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Top 3 Tips To Stop Grain
Theft
With soybeans, corn and wheat continuing to hover near
historic high prices, the temptation to swipe someone else's harvest may
be rising. Earlier this month, grain thefts were in the news as
investigators tried to track down who stole tractor-trailer loads of
wheat from rural elevators in western Kansas.
Grain stored on farms may be the next target for crooks who are looking
for easy access to high-dollar commodities, say agricultural Extension
experts. "Thieves are generally looking for a place where they can
unload grain quickly and not get caught," says Joe Harner, Kansas State
University Extension engineer for grain and livestock systems.
"Preventing access to a grain storage facility is probably impossible,
but discouraging access to your premises could really help keep thieves
away."
Grain thieves are looking for swift access to bins with few deterrents,
agrees Chuck Schwab, Iowa State University Extension safety specialist.
"There are several layers of security that you can add, depending on how
much you're willing to invest," he says. "The main thing is to make it
harder for someone to just drive up, flip a switch and haul away a
truckload of grain."
To deter grain thieves from targeting your bins, Schwab and Harner
provide the following top 3 tips:
- Remove or disable grain unloading systems. "The first-tier
security system is to make sure stealing grain won't be easy by taking
away access to unloading equipment," says Schwab. "If you're using an
auger system to unload the bin, disconnect the power source and lock it
in the off position."
The idea here is to physically deter people from being able to unload,
explains Harner. "Thieves don't want anything to look conspicuous, so
they're probably not going to be towing around their own unloading
auger," he says. "I would lock the electrical panel and/or remove the
fuses to your unloading system. If you have a PTO-driven grain handling
system, then you'd either need to remove the tractor from the area or
prevent the tractor from being jump-started."
- Illuminate your bins. "If the area is well-lit, it's easier
to identify who may be there, and that's something thieves really want
to avoid," says Schwab. "You can either purchase a permanent, low-cost
sodium-vapor light that's on all the time, or install a motion detector
that triggers a light."
- Add gates, alarms and/or security notification systems. "Many
commercial grain bin facilities have almost a rest-stop entry that is
un-gated," notes Harner. "These facilities might think about adding a
gate, if not to their driveways, then to their grain pits or unloading
areas. Security alarms might also be justified in rural areas where
there aren't people around all the time. You could also add a heat
sensor or motion-detector in these areas that alert the co-op manager or
the local sheriff's department that someone is there when they shouldn't
be."
High-tech security warning systems are readily available in today's
marketplace, says Schwab. "There are products that let you know if power
is running on one of your remote sites, and there are products that
allow you to remotely watch and monitor your sites," he says. "You can
also put up a video camera, even if it's not connected to anything
except a motion detector."
Most people wouldn't know how to go about stealing grain from an
unfamiliar facility, however, points out Harner. "Stealing grain is not
something that the common person would typically think of doing, since
they would be unfamiliar with switch locations, equipment operations and
slide gate openings," he says. "So, the thief will probably be someone
very familiar with grain handling equipment and procedures."
Grain buyers should also be alert to take responsibility and report
suspicious grain sales, says Harner. "Know your customers," he advises.
"If someone you don't know shows up one day with 1,000 bu. of grain to
unload and demands cash, then that's probably something you should
report to authorities."
By John Pocock
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Will $13 Do? Or Is There More?... I Say More!
USDA dropped soybean yields by 0.1 bu. to 41.2
bu./acre in the final 2007 yield estimate. This reduced the size of the
crop and ending stocks by about 10 million bushels. Ending stocks were
reduced from 185 million bushels to just 175 million. This represents
only a 21-day inventory at the end of August 2008 and means stocks
simply cannot get much tighter. The key point is that prospects are
growing for potential food emergencies in 2008 due to severe domestic
shortages of basic food crops.
To continue reading this article about the 2008 outlook for soybean
supplies and prices, click here: www.agecon.purdue.edu/extension/prices.
