Crop News Weekly: Climate Change Dividing Farm Groups

The dog days of summer have arrived across much of America and, as is so often the case, drought contions have intensified. Growers in Texas, for example, could be facing record crop losses this year if rain doesn't spell relief soon. How this might affect markets in the fall remains to be seen, but all eyes are focused on the possible impact, if any, that could be felt industry wide. In this issue, (and speaking of drought), catch up on the latest about climate change legislation and how farm groups seem divided over the current issue. Elsewhere in the news, the U.S. corn and soybean crops grew larger, while rice production shrank from last month, according to USDA’s July 10 Crop Production Report.

Catch up on all the latest news and issues inside this week's Crop News Weekly. And thanks for dropping in.

The climate change legislation now before the Senate has succeeded in doing something neither the nation’s environmental groups or the Bush administration could do: Create fault lines in the farm bloc.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, H.R. 2454, is drawing decidedly mixed reviews from farm organizations. Some are condemning the bill outright, some seeking significant changes and others are behind it all the way.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has taken dead aim at the legislation, which passed the House by a narrow margin (219-212), with AFBF President Bob Stallman recently characterizing it as “embarking on a fool’s errand,” if the United States tries to go it alone on solving the problem. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff

The U.S. corn and soybean crops grew larger, while rice production shrank from last month, according to USDA’s July 10 Crop Production Report and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.

U.S. corn production for 2009-10 is projected at 12.3 billion bushels, up 355 million from last month due to higher estimated area. Feed and residual use for 2009-10 was raised 50 million bushels while food, seed, and industrial use was lowered 35 million bushels. Expected exports were raised 50 million bushels due to the competitiveness of U.S. supplies in the world market. Ending stocks were projected at 1.6 million bushels, up 460 million from last month, but down 220 million from 2008-09. The 2009-10 marketing-year average farm price for corn is projected at $3.35 to $4.15 per bushel, down 55 cents on both ends of the range.

Global corn ending stocks were projected at 139.2 million tons, up 13.7 million from last month. - Elton Robinson, Farm Press Editorial Staff

Eighty-four percent of consumers rate soy products as healthy, according to the recently completed 16th Annual Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition Study, funded by the soybean checkoff.

That’s good news, as 87 percent of consumers express concern about the nutritional content of the food they eat. The number of concerned consumers has remained consistent over the last 11 years.

“A large number of consumers consider soy to be healthy, particularly as a heart-healthy food,” says Jim Stillman, United Soybean Board (USB) director and a soybean farmer from Emmetsburg, Iowa.

The ailing economy seems to be having an effect on U.S. consumers buying decisions as nearly half (46 percent) report they are unwilling to pay more for healthier foods and 52 percent of those consumers cite the reason as financial. Fortunately, soy is one of the healthy foods that consumers seek out with 30 percent of consumers buying products specifically because they contain soy. Approximately 31 percent of consumers are aware of specific health benefits of soy in their diet.

Some parts of Kansas have had recurring problems with gray leaf spot in corn and this year is no exception, according to a Kansas State University scientist.

"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," said K-State Research and Extension plant pathologist, Doug 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 said 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.

Mike Geske of Matthews, Mo., has been elected to the board of directors of the National Corn Growers Association. Geske was among five board members elected by delegates from state corn associations and checkoff organizations attending the July Corn Congress in Washington.

Geske and his son currently farm 2,100 acres. The farmer from Matthews, which is located in the Missouri Bootheel, is currently serving as president of the Missouri Corn Growers Association and is chairman of NCGA’s Public Policy Action Team.

A group of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) hydraulic engineers are helping to rehabilitate aging small dams across the country.

Efforts are underway to upgrade existing auxiliary spillways or build new spillways for these dams, especially in Oklahoma. These upgraded or new spillways meet current dam safety standards and will increase the useful lives of the dams.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has helped build more than 11,000 earthen dams over the years as part of its Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations Program. These dams serve many purposes, but the primary purpose is flood control. Since the program began in 1944, ARS Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit (HERU) engineers in Stillwater, Okla., have partnered with NRCS in the development of design standards for the dams.

Recently named LSU AgCenter state weed specialist, Bill Williams has stepped into a “common theme” of harder-to-control weeds, “whether in corn, cotton, soybeans, whatever. Teaweed and morning-glory too often get away. And an increasing problem has been with Palmer amaranth and some of the pigweeds. There are certainly resistance issues we’re concerned about.”

While Louisiana’s first official glyphosate-resistant weed is yet to be named, ryegrass is close to having the dubious honor.

In dealing with suspected resistance, “the number one issue is application timing,” Williams said at the recent Northeast Research Center. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

Finding good help seems to be a universal problem in the agriculture industry.

“You can’t find local labor to do the field work,” said John Cromwell, co-owner of Cromwell Farms in Virginia Beach, Va. So eight years ago he began using the federal H-2A program, which offers “a reliable source of (foreign) labor that’s government-approved.” The H-2A program was started in 1986 to allow farmers to hire legal, temporary foreign workers. Cromwell has had the same two workers come from Mexico to help him plant and harvest fruits and vegetables on 60 acres for the past eight years.

This year, however, news of the H1N1 virus broke at the same time his workers were supposed to travel to Virginia. “We had difficulty getting them across the border,” Cromwell said. The embassy where the H-2A workers pick up their passports was closed for several weeks. “We lost several crops because of that,” Cromwell said. But despite the setback, he said hiring H-2A workers is his best option.

EDITOR'S NOTE

FROM OUR EDITORS

advertisement