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ASA Raises
Concerns About Priorities In Proposed Senate Farm
Bill
The American Soybean Association (ASA) is pleased that
the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has
scheduled a mark-up to consider their proposed farm bill this week, but
is raising several concerns about policy priorities in the proposed bill
and with the level of support provided for key soybean programs.
"ASA commends the efforts of Chairman Tom Harkin and Ranking Member
Saxby Chambliss to develop a new farm bill that responds to the changing
needs of farmers, ranchers and others in America who will benefit from
various provisions of this omnibus legislation," says ASA President John
Hoffman, a soybean producer from Waterloo, IA. "However, there are
several areas of major concern to soybean producers that need to be
reconsidered or eliminated."
First, the bill reduces baseline spending under the Commodities Title by
about $3 billion, which is reallocated to other titles. ASA and other
farm organizations have consistently opposed shifting funds out of farm
programs. At the same time, the proposed bill establishes the soybean
target price under the traditional farm program at $6/bu., well below
ASA's original proposal of $6.85, based on equity with other program
crops.
"ASA does not believe that a $6 target price provides an adequate income
safety net for soybean producers or a level of equity with other program
crops," says Hoffman. "We believe the soybean target price needs to be
increased to a minimum of $6.30/bu., and wish to work with Senators
Harkin and Chambliss, and other Committee members, to increase the
target price to this level either in mark-up or in Conference."
A second concern is with the introduction of the recourse loan in
farm policy under the proposed Average Crop Revenue (ACR) program. "ASA
does not believe whatever benefit the recourse loan may provide as a
financing tool outweighs the very negative precedent its introduction
would represent as an alternative to the marketing loan program," says
Hoffman. "ASA recommends that the recourse loan provision in the ACR
program option be eliminated."
ASA is also concerned with the proposed requirement that producers
relinquish beneficial interest in their commodities in order to receive
a Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) under the marketing loan program. The
LDP was developed as a "short cut" for realizing a Marketing Loan Gain
without requiring producers to take out and repay loans. There would be
no saving from eliminating the LDP option, and it would force all
producers to take out and repay loans when prices are below the loan
rate for their commodities.
"This would be costly and cumbersome for the Farm Services Agency to
administer, and could cause unnecessary difficulties in the timely and
efficient operation of the marketing loan program," says Hoffman.
In the Energy Title, ASA is very concerned with the level of
funding provided for payments to domestic biodiesel producers under the
Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels. Biodiesel producers have seen
prices for their feedstocks, including soybean oil, more than double in
the past year as aggressive policies to raise ethanol production have
shifted nearly 12 million acres from soybeans to corn this year. As a
result of higher feedstock costs, "An additional payment is essential to
ensure the viability of our fledgling domestic biodiesel industry in the
current volatile energy market," says Hoffman.
ASA is pleased the Committee bill authorizes the Quality Incentive
Program, which will encourage the production of soybeans and other
oilseeds with high-stability characteristics that will enable food
companies to eliminate trans fats without increasing the use of
unhealthy saturated fats. ASA is asking the Senate Committee to work
with their House counterparts in Conference to provide funding for this
program in order to ensure timely and effective implementation.
"ASA strongly supports enactment of a new farm bill this year, and will
continue to work with the Committees and their staff to ensure its
timely completion," says Hoffman.
ASA is the policy advocate and collective voice of its 22,000
producer-members on domestic and international issues of importance to
all U.S. soybean farmers. For more information about ASA, click here: www.soygrowers.com/.
Source: The American Soybean
Association
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Hot Topic --
What To Plant: Corn Or Beans?
The top topic among farmers right now remains what to
plant for 2008 -- more corn or more beans, says David Harms, founder of
Crop Pro-Tech crop consulting, Waverly, IL.
"Most are still deciding," says Harms. "They're waiting to see what
prices will do and who's more willing to buy the acres."
With strong prices for corn, beans and wheat likely in 2008,
grain farmers haven't seen such favorable market forces since the
mid-1990s, says Bob Wisner, Iowa State University Extension economist.
"However, in early 1996, western Corn Belt cash corn prices were over
$5/bu. for nearly six months -- in other words, much higher than they
are now," says Wisner. "High prices in the 1995-1996 marketing year were
driven by weather problems here and abroad, and by a 10% government
acreage set-aside requirement in 1995."
