(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. aims to double cover crop planting to address climate change

Farmers in 11 states to be eligible for program

Chicago | Reuters — The United States aims to double the country’s cover crop plantings to 30 million acres by 2030 under a new Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation program launched on Monday. The agency’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will spend US$38 million to help farmers in 11 states plant crops at a time […] Read more


CBOT January 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (dark green line) and ICE January 2022 canola (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy jumps on USDA’s surprise cut to yield estimates

Traders had expected a higher soy yield; U.S. corn carryout seen lower than last month

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures soared on Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reduced its estimate for domestic yields, surprising traders who were expecting an increase. USDA pegged production at 4.425 billion bushels on a yield of 51.2 bushels per acre in a monthly crop report. That was […] Read more

MK1 Engineering built a prototype four-row planter to test the AeroTube technology and used it to plant corn plots in six Midwestern states this spring. The company is working to increase planting speed from three to five miles per hour (five to eight km/h).

Aerospace know-how focused on planting

System delivers corn seed tip-first into the row to capture more yield potential and improve weed control

Glacier FarmMedia – Keith Strang and Mitch Dille had just finished a project in the aerospace industry and were thinking about starting their own company but they needed a problem to solve. Dille, also a farmer, discovered one at a local trade show. A world-record corn grower mentioned the need for a system capable of […] Read more

CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, dark green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy down on South American weather, technical pressure

Firm U.S. dollar weighs on wheat; rising crop input costs supportive for corn

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Thursday after five straight sessions of gains, pressured by technical resistance and beneficial forecasts for rain in top export competitor Brazil. Wheat eased from a two-week high hit earlier on Thursday as weaker crude oil prices and a firmer U.S. dollar offset tightening global supplies. Corn […] Read more


Bayer’s cross symbol hangs in a terminal at Frankfurt International Airport. (Typhoonski/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

Bayer sees farmers pre-buying inputs as supply-chain snarls continue

Chicago/Berlin | Reuters — U.S. farmers are pre-buying seeds and chemicals they need earlier than normal, in a bid to secure supplies for next spring amid sector-wide supply-chain problems, a top executive at German agricultural and pharmaceuticals firm Bayer said Tuesday. Bayer also estimates its average seed prices will go up about five per cent […] Read more

Farmers plant saplings in a rice field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India on July 5, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Amit Dave)

India unveils new rice variety to reduce water use, labour

New Delhi | Reuters — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched an array of new high-yielding crop varieties, including herbicide-tolerant rice that can be directly sown into the soil, cutting expenditure on water and farm workers. In India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, the conventional method of rice cultivation requires farmers to sow […] Read more

Blake Vince has devised several equipment modifications to manage seeding through thick residue.

How to plant into thick cover crops

Two farmers share their strategies for planting green

Accounting for corn stalks in the spring is one thing. Planting through thick green cover crops is another.  Standard planter setups don’t quite cut it in such cases. For Blake Vince and Larry Dyck, who are both cover crop enthusiasts and experimenters, on-farm equipment customization has been the solution.  Why it matters: Thick green cover […] Read more


CBOT November 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat fall

CBOT corn ends slightly firm

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and wheat futures fell on Thursday while corn firmed slightly, with all three commodities closing well off their session peaks on a round of profit taking after rallying to their highest since mid-June, traders said. Forecasts for improving crop weather in the U.S. Midwest added pressure. CBOT November soybeans […] Read more

CBOT July 2021 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (green and black lines) and ICE November 2021 canola (yellow line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy eases on improved weather view

Chicago corn mixed, wheat down

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Tuesday on an improved weather outlook for the Midwest crop belt, analysts said. The forecasts for cooler and wetter conditions later this month also pressured new-crop corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), although front-month July gained against back months on spreads, reflecting tight […] Read more