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Logan
Hawkes
05/10/06
Crop News Weekly
Lest you forget, Happy Mother's Day to
all the deserving mother-types of the world. While we would never forget
the unselfish and giving nature of our dear mothers, it is easy to
forget what day it is when the days on the farm get long and hard. So
consider this your official reminder. Flowers are appropriate. So is a
new car. Fit it in the best you can.
In spite of heavy rains in parts of the Midwest, things are heating up
as we head into the blistering summer months. And so is the debate over
disaster relief for farmers. In spite of the Senate passing a bill
addressing disaster relief, President Bush says he will use his veto
power against it because it includes disaster provisions for
agriculture. The White House says the bill should be limited to
hurricane disaster and financing war efforts. Also in the news, grain
corn containing Herculex RW Rootworm Protection and Herculex XTRA Insect
Protection has received regulatory committee approvals for food, feed
and import into Japan, according to the traits developers, Dow
AgroSciences LLC and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. These actions
open Japan to grain containing the traits. Elsewhere in the news, is it
time to get on the ethanol wagon? Politicians and investors seem to
think so. In other news, in what could be the first significant shot
fired in the 2007 farm bill debate, the Environmental Working Group
(EWG) has released a report on how Mississippi River Basin (MRB)
fertilizer run-off is contributing to a massive oxygen-depleted hypoxia
zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Finally this week, trade agreements remain
in question as talks continue over U.S. subsidies. But those opposed to
U.S. farm policy aren't exactly sparkling clean in their own national
programs.
You'll find these stories and more in this issue of Crop News
Weekly. Happy reading.
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White
House threatens veto of disaster assistance
05/08/06
The White House says President Bush will veto the
fiscal 2006 emergency supplemental appropriations bill the Senate passed
by a vote of 78-20 because it contains funding for disaster assistance
for farmers and other non-war and hurricane-related measures. The threat
of a veto, which would be the president's first, was contained in a
Statement of Administration Policy that came out almost at the same time
that a group of 25 farm organizations sent a letter to the Senate
Agriculture and Appropriations Committees asking them to continue their
support of the legislation. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial
Staff
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15-inch,
2x2 skip pattern tops net return study
05/09/06
A 15-inch, 2x2 skip-row pattern topped net returns in
two out of three locations in a study conducted by Mississippi State
University researchers in 2003-2005. The objective of the study was to
provide estimates of costs and returns for eight row patterns: 15-, 30-,
38- and 60-inch row solid cotton, 15-inch rows with a 2x1 skip row (two
rows of cotton with a 30-inch skip), 15-inch rows with a 2x2 skip row
(two rows with a 45-inch skip) 30-inch rows with a 2x1 skip (two rows
with a 60-inch skip), and 38-inch rows with a 2x1 skip (two rows with a
76-inch skip). - Elton Robinson, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Agribusiness:
Herculex gains regulatory approvals
05/08/06
Grain corn containing Herculex RW Rootworm Protection
and Herculex XTRA Insect Protection has received regulatory committee
approvals for food, feed and import into Japan, according to the traits
developers, Dow AgroSciences LLC and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
These actions open Japan to grain containing the traits. Herculex RW and
Herculex XTRA received U.S. regulatory approvals in 2005 and are
available for the 2006 growing season. Herculex RW and Herculex XTRA are
available in hybrids from Mycogen Seeds, the retail seed brand of Dow
AgroSciences; and Pioneer. Beck's Superior Hybrids also is offering
Herculex RW for 2006 and will introduce Herculex XTRA in hybrids for the
2007 growing season. - Farm Press Online
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Is ethanol
finally catching on with investors?
05/08/06
There's been plenty of talk over the last 30-years of
how ethonal was going to change life as we know it. We were told that
dependence on oil production would be reduced vastly, that American
farmers would get a boost in a declining agriculture market, and that a
day would come that petrolueum was all put obsolete as a fuel source.
It's been an uphill journey, but the way investors are jumping on the
wagon, it may be time for the alternative fuel to come into its own.
