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Soybean Prices Heat Up With Help From
China
Soybeans are the hot commodity right now, according to
Darrel Good, University of Illinois (U of I) Extension marketing
specialist. Robust Chinese export demand is the main factor behind a
recent surge in prices, says Good.
“China is the big buyer in the global market, and as long as their
demand holds up, so will soybean prices,” he explains. “For now, the
Chinese demand for soybeans – both to process into oil for human
consumption and into meal for livestock feed – remains very strong.”
Reduced soybean production in South America is another big reason for
recent increases in U.S. soybean prices, adds Good. “Brazil’s
soybean production is down 6.6%, Argentina’s is down 15.6% and
Paraguay’s is down 42% from last year,” he says. “With a smaller
South American crop, global demand is pushing more business to the
U.S.”
The USDA’s most recent projection of 165 million bushels remaining
from the 2008 soybean crop is a third reason for recent price hikes,
notes Good. “We’re at about 5.5% of what we expect to use this
year,” he says. “Any time you get around a 5% stocks-to-use ratio,
that’s getting uncomfortably close to the minimum for some buyers.”
The 2003 soybean stocks-to-use ratio fell to 4.5%, “which is as low as
we’ve ever gone,” adds Good. “That also explains what’s happened
here this month,” he says. “The low stocks-to-use ratio was lower
than expected and the markets began to wake up.”
To read more about future expectations for soybean supply and demand and
the outlook for more Chinese soybean purchases in the next few weeks,
click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-chinese-soybean-demand/.
By John Pocock, Corn & Soybean
Digest
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China Seen Extending Domestic Soy Buys
China is expected to extend state purchases of
domestic soybeans by two months beyond the scheme's planned April
expiry; but it is unclear whether the move will have a significant
market impact.
Some Chinese traders see limited impact from the move because, while the
government purchase period will likely be extended through June, the
amount of government purchases is not likely to be changed.
“It could just be a gesture to (support prices), but it doesn't have
much actual meaning,” Yu Haifeng, an analyst with Tianqi Futures told
Dow Jones Newswires.
Estimates are that the government is still 1-2 million metric tons (mmt)
short of the 6-mmt target it set earlier for domestic soybean purchases
and likely won’t reach that goal by the end of April as the moisture
content of most soybeans being offered for sale by producers is too high
to meet government standards.
To read more about the outlook for Chinese soybean purchases, click
here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/richardbrock/0420-china-extend-soybean-purchases/.
Source: Brock Associates
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Don't Rush Last-Minute Soybean Variety
Selection
April brings the excitement and anxiety of
planting at the start of a whole new crop year. So far, April 2009 has
brought below-average temperatures and above-average rainfall for most
of Illinois. So if soggy soil has you inside, here are some thoughts to
remember throughout the spring regarding what soybean varieties to
plant.
It's likely you decided what to plant for all or most of your acres
during the winter months. However, you might need to purchase a final
few bags, or you may develop additional need for soybean seed as the
spring progresses. If so, don't rush your final variety selections under
the pressure of “I want to finish planting.”
Selecting appropriate genetics is always the first and best way to
increase your yield and profits. This is particularly true with your
soybean crop because maximum yields can be achieved from a wider
planting timeline than with corn. Historically, maximum soybean yields
can be achieved for planting dates between the third week of April and
the third week of May, with the first two weeks of May being the likely
best time.
To read more about choosing soybean varieties this spring, click here:
cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-soybean-variety-selection/.
By Vince Davis, University of Illinois
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Safeguard Your
Soybeans
What insects and diseases should you watch for in
2009?
It starts with lots of rain. Or drought. Or cold weather. Or hot. No
matter what the environment, it seems there's pressure for something
that could destroy your flourishing soybean field.
It is those, and other, unpredictable conditions that make it difficult
for Extension entomologists and pathologists to predict what you should
be looking for in your soybean fields this summer. But, they've given it
their best guess.
“If we get dry conditions early in the summer, we'll see more spider
mites,” says Ron Hammond, Ohio State University Extension
entomologist. “And if it continues on a two-year cycle, 2009 will be
an aphid year.”
Those “ifs” continue with diseases.
To read more about likely insect and disease pressure for 2009, click
here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/soybeans/0401-soybean-insects-diseases/.
By Jen Bennett, Corn & Soybean
Digest
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Soybean
Seed: To Treat Or Not To Treat
There are certain scenarios under which treatment of
soybean seed with a seed treatment fungicide would be a wise
consideration. These include the following:
- If there is a legitimate concern that seed is infested or infected
with a seed-borne disease.
- If the field being planted has a history of a specific early-season
soybean disease such as Phytophthora root rot, Pythium seed decay and
seedling blight, Fusarium root rot or Rhizoctonia root rot.
