Crop News Weekly New: Choosing Soybean Varieties Wisely

It seems that January just got started and already the month is quickly slipping away. By this time next week we will have a new President in the White House, a new administration running the country, and, no doubt, many changes will start getting underway. We keep hearing about what a "historic time" it is; about how the impending changes before us are either going to make us or break us. It depends, of course, on to whom you wish to listen - and what you want to believe. Life has taught use, if nothing else, that when change is coming, we simply need to wait and see what that might bring. The future is rarely as good as we want it to be and seldom as bad as some would have us believe.

Remember a few years back when the world was fixated on the changing millennium and all the talk was about Y2K and how the world as we know it was about to end? Now they're pointing to the year 2012 and calling it the "end of days," and/or the start to a new era for humankind. It's funny how we stand in line to hear about these so-called mythical prophecies or truths, but fail to see the weather changing before our very eyes. For my money, I think I'll just wait and see what changes are coming and how they might affect life on the farm. But whether it rains or shines, I have a feeling we'll weather the storms much the way we always have. Patience, they say, is a virtue.

We're loaded down once again with plenty of good content this week. So dig in and see if you can find something that sparks your interest. Happy reading.

With the recent volatile swings in commodity prices, soybean farmers need to maximize yields now more than ever. David Wright, research and education director of the North Central Soybean Research Program, offers suggestions to soybean growers on choosing varieties for the 2009 growing season, to maximize yield and profit potential. When it comes to selecting soybean varieties for 2009, soybean growers will benefit from taking some time and doing it right. "That means doing a little homework, and brushing up on your history before sitting down with your seedsman," says Wright. - Corn & Soybean Digest

The steep drop in wholesale fertilizer prices in late 2008 left some dealers with barns full of high-priced and over-priced product. The result, industry experts agree, will be losses in the tens of millions of dollars. Some dealers won't survive the loss. That's a concern for farmers wanting to prepay for crop inputs ahead of planting season. If their dealer goes broke, farmers may end up without their cash or their prepaid purchases. - John Russnogle, Farm Industry News

Missouri has long been known as a great place to grow soybeans. Two farmers are helping to prove it, growing soybeans that yielded more than 100 bu./are in the Missouri Soybean Association’s (MSA) 14th Annual Yield Contest. Kip Cullers of Purdy, MO, had the top overall yield with 117.1 bu./acre using Pioneer’s 94B73 soybean variety and won the contest’s irrigated category. Charles Hinkebein of Chaffee, MO, won the conventional category with a yield of 109.3 bu./acre using Asgrow’s 4903 soybean variety. Hinkebein also claimed top honors in the No-Till category with a yield of 92.3 bu./acre using Pioneer’s 94M30 soybean variety. - Corn & Soybean Digest

With a sole mission of representing the voice of U.S. soybean farmers through advocacy and policy, the new U.S. Soybean Federation (USSF) was announced by founding farmer-leaders last Friday.

"This is a challenging time for everyone in our country and soybean farmers are no exception," says newly elected USSF President Lance Peterson, a soybean farmer from Underwood, MN. "We need an organization like USSF that will have no other focus than to fairly, vigorously and effectively represent the voice of all U.S. soybean farmers in the federal legislative process." - Corn & Soybean Digest

University of Minnesota (U of M) Extension will host the fifth annual Conservation Tillage Conference Jan. 28-29, 2009, at Jackpot Junction, 39375 County Hwy. 24, Morton, MN.

A Systems Approach is the theme of this year’s conference. The program is designed to help experienced producers improve their conservation skills by learning about new technologies and management practices while also reducing production costs. The program is also designed for farmers who are looking to adopt conservation tillage practices and for agriculture professionals who work with producers practicing conservation tillage. Participants will take home hands-on knowledge in nearly every aspect of conservation tillage. - Corn & Soybean Digest

The year 2008 was a good year for the advancement of agriculture technology and innovation. Farm Industry News keeps up with the ever evolving world of agriculture invention, and recently they named their top new products for year 2008. Sixteen new products published in Farm Industry News during the past 12 months earned the FinOvation Award. The awards go to the most innovative products coming to the market, based on readers’ interest. Check out the winners. - Farm Industry News

Had Barack Obama possessed a magic crystal ball more than two years ago when he started his run for the presidency, and could have foreseen the mess he would inherit come Jan. 20, 2009, he might well have run screaming for the exits.

Why, one might wonder, would anybody in his right mind want to take over such a screwed-up government, an economy in tatters, a too-long-neglected infrastructure, a banking/financial system in chaos, the pillars of American corporatedom lining up to beg for government handouts, millions of jobs vanished into thin air, and public confidence in leadership at record lows?

It’s somewhat like the wry observation of the guy whose job it is to trail behind the elephants at the circus with a pooper-scooper: Hey, it’s all showbiz. - Hembree Brandon, Farm Press Editorial Staff

For 2009, Syngenta Seeds is expanding its Agrisure line-up with 91 new corn hybrids. Included are 44 hybrids featuring the Agrisure 3000GT triple stack, the first triple stack with no history of yield drag, the company says. Hybrids with the Agrisure 3000GT trait stack help growers launch maximum yield performance while providing the flexibility to choose management practices that fit their needs, Syngenta says. Agrisure 3000GT hybrids protect against corn borer and corn rootworms, and provide tolerance to in-season applications of either glyphosate herbicides such as Touchdown herbicide brands, or glufosinate herbicides such as Liberty or Ignite brands.

The ethanol industry will need to “attack the blend wall” this year, meaning to maximize E10 blends all across the country, reports Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president Bob Dinneen. He also says the industry will need to keep working with automakers to expand E85 in flexible fuel vehicles and open more refueling stations. - Farm Industry News

U.S. cotton producers may be taking it on the chin in the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round, but it might be even worse if they didn’t have strong, articulate spokesmen to defend them. That’s the impression farm editors took away from listening to National Cotton Council Chairman Larry McClendon lay out the organization’s position on the Lamy text. The NCC is concerned the Lamy text, which calls for more drastic cuts in U.S. farm programs, could be the starting point when the Round resumes. McClendon, an Arkansas producer and ginner, gave an update on the current status of the negotiations and fielded questions during an hour-long press briefing at the Council’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences in San Antonio. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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