2016 Corn Belt Crop Tour: Michigan

Jul 18, 2016

Final state visited during 12-state tour

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

The final stop on the fifth annual 2016 U.S. Corn Belt Crop Tour was Michigan and there were some concerns when it comes to corn.

“Corn looks the worst out of any state we have seen thus far out of all of the 12 states,” Chief Commodity Strategist Moe Agostino said.

“Michigan is one of the driest states,” Agostino said. “Ohio is a close second. The corn is going to need some moisture to help it grow.”

In the fields Agostino visited, he noted lots of variability and some crops beginning to burn.

However, the current conditions appear to be helping the state’s wheat crop.

“The dry weather probably helped the wheat the most,” he said. “Farmers are in full swing harvest up here.”

The soybean crop in Michigan appears to be okay.

“I think the beans come in a close second,” Agostino said, adding that vegetation growth without any pods concerns him.

Due to the dryness in Michigan, Agostino ranked it the worst out of the states he’s visited.

“I’m going to have to go with a 5/5.5 out of 10 for the state of Michigan."

Did you miss a state along the way? Be sure to go back and check out all the state videos and farmer interviews for first-hand accounts of what’s happening on local farms.

Use the hashtag #cornbelt16 to follow the tour on social media and don’t forget to register for the Ontario End of Tour Penta Event. It takes place on July 26 at the Penta Tillage Plant in Glencoe, Ontario from 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.