- If conditions at planting are not favorable for rapid germination
and emergence. This could include early planting or planting when soil
temperatures are below 55° F.
- If the variety being planted is a high yielding variety that is
disease-susceptible, especially a variety with little or no resistance
and/or field tolerance to Phytophthora.
To read more about soybean fungicide seed treatments, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-soybean-seed-treatment/.
By Laura Sweets, University of
Missouri
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Consider Phosphorus And Potassium
Applications This Spring
With the high price of fertilizers and the late
harvest last fall, many fields did not receive the typical phosphorus
(P) or potassium (K) applications. Now the question being asked is:
Should I apply these nutrients this spring? The answer depends on
several factors. The guiding principle in fertilizer decisions is that
you should definitely apply nutrients when the chance for yield increase
is large and the expected yield will pay for at least the cost of the
fertilizer.
Soil test information is important in guiding these decisions. The
critical level for a nutrient is the point at which its application will
result in a significant increase in yield, or the point at which
withholding its application will result in a large decrease in
yield.
To read more about P and K application considerations, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-phosphorus-potassium-fertilizers/.
By Fabián Fernández, University of
Illinois
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Manganese
Deficiency In Soybeans? Experts Advise Foliar
Application
During the last several years, many farmers have
observed a mid-season yellowing of their soybeans, commonly called
“yellow flash,” which is caused by a manganese deficiency, says Tony
Vyn, a Purdue University Extension cropping systems specialist. Vyn has
spent the last two years studying the causes of manganese deficiency and
various treatments.
“We found that manganese deficiency is much more likely to occur in
soil where there is a low inherent availability of manganese, relatively
high pH levels and relatively dry soil conditions,” says Vyn. “All
three of these factors have an impact on the amount of plant-available
manganese.”
The worst possible combination, he says, is to have low soil manganese
concentrations and a high pH, and low moisture levels only exacerbate
the problem. Moisture affects the form that manganese is in and its
availability to plants. Dry soils tend to have more manganese in a form
that is unavailable to plants, and wet soils result in a chemical change
of a portion of total soil manganese-to a plant-available form, Vyn
explains.
“This is partly why manganese deficiency is called yellow flash,
because the symptoms can disappear quickly after a rain or after soybean
roots grow into a soil zone with more plant-available manganese,” says
Vyn.
To read Vyn’s recommendations on reducing manganese deficiency in
soybeans, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-soybean-yellow-flash/.
Source: Purdue University Extension
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Soybean
Checkoff Evaluates Programs To Measure Effectiveness Of Farmer
Dollars
The soybean checkoff takes its investment of farmer
checkoff dollars very seriously and as a result is continually reviewing
its own programs to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. The United
Soybean Board (USB) Audit and Evaluation (A&E) Committee is charged with
reporting to the board the outcomes of any audits and evaluations
performed on behalf of the soybean checkoff.
Each year the A&E program will do five to eight compliance reviews of
the Qualified State Soybean Boards (QSSBs). These compliance reviews are
intended to assist each QSSB with making sure its work is compliant with
the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act (Act &
Order).
“The A&E program is a system of checks and balances,” says Jim
Stillman, A&E program chair and a soybean farmer from Emmetsburg, IA.
“We are continuously reviewing and auditing programs, contractors and
subcontractors to ensure they are doing what they are asked.”
To read more about USB’s A&E program, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-soybean-farmer-dollar-checkoff/.
Source: United Soybean Board
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Soybean
Checkoff Request For Referendum Set For May 2009
The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will
conduct a Request for Referendum among eligible soybean producers
beginning on May 4, 2009 and continuing through May 29, 2009, to
determine if producers want a referendum on the Soybean Checkoff
Program. Participation is voluntary but is limited to eligible soybean
producers. Only producers who want a referendum on the Soybean Checkoff
Program should participate.
The federal Soybean Checkoff Act & Order automatically provides U.S.
soybean farmers the opportunity to request a referendum every five
years. USDA will only conduct a referendum if at least 10% of the
nation’s 589,182 soybean producers support the Request for Referendum.
If USDA determines that at least 10% of U.S. soybean farmers have
requested a referendum, then a checkoff referendum will be held within
one year from the date of that determination. The last Request for
Referendum occurred in 2004 and less than 1% of U.S. soybean farmers
participated.
Beginning May 4 and continuing through May 29, eligible producers who
want to indicate their support for a referendum may obtain a form in
person at their county FSA office, or submit a request by fax or mail or
get forms online.
To read more, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/soybeans/0421-soybeen-may-referendum/.
