It is said that 'knowledge is the bedrock of existence'. As such, this blog serves to freely inform the general public about the importance of agriculture. The blog also serves to educate people on the different products that could be used on plants and animals to boost their growth and minimise loss and mortality.
Can you tell the difference between soybeans and sweet potatoes from 100 feet in the air?
Could you handle the controls of an airplane flying 150 mph?
Could you keep that airplane 10 feet off the ground, apply an agriculture product to the right field, keep the product on target, and avoid hazards in and around the field?
If so, you might be an Agriculture Aviator.
I’ve always called an agriculture pilot a crop duster, but that doesn’t begin to cover what these pilots do. First of all, most of the products they apply are liquid, so the pilots aren’t really dusting anything. In addition to applying pesticides, planes are used to plant seeds, apply fertilizer, fight wildfires, feed fish, and many other jobs in agriculture.
Last week, our wheat needed fertilizer applied to it, but the field was too wet for the tractor. Instead, we used an aerial applicator.
According to the National Agricultural Aviation Association, one plane can do three times the work of ground equipment, which cuts down on fuel usage. By using a plane, we also avoided any soil compaction.
Planes used in agriculture may take off and land between 30 and 100 times a day. The landing strip might be paved or a rough area in a field.
Pilots must have a commercial pilots license and a commercial pesticide applicators license. This is a specialized field, requiring specific skills that aren’t used by pilots flying commercial planes. I looked at a few websites for Agriculture Flight Schools and, in addition to 40 hours of flight training, pilots also take classes in navigation with and without GPS, choosing spray patterns, loading and mixing chemicals, and other topics.
Ceci Snyder, vice president of consumer marketing, National Pork Board
Ceci Synder
Every six months, we do a consumer tracking survey. Consumption skews slightly higher for boomers – but not by much. People who enjoy cooking eat the most pork, no matter their age.
There are four significant food trends we see.
• World cuisine. Korean cuisine is gaining popularity, and we have developed national pork advertisements that include this cuisine.
• Fewer food additives. Our marketing focuses on pork that is sold fresh, so this trend fits us pretty well, too.
• Minority gains. We have rapidly growing populations of Latino, Asian, and African-American consumers. For many, pork is the preferred meat choice, so that’s working in our favor.
• Premium products. There is a growing demand for some niche products, and producers are responding. Even large packers, for example, have programs to produce pork raised without antibiotics. We continually measure consumer attitudes about on-farm practices.
One new product demand we see is for a prime-type pork product with darker color, higher marbling, and other attributes. Some producers will provide the product and the genetics for this demand. It will be good for producers and consumers.
Patrick Archer, president, American Peanut Council
Patrick Archer
Nuts are a good source of plant-based protein, low in fat, low in carbs, and healthy. Peanuts are a very sustainable crop. They’re a legume and a great rotation crop. Yields have gone up, so we produce more peanuts with the same resources. Peanuts are not genetically modified. Those are all important things to millennial consumers especially.
Of all peanuts grown, 57% are sold as peanut butter. It’s not a highly processed product; we just grind them up and add a small amount of a stabilizing additive to prevent separation. We also have all-natural peanut butters with no additives.
Our biggest consumer challenge is peanut allergies. Farmers have spent over $10 million for research and education on that subject.
Serena Schaffner, director of marketing communications, American Egg Board
Serena Schaffner
We often see food trends start in restaurants and then impact at-home consumption. For instance, the growth of egg sandwiches at quick-serve restaurants has resulted in more consumers making them at home for a fast weekday breakfast.
One of the most relevant food trends is consumers’ appetite for protein, especially at breakfast. There are benefits of eating protein throughout the day, rather than most of it at dinner. Eggs fit this trend with nothing artificial, which is also increasingly important to Americans.
You can now find ready-to-eat hard-boiled eggs at many local retailers. This caters to busy, on-the-go consumers today.
Consumers now have a variety of egg choices, such as cage-free and organic.
Per capita egg consumption is at a 30-year high.
Kevin Schooley, executive director, North American Strawberry Growers Association
Kevin Schooley
Our members are mostly smaller growers offering pick-your-own service and roadside stands. We consider ourselves the original local producers.
We went through a time when big growers from California were dominating retail strawberry sales, but the trends are switching back. Many of our growers now partner with grocers to provide local food to stock their shelves. We like this. Our growers are positioned to meet the rising demand for a fresh, local product.
The Organised Private Sector (OPS) has presented an economy recovery plan to the federal government of Nigeria.
The President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Frank Udenba-Jacobs made the presentation on behalf of the OPS to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo during the 2nd Presidential Business Forum at the State House, Abuja.