By Chris Hurt, Purdue University
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La
Niña Likely To Last Through March -- Possibly
Longer
Cool waters in the equatorial Pacific are likely to
stay until April, signaling a continuation of the current La Niña
weather pattern, according to the most recent National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announcement. In the past, a strong La
Niña weather event that extends into summer has been associated
with droughts in corn- and soybean-growing regions in the U.S.
"During a La Niña event that lasts into summer, there tends to be
less precipitation in the heart of the U.S. Midwest Corn and Soybean
Belt," says Drew Lerner, World Weather, Inc., owner and meteorologist.
"During summer, soil moisture conditions naturally dry down, but in a La
Niña year, precipitation in late spring and early summer is quite a
bit reduced and crop areas tend to dry out faster than in non-La
Niña years."
Although the recent NOAA announcement about La Niña is useful for
other weather forecasting purposes, its significance for predicting U.S.
corn and soybean production during 2008 is still inconclusive, says
Lerner. "The NOAA report only goes out to April," he explains. "It's
more important to know what will happen with La Niña in May, June
and July, and what I've been telling people is that this La Niña
event will likely last at least through June."
A prediction for La Niña to last into summer is also a prediction
that hot, dry weather may dominate in corn and soybean growing areas,
starting in the West and gradually spreading east. "My expectation is
that the odds are pretty good we'll have dryness in the western Corn
Belt and the Great Plains this summer," says Lerner. "Yet, with today's
corn hybrids, a little bit of moisture stress doesn't always cause
significant yield loss. At this point, I anticipate no widespread,
serious yield loss across the Midwest, but some reduction is possible if
La Niña prevails as anticipated."
Although recent rains have helped corn and soybean crops in South
America, a continuation of La Niña is likely to bring hotter, drier
weather to some corn- and soybean-producing areas in that region, as
well. "The situation in Argentina doesn't seem as extreme as it was
several weeks ago, but I don't think they're done with dry weather,"
says Lerner. "Soybeans in Argentina will be in their reproductive stages
in February and March, and a return to dry and hot conditions could
still have a negative impact on production."
The current La Niña weather pattern has not created enough dryness
to cause significant production problems for soybeans in Brazil up to
this point, adds Lerner. However, soybeans in the state of Rio Grand do
Sol "will probably get hooked up with dryness in Argentina during
February, which could cause yield reductions there, as well."
For more weather information from World Weather Inc., click here: www.worldweather.cc/. For more
information on La Niña from NOAA, click here: www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products.
By John Pocock
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Soybean Basis Issues
Persist
Producers who want to forward price the 2009 or 2010
soybean crops may have to sell futures directly, says Darrel Good, a
University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist.
"High prices for these crops entice producers to do some forward
pricing, while the weak basis and margin risk of hedging discourage
forward pricing," says Good.
Some grain buyers have taken steps to limit futures margin exposure by
limiting new hedged-to-arrive (HTA) contracts for producers to the
current marketing year and by not offering flat-price bids beyond the
2008-2009 marketing year, notes Good. Reduced availability of HTAs and
flat-price contracts transfer some of the margin risk of forward pricing
to the producer.
The sharp run-up in soybean cash and futures prices since the 2007 crop
harvest has at least partially diverted attention from an underlying
issue of extremely weak basis, Good observes. While basis levels have
strengthened marginally, since harvest they remain very weak by historic
standards.
To continue reading this article about weak soybean basis prices, click
here: www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/marketing/weekly.
Source: University of Illinois
Extension
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Ford Licenses Soy Seating To John
Deere
Ford has licensed Deere & Company and Sears
Manufacturing Company to further develop Ford's soy-based flexible seat
foam for John Deere farming equipment and other applications.
The 2008 Ford Mustang debuted the auto industry's first soy-based seat
foam, replacing petroleum-based foam. The eco-friendly technology is now
featured in the 2008 Ford F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator and
will be in the 2009 Ford Escape. Ford has a rich history in
incorporating soy-based materials into products that dates back to the
Model T.
Environmental advantages of soy foam include: reduction of carbon
dioxide emissions, lower energy to produce, up to 24% renewable content
and less dependency on volatile energy markets.
