| In the June 6, 2011, Issue: |
| By John Pocock, Corn & Soybean Digest |
Corn growers in the northern and eastern Corn Belt regions are currently struggling to decide whether to accept prevented planting payments, take a chance at planting corn in June or switch to another crop. Meanwhile, the corn market is trying to estimate just how much 2011 corn that U.S. farmers will both plant and harvest.
“Out of the 92.2 million acres that USDA projected would be planted to corn this spring, we’re probably down to a little less than 91 million acres that might actually be planted,” says Chad Hart, Iowa State University agricultural economist. “Even in normal conditions, we would have expected to harvest around 85 million acres, out of the 92.2 million projected acres planted. With plantings below 91 million acres, I expect harvested acres to be down at least a million acres, as well. That would put us in the 83- to 84-million-range for corn-harvested acreage.”
As a result, global corn stocks are likely to remain tight for another year or so, says Hart. “The U.S. produces 40% of the world’s corn, so if we’re behind in production, the world is behind, too,” he points out.
Corn isn’t the only feed and food product with tight supplies ... |
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| Source: University of Illinois |
Properly timing the application of postemergence herbicides is critical, says Aaron Hager, University of Illinois Extension weed specialist. Recent precipitation, coupled with warm temperatures, will result in rapid growth of emerged weeds and possible reductions in corn yield if weeds persist too long.
“Unfortunately, it’s not possible to accurately predict the specific day after planting or emergence when weed interference begins to reduce corn yield,” Hager says. “This interval is influenced by many factors, and can vary based upon the weed spectrum, density of certain species, available soil moisture, etc.”
Weed scientists generally suggest an interval, based either upon weed size (in inches) or days after crop/weed emergence, during which postemergence herbicides should be applied to avoid crop yield loss via weed interference. In corn it is often recommended to remove weeds before they exceed about 2 in. tall. The longer weeds are allowed to remain with the crop the greater ... |
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| By Kent Thiesse, Corn & Soybean Digest Columnist |
Most corn producers in the Minnesota and surrounding states have now reached the final planting date (as of June 1) for corn in order to receive full crop insurance coverage for 2011. After the final planting date, producers have basically three choices to consider.
The first choice is to plant corn during a 25-day late-planting window, with a 1%/day reduction in the crop insurance guarantee. The second choice is to switch to a second crop, such as soybeans, and accept the insurance coverage on that crop, if available. The third choice is to file a prevented-planting insurance claim on the unplanted corn acres, and receive 60% of the original insurance guarantee.
In order to file a prevented-planting insurance claim, producers must have … |
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| Source: Kansas State University Extension |
Heavy rains in some parts of Kansas in mid- to late May have saturated some cornfields and even flooded fields for a day or more. Periods of early season flooding or soil saturation can sometimes cause immediate problems for small corn plants, says Kraig Roozeboom, K-State Research and Extension crop production specialist.
If small corn plants are affected by these conditions, it can have season-long implications, he says.
“Saturated soils inhibit root growth, leaf area expansion and photosynthesis because of the lack of oxygen and cooler soil temperatures. Yellow leaves indicate a slowing of photosynthesis and plant growth. Leaves and sheaths may turn purple from accumulation of sugars if photosynthesis continues but growth is slowed,” he says.
Corn plants can recover with minimal impact on yield if … |
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| Source: University of Illinois |
It's inevitable when corn and soybean acreages remain unplanted on June 1 to hear the question, "When is it too late to plant?" Although prevented-planting insurance changes things, there's no "drop-dead" date for planting, says University of Illinois Extension Agronomist Emerson Nafziger.
Instead, he says growers need to consider what yields they can expect as planting stretches into June. Using this information, they can decide at what point yield levels and added costs of planting will make the crop less profitable than collecting insurance.
Based on previous studies, Nafziger says growers can expect that corn has lost about 25% of its maximum yield when planted the first few days of June.
"That number will seem high to some and low to others, based on experience," Nafziger says. "The number really is highly variable; we have had 200-bu. corn planted in early June, and we have had yields near zero. The only factor that's of some use when trying to guess which end of this yield range a field might be on is … |
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| Source: Purdue University |
The abnormally wet spring in the Eastern Corn Belt has not only hampered planting, but it also has prevented timely weed burndown applications, says Bill Johnson, a Purdue Extension weed scientist.
A common problem in Indiana has been yellow fields caused by cressleaf groundsel, commonly known as ragwort, senicio or butterweed. Rain kept farmers from controlling this weed with herbicides earlier this spring.
