August 4, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, valley, This is aglife. My name is Bob Quinn,
with you for the next hour talking about agricultural production
here in the valley and all across the country. Well, friends,
after a two year absence, USDA's July Cattle Report made
a return. Yet, what were some of the findings. Well,
Rod Bain starts us off this morning.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
At anticipation shared last spring by USDA Chief economist Seth
Meyer to farm broadcasters.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
I'm glad to have my Jilig report done, because that's
the one I'll be looking at.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
The Agriculture Department's July Cattle Report was above various National
Agricultural Statistics Service monthly reports, suspended in twenty twenty four
for budget reasons, then restored earlier this year. USDA Livestock
alys Michael McConnell explains the significance of the bi annual
cattle reports, one in January followed by the second in July.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
One report coming out reflecting where the cattle herd is
on January first, and then the second one reflecting where
the cattle is on July first, to kind of a
midjor year sort of check up. And while the July
report isn't quite as comprehensive as the January report is.
The January report is the one that we often use
to kind of benchmark where we are in the cattle cycle, which,
for those that aren't familiar, the cattle and beef industry
works along the cattle cycle, which would take a full

(01:15):
ten years, So it's an industry, and the inventories of
cattle can move in very kind of gradual year by
year sort of increments. And so while the January report
we look at is kind of being the benchmark to
see where we are and where the market is in
terms of supply of cattle, the July report provides a
good insight in terms of where we are midway through
the year. We kind of get a sense from producers
whether or not they're retaining females to be entered into
the breeding herd, or get a sense of what our

(01:36):
calf crop is for the year, all these types of
things that give us a really important insight into the
direction of the overall supply of the cattle and beef market.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
So what were the findings from the first USDA July
Cattle reported two years? According to Travis Averl of the
National Agricultural Statistics service July first.

Speaker 4 (01:55):
The United States, all cattle and cabs are at ninety
four point two million head, down one point three percent
from twenty twenty three.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Over thirty eight billion head of cows and heifer's work
calve this year now one percent from twenty twenty three.

Speaker 4 (02:09):
By species, big cows are at twenty eight million, six
hundred and fifty thousand head, down one point two percent
from twenty twenty three. Milk cows are up fifty thousand
head from twenty twenty three, at nine million points and fifty.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Thousand Broadbain reporting for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington,
d C.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Well, Friends, coming up, it's called remote ranching or ranching
by smartphone. We'll have that story ahead. You're listening to
wag Life Bob winn Back Witherson Farm News this morning. Friends.
Harvest underway across states like Oregon, and for the next
couple of months, the state Department of Transportation is reminding

(02:48):
all motorists to drive safely. Glenn Wagan has our report today.

Speaker 5 (02:53):
The roads they're filled with tractors, combined and other slow
moving farm equipment, which is essential to state agriculture and economy.
Right this is essential work that we need to happen.
The Department's Transportation, the organ Department of Agriculture, and an
Oregon Farm Bureau. We're teaming up this year to remind
the drivers to scale alerts, slow down, and to share

(03:16):
the road with these farmers.

Speaker 6 (03:17):
Mindy mccartt with ododd says the last five years, Oregon
has averaged about thirty two crashes involving farm equipment annually,
resulting in about four serious injuries per year. Unfortunately, fatal
crash has occurred both in twenty twenty and twenty twenty two,
and while those numbers may seem small, mccartt noted that
each one represents a person, a family, and a community impacted.

(03:40):
She added other things drivers can do to keep Oregon
roadways safe during the harvest include yielding to larger vehicles,
driving defensively, and staying back.

Speaker 5 (03:49):
At least fifteen feet behind those large equipment and then
pass only when it's safe. We want them to wait
for clear sight lines and legal zones, and always avoid
passing near curves and bridges or the field entrances. These
farm equipments have wide sweeping turns to get all of

(04:09):
the equipment into those farm lanes, so give them that
extra space above all else.

Speaker 6 (04:15):
McCart reminded motorists to keep calm and remember that farmers
are just out there doing their job. I'm Glenn bog
and reporting well.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Friends. Remote ranching is a new and growing thing in
rural America. Doctor Maria silvera director of research at the
Noble Research Institute, talks about the ranching via technology.

Speaker 7 (04:37):
Virtual fancing is one of the tools that you can
use to manipulate your cowherd from your computer. Basically, so
it allows you to graze where and when you want
to and reduce labor costs, reduces the cost associated with
traditional fans. It makes it much easier to change the animals,
rotate the animals. So they study that I present today

(04:58):
was comparing rotational system versus a continuous stocking system. So yeah,
we did all the manipulation animal manipulation from the computer,
so that was easy.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
So Vera says the technology worked better than she thought
it would to me.

