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Eiles, grower, Atlantic, Iowa. Learn more at www.resistancefighter.com
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Logan
Hawkes
11/19/08
Crop News Weekly
In spite of early winter weather, harvest is
slowly wrapping up across most of the corn belt. A few areas remain too
wet to get into the fields. But farmers are working at high speed to
salvage what they can in spite of high moisture and severe lodging in
some fields. On-farm and coop drying are reported brisk in many areas as
farmers hustle to wrap up the season, just in time for the Thanksgiving
weekend.
In the news this week, remember earlier this year when ethanol was being
blamed for just about all ills, including record high food prices? Well,
now that corn prices have dropped to about half of the summer highs of
$8/bushel, food prices remain high. On October 17, The Wall Street
Journal reported that while corn and soybean prices fell dramatically in
September, grocery store prices increased about 8%, and cereal and
bakery prices rose 14%. Is anyone really surprised? Also this week, corn
plants compete with weeds for more than just water and nutrients. They
also compete for light, and from a very early stage. Cheryl Dunne,
Syngenta research specialist, explains how even light reflecting off
young weeds will change a corn plant’s growth pattern away from roots
and into shoots. Check out the video link in this issue. Elsewhere in
the news, last week's USDA reports held mixed news for the corn and
soybean markets as USDA revised its estimates of both crops downward
slightly, but also cut projected usage further. USDA pegged U.S. corn
production at 12.020 billion bushels, down 13 million bushels from its
previous estimate. And finally, while cellulosic biofuels derived from
grasses, crop residues and inedible plant parts have real potential to
be more efficient and environmentally friendly than grain-based biofuels
like corn ethanol, more research and science-based policies are needed
to reap these benefits, says an international group of experts.
You'll find these stories and more in this issue of Crop News
Weekly. Happy reading.
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unlike with BT traits. Also, by controlling secondary pests, Force can
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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.
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Growth energy
formed to dispel ethanol myths
Remember earlier this year when ethanol was being
blamed for just about all ills, including record high food prices? Well,
now that corn prices have dropped to about half of the summer highs of
$8/bushel, food prices remain high. On October 17, The Wall Street
Journal reported that while corn and soybean prices fell dramatically in
September, grocery store prices increased about 8%, and cereal and
bakery prices rose 14%. In a press conference at the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C. today, Growth Energy, a new organization comprised
of ethanol producers, pointed out that food giant Kraft has seen
revenues increase 20% over the year-earlier period and that Kellogg saw
sales increase 9.5% in the third quarter. - Lynn Grooms, Farm
Industry News
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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beans from the get-go, means healthy profit potential at harvest. Learn
more at cruisermaxxbeans.com
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THIESEES'S
THOUGHTS: Harvest nears completion
The rain and wet snow late last week halted corn
harvest for a few days. Fortunately, some very good late-fall weather
conditions in the final week of October and the first few days of
November allowed many farm operators in south-central Minnesota to
complete their 2008 corn harvest. There is still approximately 20-25% of
corn left to be harvested, with more corn remaining in the field in
southeast and central Minnesota. Most growers are still finishing up
fall tillage and are completing fall fertilizer and manure applications.
The situation with the wet field conditions and very cold temperatures
could cause problems for fall nitrogen and manure applications, if those
conditions persist until the soil is completely frozen. - Kent
Thiesse, Corn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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VIDEO: Stop Early Weed
Growth
Corn plants compete with weeds for more than just
water and nutrients. They also compete for light, and from a very early
stage. Cheryl Dunne, Syngenta research specialist, explains how even
light reflecting off young weeds will change a corn plant’s growth
pattern away from roots and into shoots. She demonstrates this
phenomenon with an in-lab trial in a video. Click on the headline above
to watch it now. - Farm Industry News
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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.
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USDA
reports mixed news for corn, soy
Last week's USDA reports held mixed news for the corn
and soybean markets as USDA revised its estimates of both crops downward
slightly, but also cut projected usage further. USDA pegged U.S. corn
production at 12.020 billion bushels, down 13 million bushels from its
previous estimate and 55 million bushels below the average of pre-report
trade estimates. USDA pegged the U.S. national average corn yield at
153.8 bu./acre vs. its October estimate of 153.9 bu. Trade estimates of
the national yield averaged 154.4 bu./acre. - Richard Brock, Corn &
Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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More
research needed to make good on biofuel promise
While cellulosic biofuels derived from grasses, crop
residues and inedible plant parts have real potential to be more
efficient and environmentally friendly than grain-based biofuels like
corn ethanol, more research and science-based policies are needed to
reap these benefits, says an international group of experts. In an
article published Oct. 3 in the journal Science, Purdue University
Agricultural Economist Otto Doering and a team of 22 other scientists
write that there is an urgent need for more comprehensive and
collaborative research. This will help next-generation fuels avoid the
pitfalls of grain-based biofuels, which include increased nutrient
runoff and clearing of new land to recoup lost food production, Doering
says. - Corn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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in a glyphosate herbicide. Learn more at halexgt-herbicide.com.
