Corn Tomb Death

Against All Odds: Farmer Survives Epic Ordeal

Killing Hogzilla: Hunting a Monster Wild Pig

Breaking Bad: Chasing the Wildest Con Artist in Farming History

Blood And Dirt: A Farmer’s 30-Year Fight With The Feds

American Farmer Snuffed Out Saddam Hussein

Future Shock: Farmers Exposed By US-China Long Game

Wild Pig Wars: Controversy Over Hunting, Trapping in Missouri

Agriculture’s Darkest Fraud Hidden Under Dirt and Lies

In the Blood: Hunting Deer Antlers with a Legendary Shed Whisperer

Illinois Farm Families Star in Super Bowl LVIII Commercial

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 21:39:42 GMT

Super Bowl LVIII fans in Illinois will be able to cheer on some familiar faces in a commercial during the big game on Sunday. Illinois pork producer Chad Leman will be starring, alongside family and farming friends, in a commercial titled “Career Path,” closing out Illinois Farm Families’ (IFF) “We are the 96%” campaign” that highlights the state’s family-owned farms.

For current past president of the Illinois Pork Producers Association and father of four daughters, the commercial is all about communicating and building trust with consumers.

“I hope people can see that the same families who have been responsible for growing their food in the past are still responsible for growing it today,” he says. “But, we’ve had to grow a little in the meantime so the next generation has room to move in.”

It’s an honor to be included in a message that will be broadcast to millions of people, he says. He hopes that it will help improve understanding of life on the farm today.

(Farm Journal)

^{Tess, a recent college graduate, will hopefully never be too old to learn something new from her grandpa. (Photo courtesy of Illinois Farm Families)}

Leman and his wife, Staci, recently welcomed the newest generation to join their four-generation farm. Tess, their oldest daughter, is a recent Illinois State University graduate and has come home to the family farm.

“The next gens don’t have to come back to the farm, but the values and work ethic they learned growing up on the farm will benefit them in whatever path they pursue,” he says. “No matter what our daughters pursue in life, we hope they carry with them a fondness of the time they spent on our family farm.”

The Leman family farm was established in 1949 when his grandfather, Vernon Leman, began farming the main farmstead in Woodford County. Since then, with each new generation has come an opportunity to expand the family farm, Leman says. It started with crops. Then, pigs in the late 1970s. Next, creating a business to sell seed to fellow farmers in the early 1990s.

“It’s a testament to our parents and grandparents that they created laid the foundation for us to continue to grow and expand,” Leman says.

(Farm Journal)

^{The Boucher family of Dwight in Livingston County includes, from left: Delaney, Matt, Heather and Harlie. Not pictured is son, Cole. (Photo courtesy of Illinois Farm Families)}

Matt Boucher, a fourth-generation Illinois farmer, will appear in the commercial with daughter, Harlie. He became involved in the “We are the 96%” campaign after sharing a photo of him and his daughter in the combine while his father was driving the auger cart. The photo highlighted the generational aspect of farming.

“There’s a scene in the commercial where we’re walking away from the camera and I’m literally tossing her the keys to the combine with the next shot of her driving the combine. It’s a really cool representation of that idea of passing on the farm to the next generation,” Boucher says.

Boucher farms alongside his wife, Heather, with help from their teenaged children Harlie, Cole and Delaney in Livingston County. Together, they raise corn, soybeans, wheat and cover crops, as well as pork and chicken for local sales. The operation also includes a trucking business and seed sales.

“The vast majority of Illinois farms are not owned by big corporations,” Boucher points out. “It’s a huge honor to participate in this campaign and act as a bridge between farmers and people outside of agriculture to help them understand where their food comes from, how its grown, and the families that make it all possible.”

The Leman and Boucher families will be joined by the Marr family of Morgan County, the DeSutter family of Knox County and the Bunting family of Livingston County.

(Farm Journal)

^{The entire Marr family came together for a family photo during a harvest video shoot for the “We are the 96%” campaign. (Photo by Illinois Farm Families)}

“I’m only one example of what family farms in Illinois look like, but I know it is so important for all the non-farming families in Illinois to see our families and to understand that we are the ones growing their food and fuel,” says Marty Marr, a third-generation farmer who works alongside his wife, brother and sons on their Sangamon-Morgan County farm. “We look just like them in so many ways and we all value the same things – family, relationships, protecting our soil and water for future generations, building opportunity for our kids to find a future in the job that they love. I hope that everyone in Illinois who has the chance to watch will see that passion for the family farm in this commercial.”