Speaker 7 (05:11):
One of the biggest surprises first two, I wasn't very
positive that technology was actually going to work, and I
was expecting to encounter all sorts of technical issues. Animal
getting stuck to plants, or shrub with the collar losing
a lot of colors. The color is malfunctioning because of
the harsh environment where we're testing. But it was very
surprising to me to see that none of that happened.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
Each animal is equipped with a collar.

Speaker 7 (05:33):
There's a better you operated. They are GPS enabled, so
install the colors and the animals. There's a training period
which is fast as well. It took us only four
to five days to train the animals so that color
what happens. You determine the air where you wanted the
animals to graze. If they approach the air, they'll have
a sound cue, so you tell them you're not supposed
to be there. If they advance further, they'll get a

(05:56):
shock stimulus. But fairly quickly they learn just to say
the sound with a shock, so they learn not to
do that.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
She said. A system like this most likely will benefit
producers who want to try or currently use rotational grazing systems.
While Frienzig Secretary Brook Rollins says the US Forest Service
is investing one hundred six million dollars to support state
and land owner efforts to conserve private working forest land

(06:25):
across the country. Funded through the Forest Legacy Program. These
projects will protect forests vital to the economic and social
fabric of local communities, ensuring their remain productive, working forests
for Americans and tourists to use and enjoy, quoting her, now,
just like our farms and ranches, working forests are part
of the backbone of rural America, providing jobs, timber, clean water,

(06:49):
and places for families to hunt, fish, camp, hike and
make lifelong memories. Now in Totally Forest Service will fund
ten projects across one hundred seventy seven thousand eights of
state and privately owned forest land in Arkansas, Hawaii, Iowa,
Michigan and other states. For too long, our forests have
been left idle, only to burn and devastate communities. She added,

(07:12):
It's all about safeguarding forests that supply critical wood products.
Farm news. This morning, you are listening to WAG Life.

Speaker 8 (07:20):
It's another agnews update foreign ownership of domestic farmland. More
after this, this.

Speaker 9 (07:30):
Is Shaquille O'Neill reminding you that anytime is a good
time for the cooling drying freshmen in of gold bond
powder spread like after the.

Speaker 10 (07:38):
Gym gravid elevator ride.

Speaker 8 (07:40):
For golf for working with fine animals.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
For a hard day's work.

Speaker 8 (07:45):
Stay cool with gold bond powder spreads. Stay coum with
gold bandeh Arkansas Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders on prohibiting foreign
ownership of farmland the.

Speaker 11 (07:58):
Last couple of months.

Speaker 12 (07:59):
We've passed new legislation just this year allowing us to
prohibit them from now not only owning farmland in our state,
but from building or buying land around our military bases
and critical infrastructure. It is something that has to happen
and something that states have been leading the way on,

(08:19):
but unfortunately, our states can't do it alone. That's why
events like today matter so much. That's why leadership from
people like Secretary Rollins matter so much. The fact that
we now have a president who understands who our real
enemies are and is willing to take them on is

(08:39):
making a huge difference, not just in our country but
around the world. You know, we've talked a lot about
today a country's ability to feed itself, but that's not
the only place, and that's not the only role agriculture place.
A country has to be able to feed itself, fuel itself,
and fight for itself to truly be free and That's

(09:03):
why what this group represents is every component of that,
and we now have a president who understands it and
is willing to do everything within his power to make
sure the United States continues to be the greatest country
on the face of the planet.

Speaker 8 (09:17):
It's another Agnews update.

Speaker 13 (09:21):
I'm Russ Kohler, a dairyman from Utah. Safety. Know your limits.
Heatstroke is life threatening. Know the symptoms confusion, loss of consciousness, seizures,
high body temperature, hot dry skin, and profuse sweating. Reduce
your risk during the heat of the day by working
earlier or later, allow time for water and rest breaks
by drinking two to four cups of water each hour.

Speaker 14 (09:44):
This public service message is brought to you by Farm
Bureau and the US AGG Centers.

Speaker 8 (09:50):
American Cattle News reopening the southern border with Mexico for
live feeder cattle good or bad. More after the.

Speaker 13 (10:02):
I'm Russ Kohler, a dairyman from Utah. Safety. Know your limits.
Heatstroke is life threatening. Know the symptoms confusion, loss of consciousness, seizures,
high body temperature, hot dry skin, and profuse sweating. Reduce
your risk during the heat of the day by working
earlier or later, allow time for water and rest breaks
by drinking two to four cups of water each hour.

