One of the greatest honors of serving as Commissioner of Agriculture is the opportunity to travel around the state, put the tailgate down on a farm truck, and have a conversation with a farmer about how the year looks.

Wayne County's Ann Margaret Hughes was third nationally in the AFBF Excellence in Ag Awards Program.

Listen here

CBOT futures closed mixed but mostly well below the day’s highs. Live and feeder cattle futures closed higher and near the day’s highs. February Lean Hogs closed down 1.35 while the other LH contracts ended barely higher.

CBOT futures closed higher with March corn leading the way; however, all grain/soy futures closed at/near the day’s highs. Cattle futures closed mixed with front-end months lower and deferred contracts higher.  Lean hog futures closed higher in strong follow-through buying to yesterday’s surge in values to contract highs.

Daviess County's Brandon Gilles was a national finalist in the AFBF Discussion Meet.

Listen here

CBOT futures closed lower as fund selling weighed on prices amid a lack of significant daily export sales announcements from USDA. Cattle futures closed moderately higher and near the day’s highs. Lean hog futures closed strongly higher with nearly all contracts trading new contract highs.

CBOT futures closed mixed between commodities and within the soybean contracts. Live cattle futures closed mixed while feeders were higher across the board. Lean hog futures finished lower in the front contracts and higher in the July-forward ones.