The commercial will air in the Champaign, Peoria-Bloomington, Quad Cities, Quincy, Rockford, Springfield, St. Louis and Southern Illinois markets, including the Evansville, Ind., and Cape Girardeau, Mo., markets.

All families appearing in the commercial are profiled on the campaign’s website at wearethe96.org . Visitors can view behind-the-scenes footage and learn more about each family, their history on the farm and what their farm looks like today. More photos and videos of the families participating throughout the campaign will appear on IFF’s social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts, IFF said in a release. Following the on-air debut, the full commercial will be available on IFF’s Facebook page and website.

Read More:

Super Bowl Commercial Puts Spotlight on Illinois Farming Family

Super Bowl Stand-Outs: 8 Ways to Win With Pork

How the $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Spending Package Might Impact Your Operation

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 17:19:29 GMT

Text of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package was released early Tuesday morning. The Senate will vote first and intends to pass the measure before Thursday, leaving the House no time to demand changes before the Christmas holiday.

Here are the details that might impact your farm:

Disaster Relief

• $250 million in aid to rice producers and $100 million to cotton merchandisers to make up for losses related to the pandemic or supply chain disruptions. USDA previously provided $80 million in aid to textile mills and other cotton users. For rice, USDA would determine payment rates based on yield history and acreage.

• $40.6 billion for drought, hurricanes, flooding, wildfire, natural disasters and other matters — $3.7 billion in disaster aid for farmers to cover 2022 crop and livestock losses.

Food Aid

• Funds two programs that provide foreign food aid. These include the Food for Peace Program (PL 480), which is funded at $1.8 billion, and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education Program, which is funded at $248 million, for an increase of $11 million over fiscal year 2022.

• Summer Meals Program Modernization: Updates the summer food service program to permanently allow states to provide non-congregate meals and summer electronic benefit (EBT) options nationwide to eligible children in addition to meals provided at congregate feeding sites. Non-congregate meals, such as grab-and-go or home delivery, would be provided in rural areas to eligible children, and summer EBT benefits would be capped at $40 per child per month. This provision is fully offset and based largely on the Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act, which Boozman authored and introduced earlier this Congress.

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT Skimming Regulations and Reimbursement: Requires USDA to coordinate with relevant agencies and stakeholders to investigate reports of stolen SNAP benefits through card skimming, cloning and other similar fraudulent methods. This provision aims to identify the extent of the problem, develop methods to prevent fraud and improve security measures, and provide replacement of benefits stolen through these fraudulent actions.

Conservation

• Cracks down on “conservation easements,” which allow tax breaks when land is dedicated for conservation purposes. The IRS has identified the transactions as a method for avoiding taxes. The conservation easement provision was expected to raise between $6 billion and $7 billion.

• SUSTAINS Act: Enacts a House bill that allows corporations and other private entities to contribute funding for conservation projects and authorizes USDA to match up to 75% in matching the donations.

Inputs

• Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA 5) Reauthorization: Reauthorizes pesticide registration and review process user-fee programs administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and increases registration and maintenance fees to support a more predictable regulatory process, create additional process improvements, and provide resources for safety, training, bilingual labeling, and other services to advance the safe and effective use of pesticides.

• Pesticide Registration Review Deadline Extension: Extends deadline for EPA to complete registration review decisions for all pesticide products registered as of October 1, 2007. EPA is facing a significant backlog of pesticide registrations due to a variety of factors over the past several years, which raises potential implications for continued access to numerous crop protection tools. The agency will be allowed to continue its registration review work through October 1, 2026, as a result of this extension.

Climate

• Growing Climate Solutions Act: Incorporates updated language from the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which directs USDA to establish a program to register entities that provide technical assistance and verification for farmers, ranchers and foresters who participate in voluntary carbon markets with the goal of providing information and confidence to producers.

Farm Business

• $1.92 billion for farm programs, which is $55 million above the fiscal year 2022 enacted level. This includes $61 million to resolve ownership and succession of farmland issues, also known as heirs’ property issues. This funding will continue support for various farm, conservation, and emergency loan programs, and help American farmers and ranchers. It will also meet estimates of demand for farm loan programs.

• Funding for specialty crops and remarks on crop insurance/A&O. Some $25 million is being made available for specialty crop equitable relief and report language directing USDA to use its legal authority to index all A&O (crop insurance program) for inflation and provide equitable relief for specialty crops going forward.