Speaker 14 (10:25):
This public service message is brought to you by Farm
Bureau and the US AGG Centers.

Speaker 8 (10:30):
The threat of New World screw worm has caused the
US to close the border with Mexico for feeder cattle.
That's recently reopened justin Douglas's, Arizona. Robbie Kirkland is a
family feeder from Vega, Texas.

Speaker 15 (10:49):
Those cattle are used by farmers, backgrounders and then feed lots,
so all different sectors of the of the you know,
of the market, of the of the beach chain. So
this cattle will come across and then like I said,
a lot of them will be fed, you know, particularly

(11:10):
in our region. I'm in the Texas cattle feeder region Texas, Oklahoma,
and New Mexico, and then probably some up into maybe
southern part of Kansas. But uh, you know the majority
of them would be fed in in our region. And
so those cattle would come in, a lot of them
will get We'll be put on pasture could be gone
wheat pasture, could be summer grass pasture, and then like

(11:32):
I said, would go on into the to the to
the feed lots sector, and and that's kind of how
they're used.

Speaker 8 (11:38):
And why is this important to continue.

Speaker 15 (11:41):
Take a million head roughly out of the supply for
you know, shutting off the ports in and between Mexico
and the US. So that's put a really strain on
the numbers in the you know, in the feed lots,
on our grass, on our wheat pasture because of just
you know, just cheer numbers. So that's made a huge impact.

(12:05):
And so in our region we would say that there
would be around fifteen percent of the cattle on feed
or in our possession would be cattle historically from Mexico.

Speaker 8 (12:18):
American Cattle News.

Speaker 1 (12:23):
This is Dairy Radio Now, a rundown of the latest
dairy news across America.

Speaker 16 (12:33):
Milkie Monday, David Krazowski, Stonemack's Dairy Group, broker in Chicago.

Speaker 17 (12:38):
Dave.

Speaker 16 (12:39):
The July Federal Order Class three benchmark milk price took
a tumble last week, dropping a dollar fifty from June
and is two dollars and forty seven cents below a
year ago.

Speaker 18 (12:50):
What's ahead always a good question, Lee. I'll tell you
We've got a lot of milk in the US, you know,
this year, and I think that's maybe the predominant factor
for what's going on with the markets generally, and demand
has been kind of depends on where you're looking. You know,
the domestic demand has been basically flat, and export demand
has been really good for certainly for cheese, butter's probably

(13:11):
had better domestic demand and non if that's been walking,
it's kind of okay domestic demand and okay, mixed export
type demand. But you know, I think if you if
you look at it, we're you know, that's the story
of the past few months in terms of milk production,
and there's nothing on the foreground that looks like there's
gonna be a problem for milk production. However, you know,

(13:31):
the economy is doing pretty good generally speaking, and we've
got some trade deals getting done, you know, and I
think that could be a buoyant factor for milk prices
as we go into the bigger demand time period a
year of the fall.

Speaker 16 (13:44):
As you look at some of these trade deals that
have shaped up with the EU and with Japan and
various other countries, anything that struck your eye that says, yeah,
this is going to be good for dairy you.

Speaker 18 (13:55):
Know, A good question, not not really directly for dairy.
The only thing I think is that you start getting
some of these trade deals done, and all of a sudden,
you know, other nations that don't have a deal with us,
including China, may start to go, Okay, they're getting stuff done.
We don't want to miss out on stuff. So I think,
you know, the bigger picture that I take away is
that we're moving in the right direction on these trade

(14:17):
deals and getting some of these bigger ones done is
starting to probably put some pressure on other nations to
come to the table make a deal.

Speaker 16 (14:25):
Right well and closing. The big ones, of course are
Canada and Mexico. We export a lot of dairy products
to both, that's.

Speaker 18 (14:32):
True, and you know that's you know, those will be
the ones that as we as we go forward, obviously
those could be huge, you know, Lynchpin type trade deals.

Speaker 16 (14:40):
Thank you, David Krazowski, Stonemack's Dairy Group, broker in Chicago.

Speaker 19 (14:46):
Here's dairy farmer Hank Wagner and his daughter Laura with
another simple miracle moment.

Speaker 20 (14:51):
Our society today does not do a very good job
at nurturing family ties or believing in our children.

Speaker 21 (14:57):
Many children today are being raised and broken homes, or
are being neglected because their parents are too busy to
give their children the attention they hunger for and need. Sadly,
that forces our children to find other ways to get attention.

