Latest / Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief / Apple-Picking Chaos, Weed-Hunting Sprayers & Soybean Protection | Daily Farm Brief

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Apple-Picking Chaos, Weed-Hunting Sprayers & Soybean Protection | Daily Farm Brief · Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is Daily Farm Brief for Friday, October 23rd.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rick Portonova.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just give us seven minutes a day, and we'll bring you up to speed on the world of agriculture, farm news, current events, egg tech, and a visit to the old farmer's almanac.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: You will literally be the smartest guy in the coffee shop.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Today, protecting soybeans before trouble starts.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: What the fuel relief announcement actually means, and an apple orchard checking trunks for stolen fruit.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Then a quick market check, a sprayer that can spot a weed, and a caterpillar carrying its own antifreeze.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: So get your finger off that mouse and pay attention.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna learn something.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Our chapters are quick, so try to fight your ADHD and hang in there.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: For crying out loud, it's only seven minutes.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Feed your brain and pay attention.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: First news story: protecting soybeans early.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Some soybean losses start underground long before you realize anything is wrong.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Pioneer is adding Victrato seed treatment to the soybean lineup for the 2027 growing season.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: The idea is simple: protect the young plant against damaging root pests and diseases from the moment it goes in the ground.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Pioneer reports a 50% increase in bushel per acre.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: News story number two.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: USDA has announced$8 billion in one-time harvest fuel relief payments.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: The upside is straightforward.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Help with costs at a time when farmers have money tied up in getting the crop out.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a dollar-for-dollar refund for your diesel bill.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: USDA says payments will use a formula based on acreage, production costs, yields, and prices to cover part of estimated losses.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Rates for the main covered commodities are due in November.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Details for other eligible commodities will come later.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: So there's help, but nobody knows how much.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: You go apple picking for fresh air, a casual atmosphere, and a bag of fruit.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: A day outside.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: What you don't expect is traffic cops, security, off-site parking, and having your trunk checked before you leave.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: In the past it was casual, easygoing, and now some people are reporting that going to pick apples is more like going to a rave.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And the families who grow the apples aren't that happy about it either.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: They've caught people smuggling fruit all over their cars, under the seats, under the spare tire.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Who steals apples?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Are you really willing to go to jail over a bag of fruit?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: At Lynn Fruit Stand in Patuscala, Ohio, owner Andy Lynn has said that if he catches you, he will call the police.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is your high-tech moment.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine a sprayer crossing a field and deciding plant by plant where to turn the nozzle on.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's the idea behind GreenEyes Camera Guided Spraying System.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Cameras and software identify weeds as the machine moves, directing weed killer where it's needed.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: The company says its equipment covered more than half a million acres across 12 states during the 2026 season.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: In egg tech, weed killing is big business.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: From computers, sprayers, cameras, drones, it is a bad time to be a weed.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: From the old farmer's almanac, those fuzzy woolly bear caterpillars are out.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: And apparently everybody expects them to predict the winter.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a lot of responsibility for a caterpillar.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Their brown bands are not a reliable forecast.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Their real trick, they have a natural antifreeze in their body that helps them survive the cold.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: So leave a few leaves in a corner of the garden and give them some winter shelter.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And give yourself an excuse to quit raking.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Here's your futures check.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: December corn around$4.61 a bushel, down nearly three cents.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: November soybeans,$12.53, up nearly$8.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: December Chicago wheat,$6.25, down three and a half cents.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: December Live Cattle,$231.13 per hundredweight unchanged.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: November feeder cattle,$346.93, down$1.90.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And there you have it.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: That wasn't that hard, was it?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's your Farm Tales Unplugged Daily Farm Brief for Friday, October 23rd, brought to you by World TradeX empowering farmers.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now get on down to that coffee shop and show everybody what a big brain you have.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rick Portonova and I'll see you Monday morning.