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Logan
Hawkes
12/10/08
Crop News Weekly
Welcome to another winter season, or so it
would seem with snow, sleet and freezing rain being reported across
large areas of the West and Midwest over the last week or so. In fact,
snow is falling as far south as the lower plains. Here's hoping the last
of the harvest is over. Winter, it seems, has arrived. And as mentioned
last week, the time has also arrived for us to wait and watch for coming
changes in the world of agriculture. Check out the results of our
current Quick Poll below and take a moment to become an active community
member of Crop News Weekly.
In the news this week, according to Dan Keefe, U.S. Grains Council
manager of international operations for distiller’s dried grains with
solubles, U.S. DDGS exports are likely to recover in January, rebounding
from a sluggish fourth quarter. Freight costs had been the primary
factor in causing a loss of export sales of U.S. DDGS, a co-product of
U.S. ethanol production. Also this week, thirty-five years ago this
month, President Richard Nixon declared the country would be energy
independent in a mere seven years. Obviously, that didn’t work out,
but economist Joe Outlaw says it wasn’t a bad idea then and still
isn’t. Do you think it's possible? And Nov. 4 was not exactly a
“red-letter” day for the U.S. crop protection industry. In fact,
some would argue the Democratic Party’s victory in the national
presidential election was the seed and chemical sector’s worst
nightmare come true. But, rather than bemoan the outcome, industry
leaders have begun calling for the making of science-based regulatory
decisions, something which they say was not always the case the last
time a pro-environmental-lobby administration took office. Again,
what do you think?
We ask the questions and shed some light on the answers in this issue of
Crop News Weekly. Happy reading.
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ADVERTISEMENT
 Controlling grass and broadleaf weeds right
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Lumax® herbicide. While others may talk about residual
control, research proves nothing outperforms Lumax, especially on weeds
such as foxtail, waterhemp, pigweed and lambsquarters. In both
glyphosate-tolerant and conventional corn. To learn more, click here or visit lumax-herbicide.com. Lumax is
a Restricted Use Pesticide.
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Colorado's
Salazar could be next ag secretary
Congressman John Salazar, D-Colo., appears to have
moved to the top of the list of the candidates to become secretary of
agriculture in the Obama administration. Salazar, a farmer who
represents his state’s Third Congressional District, appears to fit
several criteria that could help determine the nominee for the post,
says veteran Washington agricultural columnist Jim Wiesemeyer.
“His (Salazar’s) stock has risen in the last week,” said
Wiesemeyer, a speaker at the 2008 USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little
Rock, Ark. “He is a moderate to conservative Democrat. He was born and
raised on a cattle operation and is a seed potato farmer. And he is
Latino.”
Thus, Salazar, whose Web site says he was raised on a farm where he
shared a bedroom with five siblings, with no running water or
electricity, “fits in a lot of different categories and may have the
inside track on this position,” said Wiesemeyer, vice president with
Informa Economics in Washington. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial
Staff
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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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.
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WHAT
DO YOU THINK? (POLL): Who will be the next ag
secretary?
Midwest farmers speak out!
As part of our expanding service and to promote
interaction between editors and subscribers, we initiated a new user's
poll a week before the general election. The question was: "Who do you
think will be elected the next president?" The response was tremendous.
Our second and current user poll asks the question: "Who do you think
will be the next U.S. Agriculture Secretary?"
Once again, the response has been substantial. Already, over 5,000 CNW
subscribers and Corn & Soybean Digest readers have weighed in with their
votes, and still counting. Follow the link (headline) above and check
the results of the poll, or log into cornandsoybeandigest.com and
check the upper right column to cast your vote in our current "Quick
Poll".
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Higher
ethanol co-product exports expected
According to Dan Keefe, U.S. Grains Council manager of
international operations for distiller’s dried grains with solubles,
U.S. DDGS exports are likely to recover in January, rebounding from a
sluggish fourth quarter. Freight costs had been the primary factor in
causing a loss of export sales of U.S. DDGS, a co-product of U.S.
ethanol production. “What we saw occur was bulk freight costs drop
substantially relative to container freight costs,” said Keefe.