Speaker 20 (15:11):
They may have the opportunity to find it in a
coach or teacher, but many times they find themselves in
dangerous or abusive relationships. They can also resort to other
unfortunate activities that will get them some of the attention
that they need.

Speaker 21 (15:24):
We can set ourselves up for regular miracles by daily
exercising a belief in people develop habits that regularly send
I believe in you messages. There are people around you
who desperately need someone to believe in them. You can
be that person.

Speaker 19 (15:39):
That's Hank Wagner and Laura Rodd's, author of the book
Simple Miracles for More Go to Become Better Leaders dot com.

Speaker 22 (15:47):
Neil Armstrong waited six hours and thirty nine minutes to
step onto the surface of the moon. Jackie Robinson waited
twenty months to play his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers,
and even DiCaprio had to wait twenty two years to
win an oscar. You can wait until your destination. Don't
text and drive.

Speaker 11 (16:07):
Visit Stoptech, stoprex dot org.

Speaker 3 (16:10):
A message brought to you by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, Project yellow.

Speaker 9 (16:14):
Light and the AD Council.

Speaker 1 (16:17):
This is Dairy Radio now coming up.

Speaker 2 (16:20):
National Farmers Market Week and the.

Speaker 3 (16:22):
National Farmers Market Week Extravaganza.

Speaker 2 (16:25):
As Agriculture Secretary Brook Rawlins refers to the Great American
Farmers Market starting Sunday on the National Mall in Washington,
d C. Above the featured items produce and products.

Speaker 11 (16:35):
From all over the country by some of our greatest farmers.

Speaker 2 (16:38):
Above the over fifty vendors participating each evening representing twenty
eight states. Themes are associated with each day of the
August third through eighth celebration. Above those participating, various federal
officials and even a celebrity are more. Smoky Bear is
apparently going to be making an.

Speaker 11 (16:55):
Appearance as well.

Speaker 2 (16:56):
Opening of the Great American Farmers Market occurs with the
event open each day from four to eight pm Eastern.
Additional details about the Great American Farmer's Market are available
online at www dot USDA dot gov slash GAFM. I'm
Rod Bain, reporting for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington,

(17:16):
d C.

Speaker 9 (17:20):
Potential headwinds on on and exports this season. I'm Patrick
Cavanaugh with the Countilfordia Tree Nutt Report, part of the
vastag Information Network. Ryan Jacobson is CEO of the Fresno
County Farm Bureau.

Speaker 17 (17:34):
There's a lot of global factors, you know, something that's
probably not talked about enough, with the strength of the
American dollar, which has been fairly strong over the last
several years, has diminished some of the worldwide demand for it.
We're currently in that little uncertainty pase with certain countries
when it comes to some of the treaties and what's
going to go on in regards to prices and tariffs
and all that kind of stuff, And so there's I

(17:55):
think the uncertainty is probably more to claim for what's
going on there because the longest time, I mean, we
knew we could support three billion pounds. Just to add
uncertainty in that marketplace right now, that's driving that. I'm
still trying to be optimistic. There's going to be some
carryover from twenty twenty fours crop in the twenty twenty five.
There's a lot of growers think the estimate could be
a little bit on the high side, so if we

(18:16):
realistically can bring that down slightly based off of what
actually comes in from harvest, that's going to help clear
things up. But I think going forward, the certainty you
know with our trade partners is probably going to drive
that demand or non demand potentially as much as anything.
And so hopefully we're going to head in a little
more lightly better direction that California farmers will number one,

(18:37):
gain additional access to markets maybe they haven't had, but
secondarily that there's more favorable triff conditions for our products
as they go oversee.

Speaker 9 (18:45):
And yes, that's a big hope for the industry.

Speaker 23 (18:47):
Farm Work is tough, and so is staying safe on road.
Every year, accidents happen when tractors and traffic share the
same space, whether you're behind the wheel of a tractor
or a car.

Speaker 11 (18:57):
Here's what you need to remember.

Speaker 23 (18:58):
Tractors move slower, be patient, don't pass on hills or curves. Farmers,
make sure your slow moving vehicles, signs and lights are
visible and everyone's sailor, especially on rule roads, one moment
of caution can save alife. Let's work together to keep
our roads and are firm safe. This message was brought
to you by the AG Information Network.

Speaker 10 (19:18):
For over forty years, the AGG Information Network has been
providing news and information for the most important industry in
the world, agriculture. The Egg Information Network gives you worldwide
updates from local producers to regional organizations, from major crops
like wheat and corn, to animal agriculture to specialty crops
like apples, almonds, and cherries. We report on stories that

(19:39):
mean the most to you online at aginfo dot net.
The Egg Information Network trusted and transparent journalism lasting for
the next generation.