For more information about the soy-based seat foam for John Deere
farming equipment, click here: www.unitedsoybean.org/Media/PressReleases.aspx.
Source: United Soybean Board
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Missouri Could Become First In U.S. To Have
5% Biodiesel Standard
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt recently announced his
support for a statewide 5% biodiesel (B5) standard in his State of the
State address to the Missouri General Assembly. The biodiesel standard
would provide that all diesel fuel sold in the state of Missouri shall
contain a 5% blend of biodiesel when it is the same price or less than
conventional diesel fuel. In addition to his support of the historic B5
standard, Blunt has provided support for the state's farmer-owned
biodiesel industry by fully funding the Missouri Biodiesel Producer
Incentive Fund every year he has been in office.
Biodiesel production in Missouri is expected to reach at least 125
million gallons in 2008, easily surpassing the 60-million-gallon market
that would be created by a 5% biodiesel mandate. Missouri has the
opportunity to become the first state in the nation to pass and enact a
B-5 standard. It can also be the fifth state to pass a biodiesel
standard and the second state to implement one. Minnesota currently has
a 2% biodiesel standard in effect. Louisiana, Oregon and Washington have
also passed 2% biodiesel standards, but these policies will not take
effect until certain in-state production targets are met.
For more information on outlook for expanded biodiesel use in Missouri,
click here: www.mosoy.org/news/releases/2008.
Source: Missouri Soybean Association
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Iowa Soybean Growers Choose Customer Support
As Top Policy Priority
Supporting Iowa's livestock and poultry producers is
considered the single most important policy priority of the Iowa Soybean
Association (ISA) for the 2008 state legislative session, as determined
by the association's directors at their January board meeting.
ISA directors chose pursuit of strong agricultural research programs
focused primarily on increasing soybean yield as their No. 2 legislative
priority. This was followed very closely by support for environmental
management and water quality efforts led by farmers.
John Heisdorffer, Keota, ISA president-elect and chair of the
association's public affairs committee, says these three top priorities
are interconnected. "Livestock and poultry producers are the top users
of Iowa-grown soybean meal," he says. "Research to increase yield makes
supplies more plentiful for livestock feed and wider variety of other
uses, as well. When soybean growers support research to develop
specialized practices for odor control and better ways to store, handle
and apply manure for crop production, they help maintain the health of
the livestock industry and address environmental issues at the same
time."
For more information about ISA's policy priorities, click here: www.iasoybeans.com/whatnew/isa011508.html.
Source: Iowa Soybean Association
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USDA Unveils First Wildlife Plans In New
Conservation Practice
Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner announced on
Jan. 19, 2008, that USDA has approved conservation projects on more than
a quarter-million acres in 18 states under a new partnership within the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
Conner made the announcement during a news conference at Pheasants
Forever's "Pheasant Fest" exhibition being held at the Saint Paul River
Centre in St. Paul, MN.
The projects unveiled on the 19th are the first to be approved under a
new CRP practice called SAFE, which stands for State Acres For Wildlife
Enhancement. To learn more about USDA's SAFE program, click here: www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/01/0016.xml.
Source: USDA
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Safeway Announces Biodiesel Use Throughout
Fleet
One of the nation's largest food and drug retailers is
fueling its entire U.S. truck fleet with cleaner-burning biodiesel.
Safeway, Inc. made the announcement last week as part of the company's
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiative. The company will use B20, a blend
of 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel, in its fleet of more than 1,000 trucks.
"Safeway is proud to lead by example to help protect the environment,"
says Chairman, President and CEO Steve Burd. "Using biodiesel to power
our transportation fleet will prevent millions of pounds of carbon
emissions from being released into the environment. Our biodiesel
program is just one of many initiatives underway that will make a
positive impact on the environment."
For more information about Safeway's use of B20 blends, click here: nbb.grassroots.com/08Releases/Safeway/.
Source: National Biodiesel Board
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USDA Enrolls 1,000,000th Acre In
CREP
Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner announced
last week that USDA has enrolled the 1,000,000th acre in its nationwide
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The 1,000,000th acre is
in Minnesota; the first CREP acre was enrolled in Maryland in 1997.
