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Logan
Hawkes
01/23/08
Crop News Weekly
As the race for the White House heats up,
farmers are not being shy about voicing their support for farm
legislation and issues that effect American agriculture. A recent
national survey by the Pew Research Center produced some interesting
findings regarding public opinion on free trade agreements and the World
Trade Organization. Some 44 percent of the respondents said they feel
the agreements are good for the country; 35 percent believe the pacts
have hurt the United States. According to another recent survey, farm
issues are the number one concern for rural voters, most of which
believe farm legislation has taken a back seat this election year.
In the news this week, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin
Peterson says he's been having "frank" discussions with Acting
Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner regarding the 2008 farm bill.
Peterson and Conner reportedly have met five times since Christmas. Also
this week, supplies of nitrogen fertilizers, as well as phosphorus and
potassium fertilizers, are tight throughout the United States, making
this the time to plan ahead, a Kansas State University agronomist said.
In fact, it is currently difficult to buy fertilizer nitrogen for winter
wheat topdressing and/or this spring´s row crops unless the supply
has already been lined up. Elsewhere, has the drive for more corn acres
to produce ethanol caused a spike in U.S. food prices? Despite a year's
worth of noise backing such a connection, new analysis by Informa
Economics has found the claims dubious. And finally, members of the
nation's largest farm organization are asking Congress and the Bush
administration to quickly enact a comprehensive new farm bill that
maintains an adequate safety net for farmers and ranchers. Delegates to
the American Farm Bureau Federation's 89th annual meeting passed a
"sense of the delegate body" resolution urging a swift conference by
House and Senate members to reconcile the differences in the farm bill
versions passed by the two chambers.
Read about these stories and more in this issue of Crop News
Weekly. Happy reading.
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5.5 bu/A in more than 1180 Syngenta and university research trials. For
more information on Quadris fungicide, please visit www.quadrissoybeans.com.
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Playing with
fire on veto threat?
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson
says he's been having "frank" discussions with Acting Agriculture
Secretary Chuck Conner regarding the 2008 farm bill. Peterson and Conner
reportedly have met five times since Christmas. That's commendable, but
farmers want more than frank words. They want a farm bill in time for
putting in the 2008 crops. The new law was the prime topic at the
Beltwide Cotton Conferences in Nashville and at the American Farm Bureau
Federation annual meeting in New Orleans. AFBF President Bob Stallman
sounded the call the nation's largest farm organization will be making
when a House-Senate conference committee convenes, possibly by the end
of January. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Rogers
appointed to AFB executive committee
Arizona Farm Bureau president Kevin Rogers, Mesa,
Ariz., has been appointed to the executive committee of the American
Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), a six-member executive committee
representing the largest voluntary agriculture organization in the
United States. Rogers is a cotton, hay, wheat, corn, and barley farmer
in the Phoenix Valley, and is serving a two-year term representing the
western region on AFBF's Board of Directors. "I am surprised and honored
that AFBF President Bob Stallman announced he was appointing me, along
with three others from their respective regions, to the executive
committee," Rogers said.
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Plan
now for fertilizer needs
Supplies of nitrogen fertilizers, as well as
phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, are tight throughout the United
States, making this the time to plan ahead, a Kansas State University
agronomist said. In fact, it is currently difficult to buy fertilizer
nitrogen for winter wheat topdressing and/or this spring´s row
crops unless the supply has already been lined up - regardless of what
the posted prices are, said Dale Leikam, K-State Research and Extension
nutrient management specialist.
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marestail have proven you need more. The Syngenta Resistance
Fighter™ Solutions Module helps you find all the right products to
fight resistance in your fields. www.resistancefighter.com
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Informa
reports on food-versus-biofuel costs
Has the drive for more corn acres to produce ethanol
caused a spike in U.S. food prices? Despite a year's worth of noise
backing such a connection, new analysis by Informa Economics has found
the claims dubious. While comprehensive, the report
(http://www.informaecon.com/PressReleases.htm.) is unlikely to escape
criticism as pro-ethanol interests commissioned it. In a recent press
conference announcing the report's release, Informa employees
preemptively pushed against such claims. "We provide objective
analysis," said Bruce Scherr, Informa CEO. "We tell every client that if
we do a study and the pills are bitter, so be it. We ... aren't guided
by an end result the client wants ... We have hundreds and hundreds of
clients in every part of the agriculture food renewable energy and
energy value chain. We haven't got an axe to grind. Our interest is
sustainable profitability and sustainable business liability for every
sector and segment of the industry." - David Bennett, Farm Press
Editorial Staff
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AFBF
resolution says get farm bill done
Members of the nation's largest farm organization are
asking Congress and the Bush administration to quickly enact a
comprehensive new farm bill that maintains an adequate safety net for
farmers and ranchers. Delegates to the American Farm Bureau Federation's
89th annual meeting passed a "sense of the delegate body" resolution
urging a swift conference by House and Senate members to reconcile the
differences in the farm bill versions passed by the two chambers. "It's
important we come out of this delegate session sending a clear message
to Chairman Peterson, Chairman Harkin and the administration that we do
want a farm bill; we want it now; get it done," said Illinois Farm
Bureau President Philip Nelson. (Rep. Collin Peterson and Senator Tom
Harkin chair the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.) - Forrest
Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Soybeans
under the carpet
You may have heard that soybeans can be used for a lot
of things, but you probably didn't know that you may be walking on them
everyday. Thanks to a partnership with the United Soybean Board (USB)
and soybean checkoff, Universal Textile Technologies (UTT) has developed
a new carpet-backing product for use in hotels, condominiums and other
moderately trafficked areas. The bio-based carpet backing offers such
advantages as being able to stand up to repeated wet cleanings as well
as being able to withstand heavy furniture. In the past, carpet backing
has largely consisted of petroleum-based material. But thanks to this
technology, 90 percent of the petroleum in UTT's backing has been
replaced with bio-based products.
