It's tough going right now for Missouri, Illinois corn growers

Maria Altman — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:51:39 +0000

Farmers in Missouri, Illinois and much of the Midwest are having a tough time getting their corn planted.

The US Department of Agriculture says in Illinois just 7 percent of the corn crop is in the ground; while in Missouri it’s 22 percent.

Usually, nearly half of the nation’s corn has been planted by this time.

The National Corn Growers Association vice president Paul Bertels says it’s not just the rain that’s been a problem.

The seeds of genetic modification

Amy Mayer — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:13:58 +0000

The vast majority of the corn and soybeans in United States grow from seeds that have been genetically modified. The technology is barely 30 years old and the controversy surrounding it somewhat younger. But how did it even become possible?

Feeding your neighbors and the world

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:35:52 +0000

Now that it’s Thanksgiving, the eating season has begun. Coming up we’ll take a look at how the U.S. helps feed the world, but first, let’s take a look in our own back yard. The local food banks, pantries, shelters and soup kitchens have picked up in business. KBIA’s Ben Mahnken reports that volunteerism and donations are up this year.

Drought spells tough times for US corn exporters

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:11:51 +0000

While the U.S. remains the world’s biggest supplier of corn, American farmers will lose a portion of the global corn market this year.

The Midwest drought devastated the normally robust corn harvest, which has led to higher corn prices and plummeting corn stocks. In a normal year, the U.S. exports more than 1 billion bushels of corn to markets worldwide, but with low domestic supply it’s a tough year for corn exporters – the USDA predicts U.S. corn exports will be at a 40-year low this year.

Drought-resistant corn tested; unemployment in women, minorities

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:35:37 +0000

Growing across the Midwest is a strain of hybrid corn that should perform well under the driest conditions. Harvest Public Media’s Rick Fredericksen says this summer’s parched farmland is providing an ideal test.

Drought-resistant corn faces real-life test

Rick Fredericksen — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:21:53 +0000

The sub-par corn harvest of 2012 is coming in early, after the worst growing conditions in more than 2 decades.

“We’ve been really dry all summer," farmer Bill Simmons says. "I talked to an older gentleman some time ago that said he had taken 47 crops off of his farm and this was about the worst that he’d ever seen it."

Simmons is combining 13-hundred acres of corn on the Clan Farm outside Atlantic, Iowa. Multiple varieties were planted, but one field turned out to be especially interesting: a 300-acre section devoted to AQUAmax, a new drought-resistant product from DuPont Pioneer.

Isaac rains help soybeans in Midwest

Associated Press — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:16:55 +0000

Several days of rain brought some relief to farmers in the nation's midsection as they contend with the worst drought in the U.S. in decades.

Livestock producers want less corn in your gas

Rehman Tungekar — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:14:32 +0000

Livestock producers are watching their feed costs rise with corn prices and taking their concerns to Washington D.C. The Environmental Protection Agency is under pressure from livestock groups and some rural lawmakers to curb corn prices and ease livestock producer worries by suspending the federal ethanol mandate.

MU professor: grazing drought-damaged crops and pasture can harm livestock

Associated Press — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:36:33 +0000

A University of Missouri veterinary professor says farmers need to be careful when feeding drought-damaged corn to their livestock.

USDA releases crops progress report

Jacob McCleland — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 22:29:24 +0000

According to the USDA's crops progress report, which was released on Monday, in Missouri, 83 percent of the corn acreage and 72 percent of soybeans are in very poor or poor condition. Both figures are the worst for any major agricultural state. Optimism for a good corn yield is dwindling, but Southeast Missouri State University’s Michael Aide says there is still hope for soybeans.