Herbicides

No, You Aren't Crazy: It Is The Windiest Start To Spring In 50 Years

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 16:26:04 GMT

If you are tired of battling the wind this spring, you’re not alone. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports the windiest start to spring on record, and with wind gusts continuing to grip much of the country, it’s causing headaches for farmers trying to spray herbicide this spring.

“This is the windiest March into early April we’ve had in 50 years,” says Eric Snodgrass, who is Nutrien Ag Solutions’ Principal Atmospheric Scientist. “We’ve had such incredible strong winds, not just here in the Midwest, but also in the Southern Plains. We’ve seen some especially large dust storms at times coming out of Mexico, New Mexico and Texas.”

Snodgrass says it’s safe to say most Americans aren’t enjoying the wind, and that goes for farmers who are forced to change spraying plans due to the wind.

“We’ve had to stop for a couple of days, but it lays down just certain parts of the day and sometimes that’s in the middle of the night, and we’ll take off and spray in the middle of night,” says Bryant Hunter, who farms in Ogden, Iowa.

Just last week, winds were topping 30 mph, making it difficult to even see while planting, let alone getting in the fields to spray.

My spray list after 2 days of wind and 2.5” of rain. pic.twitter.com/aTuWEFcocf
— Eric Earl Mondhink (@emondhinkFH05) April 21, 2025

He says last year was just as challenging with the wind proving to be a constant battle.

“Last year was really hard to spray. We sprayed 3,000 acres in the dark last year,” Hunter says .

Is This a Longer Term Trend?

The bigger question is if it is just a windy start to spring, or if the wind is here for the remainder of the season. There is some good news there.

“Is this part of a longer term trend? Some of the longer term data would say no, but it certainly feels as though we’ve had several springs in a row that have been extremely active with the wind,” Snodgrass says.

There’s No Question; It’s Been a Windy Spring

The windiest start to spring is hitting some places especially hard. Take Michigan for example. Michigan had its windiest March on record. Nine other states had their second windiest.

There are some exceptions, however; northern South Dakota, southern Texas and southern Florida saw some reprieve from the wind.

Recorded wind gusts in Mrch

(Ben Noll, Meteorologist, The Washington Post)

The highest anomalies compared to historical average, shown in dark orange on the map, were 1.6 to 2.4 mph (1 to 1.5 m/s) above that historical average.

In addition, AccuWeather meteorologists found that almost every major city east of the Rockies ranked first or second for the highest average wind gusts for March.

AccuWeather reports Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Little Rock, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Chicago broke their previous average wind gust record for March by a significant margin of 1 mph or more. Indianapolis was the windiest of the windy cities, breaking the previous average wind gust record of 33.69 mph in 2022 by 1.51 mph with a reading of 35.20 mph.

Yesterday, @NOAA's #GOESEast 🛰️ tracked severe #thunderstorms that tore across the central U.S.
Along with flooding rain, the storms produced several reported #tornadoes, as well as more than 100 reports of damaging wind gusts. #GOES19

What's your forecast today?… pic.twitter.com/k2cbBzb50x
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) April 21, 2025

But that’s not all. Washington, D.C., New York City, Raleigh, Miami, New Orleans, Amarillo, Dallas, Minneapolis and Sioux Falls were also ranked the No. 1 windiest March. Boston, Jackson and Corpus Christi were No. 2.

AccuWeather says records for these cities go back 77 to 97 years, typically when the airports were built.

90% of Ag Economists Say RFK Jr. Wouldn't Be Positive for U.S. Agriculture

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 12:46:43 GMT

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearings for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) are scheduled for this week.

President Trump’s pick to lead the HHS Department is scheduled to appear twice this week:

Senate Committee on Finance: Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m. ET.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP): Thursday, Jan. 30, at 10 a.m. ET.