Source: North Carolina Soybean Producers
Association
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Free Chemigation And Fertigation Course
Offered Online
Penton Media has developed an online Continuing
Education Unit (CEU) course that covers fertilizer and crop protection
product application via mechanical irrigation systems. The course,
sponsored by Valmont Irrigation, the manufacturer of Valley center
pivots and linears, can be taken online at no charge. It is fully
accredited by the American Society of Agronomy for Certified Crop
Advisors, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CalDPR) and
the Arizona Department of Agriculture for licensed consultants,
applicators and pest control advisers (PCAs).
Titled Agronomic Principles and Efficient Chemigation and Fertigation
Using Center Pivot/Linear Sprinkler Systems, the course discusses the
interrelationship between efficient irrigation principles and the
application of fertilizer and pesticides.
To find out more, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/events/0416-chemigation-fertigation-course/.
Source: Corn & Soybean Digest
|
When Facing Compacted Soils, Continuous
No-till Could Boost Yields
When using heavy machinery on cropland under potential
compaction situations, farmers may get better yields by practicing
continuous no-till than with annual deep tillage.
According to results from a six-year Ohio State University (OSU)
compaction study at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station near
Hoytville, land in continuous no-till showed less effect from
intentional compaction than soil that was deep tilled (subsoiled) each
fall.
Researchers compacted corn/soybean rotation plots in the fall 2002 and
2005 using a 20 ton/axle, 600-bu. grain cart. Averaged over six years,
corn yields were reduced by 15% on subsoiled plots, as opposed to a 9%
reduction in no-till fields. For soybeans, yields on subsoiled plots
were down 24%, compared to a 13% yield drop under no-till.
“We think continuous no-till performed better because of better soil
structure,” says Randall Reeder, an OSU Extension agricultural
engineer. “Good no-till soils are firm, with natural channels for root
growth and movement of water and air. Tillage tends to destroy that soil
structure.”
Previous compaction research at the same site gave results more
favorable to subsoiling, but there was a key difference. Once annual
subsoiling began on the compacted plots, there was no additional
intentional compaction for 12 years. In that situation, subsoiling gave
consistently higher corn and soybean yields, compared to shallow chisel
plowing.
When the research practices were changed in 2002 to include intentional
compaction every three years, and continuous no-till replaced chisel
plowing, the benefit of deep tillage disappeared, says Reeder.
To read more about no-till and its role in avoiding compaction problems,
click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-no-till-for-better-yields/.
Source: Ohio State University
Extension
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Take Part
In Corn & Soybean Digest Quick Poll
Please take part in an anonymous Corn & Soybean
Digest (CSD) quick poll. The most recently posted question
is: What is your main limiting resource?
Answer this question and view quick poll results on CSD's home
page at: 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
|
Want A CSD Editor To Visit Your
Farm?
When it’s time to get out to the field with your
newest crop production innovation, Corn & Soybean Digest
(CSD) editors would like to be right there with you to see what
new or different ideas took shape during 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 ammonia 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 or innovative
marketing channels?
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 on the following link to
enter your project: insidepenton.com/research/sg/csd09shopproject.htm.
Thanks for your help,
The Editors, Corn & Soybean Digest.
Source: Corn & Soybean Digest
Editors
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Specialist: Residual Herbicides No Match For
Wet Soil
Soil-applied herbicides can knock out a farmer's
toughest weeds, but the chemical products are no match against soggy
fields, says Bill Johnson, Purdue University Extension weed specialist.
A wet early spring has made it difficult for crop producers to use
soil-applied, or residual, herbicides to their fields ahead of planting,
says Johnson. Producers should not push the envelope on herbicide
treatments while fields are holding too much water, he adds.
“If it's dry enough to plant, it's dry enough to spray,” says
Johnson. “We don't plant our crops when soil conditions are such that
we're dropping the seed into mud, so we don't want to apply our
herbicides onto muddy ground either.
“We run into challenges when we apply to fields that are too wet,”
continues Johnson. “One, we're going to leave ruts in the field. Two,
all herbicides are labeled such that they cannot be applied to standing
water anyway. If we want to get the most out of our soil-applied
herbicides, we need to put them on in conditions similar to those in
which we would plant the crops.”
To read more about soil-applied herbicide use, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-soil-applied-herbicides/
or visit the Purdue Weed Science Web page at: www.ag.purdue.edu/btny/Extension.
Source: Purdue University Extension
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Ohio Cash
Rents, Cropland Values Expected To Slide In 2009
Ohio cropland and cash rents are anticipated to level
off in 2009, and in some cases, decline slightly, according to results
of the Ohio State University (OSU) Extension 2009 Ohio Cropland Values
and Cash Rents Survey.
