ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
|
|
Logan
Hawkes
09/21/05
Crop News Weekly
Welcome to the Fall Season! We're just one day
out from the autumnal equinox, yet once again all eyes are focused on
the Gulf of Mexico where yet another serious tropical system - this time
named Rita - churns up the water and barrels down on the central coast.
In case you haven't noticed, wholesale gas prices have already risen in
the wake of the storm out of fear that Gulf oil platforms could be
damaged or at least production shut down. Increases are being felt at
the pump with the promise of higher costs in the days ahead. Agriculture
producers from central Louisiana to South Texas are bracing for another
bout with serious weather. Texas Governor Rick Perry has recalled Texas
National Guardsmen on duty in storm ravaged Louisiana and officials are
calling for evacuations in Galveston. Hold on to your hats, it appears
it's going to be another wild ride.
Elsewhere in the news, Asian Soybean Rust continues it's trek across the
Southland, the latest update on counter-cyclical payments for soybeans,
an assessment of agricultural problems created by Hurricane Katrina, a
look at the latest legislative developments on Capital Hill, a fresh
look at the benefits of precision farming and learning how to help
counter sky-high fertilizer prices.
You'll find these stories and more in this issue of Crop News
Weekly. Happy reading - and good luck to us all through the
storm!
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Right now, when you buy Cruiser®Maxx® Pak and Cruiser
Extreme™ Pak, we'll give you cash back to start the cycle. $2.50 a
bag,* to be exact. And, come harvest time, you'll reap what you sowed
and see increased yields, which lead, in turn, to more cash. Simple. To
find out how you can cash in on the Bean Counter Bonus Program™.
Visit
http://www.beancounterbonus.com
or your local seed supplier.
|
|
|
|
Katrina
crop damage at $900 million
09/20/05
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has released a
preliminary assessment of U.S. agricultural production losses due to
Hurricane Katrina in the Mid-South and drought in the eastern Corn Belt.
The report estimates hurricane-related losses to be nearly $900 million.
"Given the severity of the hurricane, the agricultural losses could have
been much greater," Johanns said. "With that said, there is a long road
ahead for many of our producers who face infrastructure and long-term
losses not accounted for in this assessment. USDA is committed to
supporting producers throughout long and short term recovery." - from
Farm Press Daily
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Cruiser Extreme Pak
Cruiser Extreme Pak, a seed company-applied combination of two
separately registered products, offers corn growers superior protection
against a broad spectrum of early-season insect pests, as well as
enhanced disease protection against all four major fungal groups.
Cruiser Extreme Pak allows corn to get off to a fast, vigorous start,
resulting in enhanced yield potential. Visit http://www.cruisercorn.com to
learn more.
|
|
Counter-Cyclical
Payment update
09/19/05
The continued strength in the soybean market during
most of the spring and summer months has made it certain that the
advance counter-cyclical payment (CCP) that producers received last fall
and winter on the 2004 soybean crop will be required to be repaid after
October 1, 2005. Soybean producers were eligible to receive an advance
CCP of $0.091 per bushel in October, 2004, and another $0.091 per bushel
in February 2005, on soybeans produced in 2004. This was based on a
projected national average soybean price of $5.10 per bushel on the 2004
soybean crop at both times, and an estimated total CCP of $.26 per
bushel. The maximum total CCP is $0.36 per bushel. The preliminary
estimated "national average soybean price" through August for the
2004-2005 crop marketing year was estimated at $5.74 per bushel. This
means that no CCP would be earned on the 2004 soybean crop. - by Kent
Thiesse, The Corn & Soybeam Digest
|
Special
Report II: The Katrina Ripple
09/19/05
The Road Warrior of Agriculture writes: "How
many of you have ever thrown a stone in a farm pond on a lazy summer
day? You see a big splash and then a series of ripples radiating out
from the center. Well, that is a close analogy to the "Katrina Effect"
in the next six months to five years in the United States and world
economy.
