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7 ag stories you might have missed this week - March 15, 2019

E15, data and El Nino in the news this week.

Janet Kubat Willette, E-Content Editor

March 15, 2019

2 Min Read
NolanBerg11/flySnow/SteveOehlenschlager/ThinkstockPhotos

Missed some ag news this week? Here’s 7 ag stories you may have missed.

1. The Trump administration is proposing to allow year-round sales of gasoline mixed with 15% ethanol, known as E15. – MPR News

2. Kansas Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts say an unfair trade condition exists concerning U.S. wheat exports to Brazil. The senators say Brazil agreed to establish a 750,000 metric ton duty-free, tariff-rate quota for wheat as part of an agreement reached during the Uruguay Round trade talks. However, they say, Brazil has failed to live up to its commitment. – Kansas Farmer

3. USDA forecasts farmers will plant 85 million acres of soybeans this spring, down 4.6% from last year and if realized, it would be the third largest U.S. area planted with soybeans. – Reuters

4. “Data is the new currency,” says Mike Stern, who heads Climate Corp. The digital transformation isn’t new, but the trend is accelerating as growers get feeds directly to tap technologies such as crop-spraying drones. – Bloomberg Businessweek

5. The University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in Columbia has diagnosed more than 200 cow deaths from nitrate poisoning in the past month. Unusual weather the past couple of years set up this problem. – Missouri Ruralist

6. Bulgaria’s food safety agency reported an outbreak of the virulent bird flu virus H5 on a duck farm in the central region of the country. All ducks on the farm will be culled to prevent disease spread. – Reuters

7. Farmers in Washington’s Yakima Valley are still assessing the damages following a Feb. 9 snow and windstorm that left 1,850 dairy cows dead. In Minnesota, more than two dozen dairy barn roofs have caved in due to excessive snow load this winter. – Seattle Times, KSTP.com

And your bonus.

The latest El Niño advisory from NOAA, out March 14, indicates there is a strong likelihood those conditions will last through the spring and also predicts a better-than-average chance it will extend through the summer months. NOAA predicts an 80% chance that weak El Niño conditions will prevail in the Northern Hemisphere through this spring, with a 60% chance it will continue through the summer. – Farm Futures

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