“High commodity prices and relatively low input costs drove up profits
in 2007 and 2008, but this year is not the case,” says Barry Ward, an
OSU Extension economist and production business management leader. “We
are unlikely to see those profit margins in 2009, and that's going to
put producers in a tough spot. Will they have made enough money in the
last two years to weather the storm in 2009?”
According to the survey, produced by university economists within the
Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics,
Ohio cropland values are expected to decrease by 2.4-4.9%, while cash
rents may level off or decrease slightly by 0.24%. In some cases,
depending on the region and land productivity, cash rents could increase
1.24%.
For more information about cropland and cash rent costs in Ohio, click
here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-cropland-values-decrease/.
Source: Ohio State University
Extension
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Soyfoods: So Good For You, Soy
Easy
Celebrate good health and good eating with soyfoods!
April is National Soyfoods Month. As individuals prepare for spring and
new beginnings, take this opportunity to try a new food, too.
“Whether you consider yourself a gourmet chef or a drive-through
connoisseur, you can enjoy soyfoods,” says Gretchen Hofing, Michigan
State University Extension (MSUE) soyfoods health educator and a
registered dietitian based in Lenawee County. “Soyfoods are available
in a wide variety of products in mainstream grocery stores. If you're
thinking that you don't have time to cook or look for something new at
the store, soyfoods are also easy to find in restaurants. Look for
edamame in salads, tofu in Asian soups and stir-fries, and soymilk in
smoothies and coffee drinks.”
To read more about soyfoods and recipes, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/soybeans/0417-soy-nutrition/.
Source: Michigan State University
Extension
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100%
Compostable Sunchip Bags Being Developed From Plant
Material
SunChips, Frito-Lay’s popular line of multigrain
snacks, announced recently that in 2010 it will introduce the first
fully compostable snack chip bag made from plant-based materials. The
change is designed to significantly improve the environmental impact of
its packaging.
This month, the SunChips brand is taking the first step towards this
transformational packaging. The outer layer of packaging on 10½-oz.
size SunChips snacks bags will be made with a compostable, plant-based
renewable material, polylactic acid (PLA). By Earth Day 2010, PepsiCo's
Frito-Lay North America division plans to rollout a package for its
SunChips snacks where all layers are made from PLA material so the
package is 100% compostable.
“We know environmentally friendly packaging is a priority for our
SunChips consumer,” says Gannon Jones, vice president, marketing,
Frito-Lay North America. “Today’s launch of packaging made with
one-third renewable materials is an important first step towards having
a fully compostable chip bag in market by Earth Day 2010.”
Current snack food packaging has three layers: a printed outer layer
with packaging visuals/graphics, an inner layer, which serves as a
barrier to maintain the quality and integrity of the product, and a
middle layer that joins the other two layers. When the packaging is 100%
compostable, it will fully decompose in about 14 weeks when placed in a
hot, active compost pile or bin. NatureWorks LLC is providing the PLA,
which is trademarked under the Ingeo name.
To read more about compostable snack bags, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0422-plant-based-material-bag/.
Source: Frito-Lay
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Soy Underwear Now Available --
Really!
I came across a recent news article about University
of Florida students who are marketing underwear made from soy fabric.
The students were reportedly handing out their new, Uranus Apparel brand
soyshorts free to their fellow students in honor of Earth Day yesterday
(April 22).
“Soy fabric is luxuriously soft and comfortable, often likened to silk
or cashmere,” states one description from the Uranus Apparel Web site
(www.uranusapparel.com/soy.html).
“Many of the product testers compared wearing soyshorts to ‘being
totally naked,’” states another.
Who knew? Last time I looked at a field of soybeans, luxuriously soft
and comfortable never made it into my mind (not to mention feeling
naked). A little doubtful of these claims, I made a quick Web search for
soy fabric and found that several manufacturers are indeed using soyfood
byproducts to produce a host of different clothing items and linens,
from baby sheets and blankets to women’s tush coverings. Most are
marketed under a “green” or organic label.
Don’t get me wrong, if there’s another market for soybeans that
could benefit soybean producers, I’m all for it, and I congratulate
these young entrepreneurs. I’m just not ready to buy yet – or for
that matter, not quite ready to wear yet either.
If any of you have bought and tried clothing or linen made from soy
fabric, I’d be interested in hearing from you about your satisfaction
with the products.
As always, you're welcome to write to me if you have concerns or
questions about this newsletter or have ideas on topics you’d like to
see me write about for future issues. When writing, please let me know
your name, where you farm, what your comment is and whether or not I
have permission to use your comment in a future Soybean E-Digest
newsletter. You can contact me (John Pocock) at: john.pocock@penton.com.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for your readership, think
safety – and farm on!
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