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Logan
Hawkes
03/01/06
Crop News Weekly
The merry month of March has arrived and it's a
busy time in the world of agriculture. With so much to do and so little
time to do it, it's difficult to keep up with the latest industry
developments. That's why we bring you the kind of information you need
each week in a comprehensive but compact newsletter designed to keep you
on top. Let's get to it.
In the top of the news this week, how much of a good thing is enough?
Price hikes for fuel and fertilizer have convinced many Southern farmers
to switch to soybeans this year. Problems is, USDA predicts more soybean
acres in the Midwest as well. Is it a recipe for disaster? Also this
week, researchers at a USDA laboratory in the fertile Rio Grande Valley
of Texas have confirmed Asian soybean rust at a Texas A&M Experiment
Station in Hidalgo County. Officials say there is no worry over the
development and spread of the rust spores however. And speaking of
Texas, Congressman Mac Thornberry (Texas) says it would be unfair to our
nation's agriculture producers to write a new farm bill in the midst of
ongoing international trade negotiations. Thornberry introduced
legislation last week to extend the current farm bill. If that doesn't
work, perhaps farmers could follow the example of New Orlean's Mayor Ray
Nagin Jr. who is asking foreign governments for help in rebuilding his
city. Perhaps southern farmers hit hard by the hurricane could seek
French aid as well, since the U.S. government seems so slow in
responding.
You'll find these stories and more in this issue of Crop News
Weekly. Happy reading.
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USDA
forecasting increased soy acres, supplies
02/27/06
Southern farmers reportedly have been considering
switching more acres to soybeans in 2006 due to this winter's price
hikes for fuel and nitrogen fertilizer. Unfortunately, growers in other
regions are, too. USDA is forecasting 2006 soybean plantings at 74
million acres, up nearly 2 million acres from the 2005. Analysts expect
yields to fall below the 2005 record, but with increased plantings and
large carry-in stocks, supplies will be up. And higher supplies usually
mean lower prices. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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gathered from university sentinel plots and Syngenta-exclusive Syntinel
Spore Traps into an easy-to-use mapping system, Syntinel RustTracker
gives growers a simple solution for tracking rust. Housed on
soybeanrust.com, these maps give growers the most comprehensive look at
rust movement available. For more information on Syntinel RustTracker,
please visit http://www.soybeanrust.com/.
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Asian
soybean rust identified at Weslaco station
02/24/06
Researchers at the USDA laboratory at Weslaco, Texas,
have confirmed Asian soybean rust on soybeans at the Texas A&M
Experiment Station in Hidalgo County in the state's agriculture rich Rio
Grande Valley. Agronomist Tom Isakeit says plant pathologist Marvin
Miller reported the finding after examining a sample collected by
technician Robert Saldana February 14. Isakeit says the field is about
one acre in size and will not serve as a source of spores, since it has
been harvested. - Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Thornberry
seeks extension of farm bill
02/24/06
Congressman Mac Thornberry of Texas says it would be
unfair to our nation's agriculture producers to write a new farm bill in
the midst of ongoing international trade negotiations. Today, Thornberry
filed legislation to extend the current farm bill until the Doha round
of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations is complete. "Our
nation's farmers and their lenders should not be asked to operate under
rules that keep changing. We should get fairer global trading rules in
place first before we write the next farm bill," said Thornberry. The
current farm bill was approved in 2002, and many of its provisions are
scheduled to expire in 2007. - Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Axial herbicide, please visit http://www.axial-herbicide.com.
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Fidel,
Jacques Chirac to the rescue?