“Container freight is usually the most common transport mode for DDGS
and lower bulk freight costs made corn cheaper on a delivered basis,
causing DDGS exports to suffer. (To read the complete article, click
on the headline above)
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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
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Biofuels
in uncertain times
Thirty-five years ago this month, President Richard
Nixon declared the country would be energy independent in a mere seven
years. Obviously, that didn’t work out, but economist Joe Outlaw says
it wasn’t a bad idea then and still isn’t. “It’s easy for people
to be cynical — ‘energy independent? We can’t do that’ — but
my point is every little bit helps as long as the economics and a
business model support it,” said the co-director of the Texas-based
Agricultural and Food Policy Center at the recent American Society of
Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers annual meeting. (To read the
complete article, click on the headline above)
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Pushing
for science-based regulation
Nov. 4 was not exactly a “red-letter” day for the
U.S. crop protection industry. In fact, some would argue the Democratic
Party’s victory in the national presidential election was the seed and
chemical sector’s worst nightmare come true. But, rather than bemoan
the outcome, industry leaders have begun calling for the making of
science-based regulatory decisions, something which they say was not
always the case the last time a pro-environmental-lobby administration
took office. “Under the current administration, the EPA is working
hard to let science dictate the decision-making policy,” said Eric
Wintemute, CEO of AMVAC Chemical Co. and chairman of the board of
directors of CropLife America, the organization that represents most of
the nation’s farm chemical suppliers. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press
Editorial Staff
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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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
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Analysis
of the food vs. fuel debate
Earlier in 2008, prior to the severe economic woes of
the past couple of months, the food vs. fuel debate was one of the hot
political issues heading into the 2008 election. In recent weeks, those
issues have again surfaced at the national level. Some major
organizations, members of the national news media and a few members of
Congress have blamed the rapid expansion of ethanol production in the
U.S. as the primary cause of significant increases in food costs, food
shortages in third world countries and many other problems around the
world. These claims were based on the fact that the price of corn
doubled in two years to $6-7/bu. in July, and that there could be
potential shortages of corn. Some were calling for the U.S. to relax
standards for utilization of renewable fuels, and to eliminate all
federal government support for the ethanol industry in the U.S. -
Kent Thiesse, Corn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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USDA:
Recession to hit farm exports
USDA has cut its estimate of U.S. agricultural exports
for fiscal 2009 by $14.5 billion, or nearly 13%, due to falling prices
and weak demand caused by the global recession. USDA on Monday forecast
fiscal 2009 farm exports at $98.5 billion, down from an August estimate
of $113 billion. USDA's quarterly trade report also projected farm
imports of $81 billion – down $2 billion from its previous forecast,
but still a record. Fiscal 2008 imports were pegged at $79.3 billion.
- Richard Brock, Corn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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The
Ugly Economic Numbers: Housing Starts
Ag Road Warrior Dave Kohl writes: "Lead and lag
economic indicators can either foretell or confirm an economy’s
direction. Let’s dive into the numbers and see what they are telling
us: One in six jobs in the economy is directly or indirectly dependent
on the direction of the housing market. To put this in perspective,
housing starts at the height of the housing boom were 2.3 million
annually in 2004 and 2005. Latest economic releases indicate they are
down to less than 800,000 annually..." - Corn & Soybean
Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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BioProducts
Innovation Center: soy-based technologies
The soybean, its use once limited to agriculture, is
cementing a place in industry as a biodegradable substitute for
petroleum in a variety of commercial products. In an effort to promote
and commercialize the most promising soybean-based products and
materials, the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC), along with the
Ohio Soybean Council and PolymerOhio, is leading a yearlong effort to
assess current national soy-based technologies. - Corn & Soybean
Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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Reduce
costs of irrigation pumping plants
To save energy and money, Nebraska irrigators should
check their irrigation pumps for maximum efficiency, Tom Dorn, a
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension educator, says. Irrigation
pumps that operate at the average efficiency found in university tests
are using 30% more energy than necessary, says Dorn, Extension educator
in Lancaster County. - COrn & Soybean Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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AFBF:
Commitment to market access needed
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman
agrees with congressional leaders who this week sent a letter to
President Bush opposing a December meeting of WTO trade ministers.
