CROP NEWS WEEKLY Penton Media March 25, 2009 VOLUME 9 ISSUE 12 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/cropnewsweekly/v/318 ---------------------------------------- ADVERTISEMENT Callisto(R) herbicide delivers superior, season-long broadleaf weed control with exceptional crop safety, allowing your corn to yield more of its full potential. http://www.farmassist.com/promo/callisto_landing/index.asp?nav=callistoLanding.html ---------------------------------------- EDITOR'S NOTE Logan Hawkes 03/25/09 Spring has sprung and farmers in the South have an early jump on the planting season. In spite of the recent cold snap across the Midwest, early prep is already underway and growers are not far behind in dropping seed as early as possible. Exactly when that might be is still up in the air, but already moist Gulf air is pumping in from the south across much of the middle nation and when the moment arrives, farmers will be ready. In the news this week, the political environment remains up in the air, much the same as the weather these days. There's plenty of talk and a lot of "positioning" going on as the new Administration struggles with the failing economy. Change is in the air for certain, but how and to what degree it will affect agriculture remains to be seen. Also this week, as sure as spring is in the air, the last minute rush is on for the right equipment and implements, for seed, fertilizer and so forth. Will there be plenty of everything to go around? And at what cost? Thanks for joining us this week as we explore these and other issues in Crop News Weekly. Happy reading. ---------------------------------------- ADVERTISEMENT Glyphosate was supposed to be all you needed to control every weed, every time. But resistant weeds like giant ragweed, waterhemp, Palmer pigweed and marestail have proven you need more. The Syngenta Resistance Fighter_ Solutions Module helps you find all the right products to fight resistance in your fields. http://www.resistancefighter.com ---------------------------------------- FROM OUR EDITORS --Corn acreage could exceed projections Low oil prices, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar and record low numbers for the livestock industry all play key roles in determining what price commodities will trade and subsequently how many acres of which crop growers will plant, according to one industry expert. Jim Sullivan, senior vice-president of Informa Economics, says the strengthening of the U.S. dollar is likely to drive corn exports down by as much as 35 percent in 2009. This is a primary reason many analysts have lowered corn acreage projections by 10-12 percent for 2009. - Roy Roberson Farm Press Editorial Staff To view the full article go to: http://southeastfarmpress.com/grains/corn-prices-0324/ --Obama budget breaks contract with farmers? When the Obama administration's fiscal 2010 budget proposals reach Congress, the agricultural portion will likely face a wall of bipartisan opposition. Two senators -- one from each party -- have written a letter to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad asking him to oppose any farm program spending cuts or other attempts to reopen the 2008 farm bill. The letter, drafted by Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln and Kansas Republican Pat Roberts, was signed by four Democrats and 11 Republicans representing states as diverse as Montana and Mississippi. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff To view the full article go to: http://deltafarmpress.com/legislative/budget-contract-0324/ --Proposal could rattle equipment execs John Deere recently introduced a new 120-foot planter that can seed from 90 to 100 acres per hour. The planter, which will be made at the Bauer Built Manufacturing plant in Paton, Iowa, will sell for $345,000. About 80 miles to the southeast, in Ankeny, Iowa, Deere is beginning to build its new 7760 cotton picker. The picker, which packs the cotton into round modules, will list for more than $600,000. I'm not picking on Deere (no pun intended) or Bauer. Case IH is assembling axial flow combines that sell for more than $400,000 to the west in Nebraska and its own Module Express 625 cotton picker in Minnesota. Each bases their pricing on production costs and perceived value in the market place. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff To view the full article go to: http://deltafarmpress.com/legislative/laws-column-0318/ --Drivers of food price run-up continue Despite "remarkable course changes" in the food-versus-fuel debate that occurred in 2008 when oil and many agricultural prices reached record levels, "the key drivers of food prices and their complex interactions remain the same now," according to a new report from the Farm Foundation. The new study by Purdue University economists Phil Abbott, Chris Hurt, and Wally Tyner, updates the July 2008 report, "What's Driving Food Prices". That report attributed the sharp rise in consumer food prices to three major forces. - Hembree Brandon, Farm Press Editorial Staff To view the full article go to: http://deltafarmpress.com/biofuels/food-prices-0324/ --Good sprayer is critical need for no-till Wakita, Okla., farmer Rodney Hern says if after five years of no-till farming he would have had to go back to conventional farming -- he would have just quit. He kept at it and now with 14 years of no-till production under his belt, he's saving a significant amount of money compared to conventional tillage. He