Rhonda Brooks

Jan 14, 2025 | thedailyscoop.com | Rhonda Brooks |Darrell Smith |Margy Eckelkamp |Matthew J. Grassi

When Greg Tylka talks with Iowa soybean growers about soybean cyst nematode (SCN), he provides a sobering perspective. His data indicates SCN is found in every county of the state, and 70% to 75% of Iowa fields harbor the pest. “I tell my farmers there’s a three out of four chance any field they grow soybeans in has SCN,” says Tylka, director of the Iowa Soybean Research Center at Iowa State University. “Probably only Illinois has more widespread numbers of the pest,” he adds.

Nov 27, 2024 | thedailyscoop.com | Margy Eckelkamp |Matthew J. Grassi |Rhonda Brooks |Chris B. Bennett

Yesterday, West Central Ag Services’ membership voted to affirm the merger with CHS. This comes after weeks of campaigning for the cooperative to consider a resubmitted offer for purchase by The Arthur Companies, which resulted in CHS increasing its original offer by $50 million. The total votes exceeded 1,100 active patrons, of which more than 70% voted in favor with the CHS merger (two-thirds approval was required to affirm the merger.) The transaction will officially close in the coming weeks.