Speaker 9 (19:48):
With the AG Information Network, I'm Patrick Kavanaugh.

Speaker 2 (19:51):
How to describe USDA's last top Soiled Boister Conditioned report
for July.

Speaker 24 (19:56):
It continues to show a mostly favorable picture with some
notable exceptions.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
USDA be urologist Brad Rippy says, for the period ending
July twenty seventh.

Speaker 24 (20:06):
Us top soil moisture in cropland areas is rated twenty
six percent very short to short and eleven percent surplus.
Minimal change from the previous week as most areas kind
of remaining status quo.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
Considerable precipitation and thunderstorm activity in the Core Belt and
the Gulf Coast has boosted topsoil moisture surplus at those areas.

Speaker 24 (20:27):
On the flip side, there is a broader footprint of
very short to short ratings.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
While much of that focus remains on the West, we
have seen.

Speaker 24 (20:34):
Enough heat and dryness in parts of the South to
push state wide topsoil moisture numbers above the fifty percent
mark in states like Arkansas currently at sixty seven percent
and Georgia fifty three percent. Looking at the surplus numbers,
we have seen considerable thunderstorm activity in recent days and
weeks for that matter in parts of the corn Belt

(20:55):
that has pushed top soil moisture is high as thirty
percent surplus by July twenty seventh in Iowa. Not far
behind is Minnesota at twenty six percent in Missouri at
twenty one percent. All three of those states border the
Mississippi River. Now, as we moved to the deep South,
we have seen some heavy showers, mainly along the Gulf

(21:15):
Coast in recent days that has pushed topsail moisture to
twenty percent surplus in Florida eighteen percent in Louisiana. Very
short to short ratings. A lot of the focus continues
to be on the Western United States and particular the
Northwest where we see topsoil moisture rated very short to
short in agricultural areas, now up to ninety percent in

(21:38):
Washington State, followed by Oregon at seventy nine percent, even
Montana coming in this week at sixty two percent, in
Idaho at sixty percent, and some of that dry and
is now extending down as far south as Utah, where
statewide topsoil moisture is sixty eight percent very short to short.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
The dividing line pasture and rageland could do across the
US remains the Rocky Mountains.

Speaker 24 (22:03):
Almost all of the concern related to those burn up
or brown rangeland and pastures are focused across the.

Speaker 2 (22:09):
West, while from the plains eastward relative lush or green conditions.
Usdaburologist Rad Rippy says, with all that factored in the.

Speaker 24 (22:18):
National rating of good to excellent pastures in rangelands forty
five percent good to excellent, up to points from the
previous week, we are currently sitting at just twenty six
percent very poor to poor. That is a two point
improvement from last week's twenty eight percent.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
Per the USDA Pasture at Range LAD Condition Report for
the period d July twenty seventh rippy ads. The states
at or above fifty percent good to excellent pasture and
rage lag condition are widespread.

Speaker 24 (22:45):
We're still seeing pasture conditions eighty percent good to excellent
or greater in several Midwestern and Eastern states. Among some
of our bigger agricultural states, Montana really is at the
top of that list fifty six percent very poor to poor.
That is an ongoing, chronic problem. They have never really
been able to shake drought across the northern high Plains.

(23:06):
We see those issues extending westward across the Rockies into
the Northwest, and there we see Oregon forty one percent
very poor to poor, Washington State at thirty seven percent,
and really just a handful of states pushing that number higher.
Other states that are at or above twenty six percent
very poor to poor on pasture and rangeland conditions also
includes Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, and Wyoming, and

(23:32):
so pretty short list. And then we do have one
Eastern state joining that list this week, that is South Carolina.
That is an impact of some of the heat and
short term dryness affecting parts of the southeast.

Speaker 2 (23:43):
Rod Bain reporting for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington,
d C.

Speaker 25 (23:53):
This is the Agricultural Law and Tax Report, brought to
you by Helena agg Man Agency's and Nutrition. With Koran
Metra at Helena AGRA dot com for more information. I'm
Roger McCowen. A few years ago, several major mutual life
insurance companies demutualized, impacting millions of policyholders. When a demutualization occurs,
policyholders typically receive cash, stock in the new company, or

(24:15):
a combination of both. The RS views any cash received
as a capital gain, measured by the difference between the
cash received in the policies tax basis. The basis is
typically zero, meaning the entire cash amount is taxable. If
a policyholder receives stock, there's typically no taxable event until
the stock is sold. At that point, the gain is
calculated as the difference between the selling price and the

(24:35):
stocks basis, which is likely to be zero, making the
entire sale proceeds taxable as a capital gain. This has
been the Agricultural Law and Tax Report. I'm Roger mcowa.