figures conventional production would cost almost $52 an acre. His no-till production costs run just over $29. - Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial Staff To view the full article go to: http://southwestfarmpress.com/news/sprayer-critical-0323/ --VeraSun Facilities Sold to Valero, Others VeraSun Energy's selection of Valero Renewable Fuels as the successful bidder for several Midwest ethanol production facilities, confirmed today by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, was noted by farmers concerned about their contracts to provide corn. While the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) expects most 2008 VeraSun contracts to be voided as a result of the auction, it recommends affected farmers confirm this with their local buyers. "We know there are still many questions to resolve about the 2008 corn contracts," says NCGA Chairman Ron Litterer, who is leading an ad-hoc committee of corn farmers to represent the interests of the U.S. corn industry in the VeraSun bankruptcy proceedings. "We are relieved these plants are not being shuttered, and hope that as the economy rebounds improvement will be seen in the ethanol industry and rural America." - Corn & Soybean Digest To view the full article go to: http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/biofuels/0319-farmers-corn-concern/ --Guidance systems aid spray accuracy South-central Kansas farmer Lee Scheufler likes new technology for improving weed control in no-till crop production. "With no-till, chemical weed control is essential," Scheufler said during the No-till Oklahoma Conference in Oklahoma City. "Spraying and sprayers are crucial for success." He, like other farmers on the program, said producers can easily justify owning a sprayer because of the advantage it gives them on timely applications. "A grower can hire spraying done and be successful, but owning a sprayer allows for timing flexibility." - Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial Staff To view the full article go to: http://southwestfarmpress.com/news/reduced-tillage-0324/ --Letter: Office of Rural Policy We recently celebrated National Agriculture Day, honoring the innumerable contributions rural America has made to our country. In Mississippi, rural interests are central to our state's culture and economy. Agriculture is the state's number one industry, and directly and indirectly employs nearly one-third of its workforce. Just like urban areas, rural America faces challenges unique to its communities that require their own set of considerations and solutions. The White House has created an Office of Urban Policy, but it currently lacks a rural counterpart. That's why my colleagues and I who serve on the Congressional Rural Caucus sent a letter to the president calling for an Office of Rural Policy. I recently joined Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., in reestablishing and co-chairing the Rural Caucus, along with Vice Chairs Reps. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Glenn Thompson, R-Pa. The Rural Caucus is comprised of a bipartisan group of members dedicated to addressing the significant challenges that are unique to rural communities today, including education, health care, and telecommunications. Mississippi Reps. Gene Taylor and Bennie Thompson are among the nearly 80 members who currently serve on the caucus. - Congressman Travis W. Childers To view the full article go to: http://deltafarmpress.com/legislative/rural-caucus-0324/ --When an ethanol plant comes to town When a small city or town considers adding an ethanol plant or biorefinery to their community, often times it's the financial and property capital that's counted. But what are the cultural and social effects on the community? That's what University of Illinois Professors Gale Summerfield and Stephen Gasteyer and graduate student Keith Taylor are analyzing in two real-life cases in Illinois. - Corn & Soybean Digest To view the full article go to: http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/biofuels/0310-ethanol-plant/ ---------------------------------------- Enter the Syngenta Field Performance Sweepstakes for a chance to win a prize package designed to bring you performance on and off the field. Click here to tell your own Plant Performance story and get a shot at the ultimate performance experience. Be among the first 50 to respond and you'll also receive an official NCAA Division I college hat featuring the team of your choice http://plantperformance-sweeps.com ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Quilt(R) fungicide combines the Power of Two_ industry leading brands, Quadris(R) and Tilt(R) fungicides, to deliver complete disease protection and help your corn crop reach its full yield potential. Combining preventive and curative activity, Quilt helps improve Plant Performance_ by offering long-lasting residual control of foliar diseases and improved plant physiology. Click here to learn more. www.quilt-fungicide.com ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Monsanto says Harness(R) Xtra provides similar early season weed control to Lexar(R) and Lumax(R) herbicides, at a cheaper price. But comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. For starters, Harness Xtra offers just two active ingredients. Lexar and Lumax, on the other hand, feature three active ingredients, including mesotrione_the heavyweight champion of broadleaf weed control. What's more, they