Potential breakthroughs in molecular biology are making it possible for
genetically modified organisms to unlock the valuable sugars in
everything from prairie grass and poplar trees to manure and wood chips,
making the low-cost production of plant-based ethanol feasible. -
Crop News Weekly
Additional Reading: The
Chicago Tribune
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News from the Top of the
Hill
05/05/06
National Hog Farmer
BSE "Extraordinarily Low" in U.S. --
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns released the status of USDA's
enhanced BSE surveillance program. The study indicates that the U.S. may
have between four and seven BSE positive cattle. USDA concludes that the
"prevalence of the disease in the United states is less than 1 case per
million adult cattle, based on an adult cattle population in this
country of 42 million animals." The analyses will be peer-reviewed by
outside experts. USDA will use the analyses and international standards
to design an ongoing BSE surveillance program. Johanns indicated USDA is
considering decreasing the number of animal tested each year. Since the
beginning of the program in June of 2004, USDA has tested 696,644
animals.
EU to Increase Duty on U.S. Pork -- The European Union on May
16 is expected to increase the duty by 14 percent on various U.S.
boneless pork cuts and hams. This is the result of the WTO ruling
against the U.S. Foreign Sales Corporation based on a case filed by the
EU.
FY '07 AG Appropriations -- The House Agriculture
Appropriations subcommittee passed the fiscal year 2007 agriculture
appropriations bill. The bill provides $18.4 billion in total
discretionary funding and $76.079 billion in mandatory spending (farm
payments, food stamps, etc.). Key items include:
Avian Flu/Pandemic: countermeasures and monitoring programs are
funded at $80 million.
FSIS: Food Safety and Inspection Service is funded at $853 million
which is an increase of $24 million over last year.
User Fees: The subcommittee rejected the administration's request
for $105 million in user fees for meat and poultry inspection.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS): APHIS received
an additional $92 million at $904 million.
BSE: The BSE detection and prevention activities were funded at $90
million.
Ag Research: The Agricultural Research Service was funded at $1.2
billion which is a cut of $49 million.
Conservation: Conservation activities are funded at $791 million
which is a cut of $40 million.
Programs eliminated include: Healthy Forest Reserve, Invasive
Species Grant, Wildlife Air Safety Initiative, and Child Nutrition
Program, contingency reserve fund.
Chinese poultry products: Prohibits the exportation into the U.S.
of processed poultry products from China.
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to consider the bill next
week.
Administration Opposes Disaster Assistance -- The
administration has stated its opposition to the agriculture disaster
relief legislation contained in the Senate passed emergency
appropriations bill. The White House Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) stated in the administration's Statement of Administration Policy,
that the administration "strongly opposes the Committee's agricultural
assistance proposal, totaling nearly $4 billion. The 2002 Farm Bill was
designed, when combined with crop insurance, to eliminate the need for
ad hoc disaster assistance. In 2005, many crops had record or
near-record production, and U.S. farm sector cash receipts were the
second highest ever." The National Farmers Union (NFU) in a letter to
members of the U.S. Senate said, "America's food producers have fallen
victim to circumstances beyond their control. Droughts, floods,
hurricanes, budget cuts, low commodity prices and skyrocketing energy
costs have placed a significant burden on our nation's food and fiber
producers." Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congressman Ike Skelton
(D-MO) have called upon the administration to reconsider its
position.
Farm Bill Extension -- Senators Jim Talent (R-MO) and Blanche
Lincoln (D-AR) have introduced legislation that would extend the 2002
Farm Bill until legislation implementing the Doha Round trade agreement
is passed by Congress. The goal is to complete the agreement by the end
of the year. Talent said, "A farm bill extension, pending a fair
agreement at the WTO, sends a signal to our trading partners. We will
not unilaterally disarm farmers and ranchers in Missouri without
assurances that we will get real and meaningful reforms from them in
return. We must maintain the current framework until we know the rules
of the game." Those co-sponsoring the legislation include Senators Bond
(R-MO), Coleman (R-MN), Dorgan (D-ND), Landrieu (D-LA), and Pryor
(D-AR). - Scott Shearer
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First shot in
the 2007 farm bill debate?