Livestock

• Livestock Mandatory Reporting Extension (LMR) Extension: Extends livestock mandatory reporting requirements until September 30, 2023. LMR requires meat packers and importers to report the prices they pay for cattle, hogs, and sheep purchased for slaughter and prices received for meats derived from such species to USDA who then publishes daily, weekly, and monthly public reports detailing these transactions.

Markets

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Whistleblower Program Extension: Enables CFTC to continue payment of salaries, customer education initiatives and non-awards expenses related to the whistleblower program to ensure it can continue to function even when awards obligated to whistleblowers exceed the program fund’s balance at the time of distribution.

Some ag sector items that did NOT make the omnibus package:

Nothing for the proposed farmworker labor reforms from Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and others. The bill also left out legislation to reform cattle markets or appoint a special investigator at USDA to investigate possible anti-competitive behavior in the meatpacking sector.

We’ll be updating this article as more details become available.

More on policy :

Water Resources Bill Reauthorized with a Component that Will Impact Producers
European Union Clinches a Deal on a Carbon Border Tax
U.S.'s “Candid” GMO Corn Conversation With Mexico Results In Changes To Looming Trade Dispute
Senate Clears Annual Defense Policy, Pushing $858 Billion to Military

See the 2021 Farm Journal Field Day Agendas

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 16:09:06 GMT

In 2021, you have the choice to join Farm Journal Field Days in person or online. Join us at a location near you or login online to find educational content, equipment demos, industry insights and more.

During the event, you can network with producers at some of America’s top farms and hear the latest insights and trends affecting the industry.

What is in store for the event? Here’s a quick overview. Click on each day to see the agendas.

Online Event: Aug. 23-27

Aug. 23: In-Person Field Day hosted by Whiskey Acres in DeKalb, Ill.

Aug. 25: In-Person Field Day hosted by Silent Shade Planting Company in Belzoni, Miss.

Aug. 26-27: In-Person Field Day hosted by Frahm Farmland in Colby, Kan.

Read more about the three Farm Journal Field Day Hosts

Whiskey Acres in DeKalb, Ill.

Silent Shade Planting Company in Belzoni, Miss.

Frahm Farmland in Colby, Kan.

Register now for the Farm Journal Field Days!

Why should you attend?

Powerful and Insightful Speakers: Hear from leading experts such machinery expert Greg Peterson, AgriTalk’s Chip Flory, your farmer peers and more!

Interactive Farm Tours: Take a behind-the-scenes look at our three hosts farms. Aren’t you ready to network with fellow farmers and learn from your peers?

Easily Accessible: Since part of the programming is online, you are not limited by geography or time restraints. This type of programming is more convenient in every way.

Direct Access to Exhibitors: Visit virtual booths, ask questions and learn about their latest offerings.

Register now for the Farm Journal Field Days!

Next Drought Victim: 2012 Wheat Crop?

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:34:00 GMT

The cynics like to scoff that the Great Plains winter wheat crop dies a thousand deaths before setting new yield records, but the 2012 crop south of I-70 appears to be at risk of never getting started.

With the odds now favoring another La Nina this winter and farmers from Kansas to Texas saying they’ve never seen it drier, it looks like 2012 runs the risk of being another short crop year—further exacerbating USDA’s already gloomy outlook for wheat carryover.

With La Nina apparently boding a “double dip,” NOAA foresees little relief for the drought area between now and fall dormancy period for winter wheat.

Which is not to say things won’t get better. While wheat farmers say they are reluctant to put high priced seed into a bone-dry seedbed sitting atop bone-dry subsoil sapped by the driest AND hottest 12 months on record in Texas, Oklahoma and important wheat areas in southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado, they say they probably will. With insurance rules requiring at least the effort, most say they will probably sow wheat, and for the best.

And, once that seed is there, as Brent Bean at the Amarillo Extension office says, the weather could change. “You can make a wheat crop in the spring if you can get it established.”

It’s that “if” that poses the problem. The drought monitor due out Thursday morning will show no relief from the region’s drought. Worse, the NOAA climatologists now say the chances of a second La Nina event this winter have climbed to more than 50-50. It’s that La Nina—the third strongest on record—that gets the blame for the last 12 months.

