|
ADVERTISEMENT
 Monday, Nov. 17, 2008, RFD-TV Live! with Syngenta will
focus on maximizing yields and enhancing plant physiology with Plant
Performance™. During this hour long live call-in show, a panel
comprised of Syngenta experts, retailers and consultants from across the
U.S. will discuss what Plant Performance means to your crop and your
bottom line.
|
|
|
|
Logan
Hawkes
11/05/08
Crop News Weekly
There's a major change in the weather, and I'm
talking about wind or rain or snow here, but the political climate of
the U.S. Government. Barack Obama becomes the 44th President-Elect after
an historic election highlighted by the serious financial times of our
nation. Obama will be sworn in on Jan. 20 in official ceremonies. How
will this change the regulatory climate of the ag industry? Perhaps only
time will tell. In the end, regardless who you supported for President,
the American process has spoken. Here's hoping for a bright if not
reasonably optimistic future.
Speaking of weather - and I mean the real stuff this time - the elements
are once again slowing harvest in the upper Midwest. Rain, wind, and
even snow worked its way across parts of Minnesota last week. But word
this week is that drier conditions are settling in to a few of the areas
hit hardest, and corn harvest is set to or has resumed. Most beans, on
the other hand, have been harvested. The race is on again to complete
the harvest season. Good luck to all overworked producers.
In the news this week, after a long history of futures and options open
outcry trading, Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) is closing its trading
pits effective Dec. 19, 2008. The decision to make the transition to
exclusively electronic trading was unanimously approved by the MGEX
board of directors. Elsewhere, in its response to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) on the agency’s proposed decision to revoke
food tolerances for carbofuran, the USDA agreed with corn farmers who
want the proposal reconsidered. Growers consider carbofuran to be the
only reliably effective postplant rootworm rescue treatment available.
Also this week, late planting in some areas of the country, combined
with a lack of growing degree days and loss of nitrogen from rains,
means some of the corn harvested this fall may have some low test
weights. And that could point to a problem if that grain is stored for
any length of time. And finally, high fuel prices have some farmers
rethinking the importance of fuel efficiency. Farm Industry News worked
with the Nebraska Tractor Lab to identify the most fuel-efficient models
made by major U.S. tractor manufacturers. How's your fuel efficiency on
the farm?
You'll find these stories and more in this issue of Crop News
Weekly. Happy reading.
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
 According to Chuck
Foresman, manager of weed resistance strategies for Syngenta, some
experts expect the number of U.S. crop acres with glyphosate-resistant
weeds to double this year to 10 million. There are currently nine weeds
that have been confirmed resistant to glyphosate in the U.S., including
Palmer amaranth, giant ragweed, common ragweed, waterhemp, Johnsongrass
and marestail (horseweed). The Syngenta Resistance Fighter™
Solutions Module helps you find all the right products to fight
resistance in your fields. www.resistancefighter.com
|
|
|
|
Wet
weather slows harvest
Heavy rainfall, cloudy weather, strong winds, and even
some snowfall from Oct. 22-26 have created some harvest concerns in many
areas of Minnesota. Very little progress was made on the 2008 corn
harvest this past weekend in most areas of the state. Fortunately, the
six-to-10-day weather forecast for late October and early November
sounds to be a bit drier, with more sunshine, which should be favorable
to resume corn harvest in many areas. Harvest progress varies greatly
throughout the region. In many areas of south-central and southwest
Minnesota, soybean harvest is nearly complete, and a significant amount
of corn was harvested, before the wet weather in late October occurred.
However, in many other portions of Minnesota, there is still a
significant amount of soybeans remaining to be harvested, with very
little corn harvested at this point. - Kent Thiesse, Corn & Soybean
Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
ADVERTISEMENT
 For early season grass and broadleaf weed
control, nothing works harder than Lexar® herbicide. With
three modes of action, Lexar shuts out even the most stubborn
yield-robbing weeds. And unlike its early-season rivals, Lexar doesn’t
quit working until the job’s done. Click here for more
information or go to lexar-herbicide.com. Lexar is
a Restricted Use Pesticide.
|
|
MGEX
board recommends trading electronically
After a long history of futures and options open
outcry trading, Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) is closing its trading
pits effective Dec. 19, 2008. The decision to make the transition to
exclusively electronic trading was unanimously approved by the MGEX
board of directors and is pending MGEX ownership approval. The
Exchange’s electronic trading operations on the CME Globex electronic
trading platform will remain unchanged. MGEX will continue to host the
cash market from a newly remodeled location in the historic Grain
Exchange Building. This space will include a new member lounge, as well
as desk space for electronic trade execution. - Corn & Soybean
Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
Farm
bill shortchanges Extension/land grant universities
Extension and land grant universities are warning that
a recently discovered provision in the new farm bill will seriously
damage their ability to provide needed research and emergency efforts.
Integrated pest management programs are especially vulnerable. In force
for decades, the federal Smith-Lever Act has been instrumental in
providing USDA funds to land grant universities and Extension. Through
an amendment, the new farm bill does away with the traditional method of
annual block grant funding (allocated based on each state’s
agricultural production value) in favor of competitive grants. Opponents
of the move argue that competitive grants will favor large institutions
and projects to the detriment of often smaller, but imperative, research
and education programs. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial
Staff
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
ADVERTISEMENT
 Markets. Drought. The occasionally disgruntled spouse.
