February 15, 2008
Features
Beans Battle Back
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By John Russnogle
The tug-of-war for acres between corn and soybeans appears to be shifting back to beans in 2008. The price premium corn enjoyed in 2007 has diminished... More
More Corn In '08
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Greg Lamp
Even with higher input costs, Ron Smit from Hospers, IA, plans to grow more corn this year. In fact, he's been growing some continuous corn for almost... More
Even It Up
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Jen Bennett
Neal Bredehoeft's plans are 50-50 this year. That is, 50% of his 2,100 acres to corn and 50% to beans. Last year we planted a little more corn, including... More
Stay the Course
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Susan Winsor
We're not making any big changes this year, says Jim Klever, who farms 3,850 tillable acres in northern Illinois. In a typical year, we are 60-40 (favoring... More
Sky's the Limit
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Larry Stalcup
From better weed resistance, bug defenses and stronger disease control to traits for heart-healthy oil, biofuels and yields out the wazoo, future soybean... More
Second Place Marketmaxx Winners Talk Shop
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Larry Stalcup
Chip Shriver was looking for help to teach his son about grain marketing. He found it with MarketMaxx 2007. And he earned a free complete computer system... More
How to be an Energy Miser
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Susan Winsor
Which part of your operation uses the most energy? Many growers would say tillage trips are their farm's energy hog. Conventional tillage requires about... More
More Than Just Manure
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Karen Bernick
If corn is king in the Midwest, hog manure is certainly a member of the royal court. Not too many years ago, if you had hog manure, you just wanted to... More
Dig Yourself a Hole
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Liz Morrison
Last summer, Mark Watson found himself in a deep hole. The Nebraska Panhandle grower was 4 ft. down in a soil pit, face to face with the consequences... More
Ethanol Bushels Working Double Time
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Dave Howe
Not all of the grain processed for fuel ethanol is lost from the livestock feed chain. Some of it goes back to work as livestock feed. For every bushel... More
Planting with Perfection
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Denny Eilers
A Thompson sub-machine gun fires 18 bullets a second. That's the same speed most corn growers sock kernels into the ground every spring. Today's planters... More
My View
Corn and Beans Duke It Out
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | Greg Lamp Editor glamp@csdigest.com
Nailing down how many acres you'll plant to corn and soybeans this spring is a bit of a crapshoot. In fact, Chad Hart, Iowa State University ag economist,... More
News
New Secretary of Agriculture
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | Complied By Greg Lamp
Ed Schafer was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of USDA on Jan. 28. He served as North Dakota's governor from 1992 to 2000. As governor, Schafer managed... More
No Early out for CRP
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | Compiled by Greg Lamp
Don't expect any early-out for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres this year. USDA says it's too late to allow penalty-free early withdrawals in... More
Plug Pulled on Plant
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | Compiled By Greg Lamp
ConAgra Foods announces that it's pulling the plug on plans to build a 100-million-gallon/year ethanol plant in Clovis, NM, according to The Brock Report.... More
New Ethanol Crop Insurance
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | Compiled By Greg Lamp
John Deere Risk Protection (JDRP) is now offering the industry's first-ever ethanol policy. It provides coverage to corn growers who have delivery contracts... More
Products
Products
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM
WORK UTILITY MACHINE Bobcat has come out with the new D-Series Toolcat 5600 utility work machine. The compact loader comes with new enhancements, including... More
Brazil
Cotton Gin and Another Plane Crash
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Tyler Bruch
The planting season finished up for us around Dec. 28. This was 15-20 days later than what our planting objective was this year, but we had a late start... More
Profits
Are you a 10?
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Dave Kohl
Well, I have not gone retro on you having images of Bo Derek who was considered a perfect 10 in the movies. This article is about making yourself marketable... More
How to Work With Operating Leverage
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Moe Russell
Last month I wrote about the pros and cons of financial leverage. This had to do with the ratio of assets to liabilities and what the impact of gains... More
Decision Dates
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Ed Usset
A good marketing plan tries to address a simple question: At what price am I willing to sell? The marketing plans I write answer this question by featuring... More
A Whole New Plateu?
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Richard Brock
Ever since the grain markets went into a new plateau in the 1970s, almost every rally since someone has claimed that another new plateau was in the making.... More
Market Mayhem for Wheat in 2008
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By John Russnogle
High prices and drought two years out of the last three has Dick Wittman, Culdesac, ID, farmer and ag consultant, looking hard at marketing to protect... More
Best of Both Worlds
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Larry Stalcup
New generation. The term conjures up thoughts of Gen Xers and an even younger Gen Y crowd, iPods, iPhones, hybrid cars and crossover SUVs. But new generation... More
Be Good to Biomass
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Jen Bennett
Biomass. Corn stover. Residue. Fodder. There are lots of names for matter that's critical to soil, and it's now becoming critical to biofuels. The majority... More
Extras
Early Soybeans:What are Your Options?
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Ernest Clawson and Donald Boquet Louisiana State University Agcente
Reports of high yield potential and the advantages of an earlier harvest have created interest in planting soybeans early in Louisiana. Acreage devoted... More
Soy Sculptures
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM
Eighteen giant fiberglass soybeans came to life in Iowa in 2007. The 4-ft.-tall soybeans were part of a unique effort initiated by the Iowa Soybean Association... More
Focused on the Future
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM
What's new with soy? It has moved into the driver's seat literally. Beginning in August 2007, Ford Mustangs rolled off the production line containing... More
Creating a Buzz for Biodiesel
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM
While corn and ethanol have grabbed many headlines in the past year, potential for soy biodiesel is revving up, as well. The growing renewable fuels industry... More
Edamame Eexcitement
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM
There's a new word buzzing through health food circles that is good news for the soybean industry. The talk is all about edamame a gourmet name for boiled... More
All Under One Roof
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM
As interest in environmentally friendly products for residential and commercial settings increases, soybeans are being used in a variety of applications... More
Evening up Emergence
Feb 15, 2008 12:00 PM | By Liz Morrison
When it comes to corn yields, conformity counts. Rapid, uniform germination and emergence of corn help set the stage for maximum grain yield, says Purdue... More