05/05/06
In what could be the first significant shot fired in
the 2007 farm bill debate, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has
released a report on how Mississippi River Basin (MRB) fertilizer
run-off is contributing to a massive oxygen-depleted hypoxia zone in the
Gulf of Mexico. Combining and updating studies done by government
agencies since the mid-1990s, the EWG report claims the entire Missouri
Bootheel, northwest Tennessee, a significant portion of northeast
Arkansas and scattered Mississippi counties and Louisiana parishes are
chief run-off offenders. EWG's hope is the debate will focus on this
problem and political momentum will swing in its favor and against
commodity subsidy payments. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial
Staff
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Mobile
Soybean Rust Alert System
05/09/06
American Soybean Association
The American Soybean Association and Doane Advisory
Services have partnered to bring soybean growers a new mobile soybean
rust alert system that will alert subscribers when rust has been
detected in their region. This mobile alert system will provide a vital
service to growers during the summer months when they often don't have
immediate access to a computer but do carry a cell phone. The new
service places a brief call to subscribers on a weekly basis only when
USDA confirms a new occurrence of soybean rust in your region or a
nearby region (you choose which regions you want). After notifying
subscribers of this new rust development, the call will direct users to
visit http://www.SoyRAP.com for
additional information concerning soybean rust. The SoyRAP.com mobile rust alert
service is FREE to ASA members and is only $25 for others. The SoyRAP.com mobile rust alert
service is an exclusive ASA member benefit that is designed to help
soybean growers manage rust.
SoyRAP.com is sponsored by BASF Corporation, Bayer CropScience and
Syngenta Crop Protection.
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Trade
agreements remain in question as talks continue
05/05/06
For farmers, international trade agreements resemble
carnival games, you know going in you're going to get fleeced. At least
that's the way it's played out so far and, based on the tone of ongoing
negotiations, U.S. ag commodity competitors and countries that would
like to continue to insist that the United States do away with farm
subsidies and open markets to their products but express an entrenched
unwillingness to lower their own tariffs or do away with their own
sometimes subtle subsidies. - Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial
Staff
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Senate
passes supplemental spending bill
05/04/06
The Senate, ignoring a veto threat from President
Bush, voted 78-20 to pass an emergency supplemental appropriations bill
that contains $3.9 billion in disaster aid for farmers who suffered
losses due to multiple weather problems in 2005. The supplemental bill,
which authorizes a total of $109 billion in spending, is $14 billion
above the level the president requested. The White House issued a
Statement of Administration Policy that said the president would veto
the bill if it exceeded the $92.2 billion he requested for the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan and hurricane relief. - Forrest Laws, Farm
Presss Editorial Staff
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Cochran
named to '10 best' list
05/03/06
Mid-South farmers have known for a long time that Sen.
Thad Cochran was one of the region's best-kept secrets. Working mostly
"behind the scenes," the senior senator from Mississippi has probably
done more to help producers stay afloat in the last 20 years than any
other member of Congress. Now the rest of the country is beginning to
see what a quiet force Cochran can be thanks to an article in Time
magazine. Time recently selected Cochran as one of the 10 best senators
in the 109th Congress, based on interviews with dozens of academics,
political scientists and current and former senators. - Forrest Laws,
Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Hurricane
relief sign-up to begin May 17
05/03/06
Farmers in affected counties in Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas can begin signing up
for USDA's 2005 hurricane disaster assistance programs at USDA Service
Centers May 17. The aid will be provided through four crop and livestock
assistance programs funded by $250 million in Section 32 funds that were
authorized immediately following the storms, which occurred in July,
August and September of last year, Agriculture Mike Johanns said. -
Farm Press Online
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Sign Up for
MarketMaxx
05/09/06
Sign up and play The Corn And Soybean Digest's fantasy
grain game called MarketMaxx. It's easy, fun and hopefully you'll learn
a little more about how to market the corn and beans your raise. It's
easy to sign-up. Just log on to http://www.marketmaxx.net and
register at the top left and begin trading your fictitious 100,000 bu.
of corn and 50,000 bu. of soybeans. If you're a winner at the end of the
game on October 31 you could take home the grand prize of a year's use
of a Massey Ferguson tractor or combine. Or, win additional prizes such
as a computer system from Syngenta Crop Protection, customized rugged
mobile computers from Grayhill Custom Mobile Solutions or a high-speed
satellite Internet service from Agristar Global Networks. - The Corn
& Soybean Digest
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