USFR Weekly Recap - October 10-11, 2009
10/12/2009
THIS WEEK ON U.S. FARM REPORT
Episode #1887
October 10-11, 2009
John’s Hello: A LOT OF HARVEST NEWS TODAY, BOTH SIZE AND PROGRESS. THE CLIFF NOTES VERSION: BIGGER AND SLOWER. WE'LL HAVE NUMBERS SHORTLY. BUT THE STAR OF THE SHOW WILL BE OUR METEROLOGIST, MIKE HOFFMAN. WITHOUT CLEAR WEATHER, WE COULD BE REPORTING ON HARVEST 2009 FOR SEVERAL MORE WEEKS. THE SITUATION IS REMARKABLY WIDESPREAD, BUT SHARING THE ANXIETY ISN'T ALL THAT MUCH FUN EITHER. AND IT'S NOT LIKE THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF AG IS HUMDRUM EITHER. I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY 2009 WILL BE ONE FOR THE BOOKS.
USDA Reports: THE AG DEPARTMENT RELEASED ITS MONTHLY SUPPLY-DEMAND AND PRODUCTION REPORTS FRIDAY. AS EXPECTED, PRODUCTION WAS BUMPED UP ON CORN, SOY AND WHEAT...BUT THE NUMBERS WERE WITHIN ANALYST EXPECTATIONS. 2009 PRODUCTION FOR CORN WAS JUST ABOVE 13 BILLION BUSHELS FROM A YIELD OF 164.2 FOR BEANS, LITTLE CHANGE FROM SEPTEMBER: TOTAL PRODUCTION 3.25 BILLION BUSHELS. COTTON OUTPUT DROPPED SLIGHTLY TO JUST UNDER 13 MILLION BALES. THE ALL-IMPORTANT 2010 CARRYOVER NUMBERS: CORN 1.672, VIRTUALLY THE SAME AS THIS YEAR, BEANS 230 MILLION BUSHELS, UP 100 MILLION, AND WHEAT 864 MILLION BUSHELS, UP 120 MILLION FROM 2009. OUR ANALYSTS WILL DISSECT THIS REPORT LATER IN THE SHOW.
2010 Inputs: FOR MOST GROWERS, HARVEST HAS HARDLY STARTED... BUT PLANNING FOR THE 2010 CROP IS ALREADY UNDERWAY. TO THAT END, THERE COULD BE SOME GOOD NEWS ON FERTILIZERS PRICES. PURDUE AG ECONOMIST BRUCE ERICKSON THINKS FARMERS WILL SEE A REDUCTION IN PRICES NEXT YEAR. ERICKSON IS PROJECTING FERTILIZERS COULD BE ABOUT A THIRD LESS, DEPENDING ON SOILS AND CROP ROTATION. THE ECONOMIST SAYS THE FIGURES ARE BASED ON THREE-DOLLAR-AND-30 CENT CORN AND EIGHT-40 BEANS. WHILE FERTILIZER PRICES MAYBE DROPPING, ERICKSON SAYS OVERALL COSTS REMAIN RELATIVELY HIGH AND HAVE NOT DROPPED LIKE COMMODITY PRICES. HE WOULD EXPECTS FARMERS' MARGINS WILL BE LESS THAN THEY WERE IN 2007 AND 2008.
ACRE signup: IF YOU DIDN'T SIGN-UP FOR THE NEW AVERAGE CROP REVENUE ELECTION PROGRAM THIS YEAR, YOU CAN NOW START REGISTERING FOR NEXT YEAR. THE AG DEPARTMENT SAYS ENROLLMENT FOR THE 2010 ACRE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE TRADITIONAL DIRECT-AND-COUNTER CYCLICAL PROGRAMS IS UNDERWAY. OHIO STATE AG ECONOMIST CARL ZULAUF REMINDS FARMERS THAT ACRE IS A CHOICE -- AND YOU MUST COMPARE IT TO TRADITIONAL FARM PROGRAMS. ZULAUF ENCOURAGES FARMERS TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK ON ACRE. HE SAYS ONCE YOU'VE SIGNED-UP, THE FARM IS ENROLLED FOR THE INITIAL CROP YEAR AND REMAINS IN THE PRGRAM THROUGH THE 2012 CROP YEAR.
COOL Canada: CANADA IS ASKING THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION TO SETTLE A DISPUTE OVER THE MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING POLICY IN THIS COUNTRY. CANADA FORMALLY ASKED THE W-T-O TO ESTABLISH A DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PANEL. THAT COUNTRY FEELS THEIR CATTLEMEN ARE BEING UNFAIRLY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST...AND HAS CUT-IN TO CANADIAN BEEF EXPORTS. U-S TRADE REPRESENTATIVE RON KIRK SAYS HE BELIEVES IMPLEMENTATION OF "COOL" IS CONSISTENT WITH W-T-O POLICIES.