The group comprises the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (NASME) and Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI).
Lauding the efforts of the federal government towards economic resurgence the OPS stated that to achieve a good result, the federal government must address issues of access to foreign exchange by the real sector, re-capitalisation of the Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture, provision of long-term funding for the industrial sector through urgent and targeted operations of the Development Bank of Nigeria, as well as resource-based industrialisation.
The group also urged the federal government to strongly oppose the European Union (EU)/Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Economic Partnership Agreement which, according to the group would lead to de-industrialisation which will in turn limit investments and manufacturing growth in West Africa, particularly Nigeria.
“The implication of this, if entered into, is that our economy will remain a provider of raw materials and an importer of finished products,” the group said.
The OPS advised the federal government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to patronise made-in-Nigeria products and enforce the Procurement Act as this would help to create employment and encourage local manufacturers.
“Our expenditure in favour of imported products is detrimental to the growth of local industry as it increases employment in the country of origin and simultaneously increases poverty in our land,” it noted.
Also commending the Central Bank’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), the OPS recommended that the ABP be expanded to include medium-scale as well as large-scale integrated processors to act as anchor companies so as to increase private sector involvement in the scheme in order to boost production of key commodities,
The group added that this will soothe supply of inputs to agro processors and address food security in Nigeria.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has pleaded with the Federal Government to review the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) foreign exchange policy, which placed ban on importers of 41 items from accessing forex in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Markets.
Speaking in Lagos, MAN President Dr. Udemba Jacobs said some of the items that were restricted from accessing the forex market could not be sourced locally.
“The association has done an analysis on the banned items and we broke the 41 items into 110 and of the 110, 75 are raw materials for our members. It is these 75 items we ask the Federal Government to remove from the list so that our members can source forex to buy their raw materials,” he said.
AgroNigeria recalls that in 2015, the CBN issued a directive stopping some imported goods and services from the list of items valid for forex which in turn barred access to foreign currency for entrepreneurs who used such products as raw materials.
Some of these banned goods include: cement, Margarine, Palm kernel/Palm oil, Poultry chicken, eggs, turkey, products/vegetables oil, Metal boxes and containers, Enamelware, Steel drums, Steel pipes, Wire rods(deformed and not deformed), Iron rods and reinforcing bar, Wire mesh, Meat and processed meat products, Wood particle boards and panels, etc.
Jacobs said about 44 of its members have closed shop as a result of the lack of raw materials.
“We have lost about 44 of our members. They have gone out of business because of their inability to source foreign exchange to bring in the materials,” he said.
The MAN president however called on the government to review the 41 items that will involve the stakeholders to resolve manufacturers’ inaccessibility to forex.
“Such raw materials that cannot be locally available should be removed from the items,’’ he said.
The Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have agreed to conduct a national public enlightenment programme on the operations of the exchange.
The Managing Director/CEO of NCX, Mrs Zaheera Baba-Ari, who visited the NOA headquarters in Abuja, said the core objective of the exchange hinged on the provision of an efficient and transparent trading platform for the sale and appropriate pricing of Nigerian agro-commodities.
A statement by Mr. Chris Echikwu, the NCX’s Head, Corporate Communication, quoted Mrs Baba-Ari as saying the exchange would serve as a veritable source of employment provision and revenue generation for the federal government.
Mrs Baba-Ari stated that NCX is partnering NOA to leverage on its wide ranging national public enlightenment apparatus to educate Nigerian farmers and consumers of agro-commodities on the benefits of patronising the exchange.
The Director-General of the NOA, Malam Garba Abari, pledged the readiness of his organisation to work with NCX in its mission of improving the livelihood of Nigerian farmers.
It was agreed that a joint NOA/NCX Committee would be established in due course to develop the proposed national enlightenment programme on the benefits of NCX operations to the national economy.
When I go into a doctor’s office, I always check the diplomas on the wall so I know the person I’m talking to has some basis of knowledge for what we’re discussing.
I haven’t received a diploma since Clinton High in 1973, but I do have this: I live on a 1,000-acre farm, 40% of which is farmland only because it’s been ditched, tiled, and drained over the past 100 years. I also live on the edge of a 250-acre wetland that at least three generations of my family could have drained but chose not to.
There is no end to the list of topics about which I know nothing, but I do know this: Agriculture in America has a dirt problem. You can tell it from plugged road culverts, from lakes rendered shallow and useless by farm runoff, by the dredges you see in major rivers, and by what’s happening to the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, and any number of other places where what runs off our farmland hits its final resting site.