Yet even with this year's strong market outlook for grains, not all
grain farmers are doing well, says Wisner. "The best-case situation is
for grain farmers who own most of the land they are farming," he says.
"For those who rent a lot of land, cash rents are moving up sharply and
are absorbing part of the increased returns for grain production. Higher
fertilizer, fuel and seed costs also are offsetting part of the higher
prices for crops."
An unfortunate aspect of the current grain situation is that in today's
environment, it is more difficult for a young family to get started in
grain production than in the last few years, says Wisner. "That's
because of the increased capital requirements to cover the cost of land
rent, as well as the sharp increase in cost of other inputs," he points
out.
Overall, grain farmers will likely enjoy very good incomes this
year, but returns will vary from area to area depending on weather and
yields, adds Wisner. "For those with serious weather problems and low
yields, crop revenue insurance policies provided much more protection
than in the past because of the very high new-crop futures last
February," he says. "Crop revenue insurance coverage for corn and
soybeans is based on February new-crop futures prices. Some policies
provide for increased coverage if futures prices in the fall are higher
than in February."
For more information on the current grain market outlook, click here: www.econ.iastate.edu/outreach/agriculture/periodicals/ifo/.
For more information on crop revenue insurance, click here: www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/html/a1-54.html.
By John Pocock
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Ohio Drought
Doesn't Slow Soybeans; Record Yields Possible
Drought conditions throughout much of Ohio this season
have done little to slow the performance of the soybean crop. In fact,
growers could be looking at near-record yields.
According to the Ohio Agricultural Statistics Service, 86% of the crop
has been harvested, 35% higher than last year's harvest and ahead of the
five-year average. The U.S. Department of Agriculture yield forecast for
Ohio is 46 bu./acre, one bushel shy of the state record.
"Yields are about 25% better than we expected. State average yield is
going to be close to our record, if not a new record, and earlier in the
year we thought it was going to only be an average crop because of the
dry weather," says Jim Beuerlein, an Ohio State University Extension
agronomist.
Most of Ohio was plagued this growing season with either abnormally dry
conditions or moderate drought conditions. Southern Ohio is still
currently experiencing a range of drought conditions with counties along
the Kentucky border in a severe drought situation. Though some soybean
fields have been impacted by the drought, most actually benefited from
the weather. Beuerlein says the key was timing.
"With the dry weather in June and July came some blessings, and that was
we had almost no root rot diseases, which always hurt our yields," says
Beuerlein, who also holds an Ohio Agricultural Research and Development
Center appointment. "The dry weather also did not affect the flowering
or pod-fill processes. Fields received adequate moisture when the plants
needed it."
The grain fill period went so well, in fact, that many growers across
the state are dealing with green stems. "Normally the soybean plant
digests the stems and leaves to finish the pod-filling process, and the
grain fill period went so well that many varieties didn't have to digest
all those stems, and so they stayed green," says Beuerlein. "Green stems
may make it tough to harvest, but if growers wait and let the plants dry
down, then they are just as dry as those plants that mature
normally."
Growers throughout the west-central and northwest regions of the state
are facing the biggest impact from the dry weather, says Beuerlein, but
even within those areas, variability is making it difficult to determine
the extent of the problem. "You could have a drought disaster on one
field and then go five miles up the road and see a field that got
adequate moisture," he says. "Typical Ohio showers -- rain wets the
front end of the field, but not the back end."
For more information on Ohio's soybean crop, refer to the OSU Extension
Agronomic Crops Team Web site at agcrops.osu.edu.
Source: Ohio State University
Extension
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Average Crop Revenue Attractive Option, Say
Supporters
It's beginning to look like farmers will have the
option of participating in a revenue-based, counter-cyclical payment
program in the next two or three years no matter which version of the
2007 Farm Bill Congress passes.
The 2007 Farm Bill agreement that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman
Tom Harkin unveiled Oct. 17 would give producers the choice, beginning
with the 2010 crop year, of participating in a revenue protection
program or remaining in a traditional target price-based program.
Farmers could decide each year and by farm number whether they wanted to
remain in the Average Crop Revenue Program contained in the Harkin
proposal. (The farm bill the House passed in July also contains a
revenue counter-cyclical option for producers.)