To read more about CREP's expansion in the U.S., click here: www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/01/0014.xml.
Source: USDA
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Minnesota
Conservation Tillage Conference Convenes Jan. 30-31
University of Minnesota Extension will host the fourth
annual Conservation Tillage Conference Jan. 30-31, 2008, at Jackpot
Junction, 39375 County Hwy. 24, Morton, MN.
"A Systems Approach" will be the theme of this year's conference, which
is cosponsored by the Corn & Soybean Digest. The program is
designed to help experienced producers ramp up their conservation skills
by learning about new technologies, while also reducing production costs
and meeting government program guidelines. Participants will take home
hands-on knowledge in nearly every aspect of conservation tillage.
The registration fee is $125/person, which includes continuing education
units (CEUs). The three breakout tracks scheduled are: Nutrients From
All Sources; Tillage Effects Below The Surface; and Fine Tuning Your
Agronomics.
In addition to university research-based presentations, a panel of
experienced conservation tillage farmers will provide management tips
and answer questions. The conference will also include a trade show. The
conference runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 30, and from 8 a.m. to
noon Jan. 31.
More information, including schedules, maps, contacts and exhibitor
registration, is available at www.TillageConference.com.
Source: University of Minnesota
Extension
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Study
Suggests Soy Reduces Heart Attack And Stroke Incidents For
Women
Encompassing both heart attacks and strokes,
cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes nearly 2,400 deaths each day in the
U.S., an average of one death every 37 seconds. With women of the baby
boomer generation comprising 25% of the total U.S. female population,
there's more reason than ever to increase CVD prevention efforts to keep
women's hearts strong as part of healthy aging. Meanwhile, soy attracts
attention from the research community for this very reason.
Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association,
published a recent study from the Japan Public Health Center that found
the intake of soybeans and soy isoflavones decreased risk of heart
attack and stroke among women. Isoflavones, often referred to as
phytoestrogens, are naturally occurring compounds in soy that share some
properties in common with the hormone estrogen. The benefits for
postmenopausal women were especially pronounced.
The research team at the Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry
conducted its research over the course of 13 years, on more than 40,000
Japanese individuals aged 40 to 59. The study, which began in 1990,
first estimated the intake of isoflavones based on a participant's
consumption of soybeans and miso soup -- separating the subjects into
five sub-groups according the amount of isoflavones they consumed.
With the five groups segmented, the team found that women in the group
who consumed the most soy isoflavones were 39% less likely to report
having a stroke or heart attack compared to women consuming the least
amount of isoflavones. A similar comparison among postmenopausal women
found that risk of stroke and heart attack was reduced by 75%.
For more information on the health benefits of soy and simple recipe
suggestions to help add soy to your diet, please visit www.soyconnection.com.
Source: United Soybean Board
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Publication Provides Insights From Iowa Women
Landowners
Women farmland owners have the potential to transform
Iowa's landscape and farm communities in significant and positive ways,
given that women own or co-own nearly half of Iowa's farmland and own or
co-own more than half of Iowa's leased agricultural land. This --
coupled with research results from the Women, Land and Legacy (WLL)
listening sessions that show women are deeply committed to healthy
farmland, farm families and farm communities -- has great implications
for the state of Iowa.
The USDA Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) in Iowa, in cooperation with the North Central Regional
Center for Rural Development, announce the availability of the
publication Women, Land And Legacy: Results From The Listening
Sessions. Farm service providers in both the public and private
sector have an opportunity to use these results to incorporate women's
unique perspectives into farm-management programs and services and thus
more effectively serve the needs and enhance the strengths of women
landowners.
According to Richard Van Klaveren, Iowa state conservationist for the
NRCS, the publication includes input from more than 800 Iowa
agricultural women. "These women have shared their thoughts regarding
their relationship to the land, their dreams and visions for Iowa's
land, resources that have been helpful to them and what resources and
actions are needed locally to assist them in making sound decisions
based on their values for their land, their families and their
communities," says Van Klaveren.