Where I live, on the edge of the prairie in western Minnesota, my farm is only a few miles from the Continental Divide. Fifty years ago, I took swimming lessons at the foot of Big Stone Lake. Nobody swims there anymore, and places where my grandfather would have seen water 15 feet deep are now shallow enough for a duck to wade, if the duck could stand the smell. The water leaves my home and ends up in the Gulf of Mexico, where, this year, the Dead Zone is over 5,000 square miles.
There has always been erosion. The Mississippi Delta didn’t suddenly appear a month after corn was first planted in Iowa. The river’s been dumping mud at the southern tip of America for 7,000 years, long before the first ethanol plant was built.
I understand that we don’t live in an impact-free world. There are over 7 billion people in the world now, almost double the number from when I started farming, and many of those folks would be starving without our modern agricultural systems. It can be easy to think that some evils are just the price of progress.
In Pittsburgh in the 1940s, streetlights were turned on during the day in an effort to burn through the smog. In London in 1952, 12,000 people died prematurely due to coal smoke in the air. At the time, it was seen as the price paid for prosperity. Today, the air above both cities is pretty clean. Dramatic changes were made, not without pain and distress, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
It’s important to remember that progress is a portal, and the passage usually involves discomfort.
No one likes to be told what to do, and farmers are no different. A common way to deal with the pressures of being told things you don’t want to hear is to deny the truth of what you’re hearing.
That works for a while. It doesn’t work forever.
This past year in Minnesota, legislation was introduced that would require farm ditches to have a 50-foot buffer strip to clean up the water. It has caused quite an uproar, and no one knows how things will sort out. You should be able to figure out most of the pros and cons yourself.
Here’s the deal, though. As farmers, we’ve caused quite a mess, and in the past few years, it’s only gotten worse. When prices were high, farmers wanted to farm every inch, because there was so much money to be made. After prices dropped, they still farmed every inch in order to make a profit. Tree claims, buffer strips, and contour farming are all going by the wayside. Sprayers that kill grass waterways with their massive wingspans just add another nail in the coffin.
That’s just the truth.
Everyone makes messes. It’s the first thing we do as babies. For a while, people put up with the messes and even clean up after us. Adults are expected to clean up after themselves, though.
Look at a factory. What goes out the smokestack or down the drain gets tested. If it fits the parameters of what’s considered acceptable, everything’s cool. If not, it needs to be cleaned up.
We like to think we’re professionals, that we run businesses – and big businesses at that. That’s not a title we can claim without also accepting the responsibilities that society expects.
Next time it rains, walk out and take a look at the water running off your farm. If it’s not clean, you should probably fix it.
Otherwise, sooner or later, someone’s going to make you.
Speaking specifically to soybeans and starting the process of new-crop sales, it is important to start forward contracts (if you like your current local basis) or consider a hedge-to-arrive (where you lock in an agreed futures price and have to set your basis later) on 10% to 20% of your new crop.
Right now, you’re locking in a profit, and if you’ve told your lender that you can pencil in a profit on beans, you should reward this rally and pull the trigger!
The fear may be, “Well, I sold early last year and the market rallied $1.00. I felt frustrated for selling too soon!” That is a real feeling for sure, but please do remember you can reown that cash sale with an option strategy to still let you take part of a rally higher.
There are so many factors to watch this year regarding marketing that you have to be on your toes! What happens if the weather in South America suddenly turns perfect and the only South American weather drama the market reacts to is what already happened in the past two weeks? Or, what happens if the new administration suddenly creates a dramatic policy that sinks export demand? Nearly HALF the beans grown in this country are exported! If exports are suddenly turned off, then we will REALLY have a big domestic supply on our hands.
I don’t think it would happen, but you always need to be mindful of any scenario that could possibly make the market turn higher or lower. This way you’re prepared for anything that this market throws at us.
Lastly, pri
nt off the chart below and tape it to your office desk. This is a seasonal chart of November soybean futures. Notice that, seasonally, soybean prices have a tendency to work higher from now until June.
So, your window for marketing starts NOW! You likely won’t hit a home run and market all of your crop on the high, but you can build a strong average by pricing early and often, especially when the market price for beans is as attractive as it is now. Good luck and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
The data contained herein is believed to be drawn from reliable sources but cannot be guaranteed. Neither the information presented, nor any opinions expressed constitute a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any commodity. Those individuals acting on this information are responsible for their own actions.
Commodity trading may not be suitable for all recipients of this report. Futures trading involves risk of loss and should be carefully considered before investing. Past performance may not be indicative of future results.
Any reproduction, republication or other use of the information and thoughts expressed herein, without the express written permission of Stewart-Peterson Inc., is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2017 Stewart-Peterson Inc. All rights reserved.
