For Mark Matuska, Milford, Iowa (Dickinson County) Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Filed by The MI Farm AI Desk. Weather, Dickinson County, IA
What this means for today: Patchy smoke before 7am, then a chance of rain showers and patchy smoke. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. East southeast wind around 5 mph. Source: NOAA National Weather Service via the MI Farm AI weather layer for Dickinson County, IA, pulled this morning. Hour by Hour, the day ahead
Source: NOAA National Weather Service hourly forecast and station observations, pulled this morning. Spray WindowSpray window is MARGINAL today. Wind at your nearest weather station is about 0 mph right now, gusting 0 (the hour-by-hour table above is the NWS forecast, which can read lower). If you go, check your product label first, keep the boom low and the speed down, and watch your gusts and any ground-level inversion. Rain WindowNo rain at your field in the past 24 hours. Rain expected at your field: Next 24 hours: 0.00 inches expected Next 48 hours: 0.09 inches expected Next 72 hours: 0.15 inches expected Source: NOAA National Weather Service forecast and NOAA radar rainfall estimates, pulled this morning. Grain and Livestock, corn, soybeans, wheat, cattleFutures board (front month): corn Dec 2026 $4.7600/bu (+0.2425, +5.37%); soybeans Nov 2026 $12.0875/bu (+0.0025, +0.02%). Chicago board, as of 2026-07-28.
Source: Chicago Board of Trade. Cal's Market ReadOvernight, corn added about 2 cents; and beans slipped about 5 cents. Recent trend, over the last 5 sessions, corn has eased and beans have eased. That is the backdrop your cash bid is moving against. Here is our read on why. Cutting the other way, demand still reads firm per Morning Ag Clips: Op-Ed: Soybean Customers' Needs Should Also Be Indiana Farmers' Concerns. Honest truth, the tape does not hand us one clean reason today, so take this as our best read, not gospel. Stocks are steady going into the open, S&P futures close to flat. A calm Wall Street is what your banker likes to see, it keeps the rate and input-cost backdrop behind your operating note quiet for another day. Cal Wall Street, yesterday's close
WHY IT MATTERS FOR YOUR FIELDS Decision DeliveredYour decisions for today and the week ahead:
What to Watch Today
From Cal's News DeskThe 10 stories that moved across the wires since yesterday's Brief, sourced, dated, and verifiable. Each one carries Cal's review, the same one the news page shows, with a link to read it straight from the source. 1. Du Quoin State Fair Moving to Online Livestock Exhibitor Registration
This new system, and the Premium Books, are now available on the Du Quoin State Fair website. The Competitive Events office is open Monday Friday 8 a.m. These proposals were sent to Gov. Agricultural proficiency awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs), have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers.
Read the full article. Morning Ag Clips, Tue Jul 28, 2026 2:51 AM CT 2. Tragedy inspires suicide-prevention work
He's survived by his sister, McKenna Reichling, far left; his brother, Ryan Reichling, second from right; and sister, Whitney Reichling-Runde. Lynn Grooms, Grooms Communications, is a freelance journalist specializing in agriculture. Participating providers must be licensed, registered with the program and comfortable with offering counseling to farmers or have a good understanding of agriculture and its challenges. He lives on a farm near Sugar Bush and Luxembour...
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Tue Jul 28, 2026 1:00 AM CT 3. Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband details 'big spiral' as expert says one part 'scared me' in mom's murder trial
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 to 800 to 273-TALK (8255). "He's got to get through this," she said. "The prosecution did that because she [Buckingham] wants the jury to remember that the act of strangulation takes time and physical effort," McLean said. Story tips can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X @s_rumpfwhitten
Read the full article. Fox News, Mon Jul 27, 2026 11:00 PM CT 4. Biden ghostwriter tapes released after former president forfeits legal battle
The nearly 70 hours of recordings, released Monday evening by the Oversight Project, a conservative watchdog group, were cited in former special counsel Robert Hur 's 2024 report on Biden's handling of classified documents . Something else," Biden said. "I did not share classified information," Biden told reporters. Read the full transcript below:
Read the full article. Washington Examiner, Mon Jul 27, 2026 6:21 PM CT 5. Op-Ed: Soybean Customers' Needs Should Also Be Indiana Farmers' Concerns
This is not only about making sure that farmers have a favorable business and regulatory environment for our farm. Indiana row crop farmers have long complained about the unfair burden of property taxes. Ag leaders representing the state's soybean, corn, poultry, pork, beef and dairy industries all shared Indiana's competitive advantage, and the delegation from Thailand was impressed. As part of the Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission, the Letter of Intent between the Indiana Corn Marketing [...]
Read the full article. Morning Ag Clips, Tue Jul 28, 2026 2:43 AM CT 6. 'Facts Matter': Deputy Secretary Vaden Fires Back at Critics Opposed to USDA Reorganization
At the epicenter of this historic shift is Indianapolis, which has been officially selected as one of five elite USDA regional hub sites. "Recently, we have seen negative chatter from former employees about the USDA reorganization," Vaden posted. Under the sweeping plan, the USDA is systematically dismantling its over-bloated National Capital Region (NCR) footprintwhere staff occupancy in massive complexes like the South Building has cratered while maintenance backlogs soared past $1.3 billion. As the multi-month implementation process rolls forward, the message from the top is unmistakable: the era of D.C.-centric bureaucracy is over, and the Heartland is officially back in the driver's seat.
