Corn and Soybean Digest

How Do You Define Success?

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:35:00 +0000

Some define success as the long-term succession of your kids at the farm. Albert Schweitzer defined success as loving what you do. How you treat others, from family to strangers, is Barbara Bush's definition of success.

Bottom Line

May 14 USDA Weekly Weather Update

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:12:00 +0000

Source: USDA

During the second half of the week, a new weather system swept across the Midwest, South and East, producing additional showers and closing a brief window of opportunity for fieldwork. Mid- to late-week rainfall was not especially heavy, although many parts of the Corn Belt received in excess of an inch. Farther west, dry weather prevailed across the northern Plains and far Upper Midwest, promoting an acceleration of spring wheat planting and other fieldwork.

House Ag Committee Approves Farm Bill

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:15:00 +0000

Source: House Agriculture Committee

Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) issued the following statements after the House Agriculture Committee approved the farm bill, H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013, by a large, bipartisan vote of 36-10. Committee members also adopted, by voice vote, an en bloc amendment.

Bayer CropScience and Monsanto Enter into Cross-Licensing Agreements for Next-Generation and Enabling Technologies

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Monheim and St. Louis, April 16, 2013- Bayer CropScience and Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) have entered into a series of licensing agreements for next-generation and enabling technologies in the field of plant biotechnology that will provide new options and choices for farmers.

2013 General Conservation Reserve Program Sign-Up Starts May 20

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:46:00 +0000

Source: USDA

Landowners and producers can now enroll in continuous CRP with general sign-up to follow.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reminds farmers and ranchers that the USDA will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up from May 20 to June 14. Vilsack also announces the restart of sign-up for continuous CRP, including the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Initiative, the Highly Erodible Land Initiative, the Grassland Restoration Initiative, the Pollinator Habitat Initiative and other related initiatives. Sign-up for continuous CRP began on May 13 and will continue through Sept. 30, 2013.

Nitrogen Testing Tool Increases Corn Profits

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:37:00 +0000

The latest fertility technology means that you can reassess your corn crop’s nitrogen needs every 24 hours, reducing nitrogen inputs and saving corn input expenses.

You can now assess your corn’s nitrogen (N) needs every 24 hours. The Adapt-N online computer model, from Cornell University, simulates the complex processes in a corn field: local precipitation and temperatures, soil type, soil organic matter and slope, previous crops, inputs, tillage, planting date, population, hybrids, rotation, type and date of starter and yield potential. Using high-resolution weather information (3x3-mile grids), the web model tailors site-specific N recommendations to your farm in almost real time.

Soybean Planting Recommendations: Date, Seeding Rate, Relative Maturity

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:45:00 +0000

Source: Ohio State University

Soybean planting is off to a slower start across the region, including Ohio, compared to the 10-year average (National Agricultural Statistics Service). During the week of April 29-May 5, generally 23% of Ohio soybean acres are planted. However, this year only 1% of the soybean acres were planted due to cool/wet soil conditions. With the slow start, it’s important to consider planting date, seeding rate and relative maturity when planting soybeans this spring.

Soybean Prices Under Pressure

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:20:00 +0000

November soybean futures have seen little movement since late April; soybean prices have ranged from $11.90 to $12.40/bu. They closed Monday (May 13) at $12.09. And with USDA’s projected average season prices as low as $9.50, beans in the teens and even $12 prices may soon be history.

May 13 Crop Progress: Corn Nearly 1/3 Planted, Soybean Planting Lagging

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:53:00 +0000

Farmers across corn-producing states made decent progress in the last week, going from 12% planted on May 5 to 28% of the overall corn crop planted by May 12. This is still well behind the five-year average of 65% planted.

6 Tips for Postemergence Application of Pre-Emergence Corn Herbicides

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:34:00 +0000

Source: Ohio State University

One of the problems with a wet start to the season when planting gets compressed into short periods is the lack of time to apply preemergence herbicides and 28% before corn emerges. Most pre-emergence corn herbicides can be applied to emerged corn, and some of them have enough foliar activity to control small, emerged weeds without the need to add postemergence (post) herbicides.

May 10 WASDE Could Cause Grain Market Concerns

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:38:00 +0000

The USDA Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WADSE) Reports released on May 10 were regarded as bearish for the corn market and neutral to bearish for the soybean market in the coming months. Corn stocks are expected to more than double by the end of the next crop marketing year, while the ending stocks for soybeans are expected show more moderate increases for the 2013-2014 marketing year, which runs from Sept. 1, 2013 to Aug. 31, 2014.

Focus on Ag

Shock and Stress Testing: Analysis by Lenders

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:23:00 +0000

One of the major financial shock tests that a lender must perform concerns concentration of credit. Regulators and oversight specialists are very concerned about this component as agriculture consolidates with fewer producers generating more of the revenue and carrying a larger proportion of the debt.

Road Warrior

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Monsanto

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:16:00 +0000

Source: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Monsanto in the case of Bowman v. Monsanto, saying, “Patent exhaustion does not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting without the patent holder’s permission.”

House Ag Committee Drafts Farm Bill

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:07:00 +0000

Source: House Agriculture Committee

On May 10, the House Ag Committee marked up their version of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) Act of 2013. It is nearly identical to the bill marked up last summer.