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Voters make
views known to candidates on trade issues
A recent national survey by the Pew Research Center
produced some interesting findings regarding public opinion on free
trade agreements and the World Trade Organization. Some 44 percent of
the respondents said they feel the agreements are good for the country;
35 percent believe the pacts have hurt the U.S. But they were almost
equally divided on whether the agreements have been good or bad for
their own financial situation: 36 percent felt they have been hurt, 35
percent that they have been helped. - Hembree Brandon, Farm Press
Editorial Staff
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U of M Conservation Tillage
Conference
University of Minnesota Extension will host the fourth
annual Conservation Tillage Conference Jan. 30-31, 2008, at Jackpot
Junction, 39375 County Hwy. 24, in Morton. "A Systems Approach" will be
the theme of this year's conference. The program is designed to help
experienced producers ramp up their conservation skills by learning
about new technologies, while also reducing production costs and meeting
government program guidelines. Participants will take home hands-on
knowledge in nearly every aspect of conservation tillage.
The registration fee is $125 per person, which includes continuing
education units (CEUs). The three breakout tracks scheduled are:
Nutrients from all sources; Tillage effects below the surface; and Fine
tuning your agronomics. For more information,
www.TillageConference.com.
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Farm & Gin Show
forum for agricultural changes
As farmers enter another year of agricultural
complexity, the 56th annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show will offer an
opportunity for them to get a handle on how the 2008 season is shaping
up by seeing firsthand a broad array of products and services and
getting the latest information about markets, energy, and ag policy.
"Our goal each year is to make the show a forum for spotlighting the
changes and issues that confront the ag sector, so farmers will have the
information and tools they need to survive in this dynamic arena," says
Tim Price, manager of the show to be held Feb. 29-March 1 at the Cook
Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tenn.
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Biofuel
mandates increase demand for corn, soy oil
Biofuel mandates in the energy bill signed last year
could result in significantly higher corn and soybean use for fuel than
would have occurred under pre-mandate policies, said economists at the
University of Missouri. Production of corn-based ethanol goes up 24
percent and soydiesel goes up 89 percent under one set of assumptions in
analyzing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, according to
the MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI).
"Increased biofuel use results in higher prices for corn, soybeans and
other crops," said Pat Westhoff, senior analyst at MU FAPRI. This brings
a $3.4 billion increase in U.S. average annual net farm income under one
scenario. - Duane Dailey, Cooperative Media Group, University of
Missouri
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THIESSE'S
THOUGHTS: Crop Report Summary
The latest USDA Crop Supply and Demand Report,
released on Jan. 11, gives another indication of just how big or how
small the U.S. corn and soybean crop was in 2007 and how large or tight
the carry-over grain stocks are. Following are some highlights of the
latest USDA Crop Report... - Kent Thiesse, The Corn & Soybean
Digest
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ROAD
WARRIOR: Economy Watch
Dave Kohl writes: "The past few weeks have
resulted in treks trough Nebraska, Kansas, Utah, Minnesota and
Wainwright, Alberta. Everyone wants to have an update concerning the
status of the U.S. economy. First, the housing market is imploding on
the East and West coasts. Housing inventory is exceeding 10 months of
supply with a number of homes being taken off the market because they
are not selling. This trend appears only to be in the beginning stages,
and there is an increasing probability that this trend will result in
long-term adjustments lasting multiple years. This could result in a
reduction of consumer spending, particularly in the first and second
quarters of 2008..." - The Corn & Soybean Digest
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Climate
change policies coming
Farmers and ranchers should prepare to deal with new
policies designed to counteract global climate change, the head of
USDA's Global Change Program Office told attendees of the National Farm
Bureau's annual convention. Bill Hohenstein said farmers and ranchers
must recognize that "at the policy level the question is not whether
climate change is occurring. The debate is over what to do about it."
Hohenstein said in the future all sectors of U.S. economic life,
including agriculture, will be affected by policies intended to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. - Richard Brock, The Corn & Soybean
Digest
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Take
precautions in cold, windy weather
Just before I left for the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
I got a news release regarding health problems from cold weather. The
day it came in temperatures near Dallas hit 79 degrees. I spent the
weekend doing yard work in short sleeves. I should have been fishing!
Temperatures just three days prior to receiving this information,
however, had dropped to about 18 degrees, with a wind chill cold enough
to put mortal fear into brass monkeys. So the news item was timely,
since one can never be certain when Southwest weather will turn ugly.
Weather extremes can be hazardous. I tested my limits on heat exposure
once and turned what should have been a pleasant July 4 jog through
downtown Atlanta into a scary ambulance ride to the hospital, unaware of
my own phone number, social security number or what my wife would do to
me if our two-week vacation had to be aborted because of my stupidity.
- Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Check out the latest corn and soybean market advice from
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