Outlook for wheat dims as rain falls short
Winter wheat conditions continued to go down hill last week, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.As of the weekend, the wheat crop statewide was rated as 13 percent very poor, 24 poor, 42...
View ArticleWheat tour members find crop in worse shape than in 2013
The drought has again badly damaged the state’s wheat crop, making it considerably worse than last year, according to the just-concluded Kansas Wheat Tour.After the three-day tour, during which more...
View ArticleState’s wheat crop forecast to yield 18% less
The Kansas wheat crop is expected to produce 18 percent less than last year – down to at 260 million bushels – according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture annual May 1 forecast.With harvest still...
View ArticleLow supply of beef driving up prices
Record high beef prices driven by low supply are steering some customers to other meat options at the grocery store.If something is higher like steak or hamburger meat, Ill go to the cheapest thing I...
View ArticleKansas feedlot numbers down from May 2013
The number of cattle in large Kansas feedlots was down by 3 percent on May 1 compared to the same day of 2013. Kansas cattle ranchers have been strongly affected by the drought, which has reduced the...
View ArticleDrought sapping expectations for Kansas wheat harvest
The Kansas wheat harvest is expected to start in about 10 days, and most farmers expect a fairly miserable crop.In its May 1 forecast, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast 260 million bushels,...
View ArticleCargill changing hog production facilities in face of pressure from animal...
Cargill is continuing its move toward group housing in the facilities where it raises sows to produce hogs for pork.Cargill’s facilities will have only group housing by the end of next year, and the...
View ArticleKansas farmland values remain high
The value of high quality Kansas farmland has generally held in 2014, despite expectations that it would fall as the drought affected farm profitability, according to national farm land broker Farmers...
View ArticleUSDA again lowers expectations for Kansas wheat crop
The latest forecast for the Kansas wheat crop quantified the pessimism that most in the industry have been feeling.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s June 1 forecast predicts that the state will...
View ArticleExpectations low as Kansas wheat harvest begins
Cutting has started, more or less, in southern Kansas for this year’s wheat harvest.Steve Inslee, general manager of the Kiowa Co-op, said that the southern counties haven’t been quite a soggy as the...
View ArticleKansas feedlot numbers down to 1999 levels
The cattle herd continues to shrink, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There were 2.02 million cattle on feed in large Kansas feedlots as of June 1, down 2 percent from the same time...
View ArticleRains slow wheat harvest, help fall crops
The wheat harvest was nearly two-thirds complete in south central Kansas, and 40 percent statewide, as of the weekend, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture.Drought through the winter and spring...
View ArticleKansas wheat harvest looks to be poor one this year, ag experts say
Kansas has about reached the halfway point in its wheat harvest, which was already going to be lousy because of a nine-month-long drought but now has farmers fighting mud and weeds. At this point, it...
View ArticleWTO to rule on beef, pork labeling mandate
The steaks you grill this weekend may read “Born in Mexico,” and that’s COOL.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Country of Origin Labeling mandate, dubbed COOL, has sparked a political fight between...
View ArticleCargill to stop using growth-promoting antibiotics in turkeys
Cargill said Tuesday that it would remove growth-promoting antibiotics from all turkeys grown by the independent farms from which the company buys its birds.According to a news release, Cargill worked...
View ArticleOSHA says overloaded bins caused collapse at Omaha feed plant
Federal investigators say overloaded storage bins on the roof of an Omaha livestock feed manufacturer’s plant caused the building collapse that killed two people in January. The Occupational Safety...
View ArticleUSDA says Kansas’ fall crops faring well so far
The condition of Kansas’ main fall crops remains strong, even as the state baked under hot conditions, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Corn was rated 3 percent very poor, 7 poor, 31...
View ArticleCargill to close Milwaukee beef plant
Cargill announced Wednesday that it will close its Milwaukee beef plant on Friday, citing a deep, multiyear decline in the number of cattle available for slaughter.About 600 people will be affected,...
View ArticleKansas farmland values continue to climb
The value of Kansas agricultural real estate, which includes all land and buildings, has increased an average of 17 percent, or $310 per acre, over the past year, to $2,050 per acre, according to U.S....
View ArticleKansas agriculture sector on pace for ‘a belt-tightening year’
Last year, despite an off-and-on drought, Kansas’ booming agricultural sector contributed almost a third of the income that fueled the state’s modest economic recovery. Well, not this year. The state’s...
View Article