Let's assess the impact on agriculture and the general economy here and
abroad. The initial splash is being felt nationwide with higher gasoline
and diesel fuel prices, particularly with harvest in the Midwest going
into full swing..." - by Dave Kohl, The Corn & Soybean Digest
|
ADVERTISEMENT
CruiserMaxx Pak
A commercially applied combination of two separately registered
products, Cruiser® seed treatment insecticide and an ApronMaxx®
brand seed treatment fungicide, Cruiser®Maxx® Pak offers
soybeans growers first-class protection. It protects against a broad
spectrum of seed and foliar-feeding insects and all major seed- and
soil-borne disease pathogens providing soybean growers with better plant
stands, vigor, quicker canopy and higher yields. Visit http://www.cruisermaxxpak.com
to learn more.
|
|
Precision
farming could add dollars
09/16/05
An extra $100 per acre for a cotton crop would be
nothing to sneeze at. And with the cotton market stuck in the doldrums,
most farmers will look at anything that offers a better chance to make a
profit. With precision farming, "The question we have to answer is,
what's it worth to a farmer?" says Tim Sharp, program chairman for a new
precision farming initiative in Oklahoma. "We have to show value to
farmers." Sharp, who is counting on doing that as he takes what he
learned from years in Tennessee and applies it to Southwest growing
conditions. He has been on the job in Oklahoma since February and has
recruited farmer cooperators to enroll fairly large chunks of cotton
acreage in his research program. - by Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial
Staff
|
News from the Top of the
Hill
09/16/05
Conflicting Price Reporting Bills Passed - The
House of Representatives and the Senate each passed conflicting
mandatory price reporting bills this week. The House passed H.R. 3408,
which reauthorizes the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act for five years.
The Senate passed S. 1613, which would extend mandatory livestock price
reporting for one-year. A coalition including the National Pork
Producers Council, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Meat
Institute, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, National Cattlemen's Beef
Association, and the Sheep Industry Association support a five-year
extension. The current mandatory price reporting law expires Sept.
30.
House Price Reporting Bill Makes Changes on Pork: The House
mandatory price reporting bill includes three provisions that changes
the current price reporting law. They are:
"Including additional sows in the Mandatory Price Reporting System
to more accurately reflect the sales and prices paid in the sow
market;
"Altering report timing for data reporting to even out USDA workload
to increase report accuracy and efficiency; and
"Enabling USDA to publish price distributions for net prices, to
provide more useful information than is currently provided by the price
ranges specified in the current law, while maintaining current
confidentiality requirements."
After passage of the House bill, the National Pork Producers Council
stated: "Mandatory price reporting is a valuable mechanism that allows
producers to make knowledge-based livestock market business
decisions."
Disaster Assistance - Besides legislation to help victims of
Hurricane Katrina, a number of bills have been introduced in Congress
regarding disaster assistance for producers throughout the United
States. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jim Talent (R-MO) introduced
legislation that allows producers in disaster areas to be eligible for
assistance if their losses exceed 35%, including livestock producers.
Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) have introduced "The
Emergency Agriculture Disaster Assistance" legislation. The legislation
is to help crop and livestock producers who have suffered production and
quality losses due to "devastating" weather, plus offers assistance to
producers for rising energy prices. A number of Senators wrote President
Bush last week urging him to include funding for agricultural losses
resulting from Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters in future
emergency appropriations requests. The letter stated, "In addition to
the loss of crops and livestock in the Gulf, damage to the Port of New
Orleans will probably bring about increases in transportation and fuel
costs for producers nationwide. The drought in the Midwest, flooding in
various parts of the country and infestations and livestock diseases
have taken a toll." Those signing the letter were Senators Dick Durbin
(D-IL), Kit Bond (R-MO), Barack Obama (D-IL), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Ken
Salazar (D-CO), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Patty Murray
(D-WA), Mark Dayton (D-MN), Jim Talent (R-MO), Max Baucus (D-MT), and
Byron Dorgan (D-ND).
USDA Predicts Larger Crop - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
earlier this week predicted a larger corn and soybean crop this year.
The corn crop was estimated at 10.639 billion bushels compared to USDA's
August estimate of 10.350 billion. The soybean crop was estimated to be
2.856 billion bushels compared to the August estimate of 2.791
billion.
Pork Producers on Capitol Hill - Over 100 pork producers attended
the National Pork Producers Council's (NPPC) fall legislative conference
in Washington, DC this week. The producers met with their Senators and
Congressmen to discuss mandatory price reporting and voluntary country
of origin labeling (COOL).
R-CALF Seeks Review of Canadian Border - R-CALF has filed a
petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asking the
court for a rehearing of its July 14 order that reopened the U.S. border
for live Canadian cattle under 30 months of age. According to R-CALF,
"Rehearing is appropriate because the panel's decision to reverse
long-standing protections against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
was made without any definitive scientific evidence, it is inconsistent
with several other decisions by the same court, and because it overlooks
or misstates a number of important points of law and facts contained in
the Administrative record." - by Scott Shearer, National Hog
Farmer
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Herb Johnson
Watertown, WI
Farmers used to have 60 bushel beans, but now they're down in the 40s.