To read the full article on these 2007 Farm Bill proposals, click here:
deltafarmpress.com/news/071023-crop-revenue/.
By Forrest Laws
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ASR Rides
Into Tennessee, After Beans Left Town
Asian soybean rust rode wind and wet weather across
Arkansas and Mississippi in mid-September and into west Tennessee farm
fields in October, looking for a victim for its deadly spores.
Fortunately, most of the region's soybean crop had already left town.
According to the University of Tennessee (UT), Asian soybean rust was
found in west Tennessee on soybean leaf samples collected from a field
plot in Gibson County, Oct. 3, at the University of Tennessee Milan
Research and Education Center.
UT Extension staff monitored for rust in soybean sentinel plots and
spore traps across the state all summer and had not found any rust
lesions on soybean leaves until the October discovery. The disease
samples -- a few rust pustules -- were found on soybean leaves and
visually identified with a microscope at the UT Extension lab at
Jackson.
To read this article in its entirety, click here: deltafarmpress.com/news/071022-asr-tennessee/.
By Elton Robinson
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Soybean
2010 Provides Tips To Improve Yields For Michigan
Growers
Research-based fact sheets on how to improve soybean
yields and profitability are available online to Michigan growers from
Soybean 2010, a collaborative effort by several organizations interested
in assisting Michigan soybean growers. Three new publications available
online include: Checklist For Improving Soybean Yield, Fertilizing
Soybeans in Michigan and Weed Resistance Sampling Brochure 2007.
Soybean 2010 partners include: Michigan soybean growers, Michigan State
University Extension, Project GREEEN, Michigan Agribusiness Association,
Michigan Farm Bureau and the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee. To
view the latest Soybean 2010 soybean fact sheets, click here: web1.msue.msu.edu/soybean2010/Publications.htm.
By John Pocock
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New Survey
Shows Americans More Aware Of Trans Fats
A recent consumer survey conducted for the American
Heart Association shows that:
- In the last year, awareness of trans fat among Americans is up from
84% to 92%.
- More than half of Americans (54%) say they have heard announcements
from restaurants about reducing trans fats in their foods.
- Half of Americans (51%) say they order a menu item "sometimes,"
"most of the time" or "always" because it's marked healthy in some
way.
For more information on "bad" and "good" fats, click here: www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045792.
Source: The American Heart Association
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Natural
Predators May Be Best Soldiers In Soybean Aphid
Battle
Researchers at the University of Kentucky (UK) and
Purdue University are collaborating with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to find ways to win the soybean aphid battle.
"Before the soybean aphid was found in the U.S., soybeans in the Midwest
had rarely been attacked by a major pest," says James Harwood, UK
College of Agriculture assistant professor of arthropod ecology. "So
we're trying to find ways now to control this pest, and we are looking
at natural predators of the soybean aphid."
Harwood and his colleagues are hoping their research, published in the
October issue of Molecular Ecology, will provide a breakthrough
in the fight against this invasive pest.
Through this research, an abundance of one of the soybean aphid's
natural enemies -- the insidious flower bug -- has been observed,
especially early in the growing season. The flower bug feeds on the
soybean aphid, among other things, and Harwood believes the bug may hold
great potential in helping to control this major pest.
To read the full article on this potentially beneficial insect, click
here: www.ca.uky.edu/agc/news/2007/oct/ifbresearch.htm.
By Aimee Nielson
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New Machinery Cost Estimates Available From
Minnesota
Agriculture producers can find estimates of farm
machinery operation costs in a new publication from University of
Minnesota (U of M) Extension, "Machinery Cost Estimates."
The free publication lists both time- and use-related cost figures for
machines from tractors and chisel plows to combines and sugar beet
wagons. "Machinery costs are substantial and controlling them is
important," says Bill Lazarus, University of Minnesota Extension
economist and author of publication. "Custom charges are often based on
these costs. No one should do custom work unless the charge will cover
operating costs and use-related depreciation, plus return for one's risk
and time."
Owners incur user-related costs only when a machine is used. These
include fuel, lubrication, labor and much of repairs and depreciation.
Time-related costs, also referred to as overhead costs, accrue to the
owner whether or not a machine is used. Interest, insurance, personal
property taxes, housing and some depreciation fall into the time-related
category.
