USFR Weekly Recap - October 31-November 1, 2009
10/31/2009
THIS WEEK ON U.S. FARM REPORT
Episode #1890
October 31- November 1, 2009
John’s Hello: ALL YEAR WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT DELAYS FOR THIS PRODUCTION ACTIVITY AND SLOW CROP PROGRESS. WHILE THIS BECOMES PRETTY MONOTONOUS NEWS, THE CULMINATION OF ALL THESE STORIES IS APPROACHING. THESE PROBLEMS ARE CUMULATIVE, AND THERE HAVE BEEN FEW COUNTERACTING FACTORS LIKE WARM, DRY WEATHER TO MITIGATE THE RESULT. MANY HISTORICAL EVENTS ARE LIKE THIS: A SUM OF SEQUENTIAL SMALL HAPPENINGS THAT ALL PUSH THE RESULT FAR FROM THE EXPECTED. HISTORIC TIMES ARE CONFUSING AND HARD TO BELIVE IN PROGRESS. SO IF YOU'RE CONFUSED AND AMAZED AT THE 2009 CROP YEAR, IT MAY BE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT JUST FARMING, YOU ARE WRITING HISTORY.
Late harvest: AG DEPARTMENT METEOROLOGISTS SAY YOU HAVE TO GO BACK 20 YEARS TO FIND SUCH A SLOW START TO THE NATION'S CORN HARVEST. ON MONDAY, THE USDA REPORTED 20-PERCENT OF THE CORN IS HARVESTED. IT'S USUALLY APPROACHING 60-PERCENT BY NOW. ILLINOIS FARMERS -- SORRY JOHN -- MADE LITTLE HEADWAY LAST WEEK WITH THEIR CORN HARVEST. ONLY 14-PERCENT IS HARVESTED, UP ONLY 3 POINTS FROM THE PREVIOUS WEEK...AND DOWN 63-POINTS FROM AVERAGE.
Missouri delays: IT'S A SIMILAR STORY IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI. ABOUT 40-PERCENT OF THE STATE'S CORN IS CUT...IT'S USUALLY AT 80-PERCENT. FARMERS SAY THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY THINGS YOU CAN FIX WHILE WAITING FOR DRY FIELDS.
Herd buyou: IN OTHER NEWS THIS WEEK, COOPERATIVES WORKING TOGETHER SAYS IT HAS TENTATIVELY ACCEPTED ONE-HUNDRED-54 BIDS FROM DAIRY PRODUCERS IN ITS LATEST ROUND OF HERD RETIREMENT. THIS BUYOUT WILL REMOVE MORE THAN 26-THOUSAND COWS WITH PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF FIVE-HUNDRED MILLION POUNDS OF MILK. THIS IS THE FOURTH BUYOUT IN 12 MONTHS. TO DATE, THE PROGRAM WILL HAVE PAID FOR THE REMOVAL OF A QUARTER MILLION DAIRY COWS. MOST OF THE COWS ARE COMING FROM WESTERN STATES WHERE FEED COSTS ARE HIGHER. FIELD AUDITORS WILL VISIT FARMS TO INSPECT HERDS AND GO-OVER PRODUCTION RECORDS. FARMERS WILL FIND OUT BY MID-NOVEMBER IF THEIR BID WAS ACCEPTED.