"Farmers have a lot of questions about controlling cressleaf groundsel because the excessively wet weather did not allow burndown applications to be made in late April," says Johnson. "Now we have fields with groundsel, plus chickweed, henbit, deadnettle and winter annual grass at the seed set stage. Not to mention the summer annuals, such as giant foxtail, giant ragweed, common lambsquarters, black nightshade, pigweeds and waterhemp that have started to emerge."
Bolting horseweed, or marestail, emerged last fall, and seedling horseweed that emerged this spring also continues to be an issue. Since a fairly high proportion of marestail in Indiana is resistant to glyphosate, Johnson says it's best to get it under control before … |
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| Source: University of Illinois |
Prices of corn, soybeans and wheat continue to move erratically, reflecting both new information and the lack of some information, says Darrel Good, a University of Illinois agricultural economist.
“The markets are supplied with a steady flow of data on consumption in some markets, particularly the export markets and the ethanol market. Less frequent information is available about consumption in other markets, particularly the domestic feed market,” says Good.
For corn, the available data point to a continuation of a high rate of domestic consumption and a slow pace of export shipments, he says.
For soybeans, weekly export inspections have dropped below the level needed to reach ... |
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| Source: University of Minnesota Extension |
With a wet spring and delayed planting, many farmers are thinking of switching from corn to soybeans due to potential yield losses in corn as planting is delayed. However, if farmers consider potential net revenue, they may not make this switch as fast as if they consider just the potential yield loss.
Simple supply and demand considerations drive this analysis. Much of the U.S. Corn Belt is suffering from poor planting conditions this year, so total corn production likely will decline. Markets will react and have reacted by pushing corn prices up. And if more farmers switch to soybeans, total soybean production may increase and markets will push soybean prices down. So, since both yield and price are affected, revenue needs to be considered as well as yield.
Using last year's costs of production … |
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| Source: American Soybean Association |
On May 24, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed their fiscal year 2012 spending bill that would make significant cuts in both discretionary and mandatory agricultural program spending. The bill would reduce total discretionary agriculture funding by $2.6 billion (13.4% below FY11) and includes significant "chimps" (changes in mandatory program spending) in order to keep total year-to-year agriculture outlays at essentially the same level, while accommodating a $6 billion increase in food stamp funding over FY11.
On the discretionary side, some of the significant spending cuts include: ag research by $354 million; Agriculture & Food Research Initiative by $39.47 million; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service by $73 million; conservation operations by $99 million; and rural development by ... |
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| Source: University of Illinois Extension |
When crop prices are high, interest increases in selling additional products or services, says Fabian Fernandez, University of Illinois Extension specialist in soil fertility and plant nutrition. More often than not, he says, these products and services do little to nothing for the crop.
"Persuasive advertisements create feelings such as 'I have to have it,' or 'I will forfeit profit if I don't have it,' or even 'it costs so little that it makes sense to get it even if it doesn't do much, just in case,'" Fernandez says. "Some services are even promoted as 'no additional cost to you' or as 'a package deal that saves you money.'"
Fernandez says one such advertisement receiving a lot of publicity this year is testing for … |
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| FROM THE EDITOR | Don’t Wish For $10 Corn
Coffee-shop talk suggests that a fair amount of farmers are reserving a portion of their corn crop for a chance that prices might surge past $8/bu. Last week, I heard talk about one farmer who is waiting for a $10/bu. corn price.
My reaction to such speculation is to be careful what you wish for. Although a short surge over $8/bu. might be attainable this year or next, anything much over that price for any length of time would likely be bad news – even for the corn growers who are able to obtain it.
“Buyers couldn’t afford to keep buying corn at $8/bu. for very long,” says Chad Hart, Iowa State University agricultural economist. “Where possible, livestock producers would shift to feeding wheat, barley, oats – all sorts of stuff. For other corn buyers, such as ethanol plants, they’ll either have to cut back their production, stop production or pass along their higher price to a consumer who will be less likely to buy a more expensive product.”
$10 corn might also bring on considerable social upheaval and …
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| LATEST QUICK POLL | Corps’ Levee Blast Decision
Please cast your ballot in the latest Corn & Soybean Digest (CSD) quick poll. The most recently posted question is: Do you think the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was justified in blasting a hole in the Mississippi River levee, flooding 130,000 acres of farmland?
Your can cast your vote on CSD's home page. (The poll question appears on the right-hand column of the website.) |
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