Just how hot and dry it has been in the Southern Plains is hard to overstate. Over half of the cotton planted in the Texas High Plains was abandoned before August began. David Gibson at Texas Corn Producers says his board meeting earlier this week found directors predicting perhaps half a normal corn crop. The evapotranspiration rate—imposed by both record heat and unusually high winds—at is running 35% above average at Lubbock. (Where they’ve officially measured .39 inch of moisture since June 1.)

Wheat seed will be going into some of the driest soil on record this fall. NOAA bases this map on the top 5 feet of soil.

Aaron Harries at the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers says the drought that cut the wheat state’s normal yield this year shows no sign of abating there. Even producers with summer fallow ground—in much of western Kansas, they farm only half at a time—say they haven’t had enough moisture since the 2010 crop to support anything for 2012.

Gary McManus, Oklahoma state climatologist, spoke at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s “drought summit” this week and painted a gloomy picture—“a pathetic sight” in his words-- of wheat prospects there. Citing the “better than 50% chance of a new La Nina,” he said “another cycle of drought looks very possible, even likely.”

Over much the drought area, wheat is a dual purpose crop. Many producers plant in early September in order to get enough growth to support cattle through the winter. Then they harvest for grain.

That opportunity “is gone” for most producers, says Amarillo’s Bean. He says he is advising farmers to hold off until mid-September and hope to get an inch or so of moisture—possible even in a drought, this being the second wettest part of a South Plains year—to plant into.

He points out that if that rain comes, wheat planted into moisture would stand a much better chance of thriving than wheat that was dusted in before the rain.

He says even irrigation producers, with wells exhausted by keeping up with summer crops, are reluctant to sow wheat early. Not only must they consider that the soil profile is dry, but temperatures continue to run ahead of normal and “wheat is a cool season grass.”

Much of the Southern Plains would need 12 to 15 inches of rain to get back to normal soil moisture levels—in a region with 15-20 inch annual average rainfall.

Cover Crops for Cattle

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 21:24:35 GMT

Livestock and soils benefit from forage innovation

Scorched pastures offered little substance for O.D. Cope’s 1,000-head cowherd in summer 2012. Desperate for forage in August, the Aurora, Mo., cattleman says he took a cue from area dairy producers and seeded cover crop combinations of fescue, wheat and turnips on one farm and cereal rye with turnips on a second farm.

“I had never seeded turnips before, but I’d seen the dairy boys do it, and the cows seemed to like it,” Cope recalls. “That was a lifesaver for us.” He says he was also pleased with the crop results that fall.

Like Cope, other diversified cattle and row-crop producers are recognizing the benefits that cover crop combinations offer, says Jay Fuhrer, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation District in Bismarck, N.D. Along with providing food for livestock, the synergism between the two enterprises improves soil health, water retention and sometimes, the chance to reduce input costs.

That is true for several producers Fuhrer works with, including Jerry Doan, owner of Black Leg Ranch near McKenzie, N.D. In addition to a couple thousand no-till cropping acres, Doan rotates in 300 acres of full-season cover crops each year, mostly warm-season mixes. He plants the crops in June, and by fall, he is able to use them to support the ranch’s pheasant hunting enterprise. After hunting season, Doan moves cattle in to graze during the winter. In the spring, he plants sunflowers or corn on those fields. Fuhrer says the organic matter created by the cover crops, along with nutrients in the cattle manure, improves Doan’s soil biology and reduces his fertility costs on those 300 acres by about 25%.

The cover crop combinations also do a good job of meeting the nutritional needs of lactating and gestating cows, Fuhrer adds. Nutrient analysis of Doan’s cover crops in 2010 showed crude protein levels of 7.9% and 59% total digestible nutrients.

Nutrient values of cover crops can vary, so Fuhrer suggests producers test soil and fecal samples annually.

Have a plan. Randy Ringler, a forage consultant with Cover Crop Solutions in Lititz, Pa., tells producers to identify their goals for using cover crop mixes before they purchase seed.

“What I’m going to recommend varies, depending on whether growing the cover crop is your primary objective and feeding cattle is secondary or vice versa,” he says.

Risa DeMasi, a partner with Grassland Oregon, adds: “If you can identify your top three priorities, the time of year you want to plant and the type of climate you’ll experience during that time, you can narrow down your options and determine the cover crops that best fit your needs.”

Ringler says Mother Nature is usually the biggest hurdle that diversified Midwest farmers face. “Weather usually determines whether they can plant cover crops early enough in the season to make them perform the double duty of feeding cattle and improving soil biology,” he explains.