Kennedy’s nomination has generated significant attention and controversy, primarily due to his past statements and positions on various health-related issues:

Vaccine concerns: Kennedy’s views on vaccines have been scrutinized by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. He has been accused of promoting doubts about vaccine efficacy, particularly during a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
Abortion stance: Some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about Kennedy’s pro-abortion views.
Agricultural impact: There are worries about Kennedy’s potential impact on the agriculture sector, including calling glyphosate “a poison.”

Ag Economists Weigh In

Farm Journal’s Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor survey asked in January if Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, positive for U.S. agriculture? 90% of the economists surveyed said no.

One economist said, “His disrespect for science is troubling.” Another economist weighed in by saying, “His positions on crop protection will be an interesting storyline to watch early in 2025.”

Another economist has concerns about the division it will create within agriculture, saying, “I fear there will be policy to limit/restrict crop protection tools currently available to producers and his advocacy will continue to foster division between organic/regenerative producers and more commercial producers.

However, not all economists think RFK Jr. would be bad for agriculture. In fact, one economist thinks it could actually restore confidence in agriculture.

“Improving health outcomes, even if over a longer time period, should improve the consumer opinion of agriculture and be a net gain overall,” said one economist in the anonymous survey.

U.S. Farmers Express Concern Over Potential Role in Trump Administration

Farmers across the United States are voicing alarm about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s potential influence on agriculture and food policy in a Trump administration. Key concerns include:

Policy Positions” Advocacy for banning widely used chemicals like glyphosate, shifting to organic and regenerative farming, and opposing genetically modified crops could disrupt large-scale farming practices.
Regulatory Changes: Potential regulatory overhauls, such as “weaponizing” agencies, may create uncertainty for genetic technologies and USDA guidelines.
Economic Impact: Farmers fear decreased productivity, increased costs, and potential rises in food prices due to a move away from conventional farming methods.
Contrast with Trump’s First Term: Kennedy’s vision contradicts Trump’s earlier deregulatory efforts, causing confusion among farmers who supported his pro-agribusiness policies.

“Make America Healthy Again”

Kennedy’s push to “Make America Healthy Again” could come with some benefits for certain segments of U.S. agriculture. That includes pushing for American food providers to start using more animal fats versus seed oils.

“People who enjoy a burger with fries on a night out aren’t to blame, and Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidized seed oils. It’s time to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again,” he said in an Instagram post in October.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RFK Jr. (@robertfkennedyjr)

Looking Ahead: Possible Challenges in Confirmation

Kennedy’s confirmation process could face a number of challenges, including:

Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republican votes if the Democratic caucus remains united in opposition.
Some Republicans, including incoming HELP Committee chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.), have expressed concerns about Kennedy’s views.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green has traveled to Washington to lobby against Kennedy’s confirmation.

Upcoming Meeting with Senators

Kennedy has been meeting with senators from both parties to make his case. He met with dozens of Republican senators and plans to meet with key committee members last week. Meetings with Democratic senators, including Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) were also scheduled.

Economists Say Brooke Rollins Would Be Positive for Agriculture

Just last week, Brooke Rollins, President Trump’s nominee for Agriculture Secretary , powered through her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Ag Committee . The Senate still needs to vote on her confirmation, but no timeline has been given on when that vote will happen yet.

During her testimony last week, she addressed several issues during her confirmation hearing on Jan. 23 in an attempt to position herself as a supporter of diverse agricultural interests and commit to protecting producers.

In her opening statement, Rollins outlined several key priorities for USDA if confirmed, as is expected:

Rapid deployment of disaster and economic assistance authorized by Congress.
Addressing current animal disease outbreaks.
Modernizing and realigning USDA.
Ensuring long-term prosperity for rural communities.

80% of economists in the January Ag Economists’ Monthly say if confirmed, Rollins is a positive pick for U.S. agriculture.

“Rollins knows ag and has Trump’s ear,” said one economist.

“Her close connection the President and reasons outlined in the letter sent by 427 ag organizations and businesses on January 15th,” said another economist.

20% of economists say Rollins wouldn’t be positive for U.S. agriculture.

