Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), more often referred to as drones, will most likely be coming to a field near you… in the very near future. Not to date myself or anything, but I think I may be having an 80s flashback.

The corn report sent corn prices into a tail spin, losing nearly $1 in the three days that followed Thursday, March 28. Conversely, feeder cattle were up the limit, $3, that Thursday and have been quite strong since, which suggests that the low for feeder cattle may have arrived.

T-bones, sirloins, filets and strips—these are the beef cuts referred to as “middle meats.” Such steaks make up 12 percent of the carcass, but represent just under half of its total value. That and the difference in cooking method lead many to believe it’s the only place where beef grades matter.

The surface is never paid for. The leases assume the right to take gas and liquids out for free. Only the gas is paid for, sometimes not even the liquids that are very valuable. If you own enough land, this can be neglected, is neglected, for the royalty.

Batista’s optimism, and that of his family, transformed JBS from being a mid-sized beef processor in Brazil to being the world’s largest meat and poultry company. The company now harvests every commercial species of animal, including goats. Its global revenue in 2012 was 76 billion reais (roughly $38 billion), up 22.

Over the last few years, there has been success in developing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. These agreements offer great potential to increase market share in key markets for U.S. beef in Asia and South America.

When you buy your bulls to breed the cows, you have tons of data that you can utilize to pick the right bull for your needs, and the list of selection traits is getting longer and more accurate. Add in the new DNA gene marker data and you have even more information to pick just the right bull.

Cattle feeders are finding a little relief these days with feeder cattle prices much lower than a year ago. All classes of feeder cattle are down nearly $20/ cwt., which should give cattle feeders a chance to earn back some of their equity that has been lost over the past year.

As a cattle feeder from Nebraska, I have been well-versed for more than 20 years on Clean Water Act regulations. I take great pride in the practices I’ve put in place to protect the environment, as well as the fact that what I do, everyday, helps feed my family and yours.

In anticipation of this spring’s summaries of agricultural enterprises provided by the North Dakota Farm Management Program (NDFM, at ndfarmmanagement.com), I have been reviewing previous numbers. Data also are available on the FINBIN website at finbin.