Cover crops need about 45 days to establish a good root structure before turning cattle in to graze, Ringler says. Allow cattle to graze the crop down to about 4" to 6", and then move them to a new area.

It can take two or three years for diversified producers to work out an effective farm-specific program for cover crop use, Ringler adds. “We do ourselves the most good when we weigh options and start the process on a small scale.”

You can e-mail Rhonda Brooks at rbrooks@farmjournal.com .

As World Eats More Meat, U.S. Soy Losing Battle to Feed Animals

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:21:05 GMT

At a time when people around the world are eating more meat, poultry and dairy products than ever before, American farmers may be losing even ground to Brazil in the race to feed all those animals.

U.S. exports of feed crops already were expected to drop this year as producers in South America and Europe expand sales. But after some lousy weather in the Midwest this year, the harvest yielded soybeans with less protein, a key ingredient that helps build muscle in animals. At 34.1 percent per bushel, the protein content was tied for 2008 as the lowest since it was first measured in 1986, government data show.

While U.S. exporters often have to contend with Brazilian soy that is higher in protein -- at around 37 percent -- the widening quality gap could mean further erosion of demand from places like China, the world’s biggest buyer. Brazil’s shippers are trying to exploit the difference to sell more from last season’s record crop and to take advantage of expansions of export capacity, including new ports in northern parts of the country.

“Brazilian soybeans are getting a quality premium,” Sergio Mendes, general director at Brazil’s grain exporter group Anec, said in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo. “We’re having a good moment in terms of quality, which has been recognized and valued by the Chinese.”

Higher-protein Brazilian soybeans usually command a premium of about 15 cents a bushel over U.S. supplies, Dan Basse, president of AgResource Co. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybean futures closed Tuesday at $9.705 a bushel.

Soybeans have become an essential global food crop because they are crushed to extract vegetable oil and then the remaining soy meal is fed to livestock. Brazil’s share of the export market is expected to rise to a record 43 percent this season as the U.S. share falls to 39.7 percent -- even as global demand rises for a ninth straight year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Supplies from Brazil -- which have doubled in 15 years -- are becoming more attractive to some importers. The country supplanted the U.S. as the world’s largest exporter in 2013, and purchases this year are rising at a record pace. Shipments will reach 67 million metric tons this season, according Anec, the country’s grain-exporter group. That’s far above the initial estimate of 60 million tons and 33 percent more than in 2016, when exports totaled 50.5 million tons.

Chinese soybean imports are up 15 percent in the first 11 months of 2017, the government reported Tuesday. Half of those purchases were from Brazil at 49 million tons, up 29 percent from a year earlier, with 26.7 million tons from the U.S., up 2.3 percent.

Total U.S. exports in the year through Aug. 31, 2018, will probably be about 60.6 million tons, the USDA said Dec. 12. While that’s still an all-time high, it’s down 1.1 percent from the estimate a month earlier, and is probably still 2.2 percent higher than it will be by the end of the season, Basse said.

Part of the reason demand is less than forecast is the declining quality, which began to emerge two months ago amid signs of reduced protein and oil content from the recent harvest, according to Vinicius Ito, an analyst at Ecom Trading in New York.

In the most-recent crop, the largest decline was in the eastern Midwest, where conditions were the driest in August, according to data compiled by Seth Naeve, an agronomist at the University of Minnesota.

Protein levels in U.S. soybeans have mostly been falling since reaching a peak of 36.2 percent in 2000, USDA data show. The content tends to rise with hotter weather and more sunlight, so farmers in Brazil near the equator tend to have an advantage, Naeve said.

Digestibility

To be sure, it isn’t all about protein. U.S. soy meal has more digestible amino acids and less variability in composition than supplies from Brazil, Argentina, China and India, according to a study published this year in the American Society of Animal Science. Amino acids are building blocks for meat production, and because there are more in U.S. soybeans, they tend to require fewer synthetic compounds to achieve peak feeding performance, Naeve said.

Still, the quality of Brazilian beans has been improving over the past two seasons amid favorable weather conditions and enhancements in crop management, said Hugo Soares Kern, a soybean researcher at Embrapa, a government-run agricultural research organization.

“Lower protein content in soy has been supportive for meal prices in Chicago as crushers need to use more soybeans to get the same protein content on feed,” Ecom’s Ito said. “Brazil’s exports were boosted by a quality differential, but also by huge supplies.”

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.