To learn more, visit this U of M Web link www.extension.umn.edu/farm
and then click on "Machinery Cost Estimates" under the "What's New"
section to download a pdf document.
Source: University of Minnesota
Extension
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Top Five Reasons To Hire Tax/Law
Help
The time for farmers to start working on taxes comes
way before the year ends, according to Roger McEowen, director, Iowa
State University Center for Law and Taxation; Gary Hoff, University of
Illinois Extension Taxation Specialist; and Guido van der Hoeven,
Extension specialist, North Carolina State University. Here are their
top-five reasons for hiring tax and legal help with agricultural
expertise:
- To decrease your tax burden
- To avoid costly penalties
- To save time
- To protect yourself from litigation
- To prepare for retirement and succession
To read more in-depth recommendations on reasons to hire an agricultural
tax/law specialist, click here: cornandsoybeandigest.com/ag-issues/top-five-experts-agricultural-law/.
By John Pocock
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American
Heart Association Helps Restaurants With The Trans Fats
Switch
The American Heart Association announced last week the
first-ever online resource to help restaurant operators and other
foodservice professionals nationwide replace industrially produced trans
fats with healthier oils without sacrificing taste and texture in their
foods.
The new "Face the Fats Restaurant Resources" section at AmericanHeart.org features guidance
and technical assistance tools, including operating tips, lists and
profiles of oils and fats containing "0 grams trans fat per serving" and
manufacturer contact information.
Source: The American Heart Association
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Energize With
20-foot Sorghum
Are you ready for 20-ft. milo? According to the Texas
A&M University, the production of soaring sorghum is part of a new
multi-year joint research and commercialization agreement between TAMU
and the energy crop company Ceres, Inc.
Bill Rooney, plant scientist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment
Station says sorghum is a near-ideal crop for cellulosic biofuels.
"Sorghum produces high yields, is naturally drought tolerant and can
thrive in places that do not support corn and other food crops. Sorghum
also fits into established production systems and is harvested the year
it is planted, unlike perennial grasses, so it fits well in a crop mix
with perennial species and existing crops, like cotton."
According to Rooney, the sorghum plant holds potential for biofuel
production because new technologies are making it possible to use the
carbohydrates that comprise plant cell walls, called cellulose, in the
plant's stems, stalks and leaves.
To view the entire article on 20-ft. sorghum, click here: deltafarmpress.com/news/071023-sorghum-research/.
By Elton Robinson
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Tennessee
Farmer To Cut Corn Acreage By Half
In the last issue of the Soybean E-Digest, I
invited subscribers to share whether or not they were planning to switch
acres from corn to soybeans. Here's what one farmer, Chris Harrell,
Savannah, TN, has granted me permission to pass along to other
subscribers:
"We are cutting corn acres by half, partly because of the substantial
drought this past year and that there is nothing left in the subsoil.
Another big reason is the price of N, which has not come down at all
this year. Add into that the increase in the prices of seed corn due to
the new triple stacks, all the added tech fees, plus the large increase
in royalty fees on the new hybrids, even with the high market price for
corn, it's not high enough to cover the cost increase of production.
With wheat over $6 and beans over $9, plus we are far enough south to
very successfully double crop, we are switching 50%, maybe even more
before it's over, of our acres that raised corn in 2007 to a
wheat/double-crop bean plan for 2008. It is truly a reason of economics,
plus the wheat acres will bring us an earlier cash flow influx coming
out of the 2007 disaster. Of course, one is gambling that we won't have
a repeat of the deep freeze that walloped the 2007 wheat crop, and for
the drought to continue that annihilated the 2007 bean crop. Ma' Nature
still holds the trump card to any plan we may put in play."
By John Pocock
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Worst
Soybean Pest In 2007: A Note From The Soybean E-Digest
Editor
Which soybean pest (bug or disease) hit your crop
hardest in 2007? If there's a consensus among subscribers who write in
to me, I'll write about it in the next issue. Just let me know who you
are, where you farm and what the damage was like, and I'll take from
there.
If you have any other ideas on what you'd like to see covered in a
future issue of the Soybean E-Digest, or if you have concerns or
questions about this issue, please write me (John Pocock) at: jpocock@csdigest.com.
Thanks for your readership.
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