CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Three farmers have agreed to plead guilty to fraudulently marketing non-organic corn and soybeans as certified organic as part of a lengthy, multi-million-dollar scheme. Documents filed in federal court in Iowa show that Tom Brennan, James Brennan and Michael Potter each intend to plead guilty to wire fraud. All three are identified in court papers as farmers from Nebraska, but additional information about them wasn’t immediately available. Their attorneys didn’t immediately reply to phone messages.
Prosecutors allege that the three sold non-organic grains to an Iowa company that marketed them nationwide with an organic label. In particular, they allegedly used unapproved substances such as pesticides and nitrogen to grow the crops. The scheme allegedly lasted from 2010 until 2017 and netted at least $10.8 million.
(Radio Iowa) — Federal officials are considering a plan to move two divisions of the U-S Department of Agriculture out of the nation’s capitol. It could mean Iowa has a shot to become the new home to the Economic Research Service or the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Iowa Rural Development Council executive director Bill Menner says it would be a tremendous lift for the state to land either division, or both. “In my mind, as someone who’s involved in economic development, that makes perfect sense,” Menner says. “The reasons for the decision to want to move the agencies out of Washington D.C. not withstanding, any time you have a chance to find a good fit when you’re looking for businesses and creating jobs, you take advantage of it.”
Menner, who used to work at U-S-D-A Rural Development, says Iowa would be a good fit for both offices and the state’s in a good position to compete. “The resources that exist at Iowa State University and, to some degree, at the University of Iowa are a good fit for what these two agencies do,” Menner says. “Iowa State’s a land grant institution and they have folks who study these things and do this kind of work every day.” He notes, it won’t be a slam-dunk for Iowa. “There would be a number of other states that would also be competitive because they have institutions similar to Iowa State and Iowa and that have strong land grant histories,” Menner says, “but Iowa certainly has to be in the running, if this indeed is going to happen.”
He says the National Animal Disease Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Lab located in Ames are a good demonstration of the fit that exists between Iowa and the U-S-D-A. He says those should be considered in any possible relocation efforts.
(Radio Iowa) — The wet weather slowed the harvest again this week. The latest U-S-D-A report shows there were about two suitable days for fieldwork last week. The corn harvest is now 15 percent complete — which compares to 11 percent last week. The corn harvest got started early — and is still 10 days ahead of last year despite the weather. Southeast Iowa leads the state with 39 percent of its corn harvested. Eighteen percent of the soybeans are now in the bin — that’s an increase of just three percent from last week’s total. The bean harvest is now five days behind the average.
(Radio Iowa) — Advocates of corn-based ethanol expect President Trump to make a major announcement about the fuel additive tomorrow (Tuesday). “This is something we’ve literally been working on for seven years. If all goes as we think it will, this is going to be a very good day.” That’s Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Shaw and others expect Trump to announce the E-P-A is preparing a waiver that will allow the year-round sale of E-15 — that’s gasoline with a 15 percent ethanol blend.
“We do think that rule-making can be done in time for June which is when the restriction would come back into play,” Shaw says, “so by taking action tomorrow, President Trump is setting us up to have E15 available across the United States next summer.” Shaw predicts the oil industry will go to court to try to block the waiver for E-15, so legal wrangling may commence soon. In the meantime, Shaw says tomorrow’s (Tuesday’s) announcement should provide a psychological boost to the ag economy.
“And it’s a market boost,” Shaw says, “a little bit at first, but definitely growing over time, so we’ve very excited here.” A number of media outlets are reporting Trump will make the E-15 announcement in Washington before he departs for his rally tomorrow (Tuesday) night in Council Bluffs.
(Radio Iowa) — Harvest season will kick into high gear once Iowa gets an extended period of dry weather and that means large farm machinery will be traveling the state’s roadways. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Vince Kurtz is calling on motorists to be patient and prepared. “Even though you may end up following a tractor for several miles at 35 miles an hour, in the grand scheme of things, it’s really only going to cost you a couple minutes of your time,” Kurtz says. “As opposed to the danger that you could be putting yourself and your family in by making a poor pass or by going too fast, not paying attention, and possibly rear-end that implement coming up over the top of a hill.”
Farmers can help reduce the chances of a crash by properly marking their machinery. “That all begins with a SMV (slow moving vehicle) triangle at the back of every vehicle you’re pulling,” Kurtz says. “So, if you’re pulling a wagon, you have to have that SMV triangle on the back of that wagon and visible. If you’re pulling another piece of equipment, make sure you have it at the back of that train.”
Farmers working after dark should also have a red light at the rear of the vehicle and flashing amber lights. Kurtz says he’s been called to three or four accidents involving farm equipment within the last month.
(Radio Iowa) — The continued wet weather may prove to be problematic for farmers wanting to harvest their crops. Iowa State University Extension Grain Quality Specialist, Charlie Hurburgh believes the wet conditions add a new issue to the harvest. “It’s just been a difficult fall — and now we are going to have mold problems in the fields for sure,” Hurburgh says. “And farmers need to scout their fields and look to see which fields seem to be more less affected by mold problems and harvest them first.” The wet conditions led to growth issues that are now showing up as farmers head to the fields.He says there is a lot of corn that is down because the stalk health wasn’t great and he says the down corn is more likely to spoil in the field than the corn that is standing up. “All in all we will have a little bit of a problematic harvest.”
The Iowa State grain quality specialist says the condition of this year’s grain is slightly below last year’s harvest. “The kernel fill wasn’t just tremendous like it was last year. And the kernals weren’t as deep and they aren’t as big, which means our test weights will be okay, average, 54-55 pounds, but I don’t think anything exceptional,” according to Hurburgh. “From a livestock and ethanol persepctive, that’s really not too serious.” Hurburgh adds that the quality of the grain may deteriorate if we continue to have cool wet days — as there really hasn’t been a lot of natural drying days. “We only had maybe two days of really good drying weather right after the Labor Day deluge. There were two or three days where we got a lot of drying and then we went right back into the water again,” Hurburgh says. “The moisture reports have been all over the place.”
He says soybeans are seeing similar problems with high moisture levels. Hurburgh says for long-term storage of grain, corn moisture needs to be around 15 percent moisture, and for soybeans, the moisture content should be around ten to twelve percent.
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