Marketing roundtable: Andy Shissler from Roach Ag marketing and Gavin Maguire from Ehedger.
John’s World: THIS WEEK DELIVERED A BRUTAL RAINY BLOW TO MANY OF US IN THE LOWER CORN BELT. IN FACT, IN MY AREA THE RAIN AND MATURITY ISSUES ARE EXCEEDING ANYTHING IN LIVING MEMORY. WE ARE SCRAMBLING TO FIND WAYS TO GET CROPS OUT OF THE FIELD AND DRY ENOUGH TO STORE EVEN BRIEFLY. OTHER FARMERS ARE LOOKING FOR SIMILAR ANSWERS. SINCE WE HAVE SO MANY NON-FARM VIEWERS, HERE IS A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE PROBLEM. WHEN THE CROPS ARE HIGH IN MOISTURE THEY ARE MORE DIFFICULT TO HARVEST AND CAN SPOIL IN STORAGE. THIS PROBLEM IS WORST FOR SOYBEANS - THE STALK AND PODS MUST BE DRY ENOUGH TO SHATTER WHEN RUN THROUGH A COMBINE. THIS USUALLY REQUIRES CONSIDERABLE SUNSHINE TO HAPPEN - SOMETHING SHORTER DAYS AND LATE FALL WEATHER DON'T PROVIDE IN ABUNDANCE. BY CONTRAST, CORN KERNELS DON'T ABSORB MOISTURE AS EASILY ONCE DRIED DOWN. FOR ALL CROPS THE GROUND MUST BE FIRM ENOUGH FOR TIRES TO GRIP AND NOT SINK IN. FALL WEATHER OFTEN FAILS TO HAVE WARM, DRY WINDS TO HELP SOIL LOSE EXCESS MOISTURE. CROPS CAN BE HARVESTED WHEN THE GROUND IS FROZEN, OF COURSE, BUT THAT ALWAYS MEANS THE POSSIBILITY OF SNOW. IT ALSO REVERSES PRIME HARVESTING TIME TO NIGHT, WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE AT THE LOWS. THIS IS ONE REASON WE FARMERS MAY SEEM A LITTLE TOUCHY THESE DAYS.
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John’s Hello: THE GROWING SEASON WILL COME TO AN ABRUPT HALT FOR MANY OF US THIS WEEKEND, EVEN AS THE HARVEST SEASON STRETCHES INTO DISTANT FUTURE. ANOTHER SLOW MOVING RAIN EVEN DRENCHED CORN AND SOY FIELDS JUST AS COMBINES WERE BEGINNING TO ROLL. 2009 IS NOW OFFICALLY THE MOST CHALLENGING GROWING SEASON I HAVE PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED, AND WE'RE FAR FROM DONE. I SEEM TO REMEMBER SAYING MUCH THE SAME LAST YEAR, BUT THE HARVEST WAS MARGINALLY BETTER. BUT I CAN RECALL AS WELL SOME REMARKABLY ENJOYABLE AND SPEEDY HARVEST SEASONS. THESE THINGS TEND TO EVEN OUT, AND AT MY AGE I'M JUST GLAD I FEEL UP TO THE EFFORT THAT WILL BE NEEDED.
Frost in the Midwest: MANY OF YOU IN THE NATION'S MIDSECTION WILL BE BUNDLING UP THIS WEEKEND, AS COLD AIR MOVES IN. FOR FARMERS IN THE CORNBELT AND NORTHERN PLAINS, FREEZING TEMPERATURES MEAN THE END OF THE GROWING SEASON. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY CORN CROPS HAVE NOT FULLY MATURED. WHEN CORN CROPS DON'T DRY IN THE FIELD, FARMERS THEN MUST DRY THE CROP WHICH MEANS AN ADDED EXPENSE.
Foreign Land ownership: IF YOU WERE TO GUESS...HOW MUCH U-S FARM LAND HAS FOREIGN OWNERSHIP? THE FARM SERVICE AGENCY SAYS ABOUT 21-MILLION ACRES OF AGRICULTURE LAND HAS OWNERS FROM OUTSIDE OUR BORDERS. BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS... THAT'S ABOUT ONE-POINT-SIX PECENT OF ALL PRIVATELY OWNED FARM LAND IN THIS COUNTRY. CANADIANS HOLD THE LARGEST AMOUNT -- ABOUT A THIRD OF THE FOREIGN-OWNED FARMLAND. ON A STATE-BY-STATE ACCOUNT, MAINE HAS THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF FOREIGN-HELD U-S AGRICULTURAL LAND.
