Soy rust: 'eye-opening' speed
	CSP deadline extended
	EPA's indirect land use rules challenged
	Field narrows for biofuel cover crops
	Rain keeps corn in fields
	Markets: all eyes on weather
	Center releases annual PACE statistics
	Cap and trade: AFBF's thoughts
	Updating the Clean Water Act
	Financial guru to address AFBF meeting
	A very successful corn operation
	Asia conference leads to $392 million in ag sales
	Biodegradable sub for polystyrene

Across much of the Midwest corn continues to mature as some harvesting has started in a few southern areas of the corn belt, but the bigger picture indicates harvest could be well behind schedule in most areas. Growers remain hopeful the fall season will be slow to arrive.

Of growing concern is the rapid spread of Soybean rust. Since early September, Asian soybean rust has been very active in Arkansas. The weather — a long string of rainy, cloudy days — has been “perfect” for disease to develop. In other news, USDA has extended by 30 days (to Oct. 28) the public-comment period for the Conservation Stewardship Program’s (CSP) interim final rule (IFR). USDA also has extended the public comment period for the IFR Environmental Analysis and Finding of No Significant Impact until Oct. 28. And three Midwest senators have now introduced legislation that would prevent EPA from penalizing U.S. corn and soybean growers for land use changes or potential land clearing for increased biofuel production in other countries.

You'll find these stories and more in this issue of Crop News Weekly. Happy reading.

Since early September, Asian soybean rust has been very active in Arkansas. The weather — a long string of rainy, cloudy days — has been “perfect” for disease to develop, says Rick Cartwright, Extension plant pathologist with the University of Arkansas.

“It’s developing extremely rapidly where it’s present — and it is present in almost all of Arkansas, now. The only exception may be the southwest corner of the state. It’s been found on the western border, the Arkansas River Valley and all the way up the Missouri line.”

Have there been any changes in fungicide recommendations?

“We’re still saying if you’ve got late beans in growth stage 5.5, or younger, then spray them with a triazole fungicide. Once the beans are past growth stage 6 — where the beans are touching in the pods — we give up spraying, pretty much, under the assumption the crop will outrun any damage. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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USDA has extended by 30 days (to Oct. 28) the public-comment period for the Conservation Stewardship Program’s (CSP) interim final rule (IFR). USDA also has extended the public comment period for the IFR Environmental Analysis and Finding of No Significant Impact until Oct. 28.

The deadline for the CSP’s first sign-up and ranking period is Sept. 30. More program details are available at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service CSP Web site.

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Three Midwest senators have introduced legislation that would prevent EPA from penalizing U.S. corn and soybean growers for land use changes or potential land clearing for increased biofuel production in other countries.

Sens. Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley of Iowa and Ben Nelson of Nebraska said EPA’s proposed rulemaking for implementing the so-called Renewable Fuel Standard 2 or RFS2 would limit the U.S. production and use of biofuels required in the energy bill passed by Congress in 2007.

Their legislation, a proposed amendment to the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations bill would prohibit the EPA, for one year, from spending funds to include international indirect land use change emissions in the implementation of the RFS. Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist is looking for cover crop perennials that provide the best balance in biofuel production between agronomic success and environmental sustainability.

This work is being supported by the Sun Grant Initiative, a national network of land-grant universities and federally funded laboratories working together to study, produce, and commercialize renewable, biobased energy technologies.

ARS agronomist Jeremy Singer, who works at the National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, is conducting this research as part of a three-component study of optimizing corn cultivation for biofuel production. He’s evaluating perennial grass crops to assess their potential for mitigating soil erosion and enhancing soil organic matter even in fields where every bit of corn and stover--stalk, leaves and all--is harvested either for grain or cellulosic ethanol production. - Ann Perry, United States Department of Agriculture

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Nearly 80 percent of Mississippi’s corn crop is safely in storage, and the remaining acres are ready for harvest but stuck in wet fields getting rain-drenched for days.

Erick Larson, grain crops agronomist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the corn harvest is largely complete in the southern part of the state, including the south Delta. However, the corn in the northern areas of the state was planted later and most remains in the fields.

“All the corn is mature,” Larson said. “Corn is naturally protected somewhat from rainfall if the ears tip over after the plants reach physiological maturity. Not all ears do that, and the number of ears tipping over can vary substantially from field to field. If it doesn’t tip over, water can collect and the husk holds it in the ear.” - Bonnie Coblentz, MSU Ag Communications

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Crop water use in the Delta and Mid-South has dropped below 0.1 inch, telling us that crops are drying down. Continued rain is adversely affecting yields and quality especially in rice and cotton. Rain and warm temperatures in the Corn Belt are price bearish with increased production potential.

September hog herds were the smallest in three years. Profits are not expected to return to the pork producers before May 2010. Use of feed grains will likely be lower than normal. Market traders are again considering inflation effecting commodity prices.

