Agriculture Shorts

Australia is home to the largest center pivot system in the world covering 1,161 acres according to Andrew Watson@bugs_are_us . . . Beef industry consultant Nevil Speer wrote a shopper survey found 96% of Americans remain concerned about food costs, with 65% of people watching their grocery spending more closely . . . Bloomberg reported that JBS’s North American beef operations adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 12% from a year earlier. A smaller cattle herd and reduced slaughter numbers were noted as causes . . . CHS Inc. has agreed to purchase the Scoular grain facility in Holdrege. It is also selling its Roseland and Bladen facilities to Cooperative Producers Inc. (CPI), a cooperative headquartered in Hastings . . . According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nebraska’s unemployment rate is 3.0% with non-farm employment at 1,063,946 . . . The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reported cattle on feed in Nebraska in feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 head or greater equaled 2.39 million head on August 1, 2% less than July.