Fire Ants Missouri: SOME "FOREIGN" INVADERS CONTINUE THEIR TREK NORTHWARD IN THE UNITED STATES...AND THEY'VE REACHED A NEW STATE. FOR THE FIRST TIME, FIRE ANTS HAVE NOW SHOWN-UP IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. RED IMPORTED FIRE ANTS ARRIVED IN THE U-S ABOUT 50 YEARS AGO AND SPREAD THROUGH-OUT THE SOUTHEAST. THEY'RE AGGRESSIVE AND WILL BITE HUMANS, LIVESTOCK AND PETS. HOUSEMAN SAYS WHEN FIRE ANTS BITE, THEY RELEASE A PHEROMONE THAT TRIGGERS THE OTHER ANTS TO STING AT THE SAME TIME. OFFICIALS ARE NOT SURE WHERE THEY CAME FROM, BUT BELIEVE THEY MAY HAVE RIDDEN ON LANDSCAPING PLANTS FROM OTHER SOUTHERN STATES.
Not enough veggies: IT APPEARS AMERICANS ARE STILL NOT GETTING ENOUGH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES IN THEIR DIETS...THIS ACCORDING TO RESULTS OF A STUDY DONE BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL. THE C-D-C SAYS THE NATIONAL TARGET IS FOR 75-PERCENT OF ADULTS EAT AT LEAST TWO SERVINGS OF FRUIT AND THREE SERVINGS OF VEGETABLES DAILY. BUT ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, ONLY A THIRD ARE GETTING THE FRUIT INTAKE AND 27-PERCENT ARE EATING ENOUGH VEGETABLES.
Farmers markets: A GOOD PLACE TO GET FRESH PRODUCE IS YOUR FARMERS MARKET...AND THE AG DEPARTMENT SAYS THERE ARE PLENTY AVAILABLE. AG SECRETARY TOM VILSACK SAYS THE NUMBER OF FARMERS MARKETS IN THE U-S IS UP MORE THAN 13-PERCENT FROM A YEAR AGO. THE AG DEPARTMENT STARTED TRACKING FARMERS MARKETS 15 YEARS AGO...AND THE NUMBER HAS GROWN BY NEARLY FOUR-THOUSAND NATIONWIDE.
Agritourism: AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, U-PICK" PUMPKIN PATCH ARE A POPULAR DESTINATION FOR MANY FAMILIES. FOR THOSE ON THE FARM, AGRI-TOURISM IS A GOOD WAY TO EARN SOME ADDITIONAL INCOME...BUT IT DOESN'T COMMIT WITHOUT LOTS OF EFFORT. CHUCK DENNEY PROVIDES PROOF IN THIS REPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE.
Giant Pumpkin: WHILE JEFF GROWS SMALL PUMPKINS, SOME FOLKS LIKE TO GROW GIGANTIC GOURDS. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS ONE, FOR INSTANCE. ACCORDING TO THE GREAT PUMPKIN COMMONWEALTH, CHRISTY HARP OF OHIO JUST SET A NEW WORLD RECORD. HER ENTRY MEASURED A WHOPPING 17-HUNDRED-AND-25 POUNDS. THE COMPETITION TOOK PLACE AT THE OHIO VALLEY GIANT PUMPKIN WEIGH-IN LAST WEEKEND. THAT SURPASSES THE OLD RECORD BY 36 POUNDS.
Milk shortage? IN WHAT MAY SEEM LIKE AN IRONIC TWIST, THERE MAY BE A SHORTAGE OF MILK IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. WE'VE TALKED FOR MONTHS HOW AN ABUNDANCE OF MILK AND DAIRY HERDS HAVE PLAYED A ROLE IN THE DROP IN DAIRY PRICES...BUT NOW IT APPEARS SOME CALIFORNIA PROCESSORS ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING A BIT SHORT. ACCORDING TO OUR REPORTING PARTNERS AT DAIRY TODAY, SOME OF THE BIGGEST MILK PROCESSORS ARE SHORT ON MILK TO FILL THEIR CONTRACTS. SEVERAL MONTHS OF REDUCED PRODUCTION AND HERD BUYOUTS HAVE LOWERED SUPPLIES. THROUGH AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, CALIFORNIA MILK PRODUCTION IS DOWN JUST OVER THREE PERCENT.
