Common rust can often be confused with southern rust, especially when they are not occurring side-by-side on the same leaf. They both produce rusty looking pustules on the leaves, however, southern rust is extremely aggressive and most destructive under favorable high temperature-high humidity conditions. In the span of a week, it can take over [...]
A Message from Crop Quest President, Dwight Koops We are experiencing strange times right now. Attempting to run a farm as normal, does not remove all the noise there is around this COVID-19 pandemic. The domino effect to our economy is affecting everyone, including agriculture. There is great uncertainty around markets, supplies, commodity price trends, [...]
Automated cattle counting with drones saves time and is more accurate. Managing cattle inventory and reconciling yard sheets plays a major role in any feedyard operation. Whether you’re an accountant needing a feedlot audit, a lender requiring a cattle inspection, changing yard managers or transitioning ownership of a feedyard, capturing cattle inventory is critical. However, [...]
The first InfoAg conference was held in 1995. In 2001, I attended my first conference as a fresh hire at Crop Quest. It seems like a long time ago, but I can still remember the excitement that came with it. Precision Ag was in its infancy and there was always something new to discover. But then again, I suppose that's the nature of being on the cutting edge. There [...]
Did you realize that agriculture is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? That question may have you shaking your head in complete disbelief. However, there are people and companies out there that think just that. Ever since Monsanto bought Climate Corp. for nearly ONE BILLION DOLLARS, every venture capitalist investment firm [...]
The change that has occurred in the burned pastures of Southwest Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle since March has been nothing less than spectacular. The initial loss of livestock, wildlife, fences, buildings and homes is being replaced with the hope of this land returning to full production. From a distance, you would never know [...]
Utilize common sense and new technology to your advantage. Tough economic times tends to tighten everyone's belt, and that is when farmers need to be aware of how they separate the necessary from the unnecessary. With so many products on the market today all claiming that your crop can’t do without them, it’s difficult to [...]
Over the past few years, we have gotten accustomed to selling corn in the $5.00 to $7.00 range. These higher prices allowed us to take a little higher risk approach to push yields goals higher than what we normally might. Through this process, we learn quicker whether there is an adequate return on investment for [...]
As growers look at 2016, many are asking, “how do we make a profit?”. There are many ways to look at the issue. A former mentor of mine taught me that with any business; P= I-E. That is; profit equals income minus expenses. Many growers look to cutting expenses in challenging times, but that may [...]
As we begin a new year, we take time to reflect on what has been, and what may be coming. 2014 proved to be a pretty good year for producers across the country. A pretty solid wheat crop was harvested, despite some chronic drought conditions over the western high plains. The corn and soybean crop [...]
Rich Pottorff is the Chief Economist for Doane Advisory Services, a leader in Ag Analysis. He has a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics and 35 years of experience in economic analysis and forecasting business. He was also our guest writer for the Commodity Price Outlook 2014 article. Rich not only covers commodity prices, but has [...]
Rich Pottorff is the Chief Economist for Doane Advisory Services, a leader in Ag Analysis. With a Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics and 35 years of experience in economic analysis and forecasting business, we're excited to share his commodity price outlook for 2014. Q: What is the commodity price outlook for corn, soybeans, wheat in [...]
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the $500,000 Section 179 deduction that the 2010 Small Business Jobs Act provided. Under this provision, farmers can deduct up to $500,000 in qualifying purchases. There is a dollar for dollar reduction of the deduction once the farmer’s fixed asset purchases go over $2,000,000. However, the Section [...]
