New Reports Look at Ethanol Industry Progress and Outlook 

Source: National Corn Growers Association

The U.S. ethanol industry produced a record amount of fuel ethanol in 2007, according to year-end data released recently by the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) – 32% more ethanol than in 2006...

Agricultural Outlook Presented To U.S. Congress: Grain Prices High, Net Farm Income Strong 

Source: FAPRI

Grain prices increased dramatically in the last two years and are expected to remain well above pre-2006 levels, report economists with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI)...

National Corn Growers Association Applauds Scientists For Completing Corn Genome Draft Sequence 

Source: National Corn Growers Association

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) applauds the research of the scientific community for its work in completing a draft sequence of the corn genome, the first mapping of the corn genome in the world...

To Spray Or Not To Spray 

Source: University of Wisconsin

Will foliar fungicide be routine in the new corn production economics? In 2007, many acres of corn in Wisconsin were sprayed mid-season with fungicides: strobilurin or a strobilurin/triazole combination (in Iowa and Illinois an estimated 6 million acres of corn were sprayed). Most acres applied had little or no disease at the time of application. Reasons for spraying vary ...

APHIS: Unapproved Corn No Threat 

By Richard Brock

An unapproved biotech trait was found at “extremely low” levels in some 2006- and 2007-crop U.S. corn, but the grain poses no safety threat and export trade is not likely to be affected, the USDA said on Friday...

UNL Extension Offers Crop Scout Training in March 

Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Crop scouts will learn how to better manage pests during a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Crop Scout Training for Pest Managers program on March 17....

Acreage and Yield 

Source: University of Illinois

The corn and soybean markets need to offer the right incentives for corn and soybean acreage in 2008, says University of Illinois Extension Marketing Specialist Darrel Good....

NCGA Pleased Progress Being Made on Farm Bill 

Source: National Corn Growers Association

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is optimistic that a farm bill will be completed by March 15. House and Senate lawmakers are currently focusing on a spending level of approximately $9 billion above the budget baseline over a period of 10 years. ...

Conservation Reserve Program 

Source: University of Illinois

The debate surrounding the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is an indication of the concern about production risk in 2008 and the implications for crop prices and the resulting impact on livestock producers and, ultimately, on food prices, says University of Illinois Extension Marketing Specialist Darrel Good...

Ag Economist: World Grain Demand Straining U.S. Supply  

Consumers usually reduce their purchases of goods and services if prices become too high. Buyers of U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat seem to be ignoring that economic principle, however, as the nation's grain stocks reach critically low levels, says Chris Hurt, a Purdue University agricultural economist...

Corn Trend Yields 

By Bob Sampson, University of Illinois

A new study by University of Illinois agricultural economists challenges the assumption that improved technology has recently caused corn trend yields to increase at a faster rate...

Corn, Soybean, Wheat Prices Hit All-Time Highs 

Soybeans reached an all-time price high the night of Feb. 14 with July 2008 soybean futures selling for $14.08 on the CBOT's electronic platform...

New Farm Bill Update – Part II 

By Kent Thiesse

As Congress works to complete the passage of a new farm bill, producers have raised some questions regarding process and provisions in a potential new farm bill, and what effect it might have on their farming operations in 2008...

Call For Farm Bill Conference 

The leaders of the House Agriculture Committee, in an “open letter to the farm bill community,” dated Feb. 9, said the U.S. farm bill process was at a “critical” point...

Kansas State University Researchers Move One Step Closer to Curbing Pests’ Appetite For Crops 

Source: Kansas State University

Scientists at Kansas State University (K-State) have discovered that the salivary glands of a tiny insect may hold a key to developing pest resistance in plants...