No immediate changes for ag sector likely
	FSA streamlining likely to continue
	Corn yield winners double national average
	Ag groups urge end to antitrust exemptions
	The case for alternative fuels
	New tool fertilizes, reduces runoff
	The Big Think
	Nanotechnology for food safety

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Residual control in a glyphosate corn herbicide. Very unexpected. New Halex™ GT gives you everything your current glyphosate does, plus residual weed control. It’s the only herbicide specifically designed to improve your glyphosate corn program whether you grow AgriSure® GT or Roundup Ready® corn. Halex GT stays in the soil to take care of continuously emerging weeds. Its residual control lasts far into the season for better yield potential and a more convenient, more productive glyphosate program. Try Halex GT on your farm and see for yourself.

With the holiday behind us and a new crop year not that far around the corner, farmers across America are preparing their equipment, purchasing materials and supplies, and trying to get the jump on what most everyone hopes is an early planting season. The way the winter weather has been assaulting the Heartland lately though, getting started too early doesn't seem a likely thing. In the meantime, there's plenty of preparations to make. Best luck in getting all your eggs in order.

For those of you just getting back from the holidays, you may notice a very different look to Crop News Weekly. While we're still working the little bugs out, you'll notice there is a lot more substance to each issue. You, our readers, have offered your opinion and input over recent months that inspired us to develop a newsletter more responsive to your requirements, packed full of the kind of news and information you want the most. Thanks for your continued support. Now - dig in and get familiar with the all new Crop News Weekly. Happy reading.

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“Waterhemp is a significant problem in soybeans, and the potential for it to be an even bigger problem is huge. I’ve seen a yield reduction of 40 to 50 bushels per acre when it’s taken over the field. It’s one of those weeds you have to remove from the field—physically remove. If you just pull it up and leave it there, it’ll re-root and remain or gain as a problem.” Ken Dahlenburg, grower, central Illinois. Learn more at www.resistancefighter.com

Likelihood of the next U.S. Congress making a mad dash to renegotiate the farm bill passed last summer is remote, but that doesn’t mean agricultural interests can afford to let their guard down says Representative Mike Conaway, R-Texas. Conaway said during the 2008 presidential campaign, “we did not hear much about ag policy.”

He does foresee some changes in trade policy. “I expect relations with Cuba to be relaxed,” he said. “But I don’t expect NAFTA to be renegotiated.” - Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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Farm Service Agency Administrator Teresa Lasseter said streamlining the agency will continue under the Obama administration, with fewer offices available to serve ranchers and farmers across the country.

“Given the budget situation today, along with the changes and complexity of farm programs and needs for the future, we no longer have the luxury of having an FSA office in every county,” Lasseter said during the recent Texas Commodity Symposium, held annually in conjunction with the Amarillo Farm Show.

Lasseter said Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Nebraska and Kentucky had taken the “lead in streamlining FSA. There is more to be done across the country." - Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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Corn growers shattered yield records in a year beset with weather problems, using innovative production techniques and improved seed varieties to achieve top numbers in the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) 2008 National Corn Yield Contest. Not only was the number of entries (6,725) higher than ever before, and double the number in 2006, but several entrants scored yields of more than double the estimated national average.

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For much of 2008, corn, soybean and wheat farmers were on the receiving end of a continuous barrage of bad publicity from a campaign that appeared to be mounted by the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Somehow, food processors and manufacturers and the oil companies seemed to escape the criticism although grocery prices have remained high long after grain and oil prices fell to levels half what they were last spring.

Another group that seems to have escaped consumer anger — the nation’s railroads — is now bearing the brunt of a campaign aimed at ending its antitrust exemptions. The campaign is being mounted by such members of Congress as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and farm and agricultural supply organizations. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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Low gas prices should not be the end of alternative energy programs. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was quoted saying, “basing our energy priorities on this ever-fluctuating price (gas prices) would be foolish. With so many global unknowns, we need to take ownership over our nation’s energy future and capitalize on the domestic resources that we can guarantee.”

If we neglect energy policy and the promise of biofuels and other renewable energy developments now, we will again pay the price of our addiction to oil. We need to capitalize much further on biofuels, particularly cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, than relying too much on domestic oil reserves that are non-renewable. - Farm Industry News

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A new field tool developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists applies poultry litter to fields in shallow bands, reducing runoff of excess nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen. The tool, developed by ARS agricultural engineer Thomas R. Way and his colleagues at the agency’s National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, Ala., offers a solution. The tool digs shallow trenches about 2 to 3 inches deep in the soil. It then places the poultry litter in the trenches and covers it with soil. Burying the litter significantly reduces the risk of runoff.

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When Mike Boehlje speaks, people listen. The distinguished professor in agricultural economics at Purdue University has spent his career watching and analyzing agriculture. Today, Boehlje focuses his attention on helping growers and producers position their businesses and themselves for long-term success. - Farm Industry News

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A microscopic biological sensor that detects Salmonella bacteria in lab tests has been developed by an Agricultural Research Service scientist and university colleagues. The sensor could be adapted to detect other foodborne pathogens as well.

The sensor is part of an evolving science known as nanotechnology — the study and manipulation of materials on a molecular or even atomic level, measured in billionths of a meter, which is about 10 to 100 times thinner than a human hair.

There are examples of biosensors in nature. Insects detect tiny amounts of sex pheromones in the environment and use them as a beacon to find mates. And fish use natural biosensors to detect barely perceptible vibrations in the surrounding water.

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