One economist said, “USDA focused heavily on under-served producers during the Vilsack era and my sense is that producers wanted the Secretary to come from a production ag view; whereas Rollins come at it more from an overall domestic policy view. Also, feel the administration isn’t helping her out with the Deputy Secretary nomination. Producers don’t see themselves in the upcoming USDA leadership.”

Senate confirms historic Treasury Secretary; Transportation Vote on Deck.

The Senate confirmed Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary in a 68-29 vote, with support from 16 Democrats and independents. Bessent becomes the highest-ranking openly LGBTQ official in U.S. history and is set to play a key role in upcoming tax and trade debates.

Meanwhile, Sean Duffy is poised for confirmation as Transportation Secretary in a vote at noon ET today, following a unanimous procedural vote (97-0) Monday.

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What in the World is Going On With Glyphosate Prices?

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 22:55:24 GMT

An explosion at a Dow Chemical plant in Louisiana isn’t expected to disrupt ag chemical supplies in the U.S., according to Rabo AgriFinance. That’s as the industry seems to be swimming in supplies of key inputs such as glyphosate, forcing suppliers and ag retailers to cut prices in an effort to get rid of unused supply.

An explosion and fire broke out at a Dow Chemical plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana late Friday night. The site produces several different chemicals, including one used as a fumigant in agricultural products. There hasn’t been any information released about a possible cause, but reports indicate at least six explosions occurred Friday night at a Dow manufacturing site that covers 883 acres. The incident caused a large mushroom cloud of smoke.

The plant is one of Louisiana’s largest petrochemical complexes, and the disruption is sparking flashbacks to what happened in 2021 when Hurricane Ida’s direct hit on Bayer’s largest glyphosate plant pushed the manufacturing site offline for nearly two months. The one event sent severe supply shockwaves through the entire agriculture industry.

Sam Taylor, Farm Inputs Analyst for Rabo AgriFinance, says the incident at the Dow Chemical location on Friday shouldn’t impact availability of ag inputs for farmers.

“I’ve not been given that indication that it will. That’s the feedback that I’ve received,” says Taylor.

Why was the hurricane’s impact such a heavy weight on the entire industry? As strict Covid-19 protocols in China continued to restrict production of active ingredients essential to make products like glyphosate, the hurricane compounded already strained supplies.

According to Reuters, Bayer saw herbicide sales jump 44% in 2022 after Hurricane Ida damaged rival producers and constrained Chinese suppliers failed to plug the gap. Farmers felt the impact in terms of pricing and supplies. In the fall of 2021, glyphosate prices were up as much as 300%, but finding the supply was an even bigger problem reported by farmers. As competitors have been able to return to the market this year, prices have been dropping.

Ag Herbicides’ Supply Problem

Taylor says herbicide prices aren’t falling because of demand issues, it’s a supply problem. A major reason is China. AI production coming back online was a huge boost for overall production as the country accounts for 60 to 70% of global production. With such a production monster now back online, Taylor says it’s also led to a significant drop in global benchmark pricing.

“I think that the global pricing, at the moment, is sub $4 a gallon in China. So, you’ve had that drop from about $16 to $17 a gallon in 2022. It’s now about 25% of what it was,” says Taylor. “That’s the main catalyst of it, and that’s why we’ve seen the kind of the cost curve and shift down as Chinese production is back online. They account for about two-thirds of global production.”

Retailers and suppliers continue to cut the price of glyphosate to help offload expensive inventory in preparation for the fall months. While the prices of both generic and PowerMAX glyphosate products continue to vary widely, it’s a sizable decline from even the beginning of the year.

Glyphosate Prices Tank

In May, one major ag company started offering retailers a $5 per gallon rebate just to push more glyphosate inventory onto the farm level. This week, FBN started offering a pricing special on Willowood Glypho 5, a generic glyphosate product. FBN’s promotion is being advertised as “glyphosate stock up,” offering the product at $13.50 a gallon, if pre-purchased by July 31st. The special only applies to product that will be delivered September to October.