Marketing Roundtable: Bob Utterback and Brian Basting
John’s World: WHILE MANY OF US HAVE BEEN ALMOST TOTALLY FOCUSED ON HARVESTING CROPS, THOSE INDUSTRIES AND PEOPLE AROUND AGRICULTURE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO ADJUST THEIR SCHEDULES AS THE DELAY IMPACT SPREADS. FOR EXAMPLE, BANKERS WHO WOULD NORMALLY BE STARTING TO WORK WITH CUSTOMERS TO MAP OUT FINANCIAL NEEDS FOR NEXT YEAR ARE POSTPONING THOSE MEETINGS FOR WEEKS, IF NOT MONTHS. SALESMEN FOR INPUTS HAVE TROUBLE CAPTURING ANY PRODUCER ATTENTION AS THE UNCERTAINTY OF THIS YEAR OUTWEIGHS PLANS FOR THE NEXT CROP. IN FACT, AS WE SAW TODAY, THE SHAPE OF NEXT YEARS PLANTING MIX IS ALREADY BEING AFFECTED BY FALL CROPS THAT CANNOT GET IN THE GROUND AND TILLAGE THAT MAY NOT BE DONE EITHER. THIS RIPPLE EFFECT SHOULD REMIND MANY HOW ROUTINE HARVEST HAD BECOME. EVEN GRAIN BUYERS LOOKED AT MASSIVE COMBINES AND SHRUGGED OFF THE IDEA OF A VERY LATE HARVEST. THE DOUBLE WHAMMY OF LATE CROPS AND LATE MATURITY WAS A VERY SLIM PROBABILITY. BUT AS THE CALENDAR ROLLS OVER TO NOVEMBER, THAT CASUAL CONFIDENCE IS BEING SHAKEN, AND THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THIS UNUSUAL YEAR IS SPREADING. EVEN WHEN THIS CROP IS IN THE BIN, THE EFFORT TO RECOVER WILL STILL BE ONGOING. HARVEST DELAYS DON'T DISAPPEAR WHEN THE COMBINE IS PUT AWAY. THEY ARE SIMPLY HANDED OFF LIKE THE OLD MAID CARD.
USFR 2nd half
John’s Hello: STATES THAT ALLOW INITIATIVES BY CITIZENS TO BE PLACED DIRECTLY ON THE BALLOT HAVE DRAWN THE ATTENTION OF INTEREST GROUPS WHO ARE FRUSTRATED BY GOVERNMENT INACTION. ENCOURAGED BY THE MYRIAD AND SWEEPING CHANGES ENACTED IN CALIFORNIA BY THIS METHOD, MANY OF THE OTHER 28 STATES WITH THIS PROCESS ARE SEEING MORE INTEREST IN SUCH REFERENDA. MANY OF US WILL BE WATCHING THE OUTCOME IN OHIO ON SUCH A MEASURE, ALTHOUGH THERE IT'S A FULL BLOWN CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. CITIZENS TAKE GOVERNING INTO THEIR OWN HANDS TEND TO CREATE WAVES THAT SPREAD. DIRECT DEMOCRACY CAN BE A GOOD BALANCE TO GOVERNMENT BY ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUT IT CAN ALSO INTRODUCE A REAL WILD CARD INTO THE DECK.
Issue 2: OHIO VOTERS WILL DECIDE NEXT WEEK WHETHER TO CREATE A BOARD TO OVERSEE LIVESTOCK CARE. IT'S A PLAN PUSHED BY THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY TO FIGHT OFF ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS. ISSUE TWO WOULD REQUIRE A CHANGE TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO CREATE THE BOARD. OHIO IS THE LATEST BATTLEGROUND WHERE ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS ARE TRYING TO OUTLAW CAGES FOR BREEDING PIGS, EGG-LAYING HENS AND VEAL CALVES. SUPPORTERS OF SUCH RULES SAY ANIMALS DESERVE HUMANE TREATMENT. OPPONENTS ARGUE THAT THE REGULATIONS FORCE FARMERS TO MAKE COSTLY CHANGES AND DRIVE UP EGG, CHICKEN, PORK AND BEEF PRICES. A "YES" VOTE SUPPORTS THE CREATION OF A LIVESTOCK CARE BOARD, WHICH WOULD ALSO MEAN A CHANGE TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION.
China Pork: STILL REELING FROM THE H-1-N-1 FLU OUTBREAK, U-S PORK PRODUCERS GOT SOME GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK. CHINA SAYS IT PLANS TO RE-OPEN ITS MARKET TO PORK PRODUCTS AND LIVE SWINE FROM THE U-S. EVEN THOUGH WORLD HEALTH GROUPS ACKNOWLEDGED THIS STRAIN IS NOT SPREAD BY EATING PORK, CHINA STOPPED ALL U-S PORK IMPORTS IN MAY. THE U-S-D-A SAYS CHINA WAS THE FASTEST GROWING MARKET FOR U-S RAISED PORK IN 2008, ACCOUNTING FOR A HALF BILLION DOLLARS. DURING A TRADE MEETING THIS WEEK BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, CHINA SAID IT WAS DROPPING THE RESTRICTIONS.
