Logan Hawkes
05/06/09
May has finally arrived and spring planting is well
underway across most of the Midwest and the nation. As any farmer knows,
spring planting is no easy task. But a Chinese-born mechatronics expert
at the University of Illinois says one day farmers will simply program
their equipment, turn it on, and let the machinery do the work while the
producer monitors the operation from a computer console. Sound a little
bit like a Star Trek movie? It might be, but Professor Qin Zhang says
that is what the future holds. Now, if they can just program the
computer to do the thinking!
In the news this week find out what Americans think about farmers; learn
about new soybean research projects; read about the latest in funding
for the 2008 farm bill’s direct payments and export market promotion
programs, and discover how it is global ag subsidies that pose a bigger
problem than U.S. agriculture subsidies. You'll find these stories and
more in this issue of Crop News Weekly. Happy reading.
What do
you think about farmers?
There is more insight now on what consumers think about
America’s farmers thanks to a survey of consumer views on U.S.
agriculture conducted with funding from the United Soybean Board (USB)
and soybean checkoff. The results of this survey, the 2009 National
Agricultural Image Survey, have now been released to the public.
“The survey is an important tool that helps the checkoff develop
effective messaging to promote soy-based, environmentally safe products
and the importance of maintaining animal agriculture,” says Vanessa
Kummer, a USB director and soybean farmer from Colfax, N.D. - Corn &
Soybean Digest
FULL ARTICLE >>
Big
Thinker
University of Illinois Associate Professor Qin Zhang says
that an autonomous tractor can be built today, but at a high cost. Zhang
gives farm equipment a brain. The mechatronics expert at the University
of Illinois grew up in China on a farm, worked in a tractor factory and
studied mechanical engineering in college. He later earned a Ph.D. from
the University of Illinois in ag engineering. He speculates on the
future of smart equipment. Zhang says mechatronics is a combination of
mechanics, electronics and information process. Basically, it is the
technology for automation of equipment. - Karen McMahon and Jodie
Wehrspann, Farm Industry News
FULL ARTICLE >>
Soybean
Checkoff Research Database
Soybean growers are investing in a wide array of research
projects that focus on soybean production and developing new soybean
uses. Now you can see those projects online. Just long on to Soybean
Checkoff Research. You’ll find a database of information on 579
checkoff-funded projects that totals nearly $37 million of soybean
grower support. The database is searchable by research area (keywords),
researcher and funding organization. - Corn & Soybean Digest
FULL ARTICLE >>
advertisement
 The GBU10 Grain Bag Unloader accommodates 9-ft. or 10-ft.
diameter bags and will fill a semi in about seven minutes. It uses
10-in. cross augers and a 17-in. main auger for speedy loading.Grain Bag
Systems by Loftness is your solution for flexible dry grain storage.
Grain Bag Systems by Loftness is your solution for flexible dry grain
storage. Learn more at www.grainbagsystemsbyloftness.com
|
Is ACRE
for you?
Should you participate in the new optional
counter-cyclical program ACRE? Answering the question is difficult,
because of the knowns of the traditional program and unknowns of the
ACRE program, like future commodity prices.
ACRE unknowns are a key reason the Farm Service Agency has extended the
signup deadline from June 1 to Aug. 14.
The Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program begins in crop year
2009 and the program is designed to be an alternative revenue-based
safety net to the price-based safety net provided by the
counter-cyclical payments.
The ACRE program involves state and farm guarantee revenue levels that
can change from year to year depending on national prices, state yields
and farm yields. - Robert Coats and Jeffrey Hignight, Southwest Farm
Press
FULL ARTICLE >>
Conferees
leave safety net intact
House and Senate conferees made no changes in the funding
for the 2008 farm bill’s direct payments or export market promotion
programs when they agreed on a concurrent budget resolution for fiscal
year 2010 Wednesday.
The resolution, which has since been approved by the House and Senate,
turns a deaf ear to Obama administration proposals for eliminating
direct payments to farmers with gross sales of more than $500,000 per
year and capping farm program payments at $250,000 per individual.
Farm organizations continued to voice their opposition to the
administration proposals up to the day House-Senate conference committee
members agreed to the concurrent resolution. The groups, which included
the USA Rice Federation, American Farm Bureau and 36 other
organizations, called the supposed savings in the proposal
“illusory.” - Forrest Laws
Farm Press Editorial Staff
FULL ARTICLE >>
Ag
subsidies common worldwide
Ask an American living in the city about U.S. agricultural
subsidies and he or she is sure to go on and on and about how U.S. farm
policy is destroying the livelihoods of poor farmers around the
world.
But a report from Texas Tech University’s Cotton Economic Research
Institute shows that agricultural subsidies are more the norm rather
than the exception for 21 developing and developed countries studied.
The study focused on seven commodities: corn, cotton, rice, sorghum,
soybeans, sugar and wheat.
Check out the highlights from selected countries in the study which was
released in April. - Elton Robinson, Farm Press Editorial Staff
FULL ARTICLE >>
Missouri
too wet to plant
While farmers wait for dry weather to allow corn planting,
heavy rains in the forecast offer little hope of returning to the fields
in Missouri anytime soon, said a University of Missouri Extension
climatologist.
“There will be too much rain over a good portion of the state in the
coming week,” said Pat Guinan of the MU Extension Commercial
Agriculture Program in a teleconference with regional Extension
agronomists.
“Except for the northern tier of counties, look for 1 to 3 inches of
rain, with more possible in southern counties,” Guinan said. “An
upper-level disturbance over the Great Plains is moving into Missouri,
causing a warm flow of moist air from the south to interact with the
system, bringing significant rainfall.
