soybeans

This week Andrew Scaboo accepted a new position at the University of Missouri as Assistant Research Professor in soybean breeding.  

U.S. farmers are bringing in what’s expected to be a record-breaking harvest for both corn and soybeans. But all that productivity has a big financial downside: plunging prices that have many Midwest farmers hoping to merely break-even on this year’s crop.

On November 7, the Food and Drug Administration made a preliminary decision. That decision stated trans fats as unsafe in food. Trans fats are found in most processed foods.

The University of Missouri Extension is warning that recent wet weather increases the chances of diseases developing in corn and soybeans.

Agronomy specialist Jill Scheidt says rain carries funguses in the air, making it easier for the funguses to spread. She says diseases like rust, gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, brown spot, crazy top and stalk and ear rots develop best in wet and humid conditions.

High heat and a lack of rain have taken a big toll on Missouri corn and soybean crops, with nearly half of both reported in poor to very poor condition.