are labeled specifically for long-lasting residual control of broadleaf weeds and grasses--in fact, twice as long as Harness Xtra. Lexar or Lumax is your best opportunity for a one-pass program when used pre-emerge at a full rate. Lumax and Lexar are Restricted Use Pesticides. http://www.farmassist.com/prodrender/index2.asp?nav=resources&ProdId=874&sub=lumax_performance ---------------------------------------- KENT THIESSE ---------------------------------------- NATIONAL AG WEEK National Ag Week is being celebrated March 15-21 all across the U.S., and Friday, March 20, has been designated National Ag Day. It is a good time to reflect on all the traditions and advancements that help make the U.S. agriculture industry second to none! Following are some interesting statistics about today's agriculture industry: The top five agriculture products in the U.S. are cattle and calves, dairy products, broilers, corn and soybeans. The U.S. produces 46% of the world's soybeans, 41% of the world's corn, 20% of the world's cotton and 13% of the world's wheat. http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/kentthiesse/0318-national-agriculture-week/ ---------------------------------------- RICHARD BROCK ---------------------------------------- CHINA'S GRAIN CROP SEEN DOWN The China National Grain and Oils Information Center (CNGOIC) on Friday forecast that China's combined output of major grains will slip for the first time in six years in 2009. China's production of wheat, corn and soybeans is projected to fall, while rapeseed production is seen rising and rice production is seen about unchanged. The government-run think tank projected China's wheat output would fall by 1.3% this year to 111 million metric tons (mmt), despite a slight rise in planting acreage, due to the effects of the drought that gripped major winter wheat producing areas earlier this year. ---------------------------------------- AUDIO/VIDEO FEATURES ---------------------------------------- CRUSHING KNIFE ROLLS FOR CALMER CORN HEADS Crushing knife rolls for Calmer Corn Heads The new crushing knife rolls from Calmer are designed to successfully crush Bt corn stalks so decomposition will occur. You can view the latest video on this and other farm-related topics at FIN-TV - from Farm Industry News. http://farmindustrynews.com/tv/?smte=wl ---------------------------------------- MORE MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS ---------------------------------------- ROAD WARRIOR: MANAGING INFLATION/DEFLATION The worldwide economy is deleveraging, creating a deflationary environment. In this type of environment, cash is king -- even if it returns little in a money market or savings account. This is because cash can purchase more as asset values decrease. Examples are sprouting up everywhere, including housing, real estate and vehicles, as businesses and consumers unload inventory. While this describes the current economic environment, stimulus packages in the U.S. and globally may result in the opposite scenario, that is, an inflationary economy. This may be particularly true if the government opens up its money printing presses, increasing the money supply, which makes federal debt cheaper as the result of inflation. This is freshly minted currency chasing scarce goods, which could result in hyperinflation. http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/davidkohl/0318-money-and-agriculture/ DOUBLING A GENE IN CORN RESULTS IN GIANT BIOMASS University of Illinois plant geneticist Stephen Moose has developed a corn plant with enormous potential for biomass, literally. It yields corn that would make good silage, Moose says, due to a greater number of leaves and larger stalk, which could also make it a good energy crop. The gene known as Glossy 15 was originally described for its role in giving corn seedlings a waxy coating that acts like a sunscreen for the young plant. Without Glossy 15, seedling leaves instead appear shiny and glossy in sunlight. Further studies have shown that the main function of Glossy15 is to slow shoot maturation. Moose wondered what would happen if they turned up the action of this gene. "What happens is that you get bigger plants, possibly because they're more sensitive to the longer days of summer. We put a corn gene back in the corn and increased its activity. So, it makes the plant slow down and gets much bigger at the end of the season." - Corn & Soybean Digest href="http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/corn/0318-corn-biomass/ ---------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER You are subscribed to this newsletter as #email# To subscribe to this newsletter go to: http://subscribe.cropnewsweekly.com/?tc=NLSUB To unsubscribe from this newsletter go to: http://subscribe.cropnewsweekly.com/?tc=NLSUB&cid=#message_id#&lid=#list_id#&email=#email# For information on advertising in Crop News Weekly, please contact: Roger Randall at mailto:roger.randall@penton.com For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact our Customer Service Department at: US Toll Free: 866-505-7173 International: 847-763-9504 or mailto:cropnewsweekly@pbinews.com To get this newsletter in a different format (Text or HTML), or to change your e-mail address, please go to your profile page here: http://subscribe.cropnewsweekly.com/?tc=NLSUB&email=#email# Penton Media | 249 W. 17th Street | New York, NY 10011 Copyright 2009, Penton Media. 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