Accused of environmental violations and tagged with crippling fines, Thomas Villegas is demanding a jury of his peers, rather than submitting to an in-house agency trial. Essentially, the Nebraska landowner claims the administrative state operates a fixed game. If Villegas prevails, the precedent could protect landowners and private businessowners from being accused, judged and sentenced by the same set of unelected government employees.
According to USDA-NASS, corn condition ratings across the U.S. dropped to only 50% in good to excellent condition this week (a five-point decline in a week's time). States with notable declines include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.
Farmers need to pay particular attention to corn fields that were hit hard by the disease in 2021 and have rotated back to corn this year. Fields with high levels of residue are more susceptible, and beware of heavy rains just prior to canopy.
Bayer Crop Science has unveiled a novel approach, called CropKey, to the discovery and development of crop protection solutions. Company officials say it is helping them bring new products to the marketplace faster.
“Food inflation has definitely started to slow down, and this is good news for consumers. However, it still won’t be cheaper to celebrate the Fourth of July,” says Dr. Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo ag economist.
