Fire

This is the second in a series of columns featuring conversations with state Farm Bureau presidents about current issues in agriculture.

Fire is a natural and necessary part of a healthy ecosystem.

Cattlemen have several options to control brush or woody plants in pastures.

Criminal activity is on the rise in many rural areas. Vandalism to crops, buildings, machinery, fencing and vehicles occurs more frequently than we would like to believe.

As farmers face tight profit margins, organizations like the United Soybean Board are working hard to maximize market opportunities for U.S. soy.

Warm, dry weather is helping farmers in northern Illinois to quickly harvest corn and soybeans with little need to run the crops through a dryer prior to storage.

I asked my wife, “What have I done in the last 30 days?” She said, “Praying for rain, moving sheep and praying for rain.” I’m still praying for rain.

A garden tool that will be making an appearance in many yards and gardens can also help prevent combine fires.

It wasn’t that long ago that harvest was in full swing on our farm. Our dryland and irrigated field corn had all been picked and the only thing left was cornstalks and a lot of dry organic material that kicked out the back end of a combine.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a food prices report comparing this summer to the summer of 2022. While it acknowledges that prices of food are continuing to rise, it claims that the rate of that increase has slowed.

How is the air where you live? At this writing, a large part of the country is under summer heat alerts with temperatures soaring above normal numbers and breaking longstanding records.

The smoke from Canadian wildfires reached levels across the Corn Belt this summer that impacted air quality and filtering sunlight with particulate matter, raising the question of its impact on crop productivity.

A fire and explosion at a dairy farm in the Texas Panhandle that injured one person and killed an estimated 18,000 head of cattle was an accident that started with an engine fire in a manure vacuum truck cleaning part of the massive barn.

The number in the headline was practically unbelievable: “About 18,000 cattle are killed in fire at dairy farm in Texas,” reported the New York Times on April 13.

The Mendota and Troy Grove fire departments were dispatched to a wind turbine fire north of Mendota. On arrival, the area on top of the tower was fully involved in the fire. Personnel secured the area and the tower was left to burn out.

Nearly two dozen farm animals were killed in a barn fire in Marengo, according to the Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts.

Harvest is nearly complete, but there are always jobs to do on the farm. Kendell Culp, farmer and vice president of Indiana Farm Bureau, continues to balance raising livestock, working for INFB and planning for next year’s crop. He shared an update with AgriNews.

Farmers who make a crop hail insurance policy part of their risk management portfolio have an additional benefit that they, hopefully, will never have to use.