October 1, 2008
My View
EU Still Spooked Over Biotech
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY GREG LAMP EDITOR glamp@csdigest.com
When I first started writing about biotech issues nine years ago, the European Union (EU) was up in arms about allowing genetically modified organism... More
Profits
The Economy: Great Taste or Less Filling?
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY DAVE KOHL
The title sounds like an old light beer commercial from the 1970s and 1980s. However, this headline is very fitting because as the economy moves into... More
Working Capital Needs Vary
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY MOE RUSSELL
Soon the harvest season will be over and we will be taking balance sheets and reviewing profit and loss statements for 2009. This year will be an opportunity... More
Meet Earl Eitheror and Barney Binless
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY ED USSET
I started this series on carrying charges in August, when I discussed how carrying charges send important market signals about grain storage. I showed... More
The Future of Futures
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY RICHARD BROCK
Will corn and soybean futures exist two years from now? That's not a prediction. It's merely a question because the ingredients for the grain futures... More
Departments
U.S. Farm Production Costs Up To 9.3% in 2007
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | COMPILED BY GREG LAMP
U.S. farm production expenditures totaled $260 billion in 2007, up 9.3% from the revised 2006 total of $238 billion, according to USDA. The largest percentage... More
Equipment Exports Jume 30.5%
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | COMPILED BY GREG LAMP
Exports of U.S. agricultural-related equipment to nations around the world topped $5.8 billion for the first half of 2008 compared to mid-year 2007 numbers,... More
Jet Fuel From Algae?
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | COMPILED BY GREG LAMP
That's right, according to Solazyme Inc., a renewable oil production company. The first algae-based jet fuel has been developed and has passed the 11... More
Agribusiness Forms Biofuels Lobbying Group
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | COMPILED BY GREG LAMP
Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, John Deere, DuPont and the Renewable Fuels Association formed a new biofuels lobbying group called the Alliance for... More
Corn Cob Plant Being Built
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | COMPILED BY GREG LAMP
A pilot-scale cellulosic plant using corn cobs is being constructed in Scotland, SD, by Poet. The 20,000-gal., $4-million plant is being built next to... More
Parents Can Request Soymilk
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | COMPILED BY GREG LAMP
USDA has announced that parents or legal guardians may request soymilk as an alternative to cow's milk for children receiving National School Lunch and... More
Products
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM
CORN HEADS New Holland introduces the 98D series corn heads, available in 6-, 8- and 12-row widths. The point-to-point pinching style stalk roll has the... More
Articles
Land Whoa!
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY LIZ MORRISON
The average value of prime Iowa farmland punched through the $5,000/acre ceiling early this year. Top-quality farmland in the bellwether state hit $5,200/acre,... More
Gaining Ground
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY MEGGIE FOSTER
In the last 20 years, many investors have enjoyed the robust returns from the long-term investment made in highly productive farmland across the Corn... More
Nurting a Bumper Crop of Growers
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY SUSAN WINSOR
When she overheard a local FSA official tell an aspiring young farmer that there was no way to get into farming if you weren't born to it, Maru Whitmore... More
Your Sixth Sense
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY JEN BENNETT
Inputs are costly these days. So is your time. Now, more than ever, being efficient in your farming practices is a valuable tool. One way to increase... More
Limiting Limits
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY JOHN RUSSNOGLE
Uncle Sam is trying to prune the Mississippi Christmas tree again, that nefarious legal structure farmers once used to harvest extra farm payments. The... More
Last Call
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY LARRY STALCUP
Do you have all of your simulated corn and soybeans traded in the MarketMaxx game? If not, midnight on Oct. 31 is your last chance. MarketMaxx 2008, from... More
From Corn to Polo Field
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY KAREN BERNICK
Three years ago, Jeff Boeh borrowed an earth scraper and spent $3,000 on grass seed to build the Quad City area's first polo field at his family's farm... More
Hypoxia: Fact or Fiction?
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY LARRY STALCUP
You are being blamed for the hypoxia dead zone, even though nitrogen (N) use has not increased since 1980. The dead zone, which is said to be draining... More
Apply On The Fly
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY LARRY STALCUP
Variable-rate aerial application of dry fertilizer is a new that gets nutrients in the soil quickly and efficiently, even when wet, muddy fields keep... More
Boom Or Bust For 2009?
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY JOHN RUSSNOGLE
It's hard to believe that in June you could sell corn on the December 2008 futures for $7.96 and it looked like the market still hadn't found a top. Higher... More
Thinking Ahead To Tax Time
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY MARK MOORE
Strong commodity prices should mean higher taxable incomes for you in the 2008 crop year, and tax experts advise taking additional time to maximize tax... More
Letters
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM
PUBLIC SUPPORTS ETHANOL USE? It is interesting to note in your August My View all the different people and organizations who don't think corn ethanol... More
Lock In 2009 While You Still Can
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY LARRY STALCUP
While dodging drenching rains and frowning over flooded fields, Daren Laffey at least had one thing that was certain on his corn and soybeans: the market... More
Manure Makes Sense
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY KAREN BERNICK
While many of Gary Cross' neighbors exited livestock production in favor of grain farming only, he remained diversified. Cross, Hartsburg, IL, owns confinement... More
Thirsting For Drought-Tolerant Corn
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY LARRY STALCUP
All the $5 corn in the world doesn't matter if Mother Nature unleashes a devastating drought that can turn many a promising crop into a parched wasteland.... More
This Makes Brazil Look Easy
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM | BY TYLER BRUCH
Next in a series from Iowa farmer Tyler Bruch, Global Ag Investments, who farms 44,000 acres in Bahia, Brazil and 7,500 acres in Ukraine. So far, 2008... More
