USDA: Ample crop supplies
	Gray leaf spot building in corn
	Herbicide shortages frustrating
	Problems implementing farm bill
	Applicators concerned with delays
	Fescue toxicosis breakthrough
	Climate patterns predict corn yields
	Bait lures honey bee threat
	EPA challenged on land use

We're halfway through the month of July and growing conditions range from too dry to too wet, depending on where you farm. However, most producers across the Midwest are reporting overall conditions are good for this time of the growing season.

This week read about USDA's latest report that indicates world supply and demand projections for major crops generally points to abundant crop supplies for the year ahead. Also this week, some parts of Kansas have had recurring problems with gray leaf spot in corn. And at this point in the season, things continue to get more complicated. The weather delays have caused a lot of planting and spraying to be done much later than normal, resulting in all sorts of problems with adjacent crops. Read about these stories and more in this week's issue of Crop News Weekly.

The July 10 USDA monthly report of U.S. and world supply and demand projections for major crops contained a number of changes from a month ago, but generally points to abundant crop supplies for the year ahead, says Darrel Good, a University of Illinois Extension economist.

“For soybeans, the USDA increased its projection of both the domestic crush and exports during the current year by 10 million bushels,” says Good.

Those increases were offset by an increase in the projection of imports and a smaller projection of residual use of soybeans. Year-ending stocks are still projected at 110 million bushels, he says. - Corn & Soybean Digest

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Some parts of Kansas have had recurring problems with gray leaf spot in corn and this year is no exception, according to Doug Jardine, a Kansas State University Research and Extension plant pathologist.

"Recent surveying has indicated that it will be a very good year for gray leaf spot in many of the areas where it has traditionally been a problem," says Jardine. "In the Kansas River Valley, for instance, gray leaf spot has already reached the ear leaf minus two in some continuous-corn fields where the tassel was just beginning to exert itself. On the other hand, southeast Kansas appears to be free of the disease at this time."

Jardine says scouting of fields should be done prior to any fungicide applications. Many of the new hybrids have improved tolerance to gray leaf spot and may not require a fungicide application. - Corn & Soybean Digest

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At this point in the season, things continue to get more complicated. The weather delays have caused a lot of planting and spraying to be done much later than normal, resulting in all sorts of problems with adjacent crops.

A couple of articles ago I wrote that it is often not what you want to recommend but rather what you can get the applicator to put out. With rice, cotton, corn and soybeans all emerged together, most applicators are extremely skittish — rightfully so.

There is perhaps a bigger challenge on the later planted rice now. It may not be so much what you could get put out but what you can find! I am hearing about shortages and spot shortages and these are very frustrating. - Ford L. Baldwin, Practical Weed Consultants, LLC.

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The writing and passage of the 2008 farm bill was hardly a smooth ride. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise the bill’s implementation has been more of the same.

In late June, over a year after the legislation passed, the House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management was told that key farm bill provisions aren’t yet in place. Other provisions — especially one calling for the Internal Revenue Service to be involved in farm program eligibility oversight — are on farm advocacy groups’ collective radar screen. - David Bennett, Farm Press

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Forget the fanciful “24.” Americans should know that the nation’s farmers — their livelihoods and yields in the balance — really do face frequent, ticking time-bomb situations.

Pests are capable of incredibly quick proliferation and fields often need immediate pesticide applications and can’t wait; the spraying needed to be done yesterday.

So what happens if that application can’t be made?

That is a serious concern following a January decision by a three-member panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Since the ruling, farmer and ag-chemical advocacy groups have been in full voice warning that U.S. agriculture is under threat. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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New research from Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their university colleagues is shedding light on the relationship between chemical compounds and fescue toxicosis — a disease that affects grazing animals and costs the U.S. cattle industry an estimated $600 million annually.

Fescue toxicosis is a major problem for producers whose herds graze on tall fescue. A major forage grass in many states, tall fescue can cause toxicosis in cattle and other ruminants if it's infected with endophytic fungus. The disease causes lameness and reduced production efficiency, and can even be fatal if infected animals are subjected to stressful situations, such as extreme heat or long-distance transport. - Laura McGinnis, United States Department of Agriculture

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New mathematical models developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists and colleagues could eventually help farmers use climate patterns to predict corn yields.

Farmers could use this information, which indicates yield cycles of about two years, to adjust their production practices. For instance, crops grown in low-yield years may require less fertilizer.

These adjustments, in turn, could reduce the flow of excess nitrate from crop fertilizers into the surrounding watershed, which may help control hypoxia downstream in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Varroa mites could literally be walking into a trap – thanks to a new attractant developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Gainesville, Fla.

The 1/16-inch long parasite, Varroa destructor, is a top pest of honey bees nationwide, hindering the beneficial insects' ability to pollinate almonds, blueberries, apples, zucchini, and many other flowering crops.

At the ARS Chemistry Research Unit in Gainesville, research leader Peter Teal and colleagues are testing a bait-and-kill approach using sticky boards and natural chemical attractants called semiochemicals.

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If the situation wasn’t so serious, it would almost be funny.

The U.S. economy, by any measurement, is in a heckuva mess. The country has lost 6 million non-farm jobs since 2007. On top of that, gasoline prices have begun moving up again as oil companies take advantage of increased summer driving.

So someone at the Environmental Protection Agency has decided this country’s energy future should be held hostage to Brazilian subsistence farmers who might want to whack down a few more acres of Amazon rainforest. Farm and alternative fuel representatives tried to make nice with EPA during two days of hearings on its Proposed Rule for Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Program June 8 and 9. But their frustration with the agency’s fixation on “indirect land use change” showed through at times. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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