Before such a meeting is held, Stallman said, there must be
“sufficient evidence that WTO members are truly committed to granting
meaningful market access. “Moving ahead with a deal that Congress and
agriculture cannot support would be detrimental to the overall stature
of the WTO as an institution and would provide no stimulus to the
slumping global economy,” Stallman said. (To read the complete
article, click on the headline above)
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Corn
prices down, grocery prices up
As families prepare to gather for their annual
Thanksgiving dinner, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) cautioned
that despite Consumer Price Index data indicating lower prices for
virtually all consumer items, families will be paying more for their
annual dinner than they did last year because food processing companies
have held food prices artificially high. A review of a typical
Thanksgiving dinner grocery list shows that the items needed to feed a
family of 10 this year will cost 12% more than just one year ago –
$48.13 in 2008 compared to $42.46 last year. - Corn & Soybean
Digest
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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Yale
professor: two years to recovery
Jeffrey Garten, whose professional credentials include
Juan Trippe Professor of International Trade, Finance and Business in
the Yale School of Management; chairman of Garten Rothkopf (an
international advisory firm); and former dean of the Yale School of
Management, compares the current global financial crisis to “the eye
of a massive storm.” “We are at the beginning of a massive
transformation of the global financial system,” Garten told
participants of the recent Sourcing USA Summit in Austin, Texas. “No
part of the global economy is unaffected.” Garten admitted to being a
bit more pessimistic about the worsening economic crisis. (To read
the complete article, click on the headline above)
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Court
allows rejection of VeraSun contracts
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court presiding over the VeraSun
Energy Corporation case this week considered concerns of corn growers
and suppliers. Legal counsel for an ad hoc advisory committee formed by
the National Corn Growers Association, state affiliated organizations,
and others participated in the hearing in Wilmington, Del. As expected,
bankruptcy law and the ruling will allow VeraSun to reject any contracts
that are economically disadvantageous to VeraSun, including corn
growers’ contracts. “We are happy that the court listened to corn
growers’ views,” said Ron Litterer, NCGA chairman and corn grower
from Greene, Iowa. “It was doubtful that we could influence the courts
to require VeraSun to pay the contracted price for our corn. We believe
we did influence other issues of concern to growers.” (To read the
complete article, click on the headline above)
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Biofuels
industry offers new crop options
Sorghum may become an important crop option for
Southwestern farmers looking to capitalize on what observers hope is a
growing biofuels industry. New crops add diversity to areas that have
depended on one or two farm enterprises and help farmers manage risks in
a volatile market environment. And adding grain, forage or sweet sorghum
as a rotation option should improve yield potential for traditional
Southwest crops. Oklahoma State University Agronomist Chad Godsey is
looking at several cropping systems and production techniques to help
farmers manage what may be new crop options. - Ron Smith, Farm Press
Editorial Staff
(To read the complete article, click on the headline above)
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USDA
lowers exports for 2009, imports up
USDA forecast 2009 U.S. agricultural exports at $98.5
billion on Dec. 1, down $14.5 billion from August and $17 billion below
record 2008 sales. The report combines information from the Economic
Research Service and the Foreign Agricultural Service. The outlook for
U.S. exports has changed dramatically with the expectation of global
recession in 2009. The combination of weaker global demand, falling
prices, and an appreciating dollar create a very unfavorable outlook for
U.S. exports. Huge wheat supplies from Russia, EU, and Ukraine are
increasing competition in grain markets. Grain and feed exports were
lowered from August, and exports are now forecast $10 billion below
record 2008 sales. (To read the complete article, click on the
headline above)
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Product
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Week.
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Richard A. Brock
Check out the latest corn and soybean market advice from
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