October 1, 2009
Cover Story
Do Carbon Credits Make Sense for Corn and Soybean Farmers?
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Lawrence Sukalski
What do carbon reg-ulation and cap and trade legisla-tion affect? Nearly everything and everyone. I have lots of concerns about climate change legislation,... More
My View
Can Corn and Soybean Farmers Afford the Cap and Trade Program?
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Greg Lamp Editor glamp@csdigest.com
Do you know anyone who's not in favor of protecting the environment and being a good steward of the land? Surely you and your farmer neighbors already... More
Features
Gain From a Better Drain | Farmers can Cut Costs Using Drainage Water Management
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Liz Morrison
It was the drought of 1988 that got John Wilken thinking about the wisdom of draining his liquid assets. Wilken, who farms in east-central Illinois, had... More
Dig in Deep | Deep Soil Testing Can Help Corn and Soybean Farmers Cut Costs
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Larry Stalcup
With fertilizer and other input costs still high compared to grain prices, knowing how much nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) or potassium (K) to apply and... More
Corn Power | New Ethanol Engine Delivers Performance Of Diesel For Cost of Ethanol
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Susan Winsor
Imagine your equipment fueled entirely by what you grow: corn. It's already been invented. An all-ethanol engine developed by Ricardo Inc., claims to... More
Land Prices Pull Back | Farmland Values Are Declining in the U.S.
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Liz Morrison
After climbing by double digits for the previous three years, U.S. farmland values fell 4% last year. It's the first drop since 1987, the USDA reported... More
Easing Leasing | Tips For Farmers When Writing Cropland Rental Leases
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Jen Bennett
In a perfect world you'd own all the land you needed to support your farming operations. But there's no perfect world, so thank goodness for those who... More
Opening Doors | Farmers Look for Corn and Soybean Markets In The Black Sea Region
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Greg Lamp
Build it and they will come is a familiar phrase from the well-known Iowa movie Field Of Dreams. It's also the backdrop to why a group of Midwest farmers,... More
Green Shoots | Strong Supply and Demand Factors Lead to Growing Markets for Corn and Soybean Farmers
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Larry Stalcup
Is a green shoot in your marketing scope? Don Batie believes it's out there and he's counting on strong world demand for corn and soybeans to transform... More
Seeing the Seed | New Seed Technology Helps Farmers Assess Seed Vigor
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Karen Ott Mayer
In summer 2008, University of Arkansas (UA) researchers began using a new automated system called the Seed Vigor Imaging System (SVIS) designed to estimate... More
What's After Wheat? | Southern Farmers Could Make Profit from Wheat-Corn Rotation
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Larry Stalcup
A corn yield that tops at 185 bu. That's above normal for many southern growers. But that kind of bin-busting yield on That's what Felix Smart harvested... More
Former Deputy Secretary of Ag’s Opinion on Hog Industry and What It could Do to Farmers’ Commodities
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Susan Winsor
The smell of farm country will ultimately drive the American hog industry offshore, prompting you to ship your commodities farther to reach customers.... More
News
Canada to Mandate Biodiesel
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | Compiled by Greg Lamp
Manitoba will soon be the first Canadian province to mandate the use of biodiesel, announcing it will begin its long-discussed 2% requirement on Nov.... More
Biodiesel Worth Billions to U.S. Farmers
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | Compiled By Greg Lamp
A new study funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) and soybean checkoff reports that U.S. soybean farmers received an additional $2.5 billion in net... More
U.S. Farm Equipment Exports Decline 20% In First Half 2009
Sep 1, 2009 3:58 PM | Source: Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Exports of U.S. agricultural equipment dropped 20% during the first half of 2009 compared to midyear 2008, totaling $4.7 billion down from $5.8 billion a year earlier, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). The AEM off-road equipment manufacturing trade group produces ... More
Ilinois Increases Biodiesel Mandate
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | Compiled by Greg Lamp
Illinois state and local governments will increase biodiesel use after the passage of legislation increasing the biodiesel blending mandate for agencies... More
No-Till Saves $10-20/Acre
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | Compiled By Greg Lamp
An Ohio State University machinery management class calculates that an average Ohio farm saves $10-20/acre using no-till compared to conventional tillage.... More
Products
Products
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM
HOPPER EXTENSION New from Crary is the Big Top hopper extension, which now fits Case IH 6088 and 7088 models. Adding a Big Top provides an additional... More
Letter
Letters
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM
CARBON CREDITS ARE A SCAM The current carbon credit payments of $2-5/acre are not going to convert any farmers to continuous no-till crop production,... More
Profits
Business Land Mines | Lessons Learned From Farm Expansion
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Dave Kohl
One of my assignments has been working with the Farm Business Management Program instructors of Minnesota on a Web cast series for producers. I asked... More
Depreciation: The Real Cost | Tips for Farmers Dealing with Farm Equipment Depreciation
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Moe Russell
Few will dispute that depreciation is not a real cost, even though you do not write a check for it every year. We view depreciation two different ways.... More
Proactive Marketing | Farmers Need to Take A Proactive Approach When It Comes To Marketing Corn and Soybeans
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Ed Usset
I like a proactive approach to grain marketing. It demands that you look and plan ahead with your grain pricing decisions. Preharvest pricing decisions... More
Corn Prices Are Showing Early Marketing Lows
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By Richard Brock
Markets have certainly been wild over the last couple of years, but the one thing that is still at least somewhat reliable is the seasonality of the cash... More
Argentina
Argentina Finances Ag Differently | Differences in How U.S and Argentine Agriculture are Financed
Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM | By John Kennedy
Argentina's credit model provides an interesting alternative for financing expansion during a credit crunch. Its soybean saga is amazing. Beginning with... More
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