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Take the weekly Corn &
Soybean Digest poll
Weekly Poll
Don’t forget to cast your ballot on Corn & Soybean
Digest’s latest quick poll. This month’s question is: What factor
will most affect your acreage allocation this spring? Vote on CSD’s
home page. - Click on the headline above to visit the site
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Catch the new
biofuels blog
Read the latest inside news on the biofuels industry
in the “Biofuel Lines” blog by Lynn Grooms. She will post blogs
about events, companies, people and anything else in the biofuels
business that affect farms. A recent blog describes the new ethanol
advocacy group Growth Energy and hot it is answering questions in the
food vs. fuel debate. Readers can pose questions and their own ideas by
registering on the blog Web site. Here’s a link to the blog:
http://blog.farmindustrynews.com/biofuellines/ - Farm Industry
News
(To visit and read the complete blog, click on the headline
above)
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VeraSun
Energy bankruptcy poses perils for farmers
VeraSun Energy and its 24 subsidiaries filed Chapter
11 bankruptcy on October 31, 2008 in the United States Bankruptcy Court
in Delaware. The bankruptcy filing raises numerous questions for farmers
and grain elevators that have legal relationships with VeraSun, which
operates 17 ethanol plants in eight states. The bankruptcy filing raises
numerous questions for farmers who have contracted to deliver grain to
VeraSun and also for elevators. - Corn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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Nonfood
crops: biodiesel feedstock
Although gasoline is the fuel of choice for the
American automobile, diesel is the fuel of choice for moving freight —
whether by truck, train or ship. And while the primary source for diesel
is from petroleum, the fuel can be made from both plant and animal
sources, according to experts in the LSU AgCenter. “We have many
sources of feedstocks for biodiesel,” said Gary Breitenbeck, a
researcher in the LSU AgCenter’s School of Plant, Environmental and
Soil Sciences. The current source for most biodiesel produced in the
United States today is soybean oil, Breitenbeck said. - Rick Bogren,
LSU AgCenter
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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Leasing
decisions need to be considered carefully
Landowners and tenants face difficult leasing
decisions for the year ahead, says Bruce Johnson, a University of
Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) agricultural economist. It will be especially
challenging to determine a fair and reasonable leasing agreement for
both parties, says Johnson. "Production agriculture is already risky,
but faced with the current financial crisis there seems to be little
disagreement that we are, in the very least, staring into the face of a
potentially long and deep global recession," Johnson says. - Corn &
Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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ROAD
WARRIOR: Question from Down Under
Dave Kohl writes: "This column is becoming far
reaching, with some questions coming from Queensland, Australia. When is
the U.S. economy going to turn around and what are some possible signs?
How can the U.S. service the increased debt given the government
bailout? The first question is a difficult one. This could be a long
protracted U.S. recession even with the bailout. The financial
assistance package will only repress the situation and possibly provide
time to address problems that have been building over the years. There
is a reasonable probability that the U.S. could be moving into an
economic era similar to Japan, where the adjustment has lasted for more
than a decade..." - Corn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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$77
million for flood, drought damage
U.S. Department of Agriculture says farmers and
ranchers will receive $77 million in Emergency Conservation Program
funds to repair farmland damaged by natural disasters in 2008. Producers
will be able to use the money to remove farmland debris, restore fences
and repair conservation structures which were damaged by floods,
tornadoes, hurricanes, storms, wildfires, and to carry out emergency
water conservation measures after severe drought. “These funds will
allow farmers and ranchers to repair the severe damage to conservation
systems caused by disaster conditions from hurricanes Ike and Gustav, as
well as the 2008 Midwest floods,” said Agriculture Secretary Ed
Schafer. (To read the complete article, click on the headline
above)
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Obama:
uphill challenges
President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn into office
as the nation’s 44th president on Jan. 20, 2009. There will be no
“hanging chads” or recounting of votes in Florida and no controversy
over who won the popular vote, although the latter was fairly close. We
still have a country divided — many rural states voted for McCain and
large urban-center states in the Northeast and on the West Coast carried
Obama. The electoral college vote — decisively Obama. Our new
president has his work cut out for him, especially on the international
front. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could decide the future of the
Middle East. At the same time, an intricate rat’s nest of terrorism
threatens to drive the region back to the Dark Ages. Obama must quell
saber-rattling wackos like North Korean leader Kim Jong il and Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and keep the reins tight on the
imperialism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. - Elton Robinson,
Farm Press Editorial Staff
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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Good
news shoppers: Supermaket prices going down
You knew it was bound to happen. For two years,
farmers have watched with amazement while corn and then soybean and
wheat futures rose into uncharted territory as short crops and ethanol
demand fueled wild speculation in the commodity markets. All the while,
veteran growers knew those prices could go down just as fast or maybe
even faster than they went up. Thus, the declines in corn, soybean and
wheat futures of recent weeks weren’t a big a surprise to anyone
who’s been farming more than a few years. Since June, corn, soybeans
and wheat contracts have lost nearly half their value. December 2008
corn futures, which traded at $8 in June, closed at $3.84 on Oct. 16.
November 2008 soybeans have fallen from $16 in June to $8.67 while
December 2008 soft red winter wheat dropped from $10 to $5.55 per
bushel. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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USGS
sampling bodes well for agriculture
A recent article by a Greenwire reporter, an entity
I’m not familiar with, detailed a study by the U.S. Geological Survey
that shows groundwater has not retained high levels of pesticide
contamination. The report compares samples from 362 wells, taken from
1993 to 1995, and then again from 2001 to 2003. Samples were analyzed
for more than 80 pesticide compounds. Six of those pesticides were
detected in water from at least 10 wells during both sampling periods.
But concentrations of those pesticides were typically less than 0.12
parts per billion. That’s 10 times lower than U.S. EPA drinking water
standards. The article noted the findings are encouraging, but offered
no real reason for the low concentrations. - Ron Smith, Farm Press
Editorial Staff
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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Check out the latest corn and soybean market advice from
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