Dairy crisis: WHILE DAIRYMEN ARE HOPING FOR SOME QUICK RELIEF, IT APPEARS A SLOW RECOVERY IS MORE LIKELY. AT THE 2009 WORLD DAIRY EXPO IN MADISON, WISCONSIN - REGIONAL REPORTER MICHELLE ROOK TALKED WITH PRODUCERS TO FIND OUT HOW THEY'RE WEATHERING THE STORM. SOME PRODUCERS AT THE SHOW TOLD MICHELLE THEY'VE LOST IN A YEAR WHAT IT TOOK TWENTY YEARS TO BUILD.
Tractor tales: TRACTOR TALES THIS WEEK COMES TO US FROM CANTON, TEXAS. WE SPENT SOME TIME THERE TALKING TO A NUMBER OF COLLECTORS, INCLUDING A GENTLEMAN PROUD TO SHOW OFF HIS 1953 FARMALL SUPER-H. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER PRODUCED THE SUPER-H FOR ONLY TWO YEARS...1953 AND '54. MORE THAN 28-THOUSAND WERE BUILT WITH AN ASKING PRICE OF JUST OVER TWO-THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Country church salute: WE ARE STARTING TO GET MORE 175TH ANNIVERSARIES ON COUNTRY CHURCH SALUTE, AND TODAY THAT EVENT IS MARKED BY THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF PRINCEVILLE, ILLINOIS. ORGANIZED AS THE PRINCE'S GROVE PRESYBETERIAN CHURCH, IN 1844 A NEW CHURCH HOME WAS COMPLETED IN THE NEW TOWN OF PRINCEVILLE. BY 1866 A LARGER BUILDING WAS NEEDED WHICH NOW FORMS THE MAIN PART FO THE CURRENT CHURCH. A LARGE FELLOWSHIP HALL WAS ADDED IN 1986. OUR THANKS TO JOYCE BASEHORE. OUR SECOND CHURCH IS ST MARTIN LUTHERAN IN BELLE PLAINE, WISCONSIN. THEY CELEBRATE THEIR 150TH ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEKEND. AFTER ORGANIZING IN 1859, THE FIRST CHURCH WAS ERECTED IN 1869, AND WAS REPLACED IN 1907. THIS STRUCTURE HAS BEEN LOVINGLY MAINTAINED AND IMPROVED SINCE. THE RURAL CONGREGATION REMAINS ACTIVE AND TRUE TO THEIR CENTURY AND A HALF HERITAGE OF BIBLE-BASED FAITH IN ACTION.
USFR mailbag: TIME NOW FOR OUR WEEKLY LOOK INSIDE THE FARM REPORT MAIL BAG... DAN WHITMER CALLED TO PASS ALONG A SOYBEAN RUMOR: "I HEAR THESE NEW SOYBEANS THAT HAVE HIGHER YIELD HAVE LESS IN SOYBEAL OIL AND PROTEIN, THEY ARE JUST VOLUME AND WEIGHT." DAN I CALLED MY SEED DEALER TO INVESTIGATE THIS CLAIM, AND HE DID SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF - HE CALLED SOYBEAN PROCESSORS, NAMELY ADM AND BUNGE WHO BOTH HAVE PLANTS IN OUR AREA. IF ANYBODY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT OIL AND PROTEIN YIELDS IT WOULD BE USERS, AND THEY ARE NOT SELLING THESE HIGHER PRICED SEEDS EITHER. PROCESSORS SEE NO EVIDENCE OF UNUSUAL CONTENT IN THE NEW BEANS. I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT OIL AND PROTEIN CONTENT ARE A FUNCTION OF GROWING CONDITIONS AND ALWAYS VARY SLIGHTLY. DIFFERENT VARIETIES WILL HAVE DIFFERENT OIL/PROTEIN LEVELS, JUST AS THEY WILL HAVE DIFFERENT YIELDS. THIS ISSUE RAISES A BIGGER POINT THOUGH. AS FARMERS EXPERIENCE ENORMOUS PRESSURES TO GET THIS HARVEST IN, WE ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY PRIMED TO LOOK FOR NEW THREATS. RUMORS THAT NORMALLY WOULDN'T BE GIVEN MUCH CREDENCE WILL TRAVEL A LOT FARTHER. GIVEN THE PROBLEMS WE'VE GOT WE CAN'T AFFORD TO OVERLOOK ANY POSSIBILITY, SO KEEP IN MIND WE'RE GOING TO JUMP AT EVERY NOISE, AND LOOK FOR HIDDEN DANGERS IN EACH BIT OF NEWS. WE CAN'T HELP THIS NATURAL REACTION, BUT WE CAN REALIZE WE'RE NOT OPERATING WITH OUR BEST RATIONAL SKILLS RIGHT NOW.
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