Farm Progress

7 ag stories you can’t miss – Feb. 24, 2023

Catch up on news from USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum, Indigo Ag’s second crop of carbon credits, 2023 weed control tools and more!

Rachel Schutte, Content Producer

February 24, 2023

2 Min Read
wheat field, capitol building and cattle
Getty Images

Did you miss some news this week? We’ve got you covered. Here’s a collection of the top headlines in agriculture.

USDA expects grain harvest increase in 2023

USDA’s World Ag Outlook Board shared the first look at 2023 acreage, production and usage estimates during the Agricultural Outlook Forum. WAOB cut 1 million acres of corn from its 2023 baseline estimate, which now stands at 91.0 million acres. Soybean acres are expected to remain nearly the same as last year, at 87.5 million acres. – Farm Futures

Brazil suspends beef exports to China

Brazil, the world’s biggest beef exporter, halted beef exports to China on Thursday after confirming a case of the animal illness known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Brazilian authorities will be holding conversations with Chinese counterparts in a bid for a prompt re-establishment of trade flows. – Bloomberg

Vilsack foreshadows formal action against Mexico

The U.S. will soon act against Mexico in the long-running dispute over genetically modified corn according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Vilsack says the U.S. Trade Representative will begin an information sharing process. Assuming those talks do not lead to a resolution, the U.S. would then file the formal USMCA dispute. – Farm Progress

Neil Caskey named NCGA CEO

Neil Caskey has been tapped to lead the National Corn Growers Association as its new CEO, beginning Monday, February 27. Caskey has served as NCGA’s vice president of communications and industry relations for over four years and spent over a decade promoting agricultural issues as executive vice president at OBP Agency. – National Corn Growers Association

USDA invests in independent processors

USDA announced it would allocate $59 million in federal grants to five independent processors. Funding will come through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program, which helps processors expand their capacity. This is the is third set of MPPEP grants announced by USDA in the past few months. – Farm Progress

Weed control for 2023 requires diverse attack

There’s more than one way to kill a weed, and farmers will need to employ multiple approaches as they look ahead to the 2023 growing season. Not only are farmers facing glyphosate resistant weeds, there are weeds resistant to atrazine and ALS herbicides. Learn now to build the right program for your operation. – The Farmer

Indigo Ag completes second carbon crop

Indigo announced the completion of its second crop of credits, representing more than 110,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions sequestered or abated by farmers. The credits were produced by nearly 430 farmers across 22 U.S. states. Carbon by Indigo farmers were paid $30 per credit, a 200% increase over the original guaranteed payment rate. – Indigo Ag

About the Author

Rachel Schutte

Content Producer, Farm Futures

Rachel grew up in central Wisconsin and earned a B.S. in soil and crop science from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. Before joining the Farm Futures team, Rachel spent time in the field as an agronomist before transitioning to the world of marketing and communications. She now resides in northeast Iowa where she enjoys raising bottle calves and farming corn and soybeans alongside her husband and his family.

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