In a year when soybean markets have been upended by trade wars, the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council is running a campaign to add demand and diversify product options for soybeans through a new soy-based firefighting foam called SoyFoam.
Some corn and soybean farmers in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa have started planting oats for environmental reasons, but also in an effort to diversify what’s grown in the Midwest. One area farmer has broken ground on a new oat mill in Albert Lea, Minn., for a local market.
Hansen-Mueller Co., a nationwide grain merchandiser and processor, filed for bankruptcy. The company, based in Omaha, Neb., has grain elevator operations in Minnesota. It owes hundreds of millions of dollars to farmers nationwide.
Turkey prices tend to rise closer to holidays such as Thanksgiving. But tariffs and bird flu could dramatically drive up the cost of turkeys this year.
The Minnesota Beef Council has proposed a 50-cent increase to the $1 fee charged to cattle producers on every head of cattle sold. The checkoff fee hasn’t been raised in nearly 40 years, but to make it more palatable to members, the fee would be refundable for those who want to opt out of the program.
New data the Agriculture Department released Friday created serious doubts about whether China will really buy millions of bushels of American soybeans like the Trump administration touted last month.
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