Clearly, you have enough to worry about above ground. Some things, you
just can’t control. But with Cruiser Extreme® 250 seed
treatment, the health and vigorous growth of your corn crop isn’t one
of them. So instead of worrying, sit back and watch your yield climb. cruisercorn.com
|
|
USDA
Backs corn growers on carbofuran
In its response to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) on the agency’s proposed decision to revoke food
tolerances for carbofuran, the USDA agreed with corn farmers who want
the proposal reconsidered. Growers consider carbofuran to be the only
reliably effective postplant rootworm rescue treatment available. In his
comments, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer stressed the procedural
difficulties of the EPA’s proposed rulemaking. Schafer argued that
revoking tolerances while not banning the product itself would mean that
farmers would be “in the position of potentially producing a crop with
illegal residues from the legal use of a pesticide. - Corn & Soybean
Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
Watch
those corn test weights
Late planting in some areas of the country, combined
with a lack of growing degree days and loss of nitrogen from rains,
means some of the corn harvested this fall may have some low test
weights. And that could point to a problem if that grain is stored for
any length of time. “Some of the corn crop never really got mature,”
says Charles Hurburgh, professor of agricultural engineering at Iowa
State University. “And that corn will be harvested this fall at lower
protein and higher starch levels, making it very difficult to store.”
The problem is that low test weight corn retains moisture in storage to
a greater extent than heavier corn, and is twice as likely to spoil as
heavier corn at the same moisture. “Low test weight corn is softer and
invites attack by fungi. It also breaks easily when handled,” Hurburgh
says. - Corn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
ADVERTISEMENT
 “I’ve definitely seen advantages of
Force® over the top of traited corn acres. The
insecticide allows corn rootworm to die without actually biting the root
unlike with BT traits. Also, by controlling secondary pests, Force can
add to a grower’s yield, which is the main goal of any grower.“
Retailer from Greenview, IL. Click here for more details
on this quote and the economics of using Force over traited corn.
Force is a Restricted Use Pesticide.
|
|
Most
fuel efficient tractors
High fuel prices have some farmers rethinking the
importance of fuel efficiency. Farm Industry News worked with the
Nebraska Tractor Lab to identify the most fuel-efficient models made by
major U.S. tractor manufacturers. It Used to be that the only time a
farmer would think about diesel fuel was when it was time to fill the
tank. But as diesel fuel prices soar to $4.00/gal., fuel is becoming an
input cost well worth managing. According to the USDA's most recent
figures, U.S. farm production expenditures totaled $260 billion in 2007,
up 9.3% from the revised 2006 total of $238 billion. Fuel, up 14%, was
one of the largest percentage contributors to the increase. - Jodie
Wehrspann, Farm Industry News
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
Calculating
your tractor's fuel-efficiency
Farm Industry News asked Nebraska Tractor Test Lab
Director Roger Hoy and Assistant Director Dave Morgan what factors to
use to compare the fuel efficiency of different tractors. You can use
these parameters to determine how your models rank. They looked at that
rating in two performance tests: power takeoff and drawbar performance,
and used results from the “PTO Performance Chart” to establish the
fuel-efficiency rankings. The lab says the PTO rating is a good
indicator because it is one that is calculated for all tractors and it
is always run at the maximum level. Start rating your tractor's
fuel-efficiency by clicking on the headline above. - Farm Industry
News
|
ROAD
WARRIOR: Strong Producers' Weak Links
Dave Kohl writes: "These economic times have
even the strongest financially positioned producers concerned about the
future. Recent calls and e-mails support this contention and provide a
theme for this week’s column. Let’s dig a little deeper and examine
some possible weak links. Aggressive producers who have used profits,
working capital and cash flow to expand operations by rental or purchase
of land or a major capital expansion could potentially face tough times.
These individuals have used valuable cash that may be needed if working
capital lines become more difficult to obtain as some agrilenders
re-evaluate their growth expectations..." - Corn & Soybean
Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
Senators to
USDA: correct civil rights problems
Following the release of a Government Accountability
Office report highlighting deficiencies in civil rights performance at
the Department of Agriculture, Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin,
D-Iowa, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa,
have written to Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer urging immediate action
to correct failures in civil rights reaching back decades. “GAO’s
core finding is that the USDA continues to fail to make adequate
progress in protecting civil rights — despite the specific action of
Congress to create a new system for action and accountability through
the creation of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002,” the lawmakers
said. (To read the complete article, click on the headline
above)
|
USDA
production forecast indicates stronger sorghum
The United States Department of Agriculture’s
National Agricultural Statistics Service released a corrected U.S. Crop
Production report Oct. 28. USDA also issued an abbreviated global supply
and demand report to reflect the revisions. USDA is now projecting the
2008/2009 corn harvest at 12.03 billion bushels down 167 million bushels
from the Oct. 10 forecast. Feed and residual use is projected 50 million
bushels lower at 5.30 billion bushels. USDA reported that sorghum
production is projected up 8 million bushels from the Oct. 10 forecast
to 472 million bushels. Sorghum feed and residual use is raised 10
million bushels with increased supplies. While tighter supplies pushed
corn exports forecast down 50 million bushels to 1.95 billion bushels,
Ken Hobbie, U.S. Grains Council president and CEO, said he anticipates
sorghum exports to increase as well as distiller’s dried grains with
soluble, a co-product of ethanol. (To read the complete article,
click on the headline above)
|
USDA
announces Outlook Forum agenda
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced the
distinguished plenary panelists for its 85th annual Agricultural Outlook
Forum, "Global Agriculture & Rural America in Transition," Feb. 26-27,
2009, to be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.