Time Change: AND JUST A REMINDER FOR YOU... IT'S THAT WEEKEND WHEN MOST FOLKS CHANGE THEIR CLOCKS. WE "FALL" BACK ONE HOUR. HERE'S SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER. IT'S GOING TO GET DARKER SOONER. WITH THE LATE HARVEST THIS YEAR, MANY FARMERS WILL BE WORKING LATE HOURS. THAT MEANS COMBINES AND TRACTORS WILL BE ON THE ROAD AFTER THE SUN SETS. FARMERS AND NON-FARMERS SHARE THE ROAD...SO WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE CAREFUL AND COURTEOUS.
Nat’l cornhusking: THE SAME WET FALL THAT IS SLOWING THE HARVEST FOR FARMERS ALSO CAUSED CHALLENGES FOR PEOPLE WHO PICK THEIR CORN BY HAND! THE NATIONAL CORNHUSKING COMPETITION TOOK PLACE RECENTLY IN NORTH MANCHESTER, INDIANA. THIS EVENT FIRST STARTED IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY WHEN THOSE NEW-FANGLED COMBINES WEREN'T INVENTED YET. EACH COMPETITOR HOOKS AN EAR, SHUCKS IT, AND TOSSES IT INTO A WAGON. JOHN VAN LIER OF COLTON, SOUTH DAKOTA WON HIS DIVISION. ABBIE CAME IN FOURTH IN HER DIVISION. EACH WAGON LOAD IS WEIGHED. ANY EAR THAT THE HUSKER DOESN'T PICK OFF THE STALK...PLUS ANY SHUCKS LEFT ON...WILL MEAN A DEDUCTION. SHUCKERS FROM NINE STATES TAKE PART IN THIS ANNUAL COMPETITION.
Vulture Study: ON THIS HALLOWEEN, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD RECOGNIZE TWO WINGED CREATURES THAT SEEM TO SYMBOLIZE THE SINISTER SIDE -- BATS AND VULTURES. AFTER YEARS OF DECLINE, VULTURE POPULATIONS ARE NOW INCREASING AROUND THE COUNTRY. THE SCAVENGERS WILL CLEAN-UP AFTER DEAD ANIMALS. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THEY CAN ALSO DESTROY PROPERTY AND ATTACK NEWBORN LIVESTOCK. WHILE THEY CAN BE A NUISANCE, THE BIRD IS ALSO FEDERALLY PROTECTED. FLORIDA RESEARCHERS ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO RE-LOCATE THE UNWELCOME GUEST. THE STUDY LOOKS PRIMARILY AT BLACK VULTURES WHICH ARE COMMON IN THE SOUTHEAST...BUT HE SAYS THEY'VE ALSO BEEN SPOTTED IN NEW YORK, MICHIGAN AND ARIZONA. HE SAYS IN THAT ASPECT, VULTURES ARE A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY.
Bat Blitz: AND NOW TO BATS. THOUGH THEY MAY SEEM CREEPY TO SOME, THEY PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN PEST CONTROL - ESPECIALLY MOSQUITOES. BIOLOGISTS ARE WORRIED A DISEASE THAT'S BEEN KILLING OFF BATS IN THE NORTHEAST COULD REACH THE SHOW ME STATE. IN THIS REPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, KENT FADDIS TAKES ON THE "BAT BLITZ". KENT SAYS THE BAT BLITZ NETTED MORE THAN SIX HUNDRED BATS. THE EVENT IS ORGANIZED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AND THE SOUTHEASTERN BAT DIVERSITY NETWORK.
Baxter Black: WE'VE ALL HAD A PET THAT SEEMS LIKE A PART OF THE FAMILY...AND WE ALL KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT CAN BE WHEN THAT FAITHFUL COMPANION IS NO LONGER WITH US. BAXTER SHARES HIS LOSS.....
