| In the February 8,
2010, Issue: |
| By John Pocock, Corn & Soybean
Digest |
U.S. farmers will likely see price incentives ahead that will
reward planting more corn acres at the expense of soybeans in 2010, says
Chad Hart, Iowa State University ag economist.
“Current futures prices are signaling the market would like to see
more corn acres than beans,” says Hart. “If those price signals
continue, I think we’ll see a shift in acres from soybeans to corn.”
Unfortunately, both corn and soybean prices are currently lagging due to
record U.S. production in 2009, says Hart. However, with a record South
America soybean crop probable for 2010, soybean prices are likely to
drop more than corn prices, he adds.
“The good news for U.S. corn growers is that when South America
increased their soybean acres this season, their corn acres
... |
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| Source: Ohio State University
Extension |
As Ohio corn growers struggle with moldy grain in storage and
costly vomitoxin problems, they are faced with the challenges of
selecting hybrids for the 2010 growing season that they hope will help
them avoid a repeat of poor grain quality.
But no matter how good their choices may be, the weather may ultimately
decide the season, says Pierce Paul, an Ohio State University Extension
plant pathologist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development
Center.
“If all you need is favorable weather to cause the development of ear
rots and vomitoxin, then that tells me the hybrid has no genetic
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don’t plant that hybrid in 2010."
On the other hand, ... |
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| By John Pocock, Corn & Soybean
Digest |
Automated on-off controls have allowed Clay Mitchell,
Buckingham, IA, to virtually eliminate seed overlap since 2007. That's
when he installed independent air clutches on every row of his 12-row
planter. Guided by a RTK sub-inch accuracy global positioning system
(GPS), Mitchell's row-by-row planter controls have also helped to boost
yields where double-planting had previously caused harvest headaches, he
says.
“With seed costs so high compared to other input costs, we need to be
careful about seed overlap,” says Mitchell, who uses Tru Count air
clutches with a Trimble Field Manager controller to prevent double
planting.
“Depending on what traits you want, seed costs are now between $60 and
$100/acre, even with discounts. For farms with a lot of grass waterways
and irregularly shaped fields like we have, seed overlap would normally
run about 5% of total acres. So, the savings can add up pretty
quickly,” Mitchell says. |
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| By Hembree Brandon, Farm Press Editorial Staff
|
Production costs for both corn and soybeans will be higher
this year than in 2009, but budget projections indicate a better revenue
stream from corn than beans, says David Asbridge, president and senior
economist for NPK Advisory Service, Inc., an independent consulting
company.
“By the time we get into the spring season, I think we’re going to
see soybean prices fall relative to corn prices,” said Asbridge at the
Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Winter Commodity Conference.
“I think corn prices will go lower, but soybean prices will fall even
faster,” added Asbridge. “By the time we get into the 2010 marketing
year, we’re going to see a lower gross revenue for soybeans, with
about a $30-35/acre decline in the net margins for production in the
U.S. We’re projecting $251 for returns over operating costs in 2010, a
12.2% drop from $286 in 2009.” |
|
| Source: National Corn Growers
Association |
We knew the counter attack would come, and today the bugle
sounded. So says Tricia Braid Terry of the Illinois Corn Growers
Association. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) filed a
petition in Ohio to bring a ballot initiative to the voters of that
state that would dictate livestock care standards. It’s like déjà vu
all over again, right?
Ohio farmers tried to beat HSUS to the punch last fall and developed the
Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board. The HSUS backed petition filed
today would recommend standards to the farmers… Because vegans have
the best ideas about caring for livestock, of course? Right?
The gargantuan (HSUS) is now the animal rights industry’s richest and
most powerful player. HSUS is exercising its prohibition-minded
influence in every corner of America, over everything from the pets in
our homes to the eggs on our plates. |
|
| Author: Jennifer Shike, University of
Illinois |
As swine producers continue to find ways to survive in
today's economic situation, researchers at the University of Illinois (U
of I) are exploring alternative feedstuffs in growing pig diets to
provide producers with more options.
Hans H. Stein, U of I associate professor in the department of animal
sciences, says his team's research has shown that high-protein
distillers’ dried grains (DDG) can replace 100% of the soybean meal in
a diet fed to finishing pigs without any effect on growth performance or
carcass characteristics as long as the diets are fortified with
crystalline Lysine, Threonine and Tryptophan.
High-protein DDG is produced through a fractionation technology. In this
process, bran and germ are removed from the corn, resulting in endosperm
that is used for ethanol production. The co-product that results is
high-protein DDG, ... |
|
| Source: Renewable Fuels Association |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently
promulgated the final rule for implementation of the expanded Renewable
Fuels Standard (RFS). Among other provisions, the RFS will set mandatory
blend levels for renewable fuels while implementing a framework for
carbon emissions calculations that will be the basis for future carbon
reductions from fuel.
“EPA was right to recognize that ethanol from all sources provides
significant carbon benefits compared to gasoline,” says Renewable
Fuels Association (RFA) President Bob Dinneen. “As structured, the RFS
is a workable program that will achieve the stated policy goals of
reduced oil dependence, economic opportunity, and environmental
stewardship.” |
|
President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal, which was
made public last week, calls for lower income caps on eligibility for
federal farm programs, a reduction in the maximum amount of direct
payments that producers can receive annually and a cut in federal
support for crop insurance.
The Obama administration estimates $2.26 billion can be saved over a
10-year period by reducing federal farm payments to “wealthy
farmers,” while $8 billion can be saved by reforming the crop
insurance program to end what it calls “huge windfall profits” for
insurance companies.
The administration proposes to limit farm subsidies to “wealthy
farmers” by reducing the adjusted gross income (AGI) caps on
eligibility for crop payments by $250,000 and cutting the annual maximum
for direct payments by 25% to
$30,000/farmer. |
|
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FROM THE EDITOR |
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“I see nothing in it for the no-till farmer who has already been
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LATEST QUICK POLL |
Corn Seeding
Rate
Please cast your ballot in the latest Corn & Soybean Digest
(CSD) quick poll. The most recently posted question is: What
is your corn seeding rate?
Your can cast your vote on CSD's home page. (The poll
question is just to the right of the “What’s New” top section of
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