Latest / Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief / Runaway Pumpkin, Apple-Picking Robots & Cattle Markets | Daily Farm Brief — October 22
Transcript
- 0:02SPEAKER_00: Good morning, Farm Nation, and Hello Truck City.
- 0:06SPEAKER_00: This is FarmTale's unplugged daily farm brief brought to you by World TradeX, empowering farmers.
- 0:12SPEAKER_00: I'm Rick Bordenova.
- 0:14SPEAKER_00: Today, a new cattle price report, a North Carolina family whose enormous pumpkin escaped, and robots teaming up to find hidden apples.
- 0:22SPEAKER_00: Plus, a quick look at grain, livestock, and dairy markets, and a cold weather surprise in the garden.
- 0:28SPEAKER_00: And if you enjoy our show, please give us a follow, a like, or a share.
- 0:32SPEAKER_00: So grab your coffee, fire up whatever you're driving, and let's find out what was happening while you were busy actually working.
- 0:43SPEAKER_00: Cattle producers are getting another price report next week.
- 0:46SPEAKER_00: USDA announced Tuesday that it will combine cash cattle sales from Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas into an additional regional report.
- 0:57SPEAKER_00: It starts Monday afternoon, October 26th.
- 1:00SPEAKER_00: Fewer cattle are being sold through negotiated cash deals.
- 1:03SPEAKER_00: That can lead too few transactions to publish useful prices while protecting the businesses involved.
- 1:09SPEAKER_00: USDA says combining the region should provide more useful information.
- 1:14SPEAKER_00: For producers, that means another reference when checking what cattle are actually bringing.
- 1:36SPEAKER_00: Then a sudden gust sent it rolling past a fence and then a church.
- 1:41SPEAKER_00: Daniel Wester was heading to the farm with his family when he spotted it.
- 1:44SPEAKER_00: People reports he helped deflate the pumpkin and move it into storage.
- 1:48SPEAKER_00: The farm thanked the helpers with free festival tickets.
- 1:51SPEAKER_00: The video spread online, putting the family's fall attraction in front of people who might never have heard of it.
- 1:57SPEAKER_00: And the pumpkin's new anchoring system, it includes two tractors.
- 2:01SPEAKER_00: Michael told AP, unless the tractors fly away, it's not going anywhere.
- 2:09SPEAKER_00: Quick market watch.
- 2:11SPEAKER_00: Wednesday's farm markets were mixed.
- 2:12SPEAKER_00: December corn settled at 463 and a quarter a bushel, up one and a quarter cents.
- 2:17SPEAKER_00: November soybeans slipped to three cents at 12.45 and a quarter.
- 2:21SPEAKER_00: December Chicago wheat fell 15 cents to$6.28 and a quarter.
- 2:26SPEAKER_00: Cattle moved higher, December live cattle gained 95 cents per 100 weight, and January feeders added 320.
- 2:32SPEAKER_00: In dairy, November Class 3 milk was quoted at$17.51 per 100 weight, down 58 cents.
- 2:38SPEAKER_00: That milk quote was still awaiting final settlement at recording time.
- 2:46SPEAKER_00: Time for your high-tech moment.
- 2:48SPEAKER_00: An apple can be perfectly ripe and still be invisible to a harvesting robot.
- 2:53SPEAKER_00: A few leaves in front of the camera may be all it takes.
- 2:56SPEAKER_00: Texas AM researcher Ming Wei Jung and colleagues at two Michigan universities are exploring a different approach.
- 3:03SPEAKER_00: Flying robots working with robots on the ground.
- 3:06SPEAKER_00: The airborne helpers could move foliage and give cameras a better view.
- 3:11SPEAKER_00: A ground robot could then reach the apples that were hidden.
- 3:14SPEAKER_00: Picture one machine moving the leaves while another picks the fruit.
- 3:18SPEAKER_00: The project received a National Science Foundation grant announced earlier this month.
- 3:22SPEAKER_00: It's research being developed with reliable picking and less fruit damage among the golds.
- 3:28SPEAKER_00: The hard part is getting those machines to work together amongst branches, leaves, and clusters of apples.
- 3:34SPEAKER_00: Finding the fruit is only the beginning.
- 3:36SPEAKER_00: They also have to reach it and bring it down without bruising it.
- 3:40SPEAKER_00: That's a demanding assignment for a mechanical picking crew.
- 3:47SPEAKER_00: Now let's open the old farmer's almanac.
- 3:50SPEAKER_00: A cold October morning can change what's good for supper.
- 3:53SPEAKER_00: That kale still standing in the garden may taste sweeter after frost.
- 3:58SPEAKER_00: The almanac says cool fall weather brings out its sweet, nutty flavor.
- 4:02SPEAKER_00: And underground parsnips are doing something similar.
- 4:05SPEAKER_00: University of Minnesota Extension explains that cold soil increases the sugar in those roots.
- 4:11SPEAKER_00: So the last vegetables in the garden may have something going for them that the summer crop didn't.
- 4:16SPEAKER_00: With kale, pick some of the outer leaves and leave the growing center alone.
- 4:21SPEAKER_00: That lets the plant keep producing.
- 4:23SPEAKER_00: The almanac recommends taking no more than about a third of the plant at once.
- 4:27SPEAKER_00: Parsnips can stay in the ground into late fall or even winter where conditions allow.
- 4:32SPEAKER_00: When you dig them, use a garden fork and work carefully.
- 4:35SPEAKER_00: Those long roots can break if you simply pull on the tops.
- 4:39SPEAKER_00: Cold tolerance has limits, of course.
- 4:41SPEAKER_00: A light frost and a long, hard freeze are different things.
- 4:45SPEAKER_00: But before you decide the garden is finished, take another look.
- 4:48SPEAKER_00: There may be a good meal out there and a little more sweetness than you expected.
- 4:57SPEAKER_00: If you'd like more information about any of the topics we covered, there's a matching blog for every episode we release.
- 5:03SPEAKER_00: You'll find it on our website, farmtailsunplugged.com.
- 5:07SPEAKER_00: And there you have it.
- 5:08SPEAKER_00: That's your FarmTales Unplugged Daily Farm Brief, brought to you by World Trade X, empowering farmers.
- 5:14SPEAKER_00: The future of food starts with the people who grow it and depends on the people who move it.
- 5:19SPEAKER_00: I'm Rick Portonova, and I'll see you tomorrow morning.