Tractor Tales: WE'RE OFF TO THE LONE STAR STATE THIS WEEK FOR A LOOK AT A FARMALL 460. IT WAS ONE OF FOUR MODELS THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO FARMERS WITH A GASOLINE, DIESEL, AND L-P OPTION. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER SOLD THESE TRACTORS FOR AROUND 4-THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Church Salute: OUR COUNTRY CHURCH SALUTE GOES FRIST TO MONONA, IOWA AND THE ST PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH. ORGANIZED IN 1884 BY GERMAN IMMIGRANTS, THIER FIRST CHURCH WAS COMPLETED THE FOLLOWING YEAR. AS THE CONGREGATION GREW, A NEW BUILDING WAS DEDICATED IN 1966. THE MEMBERSHIP OF 874 BAPTIZED MEMBERS CELEBRATED THEIR 125TH ANNIVERSARY THIS SEPTEMBER. THE PASTOR IS ALLEN BIDNEY. OUR THANKS TO DEAN SCHULTZ. OUR SECOND CHURCH IS ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH IN LANCASTER, MINNESOTA, WHOSE CENTENNIAL WAS THIS YEAR. BEGUN BY SWEDISH IMMIGRANTS, SWEDISH TRADITIONS HAVE BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR HISTORY, INCLUDING A SCANDANAVIAN SMORGASBORD IN JUNE AND A LUTEFISK SUPPER IN THE FALL. SWEDISH SERVICES WERE DISCONTINUED IN THE 1930'S. THE SAME CHURCH BELL HAS RUNG SINCE THE FOUNDING. GLENN SANNER SENT US THE INFORMATION.
USFR mailbag: TIME NOW FOR OUR WEEKLY LOOK INSIDE THE FARM REPORT MAIL BAG... A FEW WEEKS AGO WE RECEIVED THIS ANONYMOUS PHONE SUGGESTION: "FIRST OF ALL I WAS PLEASED THAT JOHN TALKED ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING. HE DIDN'T SAY MUCH BUT HE DID BRING IT UP. IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU WOULD DO A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON THIS TOPIC." I APPRECIATE THE SUGGESTION, AND I DO DISCUSS GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION AT CONSIDERABLE LENGTH ON MY BLOG, WHICH YOU CAN FIND ON OUR HOME PAGE, BUT THIS ISSUE MAY BE PAST THE DISCUSSION STAGE FOR MOST IN AGRICULTURE. BLUNTLY PUT, THOSE OF US WHO BELIEVE ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING TO BE A REAL PROBLEM ARE A TINY MINORITY IN AGRICULTURE. IT IS ALSO A TOPIC THAT DEFIES THE 90-SECOND INTERVAL WE HAVE TO OFFER COMMENTARY. MOSTLY HOWEVER, BRINGING UP GLOBAL WARMING ALWAYS TRIGGERS ANGRY POLITICAL REPLIES THAT I FIND LITTLE HELP TO ANYONE. THIS ISSUE IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT BIG GOVERNMENT, ECONOMIC ORTHODOXY, AND FINANCIAL SELF-INTEREST. THERE IS GOOD NEWS HOWEVER, DESPITE THE TENOR OF THE PUBLIC DEBATE. WE ARE ALL FREE TO PLACE OUR BETS BASED ON WHAT WE BELIEVE. FOR EXAMPLE, CLIMATOLOGISTS CURRENTLY SUGGEST GLOBAL WARMING COULD MEAN, AMONG OTHER THINGS, MORE AND LARGER RAIN EVENTS AND WARMER WINTERS FOR MY FARM. SO I'M PUTTING MY MONEY INTO FARM DRAINAGE AND GRAIN SYSTEMS TO HANDLE SEASONS THAT LOOK MORE LIKE 2009. I'M ALSO RETHINKING MY LONGSTANDING INDIFFERENCE TO CROP INSURANCE. EVERY FARM AND EVEN EVERY CITIZEN CAN MAKE SIMILAR CHOICES, AND I HOPE YOU DO. REGARDLESS OF WHICH SIDE YOU SUPPORT, ACTIONS MAKE MORE DIFFERENCE THAN WORDS AT THIS POINT.
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