Western Edition
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March 31, 2009
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A Penton Media Property
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Vol. 1, No. 5
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here to see how Affinity® BroadSpec herbicide (with
TotalSol® soluble granules) controls broadleaf weeds in wheat,
barley, and fallow.
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By Larry Stalcup
 As many
expected, today’s USDA’s Prospective Plantings report showed wheat
acres down nationwide at 58.6 million acres, a 7% drop from 2008. The
report helped create some upward movement in the Chicago and Kansas City
wheat markets.
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) July wheat opened at $5.30/bu., up about
10¢. Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) July wheat opened at $5.70, up
about 4¢. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange saw its spring wheat July
contract open at $6.10, up about 6¢.
The 2009 winter wheat planted area was pegged at 42.9 million acres, 7%
below last year but up 2% from the previous estimate. Of this total,
about 30.9 million acres are hard red Winter, 8.38 million acres are
soft red winter and 3.65 million acres are white winter.
Area planted to spring wheat for 2009 is expected to total 13.3 million
acres, says USDA, down 6% from 2008. About 12.7 million acres are hard
red spring wheat. The expected durum planted area for 2009 is 2.45
million acres, down 10% from the previous year.
USDA says corn growers intend to plant 85.0 million acres of corn for
all purposes in 2009, down 1% from last year as lower corn prices and
unstable input costs are discouraging some growers from planting corn.
If realized, this will be the second consecutive year-over-year decrease
since 2007 but will still be the third largest acreage since 1949,
behind 2007 and 2008.
Soybean acres are projected at 76.0 million, up slightly from last year.
If realized, USDA says the U.S. planted area would be the largest on
record. All cotton plantings are expected to total 8.81 million acres,
7% below last year and the lowest since 1983.
For more on the USDA report click
here.
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Is It Too Late For Stored Wheat?
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By Kim Anderson, Oklahoma State University grain
marketing economist
It took from March 3 to March 20 for the Kansas City
Board of Trade (KCBT) May wheat contract price to increase from $5.41 to
$6.12/bu. (71¢). In two days the price fell to $5.55. The difference
was the intensifying drought conditions during the first 20 days and
forecasted moisture over much of the hard red winter (HRW) wheat belt
during the last few days (just before the blizzard hit the southern
plains and elsewhere). If 2009 HRW wheat production is average or
better, prices are expected to remain relatively low.
Wheat is in relatively good condition in north-central Oklahoma and
central Kansas, and has the potential to produce above-average yields.
This is the heart of the HRW wheat belt. Wheat in much of western
Oklahoma, north into western Kansas, the Texas Panhandle and Colorado,
at the best, have the potential to produce average yields. The odds are
the HRW wheat average yield will be slightly below average. HRW wheat
planted acres are projected to be 30.2 million acres compared to 32.5
million last year and a five-year average of 31.1 million. The
percentage of the HRW planted acres that are harvested will probably be
about average.
The KCBT May wheat contract price has support at $5.40. March 31 and
April 1 will be key days. KCBT May contract prices below $5.40 will
signal that the next target price is about $5.10. Equivalent prices for
the July wheat contract are $5.60 and $5.20.
If you have wheat in storage, you missed selling on the rally.
Your only choices are to take your loss and sell the wheat, store and
hope that something happens to the 2009 crop and prices increase or
store the wheat past harvest and hope something happens to a major wheat
crop somewhere else.
As long as harvest forward contract prices are at or below the cost of
production, there is little reason to price 2009 wheat. This may be the
year to revert back to the one-third, one-third, one-third strategy.
After June, there appears to be more upside price potential than
downside price risk. For prices to increase, a substantial loss in wheat
production will be needed.
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Senators Oppose Administration’s Ag Program
Cuts
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In preparation for the upcoming budget debate, U.S.
Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) are leading a group
of bipartisan senators in opposing the agriculture program cuts included
in the president’s budget proposal and additional efforts to reopen
the 2008 Farm Bill. "The proposal to eliminate direct payments to
farms with sales of $500,000 lacks an understanding about the shifting
trends in America’s agriculture economy,” cites a letter from 80
senators to the Obama Administration.