Read the full article. Hoosier Ag Today, Mon Jul 27, 2026 7:20 PM CT 7. National FFA Promotes Ag Education as Key to Future Workforce
During a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., FFA members and industry leaders emphasized the vital role agricultural education and career and technical education play in preparing tomorrow's workforce. Among those on the panel was 2025 to 2026 Indiana State FFA President, Kaitlyn Maruszewski. She added, "I think that the biggest message that I hope that they took away from the panel discussion is that agricultural education is important and it truly changes lives. Our industry is so vital to the world, and I believe that if we can get those lawmakers and policymakers to understand how FFA is trying to fuel that next generation of agriculturalists, I think that it will be really eye opening for them to see truly what our organization is doing and how it's shaping the future." As demand continues to grow for skilled professionals in agriculture, Maruszewski says investing in agricultural education today is essential for the success of the industry tomorrow.
Read the full article. Hoosier Ag Today, Mon Jul 27, 2026 7:15 PM CT 8. Farmfest forms feature governor, senate, house candidates
This year could be the biggest year yet for candidate forums at Minnesota Farmfest, featuring four candidate forums during the event on Aug. 4, 5 and 6 at the Gillfillan Estate near Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Kent Thiesse speaks with an audience member during an educational session at last year's Farmfest. This year's schedule includes candidate forums.
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Mon Jul 27, 2026 6:30 PM CT 9. Missouri corn, soybean crop conditions improve despite late July trend
"We normally do trend lower in the ratings from July into roughly the middle part of August." Suderman tells Brownfield rains might have helped improve crops in the northern part of Missouri. North Carolina was the only other state that saw improvement in both corn and soybean conditions. "You know, it is a beauty contest. Rice conditions are 82 percent good to excellent, with 46 percent of the crop headed.
Read the full article. Brownfield Ag News, Mon Jul 27, 2026 4:02 PM CT 10. Frequent rains boost Minnesota crops despite minor condition slip
USDA's latest weekly crop update shows 77 percent of corn and 78 percent of soybeans in good to excellent condition, still well above the respective national averages. "Throughout June I was starting to get worried it was getting too dry, and then all of a sudden we just kept catching rains, every three days I think we got an inch. And I was starting to worry we were getting too much rain actually then for a while. "If you look at a drought map you can kind of draw a line from Owatonna up to Morris, Minnesota at a 45-degree angle across the state, and I'm kind of sitting right in that line that's not in a drought category right now." Crop development is running ahead of normal with 24 percent of corn at the dough stage and 61 percent of soybeans setting pods.
Read the full article. Brownfield Ag News, Mon Jul 27, 2026 3:42 PM CT Cal's ReceiptCal's Receipt is the running ledger of every call this desk made for your farm, what was at stake, whether you followed it, and what it actually saved (or cost). Append-only, and every dollar cites its source. You will find it on your farm Dashboard, on the Farm Services desk. Open the Dashboard from the button at the bottom of this Brief. Today in Farm SafetyNever enter a grain bin while the unload auger is running. Flowing grain pulls a person under in about four seconds and fully buries them in roughly twenty. Lock out the auger power, use a body harness and lifeline, and keep a second person watching from outside. Source: OSHA grain handling standard 29 CFR 1910.272; Purdue Agricultural Safety and Health. Cal Local ObituariesWe note the passing of neighbors across your area, gathered from the local papers this morning. Our thoughts are with their families. Duane Godfredsen, Dickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary. Greg 'Al' Tolan, Dickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary. Betty Jane Brandt, Dickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary. Amy Peterson, Dickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary. Doris Rouse, Dickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary. Edda Minter, Dickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary.The Coffee ShopToday in Farm History, Census shows half of America farms 1890The 1890 U.S. Census found that 42.7% of all employed Americans worked in agriculture. The 2020 figure is about 1.3%. In 130 years one farm worker came to feed roughly 30 times as many people, the largest productivity gain in any economic sector in U.S. history. Source: U.S. Census Bureau historical occupation series; USDA Economic Research Service. [CAL'S QUIZ]
How many county-level Extension agents were placed in the country by 1920 under the Smith-Lever Act?
(a) About 300
(b) About 1,500
(c) About 3,000
(d) About 7,500
Answer at the bottom of the Brief. [CAL'S JOKE]
Ag Day at the courthouse brought twelve kindergartners. One asked, "Where does milk come from?" The farmer said, "The cow." Another asked, "Where does the cow come from?" The farmer said, "The farm." The third asked, "Where does the farm come from?" The farmer said, "That's a longer answer. Come back in twenty years."
The MI Farm AI Desk
Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen, your AI Agronomist and Editor in Chief Quiz Answer(c) About 3,000, nearly one in every U.S. agricultural county within six years of the 1914 signing. The Extension Service is still the single largest applied-research network in American farming. Source: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture historical record.
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The MI Farm Brief is the independent daily farm intelligence brief that earns zero when you buy inputs. Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen is the editorial persona of the MI Farm AI desk, the AI-orchestrated production team that produces this Brief every working morning. The Monthly Receipt is signed by the Founder, MI Farm AI. Honest. Independent. Loyal. Transparent. The HILT Covenant.
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Signed by Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen, Editor in Chief, The MI Farm AI Desk.