FULL ARTICLE >>
Soybean
yield bump
Insecticide seed treatments provided a positive return in
Mid-South soybeans nearly 80 percent of the time, according to a
six-year study conducted by Extension entomologists Gus Lorenz of the
University of Arkansas, Roger Leonard of the LSU AgCenter, Scott Stewart
of the University of Tennessee and Angus Catchot of Mississippi State
University.
Several changes in soybean production over the last 10 years have made
insecticide seed treatments a good choice for growers, including changes
in production systems which have impacted the pest spectrum for soybeans
and the adoption of conservation tillage practices “which is very
favorable for soil dwelling insects,” said Lorenz, speaking at a
webinar conducted by Delta Farm Press and sponsored by Syngenta Crop
Protection. - Elton Robinson, Farm Press Editorial Staff
FULL ARTICLE >>
New
strain not found in U.S. swine
Swine flu has not turned up in on-going monitoring of U.S.
swine herds. Besides, the strain of swine flu that has sickened more
than 60 people in the United States and killed or sickened many more in
Mexico has proven to include human influenza and avian influenza genes,
as well as swine influenza genes, according to two Kansas State
University scientists.
"There is no evidence that this swine influenza virus is currently in
the U.S. swine population," said Juergen Richt, veterinary
microbiologist and University Distinguished Professor in the K-State
College of Veterinary Medicine. He added that in the U.S. cases, there
is no evidence that the people affected had any interaction with swine.
Richt said that the H1N1 virus "most likely originated in the swine
population in Mexico."
FULL ARTICLE >>
|
advertisement
Success depends on performance. Late nights, early mornings
and healthy crops aren’t much without the bushels to back it up.
Quilt® and Quadris® give you the Plant Performance™ you need
to control disease while securing higher yields, good returns and an
easier harvest. In a results-oriented business, these are just the
results you need. Click
Here to learn more.
|
AUDIO/VIDEO FEATURES
KENT THIESSE
advertisement
By providing long-lasting, broad-spectrum disease control,
Quilt® fungicide maximizes corn yields. Quilt protects against a
variety of key corn disease, including gray leaf spot – the most
yield-robbing disease in corn. Quilt has increased yields 10-15 bu/A
over the past three years in Syngenta and on-farm trials. Click here to learn
more.
 |
RICHARD BROCK
MORE MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS
QUICK POLL
QUESTION
This week's poll question is simple and straight forward: WHAT IS THE
LATEST YOU HAVE EVER PLANTED CORN?
* Seconf Half of May
* June 1-15
* June 16-20
* June 12-25
* June 26-30
Log on now to the Corn & Soybean Digest and take our quick poll. We
would all like to know your answer! (And check the current results
while you're there)
VOTE NOW
 DOC,
I LOST MY JOB
This title was a comment from an individual in one of my recent
seminars. Unfortunately, these economic times have the headline of this
article ringing true more than I would like to hear. This is
particularly challenging to American agriculture because 70% of all
farms and ranches are dependent upon the wages, benefits and/or wealth
of investment income coming from non-farm sources.
For example, many grain producers are able to work off the farm because
production efficiency and technology allows a large amount of acreage to
be farmed while working part-time. To some, this off-farm income and
wealth has been the avenue to start and grow a farm business. - Dave
Kohl, Corn & Soybean Digest
MORE
ACE
PRAISES OBAMA'S VISIONARY PLAN FOR BIOFUELS
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) today praised President Barack
Obama for the comprehensive and bold action plan for biofuels he
outlined in a memoradum issued today to Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.
ACE is the nation’s largest biofuels advocacy association with nearly
1,500 grassroots members across the country.
“President Obama’s directive ensures that biofuels will be part of
America’s clean energy economy in the future,” says Brian Jennings,
executive vice president of ACE. “The President and his able cabinet
will launch an aggressive timetable, which recognizes that agriculture
will continue to play an integral role in providing income opportunities
and energy security for all Americans.”
MORE
AERIAL
DUSTING PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK
The April issue of Corn & Soybean Digest featured a story about crop
spraying – using a helicopter instead of the usual airplane. The full
story and photos are in the print magazine, but you miss the full effect
online without the photos.
Now you can access the photos on Facebook! If you’re on Facebook,
search “Corn & Soybean Digest” (CSD) and check out the photos tab on
the page. Also, you can become a fan of CSD on Facebook and get access
to magazine and Web site updates, along with photo extras that aren’t
available online.
The CSD Facebook page is viewable to the general public, even if you
don’t have a Facebook account. But we’d love to have you become a
fan if you’re already on Facebook. To access our page, go HERE.
GOOD
NEWS FOR ETHANOL
Ethanol Fans and motor buffs, take note of an automotive research
project just completed at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The
project compared the effects of gasoline, ethanol blended in gasoline at
10% (E10), and a 20% ethanol blend (E20) on eight different automotive
fuel pumps and three sending units. The pumps and units were put through
a 4,000-hour endurance test at the university's Minnesota Center for
Automotive Research.
The results were very positive for ethanol fuels.
First, the researchers reported that it was apparent ethanol fuels kept
the pumps, sending units and test fixtures clean. A grayish-black
residue was found on the parts immersed in gasoline, while the same
items in the E10 and E20 tests were clean. They did note that some pumps
in the E20 test had “light surface corrosion, but not to the extent to
affect their function.” - Karen McMahon, Farm Industry News
MORE
|
advertisement
Win a trip to see how soybeans are grown in Brazil. Enter
the CruiserMaxx® Beans Farmer Swap Sweepstakes and learn firsthand
about the similarities and differences in agricultural practices between
the United States and Brazil. Grand prize is a trip to Brazil where
you’ll tour fields and visit with local growers and experts. Secondary
prizes include trips across the U.S. Enter to win before June 15, 2009,
at CruiserMaxxFarmerSwap.com.
|
|