The opposition was outlined in a letter to Senate Budget Committee
Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH). "We
have seen tremendous participation gains in the crop insurance program
over the last 30 years. More producers are properly managing their risks
to the benefit of producers, consumers and taxpayers," says Roberts. "In
a time of economic uncertainty, it doesn’t make sense to put 30 years
of risk protection progress in further jeopardy."
"The farm bill is a completely paid for, bipartisan product representing
two years of negotiations and tremendous sacrifice on the part of
production agriculture," adds Lincoln. "That agreement is not even one
year old as the administration proposes reopening those portions that
affect producers.”
For the full story click
here.
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Insecticide Use Means $20-Billion Increase In Yield
Value
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The Crop Protection Research Institute (CPRI) has
released a comprehensive study showing that insecticides add close to
$20 billion in yield value to U.S. crops. CPRI is part of the CropLife
Foundation (CLF), a non-profit, non-advocacy organization created to
advance the understanding of pesticide use in the U.S. through research
and education.
“The Value of Insecticides in U.S. Crop Production” is the
culmination of a three-year effort focusing on 50 crops and examining
the value of insecticides to production. It examines the value by crop,
by state and by growers nationally, and demonstrates the enormous impact
insecticides have in protecting the yields of numerous crops in the U.S.
and in feeding millions of people while keeping food inexpensive and
abundant, CPRI says. Given current economic conditions, it is more
important than ever that food and fiber remain affordable.
Consumers would pay higher prices for the staples that they and their
families rely on, not just in the U.S. but around the world and during a
challenging global economy not seen for decades. The report details
several key findings. Of the crops surveyed, 31 of 50 would suffer yield
losses of 40% or greater and seven crops would see losses of over 70%
without the use of insecticides. California, Florida and Washington
would see the most dramatic losses in crop production value and 144
billion pounds of additional food, feed, and fiber would be lost
annually in the U.S. For more click here www.croplifefoundation.org/Insecticide_Benefits/CPRI_release_FINAL.pdf.
Source: BakingBusiness.com
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Sign-up For ACRE Extended By Vilsack
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In testifying today before the House Appropriations
Committee, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says he is extending the
deadline to get signed up for the new ACRE program.
"In response to concerns I have heard from producers worried about the
upcoming June deadline for farm program sign-up, I am announcing today
that USDA will be extending the sign-up deadline to Aug. 14," he says.
"This action should provide producers with sufficient time to learn
about the new ACRE Program and to make informed decisions about their
sign-up options."
For more on this story click
here.
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Secretary Vilsack Names Michener To Head
FAS
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Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has named Michael
Michener as administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
Michener replaces outgoing FAS Administrator Mike Yost, a Minnesota
soybean farmer who came to the post with extensive experience in
commodity organizations and international grain marketing.
"I am extremely pleased to have someone with Mike's vast foreign affairs
experience on my team," says Vilsack. "In addition to its efforts to
expand economic opportunities for U.S. agriculture in the international
marketplace, FAS also plays a vital role in international food aid and
development programs."
Michener has served in three U.S. foreign affairs agencies in the past
10 years. He has spent considerable time overseas promoting
post-conflict stability operations, economic development and human
rights.
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USGC Forms Partnerships To Increase DDGS Demand In
China
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 The U.S.
Grains Council (USGC) is working to expand demand for U.S. feed grains
and their co-products in China by building partnerships with Chinese
dairy and livestock organizations. Eugene Chen, USGC technical program
manager in Beijing, China, contracted for future cooperative work in
USGC dairy programs with Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association, a
non-profit organization comprised of dairy producers, milk processors
and people from other dairy related institutes that purchases feed
ingredients on behalf of its members.
USGC Beijing has also signed an agreement with the Shanghai Dairy
Association and a similar agreement is in the works with Shanghai
Provincial Dairy Association. "These associations are located near or on
the Chinese coastline, which provides tremendous market opportunity for
the U.S. as transportation costs will allow U.S. distillers dried grains
with solubles (DDGS) to be a competitive feed ingredient in these
dairy-producing areas," says Chen.
The Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association Director Weikun Guan traveled
to the U.S. in October 2008 to attend the council's International DDGS
Conference in Indianapolis. Since then, the association has bought
around 700 tonnes of U.S. DDGS and distributed it to eight dairy farms
for use in their feed rations, according to USGC. It recently purchased
another 500 tonnes, scheduled to arrive in late April. Both purchases
were done through a third party contact Guan met at the
conference.
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Potential For Conservation Program Contracts Waste
Reviewed
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USDA’s administration of conservation programs was
found to be lacking the proper internal controls to prevent waste, fraud
and abuse, according to investigations from the House Agriculture
Committee and others.
The committee's subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and
Research held a hearing to review the administration and management of
contracts for USDA conservation programs. The hearing focused on the
importance of ensuring that USDA conservation programs are meeting the
taxpayers' expectations for responsible management, accountability and
assuring the wise use of tax dollars.
According to investigations conducted by the committee, the General
Accounting Office and USDA’s Office of Inspector General, witnesses at
the hearing suggested that USDA management needs to cooperate with other
government agencies to do more to ensure that duplicate and improper
payments are not made.
"I hope USDA has learned from the results of these investigations and
improves funding management,” says subcommittee Chairman Tim Holden
(D-PA). “We have a responsibility to verify that USDA is not making
improper payments and we need NRCS and FSA to be good stewards of public
money, so that in turn, we can continue to support farmers in being good
stewards of the land,"
For more on the hearing, click here .
Source: House Committee On Agriculture
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Take Part In Corn & Soybean Digest
Poll
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If you haven't already done so, please take part in an
anonymous Corn & Soybean Digest (CSD) quick poll. The most
recently posted question is: What’s your machinery+labor
cost/acre? Answer the question and view quick poll results on CSD's
home page at: www.cornandsoybeandigest.com/.
(The poll question is just to the right of the “What’s New” top
section of the Web site.)
Source: Corn & Soybean Digest
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Growers, What New Creations Are You Using?
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Dear Corn & Soybean Digest reader – All signs
indicate that it’s soon time to get out into those fields and start
the 2009 planting season. What new creations will you be using in your
spring fieldwork? Did you modify anything over the winter months? Build
a new implement in the warm shop while the temps fell outside? Corn &
Soybean Digest wants to know!
When it’s time to get out to the field with your newest project,
we’d like to be right there with you to see what new or different
ideas took shape with the torch and welder through the winter. If you or
someone you know has built or modified machinery, we’d like to hear
from you. No idea is too big or too small. We’re interested in
machinery that’s been built from scratch, or several pieces of
equipment that have been torn down and re-assembled as a single unit, or
simple modifications to existing equipment.
It’s always interesting to see anhydrous applicators, planters,
sprayers and tillage tools that farmers have constructed to help them
farm better, bigger or more efficiently. Also, we’re interested in any
cost-cutting ideas that you’ve been doing to stay profitable. For
example, have you been involved in any machinery sharing ventures, group
input buying clubs, etc.? We can’t promise that we’ll get to every
farm, but we promise to try. If you have an idea you’d like to share,
please send an e-mail to CSD@csdigest.com or call Managing
Editor Susan Winsor at 952-851-4662, or click below to enter your
project. We will be in touch.
Tell us about your creation!
Thanks for your help,
The Editors
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Go to www.agribizjobs.com/home/
and view some great opportunities for job seekers and ag companies
looking for good employees. The site, part of Penton Media’s Ag Group,
of which Corn & Soybean Digest and Farm Press are members, has a
targeted online career center. Agribizjobs.com offers industry employers
a growing, qualified audience of ag professionals and industry job
seekers with agribusiness-specific categorized job listings. It’s a
joint effort by Corn & Soybean Digest, Farm Press and sister
publications, BEEF, Farm Industry News, Hay & Forage Grower and National
Hog Farmer.
At www.agribizjobs.com/home/
employers can view complete but anonymous resumes for free, and pay only
to connect with a job seeker. Job seekers can post resumes in
ag-specific employment categories and sign up to receive e-mail alerts
when new positions are posted that match their search
criteria.
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Thanks For Viewing eWheat
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If you have any questions, comments or suggestions on
the content of this newletter, please contact your editor Larry Stalcup
at beef2lar@suddenlink.net.
Also, thanks to our exclusive sponsor, DuPont, and its products and
services for growers like you.
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