More than 50,000 residents of Tana River County, Kenya are staring at death because of the ongoing drought.
Governor of the county, Hussein Dado who disclosed this also warned that the figure could rise to 90,000 if the drought continues.
“River Tana is drying up. There are carcasses all over and the situation is worrying. We’ve distributed food to families in Bangal, Hirimani, Mbalambala, Bura, Charidede, Assa and Kone,” he said.
Dado informed that similar drought was experienced in 1984 when residents of Bura and Galole constituencies abandoned their homes and went to Garsen. He also stated that administration had suspended projects and diverted funds to fighting hunger.
“Let us not wait until deaths are announced. The devolved government has done all it can with the little resources it has,” he said.
Daily Nation reports that in the North Rift, animal prices have dropped drastically in the last few weeks. Officials also note that more than 100,000 people in the North Rift are at risk of starvation
In some parts of the county, a cow which used to sell at Sh30,000 (about N89,000)in November now goes for Sh10,000 (N29,000).
Dado however appealed to the government, donors and well-wishers to help residents of Tana Delta, Tana North and Tana River sub-counties.
Kenya Food Security Steering Group and Early Warning Systems Network Report indicate that asides Tana, some of the most affected counties are Samburu, Marsabit, Isiolo, Garrisa, Mandera and Wajir.
Wheatgrass juice is of the nature’s finest medicines. It is a powerful concentrated liquid nutrient. Two drops of wheatgrass juice has the nutritional equivalent of five pounds of the best raw organic vegetables.
The Juice is one of the best sources of living chlorophyll available today. Chlorophyll helps in normal blood clotting, wound healing, hormonal balance, deodorizing and detoxification of the body and promotes digestive health.
However, to get the full benefit, the chlorophyll must come fresh from a living plant One good thing about wheatgrass is you can grow it in just about few weeks, right in your own home.
15 benefits of the wheatgrass juice
Wheatgrass juice contains all minerals known to man, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K. It is extremely rich in protein, and contains 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein
Wheatgrass decomposes superoxide radicals in the body into a more manageable form, thereby helping to slow down the aging process.
Wheatgrass is antibacterial and can be used inside and outside the body as a natural healer.
This plant can cure various skin diseases involving the outer and underlying layers of the skin, including: itching and burning of the rectum; ivy poisoning; weeping and dry eczema and even in conditions caused by insect bites or infection.
Wheatgrass contains a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals, including the thirteen essential ones, combined with dozens of trace elements and enzymes
Wheatgrass is high in oxygen like all green plants that contain chlorophyll. This is beneficial because the brain and all body tissues function at an optimal level in a highly- oxygenated environment
Wheatgrass juice can cure skin problems such as eczema or psoriasis
Wheatgrass juice helps to keep the hair from graying.
Wheatgrass juice is an excellent skin cleanser and can be absorbed through the skin for nutrition.
Wheatgrass implants (enemas) are great for healing and detoxifying the colon walls
Wheatgrass juice improves arthritis. Soak a cotton sock with 6 ounces and place on affected area, cover with plastic bag.
Wheatgrass juice can be used as a douche for many feminine complications.
It reduces high blood pressure and enhances the capillaries.
Wheatgrass juice is great for blood disorders of all kinds.
The chlorophyll in it neutralizes toxins in the body.
Wheatgrass juice purifies the liver.It has the ability to get into the tissue, refine and renew them.
The National Shea Product Association of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to establish Shea tree plantations which will boost the economy and provide more jobs.
The association’s National Auditor, Hajiya Hadiza Danga, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Danga said that the establishment would encourage women to engage more in the business since they had been involved in it overtime.
She also added that, income from the business would provide empowerment for the affected communities where, she said, the majority of the people lived below the poverty line.
She noted that Shea butter production was common in 19 states but was found in huge quantities in Kebbi and Niger states.
Danga told NAN that propagation of Shea butter would support rural and urban economy while Shea tree plantations would ensure sustainable Shea butter production and positively engage the youth.
She said that lack of machines had been a challenge to Shea butter production, adding that most of the production was done manually at the moment. She also added that the machine was expensive, although few producers in Niger had been able to get it.
Danga said that a complete Shea butter making machine would include stretcher, crusher and miller.
“If the government can provide such a machine in at least each local government area where we produce Shea butter, it will go a long way to alleviate the suffering of women in the business,’’ she said.
She then stated that, Shea butter can serve as a base for tropical medicine for relief of rheumatic and joint pains, and treatment of wounds, nostril inflammation and dermatitis, among others.
