Corn insects include corn rootworm, corn borer, cutworms, armyworms, stink bugs | Corn and Soybean Digest

From corn rootworm to western bean cutworm, insects and pests have no qualms about destroying your corn crop. From scouting to threshold recommendations, here’s information on corn pests and how they affect your bottom line.

May 22, 2012

Article

ARC Farm Program Net Returns

Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) is a revenue-based proposed Farm Bill program passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee. In this post, net returns for corn are examined using prices and ARC payments detailed in a May 9, 2012 post. At $4/bu. and below corn prices, ARC will make payments, aiding in cushioning revenue losses. However, ARC payments are not large enough is assure profits, as farmers who cash rent will face losses at prices below $4/bu....More
May 22, 2012

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Is This Your Kid? The Bottom Half of the Bell Curve

Over the past few months I have guest lectured in agriculture and business classes at various universities and colleges. Of course, times are changing since my days in the classroom when I taught over 10,000 students at Virginia Tech and Cornell University. Today’s classrooms have an abundance of technology at one's disposal, for both professors and students with a wide range of interests and agendas....More
May 22, 2012

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Planting, Herbicides and Farm Programs

Across southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, nearly all the intended corn is planted, and over 90% of the soybeans were planted as of May 18. Most of the corn and many of the soybeans that are planted in this region have emerged, and stands look fairly good....More
May 18, 2012

Article

Ag Subcommittee Highlights Importance of Fair, Effective Safety Net

Commodity programs and crop insurance were the focus of a two-day hearing that began on Wednesday, and is the third hearing series on agriculture policy in advance of writing the 2012 Farm Bill. Title I programs and crop insurance form the backbone of the farm safety net that ensures farmers are able to manage a few seasons of volatile prices or devastating weather patterns. This effort ultimately ensures that consumers have a stable food and fiber supply....More
May 17, 2012

Article

Farm Labor Report: Hired Workers Down Nearly 5%, Wage Rates Up Nearly 2% From a Year Ago

There were 575,000 workers hired directly by farm operators on the nation's farms and ranches during the week of January 8-14, 2012, down nearly 5% from a year ago. Workers hired directly by farm operators numbered 748,000 for the following quarter's reference week of April 8-14, 2012. Because NASS did not publish estimates for the April 2011 quarter, no previous year comparison is available for April....More
May 17, 2012

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May 15 USDA, NOAA, Dept. of Commerce Weather Summary

Here's a summary and some key graphics from the latest USDA, NOAA and Department of Commerce weekly weather update. All graphics are courtesy of those departments.
May 16, 2012

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DCP, ACRE Sign-Up Ends June 1

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Bruce Nelson reminds farmers that enrollment for the 2012 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE) ends June 1, 2012. “We want producers to know that DCP and ACRE are still available for enrollment,” says Nelson....More
May 15, 2012

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Simple vs. Olympic Prices used in Farm Commodity Programs

When historical averages are needed, an Olympic average often is used rather than a simple average in calculating benchmarks in farm bill commodity programs. For example, the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) program that was passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee uses Olympic averages of prices and yields in calculating benchmark revenue. In this post, Olympic averages are compared to simple averages for corn and soybean prices. Generally, Olympic and simple averages will track one over time. The relationship of Olympic to simple averages depends on the nature of distributions across time.
May 15, 2012

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The Rule of Ten

The lead-in to this topic came from a farmer who had heard me speak about the Rule of 10 a number of years ago, and had experienced it in his own business. The gentleman is over 50, and has operated the farm for more than 30 years. Let’s explain the rule....More
May 15, 2012

Article

U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Goes Into Effect May 15

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement about the U.S-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, or Colombia TPA, which enters into force today."Beginning today, U.S. agricultural exporters receive duty-free access on more than half of the products we currently export to Colombia, and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years."...More