Ag Progress Days
Crop insurance a boon for farmers to stay in business
WASHINGTON — Handling Mother Nature and market swings, coping with disaster, and even seizing fleeting opportunities for technology developments are commonplace for farmers. However, crop insurance has allowed many farmers facing a wealth of odds to stay in...
Students’ system developed to minimize crop waste
CLEMSON, S.C. — Two Clemson University students have developed a machine they say can minimize crop waste during harvest and help farmers save money. The GPS-guided, unmanned ground vehicle, Agrus, was developed as an entry into the third annual SICK TiM$10K...
Farmer sentiment down amid price-squeeze concerns
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer recorded a drop in producer sentiment in October, down three points to a reading of 121. The modest drop was part of a three-month slide for the index primarily due to producers’...
Prep for your year-end farm financial check-up (Credit Corner)
(Editor’s note: Paige Hargett is a loan officer with MidAtlantic Farm Credit.) Before we can start planning for another year of growing, we must first evaluate our business and production performance for the past 12 months. Completing a year-end financial...
Landowners willing to adjust and extend leases
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Many Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic farmers maintain what Penn State Extension Educator and Agronomist David Wilson described as short-term, year-to-year leases, including those that are often verbal.These casual agreements are...
Household food acquisition during COVID-19
(Editor’s note: Brenna Ellison is an associate professor in the University of Illinois’s Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. Melissa Ocepek is an assistant professor in the univeristy’s School of Information Sciences. This article first...
Tips for basic budgeting (Credit Corner)
(Editor’s note: Johanna Rohrer is a marketing specialist with MidAtlantic Farm Credit.) Budgeting is a process of estimating costs and income, while projecting your net profit. Taking the time to craft a budget allows you to create a roadmap on how you...
Transition to organic grain requires long-term plan
LINKWOOD, Md. — When he made the decision to move his farms towards organic practices, Chip Fleming, owner of Breckinridge Farm, admits he “was very fortunate in a couple instances.” Thanks to “a little bit of forward thinking in 2016,” when he began...
Malting barley growers balance challenges with profit potential in Va.
RINER, Va. — Dan Brann and Chuck King, co-owners of Brann & King Farms, planted 80 acres of malting barley on their, fields. Four years ago, the business partners diversified their booming pumpkin, forages and winter wheat operation by adding...
Export-quality soybean amount is ‘way behind’
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Chesapeake Grain Elevator, in a slow and soggy soybean year, has discounted spotted and waterlogged soybeans, sold much of its grains to Perdue and has “maybe” 100,000 export-quality bushels so far available for purchase,...
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