02/24/06
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Jr. has begun asking
foreign governments for help in rebuilding his city. The volatile,
ex-cable TV executive says the international community could "fill the
gap" left by the federal government's recovery efforts. If Nagin is
successful, it may be time farm organizations began asking foreign
governments to help their members, given the lukewarm response of the
Bush administration and some in Congress to disaster legislation for
U.S. farmers. - Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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News from the Top of the
Hill
02/24/06
National Hog Farmer
Competition in Livestock Markets - U.S. Senator
Tom Harkin (D-IA) has introduced S. 2307, the "Competitive and Fair
Agricultural Markets Act of 2006," to amend the Packers and Stockyards
Act and the Agricultural Fair Practices Act. Harkin said the legislation
is in response to USDA's failure to "prevent unfair, manipulative and
anticompetitive behavior," prohibited by the Packers and Stockyards Act.
The legislation would:
Establish a USDA Office of Special Council whose responsibility will
be to investigate and prosecute violations on competition matters.
Strengthen producer protections by making it easier for producers to
prove unfair actions by packers without additional burdens of having to
prove adverse affects on competition.
Strengthen USDA's authority in enforcing the Packers and Stockyards
Act over the poultry industry and making it more in line with
livestock.
Prohibit unfair or deceptive practices by a person that affects the
marketing, receiving, purchasing, sale or contracting of agricultural
commodities.
Provide contract protections to ensure that the contract clearly
spells out what is required of the producer. Producers would be given at
least three days to review or cancel the contract. The legislation would
prevent confidentiality clauses so that producers are free to share the
contract with family members or a lawyer to help them decide whether or
not they should sign it. Producers would be protected from having their
contracts prematurely terminated if they have made a sizable capital
investment. The legislation also prevents mandatory arbitration so that
companies do not prevent producers from going to the courts to speak out
against unfair actions.
Prevent discrimination against producers belonging to an
organization or cooperative by removing a disclaimer clause allowing
processors, handlers, or contractors to refuse to do business with
producers just because they belong to such organizations.
Last year, USDA's Office of Inspector General released a report
requested by Harkin that was critical of the USDA's Grain Inspection,
Packers and Stockyards administration of the Packers and Stockyards
Act.
Biodiesel Tax Loophole - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has introduced
S. 2309, which would ensure that the biodiesel tax credit is available
only for biodiesel made from feed stocks (corn, soybeans, sunflower
seeds, cottonseeds, canola, crambe, rapeseeds, safflowers, flaxseeds,
rice bran, and mustard seeds) as intended by Congress. This legislation
is the result of the Internal Revenue Service giving the biodiesel tax
credit for production from palm oil. Harkin said, "Giving tax breaks for
biodiesel made from palm oil is not what Congress had in mind with the
biodiesel tax credit. This legislation will provide a simple,
cost-effective and World Trade Organization compliant way to boost
America's domestic energy production and help our rural economy through
farm-based renewable energy."
USDA Releases Japan Report - Secretary of Agriculture Mike
Johanns last Friday released the results of USDA's investigation into
ineligible veal shipments to Japan. The 475-page report was the result
of an investigation by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
and the Office of the Inspector General. The report concluded, "Mistakes
were made by the plant involved with the shipment and by USDA inspection
personnel. Those mistakes resulted from a lack of understanding of which
products were eligible for shipment to Japan. The ineligible product
included veal with the vertebral column intact and veal offal." The
entire report can be found on USDA's website at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Japan_Export_Investigation_Report.pdf.
Thailand, Costa Rica Re-opens Markets - Thailand has reopened its
market to U.S. boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age. In
2003, Thailand imported $2.8 million of U.S. beef. Costa Rica will now
allow for importation of U.S. boneless beef, tongues, kidneys, livers
and hearts. In 2003, Costa Rica imported $960,000 of U.S. beef. Neither
country will require a beef export verification program if "the
slaughter or processing plant is dedicated exclusively to production of
beef products from animals less than 30 months of age and does not use
imported beef products."
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2006
corn, soybean returns projected
02/21/06
Corn-after-corn production may be less profitable than
soybean production in 2006, meaning the recent trend of increasing corn
production may end, according to a University of Illinois (U of I)
Extension study. "Between 2000 and 2004, corn returns exceeded soybean
returns in many areas of Illinois," says Gary Schnitkey, U of I
Extension farm management specialist who co-authored the study with
fellow Extension specialist Dale Lattz. "Budgets suggest that recent
cost increases have narrowed the gap between corn and soybean returns.
