INDUSTRY NEWS

The pace of 2019 U.S. tractor and combine sales remains ahead of a year ago, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). The outlook for the rest of the year hinges on the completion of trade agreements and their potential impact on U.S. farm income.

Hay producers from Idaho, Wyoming and Utah listened intently to Doug Robison, Idaho president for Northwest Farm Credit Services, as he gave his perspective on U.S. trade policies impacting agricultural markets at the Idaho Hay Association Convention in late February.

Alfalfa farmers who have purchased alfalfa seed from participating marketers have provided funding for eight new Alfalfa Checkoff research projects. The U.S. Alfalfa Farmer Research Initiative (USAFRI), better known as the Alfalfa Checkoff, recently awarded the fourth round of funding to projects submitted by researchers from a diverse collection of geographic areas of the country.

USDA NASS recently released reported grazing fee averages for 17 Western states for 2017, in comparison with 2016.

January 2019 saw increases in U.S. sales of self-propelled combines and four-wheel-drive tractors as well as total U.S. two-wheel-drive tractor sales compared to January last year, according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

A new Cornell-led study shows that Midwest agriculture is increasingly vulnerable to climate change because of the region’s reliance on growing rain-fed crops.