The global economic recovery is accelerating. Traders are worried about inflation and that supports prices. - Ray Nabors, Heartland Ag Network

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According to new statistics released by American Farmland Trust's Farmland Information Center, local farmland protection efforts slowed in 2008, likely due to record high land values. The statistics were generated from a nationwide survey of 77 independent "purchase of agricultural conservation easement" (PACE) programs in 19 states. PACE programs pay farmers and ranchers to permanently protect their land with conservation easements that limit future development and keep farmland available for agriculture.

The survey found that communities spent more than $277 million to protect 15,492 acres of farm and ranch land in 2008. Although locals spent 77 percent more than they did in 2007, they protected 67 percent fewer acres and acquired 46 percent fewer easements.

Next year's news may be worse. Although land values have decreased, the economic downturn and local budget shortfalls have impacted funding for farmland protection. According to respondents, available program funds are down 18 percent for fiscal year 2009, and state and federal matching funds for agricultural easement acquisitions may be harder to come by.

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After passing the House, a cap and trade bill continues to be hotly debated in the Senate. Competing analyses on the complex legislation have been released in recent weeks and, depending on the conclusions drawn, touted by proponents and naysayers of the proposed carbon sequestration plan and market.

Count the American Farm Bureau Federation amongst the legislation’s naysayers. Bob Young, AFBF chief economist, spoke with Delta Farm Press just before Congress returned from summer recess. The AFBF believes the proposed legislation is flawed in multiple ways and, among other deleterious effects if enacted, will mean increased input costs for farmers in coming decades. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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The authority to regulate every pond and puddle — that’s how many agricultural interests see proposed changes in the Clean Water Act.

While the act, passed in 1972, has been described as one of the great legislative success stories for helping to clean up some of the worst pollution excesses of previous decades (including a river so badly contaminated that it caught fire), a bill (S.787) that would broaden its scope has caused worries in the farm community.

The sticking point centers on the removal of the requirement that waters subject to federal regulation be “navigable” or connected to navigable waters.

Taking that term out of the legislation “would bring about the largest expansion” of the Clean water Act since it was passed nearly 40 years ago, says Don Parrish, water quality specialist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. - Hembree Brandon, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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Peter Ricchiuti, assistant dean of Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business and a nationally known expert on financial markets, will speak Jan. 11, during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2010 annual meeting.

Ricchiuti will speak during a conference hosted by the American Agricultural Insurance Company.

Ricchiuti’s presentation will be one of the highlight conferences slated to run during AFBF’s 91st annual meeting, Jan. 10-13 in Seattle. More than 5,000 Farm Bureau members from across the nation will gather to learn about the issues shaping agriculture today and participate in a grassroots policy setting process that will guide AFBF through 2010. AAIC, headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., is a direct provider of reinsurance to Farm Bureau insurance companies.

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Ample rainfall and a fertility program designed to maximize yield and good hybrids could make for a pleasant ride on the combine this season for Triple G Farms in Arlington, Ky. As of late July, their corn crop was shaping up to potentially be one of their best ever.

Triple G Farms is a three-way partnership between Bobby Grogan and his sons, Darren and Brian. They farm 11,000 acres of corn and soybeans, divided roughly in half and rotated each year.

This is the first year in a long time that the farm has not planted wheat. “We took a look at our input costs at the time and with the yield drag you typically get in double-cropped beans, we couldn’t make it work,” said Brian. “But that very well could change.” - Elton Robinson, Farm Press Editorial Staff

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1.4 million metric tons of U.S. agricultural products, valued at $392 million, were sold and/or negotiated at the 6th Annual Southeast Asia U.S. Agricultural Cooperators Conference, held in Cebu, Philippines, earlier this month.

Sales of U.S. corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product of U.S. ethanol production, totaled 263,000 tons, valued at approximately $34 million, a 27 percent increase from the 2008 conference. The conference was jointly hosted by the U.S. Grains Council and the American Soybean Association.

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Rigid, custom-fit foam pieces like those that keep computer monitors firmly in place inside cardboard boxes during shipping could be made with eco-friendly starch from potatoes, wheat or corn, instead of from petroleum, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research plant physiologist Gregory M. Glenn.

Opting for starch in place of petroleum-derived polystyrene would lessen America’s dependence on petroleum.

Glenn works at the ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif. For nearly two decades, he has been developing and patenting innovative, “green” techniques for transforming commonplace plant starches — like the silky white cornstarch kept in kitchen cupboards everywhere — into convenient, biodegradable foamed goods like shipping liners, dinnerware and more.

Co-inventor Simon K. Hodson collaborated with Glenn in developing two recent technologies. Both approaches yield strong, durable, and versatile biofoams that look like familiar polystyrene foam goods. Like those conventional foams, the biofoams can be manufactured to a range of densities and can be die-cut or molded into a seemingly limitless array of shapes, sizes and thicknesses.

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