Higher corn yields will be required in 2006 as compared to recent years
for projected corn returns to exceed soybean returns. From a returns
perspective, farmers may wish to plant soybeans on farmland that could
be corn-after-corn in 2006." - The Corn & Soybean Digest
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Weather
threatens West Nile virus for horses
02/23/06
Unseasonably warm February weather in California is
renewing the threat of West Nile virus, which serves as a reminder to
horse owners to make sure their animals are vaccinated. Last year, 456
horses in California were known to have contracted the disease, with 200
deaths. In the great majority of those cases the horses were either not
vaccinated or vaccinated improperly. - Farm Press Editorial
Staff
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Energy
costs trending downward but...
02/22/06
The good news: The dramatic price rise in crude oil
since 2002 is about to end. The bad news: Energy costs remain high. A
slight downward trend, as well as predictions for relatively high
prices, has little to do with hurricanes or rumors out of the Middle
East, says Tom Tucker, president of John Stewart and Associates, in San
Antonio, Texas. China moves the market, Tucker said recently during the
annual North American Grain Congress, a joint conference of the National
Sorghum Producers and the National Association of Wheat Growers. -
Ron Smith, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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WTO puts
farm program on defensive
02/22/06
If the United States doesn't significantly cut back
its domestic farm support, one group that could cry foul is U.S.
pharmaceutical companies. Strange as that may sound, it's just one of
several factors working against U.S. farm support programs, noted
Kenneth Roberts, associate administrator for the Foreign Agricultural
Service, Washington, D.C., and a U.S. trade negotiator. "We're on the
defensive with our domestic support," Roberts told attendees of the
National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference, in Tunica.
"The 1996 farm bill was a market-oriented approach that was clear under
WTO rules. But the 2002 farm bill made permanent some of the safety nets
we had earlier. That has made it difficult for us." - Elton Robinson,
Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Fiction
writing 101: budget represents 'fiscal discipline'
06/22/05
"She got the gold mine -- I got the shaft," the bit
of country music doggerel by Jerry Reed, is somewhat reflective of the
situation American farmers, and particularly those growing Sunbelt
crops, find themselves in with the Bush administration and its
death-by-a-thousand-cuts funding for agriculture programs. There is no
little irony that farmers and agribusiness were among his staunchest
supporters in both presidential elections, and have continued strongly
in his corner, yet agriculture has taken one hit after another at the
hands of his administration and the Congress his party controls. -
Hembree Brandon, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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U.S.
Grains Council pleased with WTO ruling
02/22/06
The U.S. Grains Council is pleased with the WTO ruling
in favor of the United States, Canada and Argentina in a case filed
against the European Union in 2003. The three countries filed the case
with the WTO in response to the EU's moratorium on the import of
genetically modified crops and their products. "The council has long
supported the filing of this case believing that the EU moratorium is an
unjustified trade barrier to U.S. corn in violation of WTO rules," said
Ken Hobbie, USGC president and CEO. "We're pleased to see a positive
ruling for U.S. producers." - Farm Press Editorial Staff
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Bioterrorism
course focuses on biological issues
02/21/06
Ohio State University's Department of Plant Pathology,
in collaboration with the International Studies Program, is offering
undergraduate students a new course on a much-needed aspect of global
and homeland security. "Bioterrorism: An Overview," being offered
beginning winter quarter 2006, is designed to cover topics on how
terrorism relates to public health, plants and animals from a biological
and agricultural perspective. No other course instruction of its kind
exists on campus. Chuck Curtis, an Ohio State Extension plant
pathologist, says the course fills a gap in the intelligence and
security track of the International Studies Program. - The Corn &
Soybean Digest
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Farm Industry News
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Week.
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Corn & Soybean Digest
Market News
Richard A. Brock
Check out the latest corn and soybean market advice from
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