Taylor says while wholesale and retail prices vary, he expects wholesale glyphosate and chem prices to stay low throughout the remainder of the year, especially with the supply situation.

“I would also say that I don’t think the issue is going to resolve itself overnight. I think you’re going to see this rumbling through 2023,” says Taylor.

Taylor points out hints of growing input supplies started at the beginning of the year. Several publicly traded companies mentioned inventories in their earnings report saying it was an industry-wide issue. That created the situation today where input suppliers across the U.S. are sitting on inventory that was purchased at a much higher price than where wholesale and retail prices are today.

Bayer’s most recent earnings report in May signaled the company expects its 2023 financial results to come in at the lower end of the targeted range, not only because of inflation, but a slump in prices of glyphosate-based herbicides from last year’s highs. Bayer’s then CEO told investors the company was forced to reduce expectations of what it can command for glyphosate products.

The Industry is Upside Down

It’s an issue companies and retailers of all sizes are grappling with. AgriTalk’s Chip Flory spoke to the Eric Cowling who’s the CEO of Helena Agri-Enterprises, a large U.S. ag retailer that has more than 350 sales locations across the U.S. Cowling told Flory the supply issue is one that’s still impacting the entire industry.

“It’s one of those things you couldn’t predict. It’s really about supply and demand,” Cowling said on AgriTalk. “We’re probably putting together one of the highest input crops that we’ve ever seen, so that is an impact of the supply situation. We had to buy product to take care of customers for the last two years. Now, you heard the term ‘we’re upside down.’ I think the industry is upside down. If anybody could have predicted the decline over the last 12 months, I’d like to have that conversation to know exactly how they predicted that. I think there’s plenty of inventory. I don’t think there’s excessive inventory. And I believe we’re in a good spot to take care of customers for the next six to eight months, but I’m not sure I can say we’re in a spot to do it for 12 months.”

A Global Supply Chain

Just as Taylor points out, the fluctuations in crop protection and input prices for farmers are ones driven by what’s happening on a global scale.

“I tell our teams that it’s become a global supply chain. So we’re reliant on supplies of things we need to produce products globally, some from China, some from other sources like India,” he says. “As their world changes, so does ours. I don’t think there’s any one blueprint today that we could follow to say this is what we do.”

He says the big input suppliers in the U.S. are dealing with the same issues, which then compounds the supply chain issues for retailers such as Helena.

“When their issues are compounded, it compounds our issues, because we’re looking for the same inert ingredients or things that have to be imported,” he says.

Cowling also told Flory he doesn’t think the industry is in the recovery process yet, something Helena thinks will continue to change the way ag retail does business with farmers in the future.

“We’re in a state of turmoil, so we don’t know what the real world looks like today, and I think the way we’ve procured product in the past, I don’t believe we’ll see those days again,” says Cowling. “We have to use more intelligence tools, the AI tools available, to be better predictors of what we’re going to sell.”

Related News:

New Study Shows Glyphosate Ban Would Drive Up Food Prices

EPA: Glyphosate Can Still be Used Through 2026

Bayer to pull Glyphosate from U.S. Lawn and Garden Markets

This Technology Makes Any Sprayer Smarter

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 04:16:13 GMT

Reducing herbicide usage by 97% pre-emergence and 88% post-emergence, the team at Greeneye Technology are working to make it the ‘next-big-thing’ in sprayer technology .

Since launching its precision spraying system commercially into the US earlier this year, the Israel-based company has been working with early adopter farmers in the Midwest. There, CEO Nadav Bocher and his team are applying their focus to provide farmers with significant savings on their herbicides cost while enabling better efficacy in herbicide application.

Whether it’s saving money on inputs or using more effective products to help farmers achieve better weed control and manage herbicide-resistant weeds, Greeneye Technology has brought to the table a ‘smart’ way of spraying weeds in the field.

The Installation

With the idea of ‘after-market first,’ Greeneye Technology created a sprayer boom designed to retrofit any existing sprayer machine. Much like a skid steer attachment, the entire existing, factory boom is replaced with the fully equipped Greeneye boom.

