Crop News Weekly: Changes In Oversight Bill

Harvest woes continue across the Midwest as high moisture and wet fields remain a problem for many. On the brighter side, at least for soybean producers, markets remain strong and if you can get the beans harvested, you may be surprised to find prices are not only holding steady but have improved since early October. With today's volatile markets, that can change quickly of course. But so far so good in spite of weather delays and a slow harvest start. Corn producers are facing moisture problems as well and we're quickly reaching a point where the crop is going to have to come out of the field regardless. None-the-less, a few days of improved weather and we could catch up a great deal, and that's exactly what we're all hoping will happen.

In the news this week, a recent survey indicates corn producers are getting a lot of support in their efforts. Grain markets and ethanol production rank high on the list as factors for the good survey results. Also this week, there have been changes in the market oversight bill. What does that mean for farmers? Find out in this week's special feature. Elsewhere, record October rainfall plus cool weather has increased risk for mold development in corn, and telephone calls to the University of Illinois (U of I) have increased with questions from producers on how to best deal with this risk. You'll find that in this week's offerings below.

Get started below and check out all our features in this issue of Crop News Weekly. And, as always, happy reading.

The substitute addresses jurisdictional issues in the context of swaps by providing for Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction over swaps and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jurisdiction over swaps that are primarily based on securities. These two agencies are required to consult with each other and with banking regulators before regulating.

Prior to passage of a market oversight bill by the House Agriculture Committee last week, committee counsel Andy Baker outlined the changes between it and an earlier version, HR 977, passed in February.

Like 977, said Baker, “the substitute provides for position limits on physical commodities; clearing of over-the-counter (OTC) transactions; increased transparency, recording and record-keeping of offshore trading. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

Prolonged wet weather increases chances that grain crops will sprout before they can be harvested this fall, said a University of Missouri Extension agronomist.

Plentiful moisture and temperatures above 50 degrees are what farmers want after planting in the spring, not before harvest in the fall, said Bill Wiebold, crops specialist. “Sprouting could ruin the grain quality.”

Most years, the corn and soybean crop are harvested and in the bin by mid-October. However, the wettest October in 70 years has stopped most attempts to harvest grain across the state. - University of Missouri Cooperative Media Group

A nationwide survey conducted for the National Corn Growers Association found broad public respect and trust for family farmers and support for corn as food, feed and fuel. Ninety-five percent of those polled find farmers to be trusted messengers on issues such as agriculture, corn products and ethanol – and ethanol itself was supported or strongly supported as a good fuel alternative by 65 percent.

“We expected to see some pretty solid results in this polling, but the final numbers were beyond what we imagined,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a farmer in Hurley, S.D. “This high level of support is gratifying, and it is also a challenge for us to work hard to maintain the trust consumers have placed in us.”

When it comes to uses for corn, support was broad. Ninety-five percent support its use as food for people and 93 percent as livestock feed, while 67 percent support the use of corn as a sweetener and 65 percent, as noted, support corn ethanol. Other uses of corn, such as for fiber and packaging, were supported by 73 percent of those polled.

Arkansans are assessing the damage following an Oct. 30 storm system that dumped more than 5 inches of rain in some areas in 24 hours on top of already saturated ground.

“Rainfall amounts as of this morning are running 3 to 6 inches,” said Brent Griffin, Prairie County Extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, following the storm. “If White and Cache river forecasts hold true, this will put most, if not all, of the high ground under water east of Des Arc on Hwy 38 and north toward Augusta on Hwy 33.”

On Oct. 29, the Cache River at Patterson was at 10.4 feet, above its 8-foot flood stage. By Tuesday, the river is forecast to reach 11.3 feet. - Mary Hightower, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture

After inquiries from farmers about the status of the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program, Delta Farm Press made calls to several state Farm Service Agency offices in the South. SURE is a permanent disaster program administered by the USDA and was created in the 2008 farm bill as a replacement for ad hoc disaster programs.

All FSA employees we spoke with expect a lot of quality losses in 2009. Answers to the most common questions on the permanent disaster program were cobbled together from the short interviews. - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

U.S. farmers and consumers who are trying to figure out what the future holds aren’t getting much help from Washington these days. As a result, they may need to pick out some economic indicators that could help them chart their course.

Ernie Goss, professor of economics at Creighton University in Lincoln, Neb., identified some of those indicators while giving members of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers his take on the current economic outlook at the ASFMRA’s 80th annual meeting in Denver.

“We’re all sitting on the sidelines, trying to figure out what’s happening,” said Goss, a graduate of the University of Tennessee who has held a number of public and private economic positions over the years. “I’ve never seen this much uncertainty over government policy and the national economy.” - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff

The jump in prices of agricultural commodities in 2008 was devastating not only for US dairy and livestock producers—its repercussions could be felt around the world with food riots in many countries and trade restrictions in a number of others. For many, that this crisis could occur at all was a wake up call.

Given recent discussion by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) officials and presenters at the World Food Prize presentation in St. Louis, the crisis and increase in the number of hungry in the world provides an opportunity to promote accelerated growth in agricultural productivity. Many at the meeting either called for or announced future productivity gains.

Ellen Kullman, CEO of DuPont, agrees with FAO that food production needs to double by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing world population. In addition she announced that DuPont expects that corn and soybean yields will increase by 40 percent over the next nine years. - Daryll E. Ray, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee

In early October, the Environmental Working Group released a study titled “Crying Wolf” that focused on what a cap and trade system would mean for farmers’ energy costs.

The study, said an EWG press release, found “projected increased costs of production due to the climate bill will be so small — $0.45 per acre for soybeans, $0.66 per acre for wheat, and $1.19 per acre for corn, for example — that they amount to well under one half of one percent of current production costs.” - David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

Surely, Halloween was not as scary as the 2009 Mid-South growing season.

Our spring was more suited for raising catfish than producing crops, as excessive rains and cool weather delayed planting and created two crops — one late, one early — that would challenge growers all summer long.

July and August deluges put growers in unfamiliar territory during what are traditionally the dog days of summer. Growers found themselves suddenly worried more about getting water off the field rather than getting water on the field. - Elton Robinson, Farm Press Editorial Staff

EDITOR'S NOTE

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