For a complete analysis and discussion of lessons learned from women
attending the WLL listening sessions, access the full report online at:
www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/wll.html.
More information about the WLL project can be found at www.womenlandandlegacy.org.
Source: Iowa State University
Extension
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Target's
Archer Farms Food Brand Eliminates Added Trans Fats
Target announced last week that every product in its
premium owned food brand, Archer Farms, contains zero grams of added
trans fat. Available exclusively at Target and SuperTarget stores across
the country, Archer Farms is the first national proprietary food brand
to eliminate added trans fats from its entire product portfolio, based
on the Food and Drug Administration's definition of zero grams added
trans fat. The Archer Farms collection features more than 2,000 products
made from ingredients that have all been formulated without adding
unhealthy trans fats.
For more information on Target's decision to remove trans fats from its
Archer Farms brand foods, click here: news.target.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196187&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1095918.
Source: Target Corporation
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Reader Responds To Soybean-Based Products
List
Responding to a recent issue of the Soybean
E-Digest, Richard Bernard, a professor emeritus in crop sciences at
the University of Illinois, Champaign, recommends consumers add green
soybeans to their diet to improve health.
"Your recent request for suggestions for your e-mail newsletter was
listed immediately following an article about the health benefits of
eating soybeans, which listed many soybean food products available to
the consumer," writes Bernard. "As so often happens in reports like
this, they omitted the easiest, best tasting, most digestible soybean
'product' out there, namely fresh (or frozen) green soybeans (edamame).
They are easily available in soybean-growing areas. Although still
somewhat rare in stores other than oriental groceries, all one need do
is to go out in your soybean field (or that of a farmer friend) when the
soybeans are fully formed but still fully green and pick the pods, boil
them for about 5 minutes, and eat the easily squeezed-out seeds or
freeze them for later (year-round) use."
He adds that "special, large-seeded varieties are available for this
purpose, but the regular field varieties are quite good, also," notes
Bernard. "Among the many benefits of green soybeans are no trans fats
(the unsaturated fats cause no rancidity problems in edamame and are
good for you nutritionally), no complex carbohydrates to cause gas,
better taste than the ripe ones and ease of preparation."
Here in the "Soybean Belt" there should be more soybean eating,
recommends Bernard. "Most people like them after they have properly
tried the green ones," he writes. "Try them!"
By John Pocock
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Zero Trans
Fats In Krispy Kreme Products
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., announced on Jan. 7,
2008, that all Krispy Kreme products sold in the U.S. have zero grams
trans fat.
"Krispy Kreme's research and development team has worked diligently for
quite some time to offer zero grams trans fat products that deliver the
one-of-a-kind Krispy Kreme taste that people have loved for
generations," says Stan Parker, Krispy Kreme's senior vice president of
marketing. "We've been piloting zero grams trans fat products across the
country for the past several months and have received an overwhelmingly
positive response."
Through the Friends of Krispy Kreme program, an online group of Krispy
Kreme fans who receive special Krispy Kreme promotional offers and
provide feedback on new Krispy Kreme products, the company knew that
reducing trans fat from daily diets had been on their customers' minds.
For more information about Krispy Kreme Donuts, click here: www.krispykreme.com/faq.html.
Source: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.
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Soybean Seed Supply Tightens: A Note From The
Soybean E-Digest Editor
I've been hearing reports that some soybean farmers
are now having trouble purchasing either their first or second choice
for soybean varieties that they would have liked to plant in 2008, but
can't order due to inadequate seed supplies. However, I'm not sure how
widespread the problem may be, or if it's actually much of a problem at
all.
If you've had difficulty locking in your first or second choice for
soybean seed purchases this year, please write to me (John Pocock) at:
jpocock@csdigest.com. Just let
me know who you are, where you farm and what seed you tried to purchase,
but couldn't. I plan to share whatever I find out in a future issue of
the Soybean E-Digest.
As always, if you have any thoughts on what you like or dislike about
this issue or have ideas on what you'd like to see more of in future
issues, please feel free to let me know. I hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks for your readership.
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