We need to get back up in the 60s to be profitable. Otherwise, we should
gamble with corn on corn. Quadris is what we need to take us to the next
level. Farmers need to realize that there's more out there than just
rust.
|
|
Tour Brazil with Corn &
Soybean Digest Magazine
09/21/05
The Corn & Soybean Digest's fourth annual trip to
Brazil is set for Jan.12-25, 2006, and you're encouraged to sign up
before deadline. Greg Lamp, Editor of The Corn & Soybean Digest,
and Clint Peck, Senior Editor of BEEF, will lead the tour
exploring Brazil's tropical ag system and assess its strengths and
weaknesses as a major competitor for international markets. Highlights
include tours of large and small soybean farms, a beef packing plant, an
ag research center and a major international export facility. For more
information or to register: glamp@primediabusiness.com, 952-851-4667 or
Renata Stephens, Capital Travel Solutions, renatas@ctsinc.com,
651/287-4900 or 800/635-5488. A complete itinerary can be viewed on the
CTS website: http://www.ctsinc.com/Brazil2006.pdf.
|
Please,
please buckle up!
09/15/05
Unfortunately, death is a revealing time. More often
than not, memorial services and obituaries are where you learn neat
things about people you did not know before. I did not know Jim Kuhn
well. I had met the 41-year-old farmer as editor of Western Farm Press,
through his involvement in the California Alfalfa and Forage
Association. I also interviewed him several years ago for a story on
Imperial Valley; California alfalfa production; his hay exporting
operation; his dairy and his unique cheese factory. - by Harry Cline,
Farm Press Editorial Staff
|
Farmer-oriented
blueprint increases corn prices
09/16/05
As we saw in an earlier column, although touted widely
as "the" solution to the current international agricultural crisis,
eliminating agricultural subsidies in the U.S. or even in all developed
countries will not result in timely price increases of a magnitude that
could help the world's large population of small farmers who live
primarily in less developed countries.
Subsidy elimination would cause a shift in the mix of crops produced
and, therefore, some relative changes in prices, meaning that some
farmers and countries will be helped and others harmed. But the overall
price impacts are negligible. - by Daryll E. Ray, Farm Press
Editorial Staff
|
Rust
spreads as Southeast soybean crop matures
09/13/05
With Asian soybean rust nipping at its heels, the
Southeast soybean crop is nearing the finish line. As pods fill and
rust-ravaged leaves fall, R-6 designation -- and safety -- can't
come soon enough for producers. The first two weeks of September saw
more discoveries of the disease in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South
Carolina. Soybean rust remains a threat in Alabama but may be slowing.
After a spate of findings in August, the state has announced just one
new case in the last two weeks: a Chilton County sentinel plot. - by
David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff
|
Legumes
help counter sky-high fertilizer prices
As gasoline prices reach for the sky, so do fertilizer
prices. "We're at the point of such high fertilizer prices that people
are going to have to learn how to grow forage legumes and manage them
properly," said Gerald Evers, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
forage management expert at Overton. Because nitrogen fertilizer
production uses natural gas, its price increase is directly linked to
higher fuel costs. Prices for other fertilizers, such as potassium, also
climb as transportation costs from mining sites to the farm contribute
to price increases. As with gasoline prices, the increase has been rapid
and dramatic, Evers said. In mid-July nitrogen -- in the form of
ammonium nitrate was about 40 cents per pound. By mid-August, it was 48
cents per pound. - by Robert Burns, Farm Press Editorial Staff
|
|
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
To Unsubscribe from this newsletter,
click here.
To get this newsletter in a different format (Text, AOL or
HTML),
or to change your e-mail address, please visit your profile page to change your delivery
preferences
For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact our
Customer Service Department at:
US Toll Free: (866) 505-7173
International: (402) 505-7173
or custserv@newsletter.primediabusiness.com
Primedia Business Magazines & Media
9800 Metcalf Avenue
Overland Park, KS 66212
Copyright 2005, PRIMEDIA. All rights reserved. This article is protected
by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may
not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated, transmitted,
displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium
without the prior written permission of Primedia Business Magazines &
Media Inc.
About This Newsletter
You are subscribed to Crop News Weekly as <*email*>
To unsubscribe click Unsubscribe:
To subscribe , click Subscribe
For information on advertising in Crop News Weekly, please contact: Mike Santi.
|
|
|
|
Farm Industry News
Product
of the Week
View and read about the Farm Industry News Product of the
Week.
Click here to visit farmindustrynews.com
Corn & Soybean Digest
Market News
Richard A. Brock
Check out the latest corn and soybean market advice from
marketing guru Richard Brock by visiting cornandsoybeandigest.com
|
|