Speaker 6 (24:49):
Thanks for being with us.

Speaker 11 (24:50):
You're listening to AG life.

Speaker 26 (24:52):
It's time for California AG Today. On the AG Information network.
I am Hailey's ship. The California States. The Board of
Food and Agriculture is putting the spotlight on farm economics
On Tuesday, August fifth, the Board is going to be
meeting in Sacramento to talk about the current financial outlook
for farmers and ranchers. Topics include agg lending, land transitions,

(25:15):
labor challenges, and rising water management costs, issues weighing heavily
across the state. The Board advises the governor and the
California Department of Food and Agriculture on ag policy, economic trends,
and consumer needs. Through public forums like this one, it
helps shape decisions that impact farms, food systems, and rural

(25:36):
communities statewide. CDFA Secretary Karen Ross says rising costs are
hitting everyone in the food chain, growers, processors and consumers,
from inflation and trade disruptions to commodity pricing and input costs.
California's ag economy is navigating complex terrain. Board president Don Cameron,

(25:57):
as Central Valley farmer, says the shift is visible, more
land sales, more abandoned fields. Agriculture is hurting. He said,
now that meeting is going to run from ten to two,
it'll be at the CDFA headquarters. It is open via zoom.
You can find a link and get more info at
agginfo dot net. Attention all growers. Have your packouts been

(26:20):
reduced due to damage caused by heat stress or sunburn?
This is called Tiva. We are the manufacturer of Parka.
Parka is a plant based folier product with a unique
MOA that helps plants resist and recover from heat stress.
Parka reduces heat stress and sunburn by reducing the development
of oxidative compounds and stressed crops. It allows the plant

(26:40):
to continue photosynthetic activity, which ultimately means your crops continue
to perform during times of excessive heat. As a result,
plants treated with Parka are better equipped to sustain growth
under environmental stress conditions to deliver high fruit quality and
marketable yields. Unlike other products on the market, Parka is
highly tank mixed compatible and leaves no residue on fruit

(27:02):
or equipment, making it easy to incorporate into spray programs.
The heat is coming, Is your crop ready to handle
the stress? Give us a call it eight eight eight
six three eight nineteen fifty five or visits Cultiva dot
com with California AGG Today on the ag Information Network,
I am Haley's ship.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
Bob Quinn. Here were some farm news this morning, friends.
While the twenty eighteen Farm Bill provided a legal pathway
for the production of hemp in the United States, Todd
Gleason reports that researchers at the University of Illinois have
been working to improve the crop and develop production techniques.

Speaker 27 (27:39):
This summer, they held a hemp research open house. David
Lakeman from the Illinois Department of Agriculture kicked off the event.
I talked with him about how the state took interest
in hemp.

Speaker 28 (27:51):
Illinois has is almost perfectly designed for hemp production. One
of the things I mentioned is that in the course
the Second World War, right as the United States entered
the war, many of the areas that grew hemped for
industrial purposes fell under enemy control. So the Philippines and
Ukraine are two of the greatest areas for hemp production,

(28:11):
at least they were at the time, you know, virtually
overnight in late nineteen forty one, both of those places
were unavailable. The United States Department of Agriculture launched a
program called Hemp for Victory, which encouraged US farmers to
grow hemp and step into that void, and Illinois farmers
stepped up in between. You know, nineteen forty two and
nineteen forty five were almost twenty thousand acres of hemp
which supported the war effort. It can be done here.

Speaker 10 (28:33):
Hemp or Victory.

Speaker 27 (28:37):
Those are the closing credits from a nineteen forty two
film by USDA titled Hemp Victory that spurred production of
him across the state of Illinois and the Midwest. It
is something David Lakeman, who is the Cannabis and Hemp
Division manager at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, hopes can
be recreated.

Speaker 28 (28:59):
And I want to see, you know, one more area
for our farmers who are struggling, who are dealing with
multiple challenges, to have this crop that is so versatile.
It can grow on loose er rock here, more acidic
soil that other cash crops cannot. It is great at
absorbing things from the soil. So you know, before marijuana

(29:19):
was made a legal in the thirties, farmers would line
their fields with hemp because it would absorb heavy metals, lead, mercury,
arsenic pesticides. It would absorb those out of the fields.
So that you could grow your corn. Right, there's a
million different uses for it, and I want to make
sure that Illinois not only has a thriving industry, but
it continues to be a leader in industrial hemp production.