Sara Wyant, President, Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc., will moderate
the panel titled "Food & Energy: Expectations & Realities." Speakers
will include: Michael Mack, CEO, Syngenta International AG; Chris
Policinski, president and CEO, Land O'Lakes, Inc.; Daniel Yergin,
chairman, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Inc.; and Catherine Ann
Bertini, professor at Syracuse University, and senior fellow at the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation. (To read the complete article, click on
the headline above)
|
ASA
applauds World Soy Foundation donation
The American Soybean Association (ASA) has announced
that WhiteWave Foods is expanding its commitment to a project that
provides nutritious meals to school children in Ghana, as well as
supports sustainable economic development in the West African country.
WhiteWave Foods is donating $75,000 over the next three years to ASA’s
World Soy Foundation (WSF) to increase its partnership with the
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). "The new funding will
allow the World Soy Foundation to purchase, transport and install a
‘VitaGoat’ soymilk processing machine, as well as train operators
and provide a year’s worth of soybeans," said ASA Board member Scott
Fritz, a soybean farmer from Winamac, Ind., and WSF Board member. "As a
result, the VitaGoat will produce enough soymilk to feed a school of 280
children for at least one school year and have sufficient product to
sell to the community as a sustainable small enterprise." (To read
the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
USDA
scientist gives insight on climate
Plenty of media reports have been devoted to the
subject of global climate change, but farmers and ranchers may still be
wondering what the change means for how they´ll grow the food supply in
coming years. "No sector of agriculture is going to escape the impact of
climate change," said Jerry Hatfield, who´s with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture´s Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS). He joined
several other experts to speak about climate change at Kansas State
University Oct. 21. The presentation was part of the 2008 K-State
Research and Extension Annual Conference, held to update Extension
agents on research in various disciplines. (To read the complete
article, click on the headline above)
|
Hard
freeze could reduce row crop yields in some areas
Normally a hard freeze in late October or early
November in Kansas comes too late to hurt row crop yields. But this
year, a significant acreage of grain sorghum and soybeans may not have
reached maturity at the time of the first hard freeze, said Kraig
Roozeboom, Kansas State University Research and Extension crop
production specialist. A smaller proportion of the corn acreage also may
be susceptible to yield losses from the hard freeze, Roozeboom added.
"This is due to a combination of late planting and relatively cool
summer and fall temperatures," he said. The potential for yield loss on
immature crops is different for grain sorghum, corn, soybeans, and
sunflowers. (To read the complete article, click on the headline
above)
|
Commodity
Classic features Grammy award-winning acts
Commodity Classic attendees will enjoy performances by
Grammy award winners Pam Tillis and Riders in the Sky during the evening
of entertainment at the 2009 convention and trade show to be held Feb.
26-28 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas. Commodity Classic is the
premier convention and trade show of the National Corn Growers
Association, the American Soybean Association, the National Association
of Wheat Growers and the National Sorghum Producers. Pam Tillis, a
Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, has written songs
for top singers such as Conway Twitty, Chaka Kahn, Highway 101 and
Martina McBride, including more than a few of her own hits. (To read
the complete article, click on the headline above)
|
|
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
You are subscribed to this newsletter as #email#
To get this newsletter in a different format (Text or HTML),
or to change your e-mail address, please visit your profile
page to change your delivery preferences.
For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact our
Customer Service Department at:
Customer Service Department
Corn & Soybean Digest and Farm Industry News
A Penton Media publication
US Toll Free: 866-505-7173
International: 847-763-9504
Email:cropnewsweekly@pbinews.com
Penton Media | 249 W. 17th Street | New York, NY 10011
Copyright 2008, Penton Media. All rights reserved. This article is
protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property
laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated,
transmitted,
displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium
without the prior written permission of Penton Media.
About This Newsletter
To unsubscribe from this newsletter go to: Unsubscribe
To subscribe to this newsletter, go to: Subscribe
For information on advertising in Crop News Weekly, please contact: Roger Randall/a>.
|
|
|
|
Farm Industry News
Product
of the Week
View and read about the Farm Industry News Product of the
Week.
Click here to visit farmindustrynews.com
Corn & Soybean Digest
Market News
Richard A. Brock
Check out the latest corn and soybean market advice from
marketing guru Richard Brock by visiting cornandsoybeandigest.com
|
|