The one-tank system on the average sprayer is changed out with a two-tank system. The Greeneye aluminum boom uses the existing sprayer line coupled with its own to provide the capability of spraying broadcast residual while target spraying weeds precisely with contact herbicides via the Greeneye line.

The Greeneye boom arrives intact with its 12 graphics processing units (GPU), 24 cameras, 144 sprayer nozzles and pulsating lights, which allows the sprayer to run around the clock.

(Farm Journal)

The Data

Using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the sprayer gets ‘smarter’ with every pass of a field.

The cameras are set up in a grid-like pattern, where each frame consists of a 10 by 10-inch square. Each camera serves as the ‘eye’ for 6 nozzles. When running through the field, the cameras are scanning the area one meter in front of the machine, which allows the technology to process the images and signal the selected nozzles to engage for application when the boom passes over the identified weed.

As the sprayer runs through the field, data is collected to provide the farmer with valuable insights to be housed in an online dashboard.

The AI scans the photos with high resolution and is able to identify weeds down to the species level, as well as the stages of maturation of each weed.

Operation

According to Greeneye’s sprayer operator, Jackson Bakken, the system is user-friendly. With only a couple more buttons to engage and its own screen, operating the equipment does not require a huge learning curve to overcome.

If a breakdown occurs, Greeneye provides sprayer operators access to a 24/7 ‘hotline’ located in Israel to help diagnose and fix the sprayer from afar.

The sprayer has two modes, green vs. brown and green vs. green. Green vs. brown, used during pre-emergence or a fallow situation, tells the sprayer nozzles to activate on all ‘green’ plant life. The green vs. green mode looks at each frame and deciphers the weeds from the crop.

The sprayer also has a sensitivity range to be determined by the operator and a default program that tells the sprayer to automatically spray if the boom reaches a certain height above ground where the cameras can no longer detect if a weed is present.

On average, Greeneye Technology sprayers can be operated at 13 miles per hour through the field.

Working with early adopter farmers in the Midwest this year, 97% and 88% of chemical usage was reduced for pre- and post-emergence herbicide spraying, respectively.

One farmer who committed acres to Greeneye Technology this year, explains how he could see the Greeneye system as being more manageable for the farmer operator—less chemical sprayed, less fill-ups and fewer people and time committed.

Additionally, with less inputs being used overall, farmers are given the opportunity to use more expensive and more effective product options that may not have been in the budget previously.

The Future of Greeneye

Looking ahead to 2023, Bocher explains that the demand for the Greeneye solution will be greater than supply. This is mainly due to supply chain issues that have hampered the manufacturing of the equipment. However, Bocher still plans to deploy dozens of Greeneye systems in the fields next year.

This year, Greeneye offered its early adopter farmers ‘spraying as a service.’ In 2023, farmers will have the opportunity to purchase their own system, which can be retrofitted to any brand or size of sprayer. A majority of Greeneye users in 2022 have already committed to buying a system in 2023, Bocher says.

Greeneye Technology also plans to move its manufacturing to the Midwest in 2023.

The 2023 model will include a global positioning system (GPS) and provide farmers with a mobile app to display information, similar to its online dashboard. Expanding its precision application capabilities to other inputs, such as fungicides and micronutrients, and introducing further field analysis capabilities will also be priorities in future models.

Currently, Greeneye Technology has focused on corn and soybeans in its initial development, however work has already begun to integrate wheat and cotton to the lineup.

Bocher explains a Greeneye Technology sprayer will be available to farmers in the U.S. via pay-per-acre, purchase or lease options next year.

With the input savings and efficiency of the technology, Bocher believes a system can be paid off within 12-18 months.

At this time, 2023 prices are estimated to be released mid-summer.

The company also recently announced its first in-field testing to take place later this year in Brazil.

“2022 has already proved to be a milestone year for Greeneye Technology, following our hugely successful launch in North America, and we are delighted to announce the next exciting stage in our global expansion,” Bocher says.