Speaker 27 (29:36):
Of course, the United States government during World War Two
was spurring production of hemp for its fiber. What industrial
uses do you believe it will have in today's world, Again.

Speaker 28 (29:48):
It's virtually lmentless. So to answer your question, yes, during
the war again, rope was one of the chief uses
for it. An actual battleship, so in Iowa clash battleship
would use about thirty thousand feet of hemp rope, and
then of course less for a cruiser or destroyer. But
you know something similar. We also used it for the
production of uniforms, especially for exports the Soviet Union, which

(30:09):
had used a lot of hemp grown and what is
now Ukraine to make their uniforms. Now, given the state
of science, there's so much more it can be used for.
So you can make hemp crete, which is versatile, it
is light, it is fire retardant, it is extremely useful.
You can turn it into plastics. I have in my
office at the Department of agriculture. A set of plastic

(30:29):
silverware that is made from hemp material. You can make
oils out of it, you can use it for cloth,
for paper. There's a really great used bookstore downtown Springfield
and they have you know called the Prairie Archives. They
have all these newspapers they go back to before Illinois
was a state. It's interesting you go through those looks.
You can those papers you can find when Illinois when

(30:50):
they move from making hemp paper for those newspapers to
woodpulp paper. Because the hemp paper is still clear as
the day it was printed, doesn't need all the protection
that the woodpulp paper does. It maintains it's it's character
at stays stable. So I mean, if if you could
do that and start replacing you know, lumber production with
with hemp paper, it's both more sustainable and has the
benefit of sticking around longer. It's more stable as a product.

(31:11):
So again, there's virtually limitless applications. And I think that's
part of what you know, that's part of why what
the u OFI is doing is so important, is why
you know this program is so important because we're just
we're just now learning what all we can do with
this plant and I want to continue to support those efforts.

Speaker 27 (31:23):
Why are you here to participate in a University of
Illinois field day? What purpose does it serve?

Speaker 28 (31:29):
You know, I think every one of the state universities
now has a hemp program. They're incredible resources. They're pushing
the science forward in a way you know that many
other states are not doing. There's a long history not
just here at u of I, but also at the
Agriculture School in Carbondale with with hemp and cannabis research.
I mean, they have a very long history and so
making sure that we're utilizing these incredible resources that Illinois
has to bring to bear on it. They're here, we're here,

(31:50):
and that's part of why, you know, the Department wanted
to be at this event is to show showcase our
support and raise awareness of what these programs are doing.

Speaker 27 (31:57):
That's David Lockman from the Illinois Department of Agri Culture.
He serves as the Cannabis and Hemp Division manager there.
He attended the Hemp Research open house held on the
University of Illinois campus in July. I'm Illinois Extensions Todd
Glison Farm US.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
This morning, you're listening to WAG life, but.

Speaker 29 (32:20):
The Agon Information Network. This is your agribusiness update. Mendocino
County farmer Taylor SARAHS mrdig reported harvesting a bountiful blueberry
crop this summer, telling Aglert, we had some of the
best quality we've seen the past couple of years. The
fresh market blueberry season typically last two to four weeks,
depending on the weather. She says this year hot weather
on the North coast to shorten the harvest period, but

(32:42):
added her farm had enough longtime employees to harvest the
crop during the short window. The FDA is working to
create a uniform definition of ultra processed foods, opening the
door to regulating one of the main targets of Health
and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy juniors Make America
Healthy Again movement. The agency is asking stakeholders for information

(33:04):
to help establish a federally recognized definition that could help
shape future regulations, including what types of food are eligible
for school lunches and food assistance benefit programs. And the
US and the European Union agreed to a trade deal
following make or break negotiations between President Trump and European
Commission President Ursula Vonderland. They agreed to a US tariff

(33:26):
of fifteen percent on all goods from the EU, which
is half of the thirty percent Trump had threatened, adding
the EU will open its twenty seven member markets to
US exports with zero percent tariffs on certain goods. Vonderland
says the deal will bring more stability to both sides.

Speaker 30 (33:43):
Get the equipment and trucks you need at Richie Brothers
next Sacramento sale on July thirtieth and thirty first. This
online auction features over seventeen hundred items to choose from,
including a wide selection of heavy construction equipment and truck tractors.
Don't miss Richie Brothers Absolute unreserved auction on July thirtieth
and thirty first, Open to the public and registration is free.

(34:05):
For more details, visit rbauction dot com again, that's rbauction
dot com.

