Crop News Weekly: Guide Shows Soybean Damage

A few days of drier weather have resulted in harvest getting into full swing across the Midwest finally, though corn reports indicate a great deal of moisture in most areas and many fields remain on the wet side. Many farmers are expressing concern that this year's harvest may have been delayed longer than most in recent history and that the work ahead will require long hours and a degree of cooperation from the weather in order to finish before the deeper winter sets in.

In the news this week, hats off to David Wright, director of contract research and strategic initiatives for the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), who was presented with the Henry A. Wallace award last week. Also, Billionaire Bill Gates has joined the ranks of those calling for the need of GM crops worldwide to address global hunger. Elsewhere, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has launched the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Vilsack outlined his vision for addressing some of the world's major challenges over the coming decades.

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

David Wright, director of contract research and strategic initiatives for the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), was presented with the Henry A. Wallace award on Friday, Oct. 16.

The award is presented by the Iowa State University (ISU) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences annually to honor an Iowa State University alumnus who has made an outstanding contribution to national or international agriculture. Selection is made by the dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“David has built an incredible reputation for soybean improvement for Iowa,” says Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “With his leadership in research and strategic initiatives for the Iowa Soybean Association, he collaborates with researchers to provide the best long-term and short-term benefits for producers. When Asian soybean rust became a threat, he was one of the first to address the threat and work with Iowa State University to prepare producers. The resulting innovative training program became the foundation for similar programs in more than 20 soybean-producing states.” - Corn & Soybean Digest

If African farmers and the world’s hungry are to climb out of their misery and become more productive citizens, technology will have to pave the way, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates says.

Gates, giving the keynote address at the World Food Prize’s Norman Borlaug Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, Thursday said Borlaug, universally recognized as the father of the Green Revolution, made a difference by using technology to increase food production. Borlaug died Sept. 12 at age 95.

“His passing is cause for sadness, but his life should make us optimistic,” said Gates. “In the middle of the 20th century, experts predicted famine and starvation, but they turned out to be wrong — because they did not predict Norman Borlaug.” - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff

Inconsistencies in soybean grading last year led the state’s soybean industry to take steps to educate producers and grain elevator staff on how to determine the kind and amount of damage soybeans have. Industry supporters developed the Mississippi Soybean Producer’s Field Guide to Soybean Damage as a handy, pocket reference for producers.

These educational tools were funded and organized by a group effort. Supporters were Mississippi Farm Bureau, the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board, the Mississippi State University Extension Service, Delta Council and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

“Growers may benefit the most from the guide because it displays color pictures of the most common types of factors resulting in damage to our soybean crop on an annual basis,” says Trey Koger, Mississippi Extension soybean specialist. - Corn & Soybean Digest

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has launched the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) with a major speech regarding the role of science and research at USDA.

At an event at the National Press Club with John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology, Vilsack outlined his vision for addressing the some of the world's major challenges over the coming decades.

"The opportunity to truly transform a field of science happens at best once a generation. Right now, I am convinced, is USDA's opportunity to work with the Congress, the other science agencies, and with our partners in industry, academia, and the nonprofit sector, to bring about transformative change. We can build on recent scientific discoveries — incredible advances in sequencing plant and animal genomes, for example. We have new and powerful tools — biotechnology, nanotechnology, and large-scale computer simulations — applicable to all types of agriculture."

"These discoveries and tools come not a moment too soon. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization predicts that food production will need to double by 2050 to meet demand, and this has to happen in an environment where our production system already is under threat. For every one degree increase in temperature from global warming, we expect a 10 percent drop in yields. Water is in increasingly short supply in the U.S. and abroad for drinking, for irrigation, and for livestock production. Climate change already is disrupting farming and grazing patterns and food production, and not just overseas — many sectors of the U.S. agricultural economy are exceptionally vulnerable to climate stress.

Weather is driving market prices as cotton, corn and soybean yield estimates and quality potential drops. The freeze in the Corn Belt put an abrupt stop to this growing season. Continuous harvest delays from rain from the Corn Belt to the Delta make yields uncertain. Short-term supplies are tightening as farmers cannot get production from field to market.

September cattle placements increased 3 percent. That is three months in a row of increased cattle on feed. Marketing totals are anticipated to be down 2.7 percent this month. Market cattle use will increase the rest of the year and exceed last year’s use during the first quarter of 2010. Pork bellies in storage are 39.84 million. That is the second highest number since 1970. Feed demand is slowly improving.

Alternative energy use has doubled on farms. Farms using alternative energy sources are up to 11 percent and that percentage is growing rapidly. - Ray Nabors, Heartland Ag Network

According to Rabobank’s bi-annual Farm & Ranch Survey, the use of alternative energy sources doubled to 11 percent since the last survey was released in April.

“By using alternative energy, U.S producers have found that they can reduce their costs while minimizing their impact on the environment,” said Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory Executive Director Michael Whitehead.

Additionally, the survey found 64 percent of farmers have taken steps toward sustainable agriculture. For example, U.S. producers are using direct seeding (64 percent), minimizing the use of chemicals (42 percent), and using water conservation practices (22 percent). - Corn & SoybeanDigest

University of Missouri scientists have played a key role in developing new technology that takes the guesswork out of deciding how much nitrogen to apply to crops. The technology has the potential to keep money in farmers’ pockets and help protect the environment. With “on-the-go sensing,” optical sensors mounted in front of a tractor or fertilizer applicator measure the color and size of plants. An on-board computer uses this data to control the rate that fertilizer is released as the farmer drives through a field.

USDA will not issue final 2008 counter-cyclical payments to farmers enrolled in the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program for peanuts, corn, grain sorghum, soybeans and oats because average commodity prices remain above levels that trigger these payments.

USDA began issuing payments for upland cotton this week.

The final counter-cyclical payment rate for upland cotton is 12.58 cents per pound — the statutory maximum level. Producers who received a partial payment will receive 7.55 cents per pound, the final rate of 12.58 cents less the partial payment rate of 5.03 cents per pound.

The 2008 farm bill requires 2008 final counter-cyclical payments to be paid as soon as practical following the end of the marketing year, but not sooner than Oct. 1.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the approval of a $17.4 million loan to Greensburg Wind Farm, LLC, to provide financing for the 10 wind turbine project that will supply power to the community of Greensburg, Kan. This investment is consistent with the Obama administration's efforts to create new, green jobs in rural America and generate clean, renewable energy.

"This project will not only enhance our country's long-term energy security by producing clean, renewable energy, but also create green jobs and generate income in the local community," said Vilsack. "As the Obama Administration continues working to rebuild and revitalize rural America, Greensburg stands out as an example of the promise and potential in communities throughout the country."

Worldwide, 25 percent of food — and in some case 50 percent — never reaches consumers because it spoils or is mishandled after harvest.

One way to advance food security and feed the hungry is to reduce these losses, said Philip Nelson, the speaker at the 2009 D.W. Brooks Lecture held in Athens, Ga.

Presented by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the program is named in honor of Gold Kist Inc. founder D.W. Brooks. - Stephanie Schupska, University of Georgia

EDITOR'S NOTE

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