May 2013 WASDE: Corn, Soybean Production, Supply Estimates Up, Prices Down

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:42:00 +0000

Source: USDA

Corn production for 2013-2014 is projected at 14.1 billion bushels, up 3.4 billion from 2012-2013. Soybean production is projected at a record 3.390 billion bushels, up 375 million from the drought-reduced 2012 crop on slightly higher harvested area and higher yields. Corn prices and soybean prices are both projected down from highs last season.

May 2013 WASDE Breakdown and Perspective

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:56:00 +0000

Breakdown of the USDA numbers...

Grain Market Viewpoint

Senate Marks Up the 2013 Farm Bill

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:35:00 +0000

Source: Senate Agriculture Committee

The Senate’s bipartisan 2013 Farm Bill represents the most significant reform of American agriculture policy in decades.

With the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act, the era of direct payments is over. Instead of subsidies that pay out every year even in good times, the bill creates risk management tools that support farmers when they are negatively impacted by weather disaster or market events beyond their control.

Corn Prices, Soybean Prices in 5 Years

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:12:00 +0000

Source: Farmgate blog

Although challenges to planting the 2013 crop may provide some degree of support to corn and soybean prices, they have quickly faded from the 2012 highs and are threatening to diminish further from the highs that began in 2007.

7 Questions About the Farm Bill

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:19:00 +0000

Source: University of Illinois farmdocDaily

Farm Bill markup likely will begin soon in both the Senate and House Agricultural committees. Much of the focus for traditional program crops will be around three programs: a revenue program, a target price program and a supplemental crop insurance program. While the exact nature of the programs will depend on negotiations, what is almost certain is that the programs' rationale will be risk management. Given a risk management focus, farm bill negotiations will need to debate and somehow resolve the following seven questions.

Economic, Environmental Impacts of GMO Crops

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:33:00 +0000

Source: University of Illinois

A new peer-reviewed work has been published (April 2013) that outlines some significant global economic and environmental benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops. Agricultural entomologist Mike Gray, University of Illinois, has conducted western corn rootworm research for many years and was particularly interested in the overall U.S. farm income gain attributed to corn rootworm Bt hybrids – $7.1 billion cumulative benefits since 2003.

Why Corn Could Turn Bullish

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:52:00 +0000

I'm starting to sharpen my bull horns in corn!

Grain Market Viewpoint

Scout Corn Fields for These 5 Weeds

Wed, 08 May 2013 22:14:00 +0000

Source: Dow AgroSciences

With more weeds becoming glyphosate-resistant or surviving glyphosate-only applications, corn growers continue to rely on residual herbicides to manage tough weeds and protect their yield. "We need to maximize the number of sites of action,” says Travis Legleiter, weed program science specialist at Purdue University.

Syngenta adds soybean fungicide options to provide growers stress management and higher yields

Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Financial Shock and Stress Testing

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:27:00 +0000

The other day a young producer was concerned because he had difficulty obtaining his operating loan for yearly operations. He stated that the lender performed financial shock tests that raised concerns about his financial status. Let’s examine some of the financial shock tests that are top of mind with your lender, and particularly the regulators that provide oversight on agricultural loans.

Road Warrior

ACRE Program Decisions for 2013

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:24:00 +0000

The Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program was implemented by USDA for the 2009 crop year, as part of the 2008 Farm Bill, and continued for the 2010 to 2012 crop years. For 2013, eligible farm operators will again have the option to enroll in the ACRE Program, as an alternative to the current Counter-Cyclical Payment (CCP) Program.

Focus on Ag

USDA to Update 2013-2014 Forecasts

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:21:00 +0000

With Friday morning’s monthly USDA supply/demand update expected to show only minor adjustments in 2012-2013 estimates, the corn and soybean trade will focus on the agency’s first monthly estimates for 2013-2014.

News from Brock Associates

May 6, 2013 Crop Progress Report: Corn 12% Planted, Soybean Planting Started

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:08:00 +0000

Corn planting progressed a bit last week, moving up 7 points from the week before to 12% planted overall. The five-year average is 47% planted, and last year the overall corn planting progress was 69% at this time.

North Carolina and Texas have the most corn in the ground at 89% and 70% completed so far, and slightly behind the five-year averages for each state.

How Much Nitrogen is in Your Corn Field?

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:50:00 +0000

Source: University of Illinois

Nitrogen loss is difficult to predict because it depends in many factors such as time of N application, type of N source, soil type and temperature and the amount of precipitation received. While it is difficult to know how much N is lost without a direct analysis of soil N, you can determine what to do about N applications this growing season.

USDA Announces Final Call for 2012 Census of Agriculture

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:39:00 +0000

Source: USDA

Don't miss your chance to provide the facts straight from the farm.

With the window to respond to the 2012 Census of Agriculture officially closing on May 31, the USDA is urging farmers and ranchers not to miss this opportunity to be counted and help determine the future of farming in America. USDA has already received more than 2 million completed Census forms.

Cold Weather Affects Planted Soybean Seeds

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:07:00 +0000

Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

With the warmer conditions and warming soil temperatures planters started rolling across Nebraska. By mid-week, however, field work stopped due to rain, snow and a return to colder temperatures. Now growers are wondering how this cold stress and the potential for inbibitional chilling may affect soybean seeds that have been planted.