Speaker 10 (34:13):
For the last forty years, the agg Information Network has
been the source of news for farmers and ranchers. Yet
we have never seen such an assault on farming and
our food supply as we do today. From fuel to fertilizer.
Farmers are facing unprecedented economic challenges. This is why Agriculture
News that farmers receive comes from the AGG Information Network,

(34:33):
reaching coast to coast, deep roots and farming in decades
of reporting, the AGG Information Network trusted and transparent journalism
for generations.

Speaker 11 (34:43):
From the Egg Information Network. I'm Bob Larson with today's
agribusiness update.

Speaker 1 (34:47):
Bob Quinn here to wrap up AAG life for today friends.
Will increase fungicide rates or make a second application? That's
the question. Chad Smith has an answer.

Speaker 11 (34:56):
Growers are facing increasing pressure from diseases like gray l
lee spot and tar spot. Some voices in the industry
recommend fungicide rate increases, claiming it will potentially eliminate the
need for a second pass. Tyler Harp, technical product lead
for Syngentis, speaks more on the subject as well as
on environmental and disease pressures.

Speaker 31 (35:18):
We're finding that this year is shaping up to be
one of those years that's probably going to have a
little bit higher disease pressure than normal. We started off
as sort of a cooler spring and then the heat
kind of turned on, but we've continued to have precipitation
which has come in the presence of rainfall or storms,
which that kind of rainy weather is what gets diseases going.
Diseases like tarspot and southern rust, both diseases which have

(35:40):
been reported throughout the corn belt already, So we're making
sure folks are aware of the risk that that could
have to their crop and to make sure that they're
doing what they need to do to protect their crop
against the yield limiting aspects of these diseases.

Speaker 11 (35:52):
There are agronomic and economic trade offs between increasing fungicide
rates and making a second application for gray leaf spot
and tar spot.

Speaker 31 (36:02):
At higher rate of a fungicide will not replace a
second application. You may get some extended residual activity with
a little bit of a higher rate, but it's not
going to be something that's going to give you as
much of a return as a second application would under
these scenarios of higher disease pressure. The data just doesn't
support that. So when you make a fungicide application, we
would hope that you're going to get a good performance

(36:24):
from that fungicide application, and if disease pressure continues throughout
the season a little bit later on, you might need
a second application to ensure that you're protecting as much
yield as possible. Simply raising the rates will not replace
what would normally get from a second application fourteen days later.

Speaker 11 (36:39):
Stress mitigation will be especially important for your crops if
the weather turns dry in August.

Speaker 31 (36:45):
The Bermuda High is position in a place where it's
just allowing that moisture to come in through the Gulf,
bringing that precipitation. You know, that's why we saw some
flooding in Texas and so forth, and it's bringing that
precipitation up through Iowa into the corn belt. Now, if
the Bermuda High moves is expected to do so later
this summer, moves further out to the Atlantic, it will
kind of shut some of that off and it could
cost some drier conditions. And one of the things that's

(37:06):
nice about a really good plant health fungicide is that
you're not only preserving yield in the presence of biotic stress,
which has caused from diseases, but also abiotic stress, which
is caused from things like drought or even heat. So
we also want to protect the plant not against these
stresses that occur from diseases, but also stress that occurs
from the environment. And that's the value of a really
good Syngenta plant health fungicide. We've shown that we can

(37:28):
preserve the photosynthetic capacity of leaves. We've shown that we
can conserve water and nutrient use in that plant to
some extent, and we've shown that these plants that have
good stress mitigation are able to endure harsher conditions, whether
there's disease or not.

Speaker 11 (37:42):
Haarp talks about here is fungicide recommendations.

Speaker 31 (37:45):
Maravs neo for corn and soybeans is the fungicide that
gives you these very important plant health benefits as well
as potent, long lasting disease control. Maravus neo contains a
broad spectrum fungicide. It has diseases like Fusarium erot or
gibber earot that are labeled, and so that's really important.
So there's not a lot of fungicites that have them
on the label, and so that can help reduce microtoxin contamination.

(38:07):
But it also again gives you that unprecedented stress mitigation
potential that we see in the adepting technology. That is
a fungicide contained in Marivus neo that's going to give
you a overall more likely scenario of a profitable application
because you're protecting that plant not only under the presence
of disease, but also in the presence of abiotic stress,
which come from heat or drought.

Speaker 11 (38:27):
Always read and follow label instructions. Again, that's Tyler Harp
with Syngenta, Chad Smith reporting with that.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
Friends, out of time for today, thanks for joining us
back tomorrow morning with another edition of Bag Life