Hog markets have dropped to unprofitable levels for many
producers this fall. “This is a challenging time for agriculture and
especially for our producers,” says Jan Archer, National Pork Board
(NPB) president and a pork producer from Goldsboro, North Carolina. “Our
goal is to help producers during this time and provide consumers with a
great value and quality pork.”
Archer shared a few of the things the NPB, using Pork Checkoff funds, is doing to keep pork moving and help producers.
1) Partnering with major grocery retailers.
This fall the NPB is working with the top 10 U.S. grocery retailers,
including a holiday promotion for Walmart with on-pack recipe labels,
digital marketing, email blasts, and in-store pork promotions. Costco
had an October “Porktober” promotion, consisted of in-store pork product
demos, instant rebate coupons on featured pork cuts, and advertising in
the Costco Connection member magazine. Kroger is driving pork loin,
shoulder, and ham sales for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The program
includes radio and digital ads and in-store events.
2) Focusing on foodservice.
NPB is working with high-volume restaurants to present a clear
message around the opportunity pork presents through versatility,
profitability, availability, and customer appeal. To reach the industry
at large, the foodservice team will launch a print and digital brand
campaign with custom ads from February through May 2017.
3) Keeping pork top of mind via digital marketing and PR.
During the holidays, the Pork Checkoff is encouraging consumers to
make every moment – big or small – one worth celebrating. The Make it a
Moment campaign is helping pork stand out from the typical holiday
messages. "Using social media technology, we connect social media users
with great-tasting pork recipes to match their meal plans," says
Archer. When people visit the Pork Be inspired Facebook page, they can
open Facebook Messenger to help find the right recipe.
4) Maximizing multicultural marketing.
The NPB is promoting budget-friendly pork and building on the success
of summer’s Grill For It campaign, which incorporated a
Spanish-language component. New promotions showcase the Make it a Moment
campaign and feature our Spanish-language site, including new 1-minute
videos to help consumers become more comfortable with cooking pork.
5) Inspiring new trends.
To help bolster pork sales, the Pork Checkoff is working with retail
partners to encourage consumers to broaden their options. Along with
ham, NPB is promoting pork roast as a holiday meal.
6) Promoting U.S. pork exports.
While the high value of the U.S. dollar and competition from other
countries in key export markets has curbed U.S. pork export demand,
there are positive signs on the horizon, says Archer. “About 25% of U.S.
pork production goes overseas, and we need to keep moving product to
keep producers profitable.” Mexico, China, Japan, Korea and Canada are
pork’s big five buyers, and the Pork Checkoff, through the U.S. Meat
Export Federation, continues to invest in pork promotions overseas.
7) Reaching online consumers.
As consumers search for recipes online for meal planning, the Pork
Checkoff’s online ads are reminding them about pork’s great taste and
value, says Archer. They are also working directly with food bloggers on
PorkBeInspired.com.
“Together, we can get through this time,” says Archer. “Pork
producers are resilient. We’ve faced challenges before. We want to help
our producers in any way we can.”
By the mid-1950s, the writing was on the wall for agriculture.
Farmers, particularly those living in the West and Midwest, wanted more
horsepower from their tractors.
Looking to expand its market share, Oliver responded to that call
with a new generation of machines that set horsepower standards that the
tractor industry would follow for the next decade. Leading Oliver’s
charge was the Super 99, introduced in 1954.
Beefy in appearance and big by any measure of the day, the Oliver
Super 99 was sold with a choice of either gas or diesel engines. It was
the diesel power plant and, in particular, a special model hosting a
General Motors two-cycle engine that caught everyone’s eye at the time.
The 70-hp. barrier
The Super 99 GM turned out a whopping rated 71½ hp. at its belt.
Under a drawbar load, the tractor generated 58½ hp., which justified its
rating as a five- to six-bottom plow tractor.
The heart of this beast was a three-cylinder diesel with a relatively
small displacement considering its horsepower output. The engine’s
three cylinders (with a 4¼×5-inch bore-and-stroke per cylinder) combined
for a displacement of 213 inches. This compares with 302 cubic inches
in the six-cylinder diesel powering the regular Super 99.
This was a two-cycle engine that ran at a rated 1,675 rpm. Although
it had just three cylinders, the engine developed as many power strokes
as the regular diesel. Due to a supercharger that forced air into the
cylinders during the beginning of the intake and compression strokes,
the GM diesel developed more horsepower than a comparable-size
six-cylinder diesel.
Power for the regular Oliver 99 came from an Oliver-Waukesha-built
six-cylinder diesel with 65-belt hp. Both Super 99s were equipped with a
six-speed transmission, independent PTO, belt pulley, and hydraulic
system. Although both tractors were dressed in the same styling, the
Super 99 GM hosted twin air stacks and a singular supercharger
protruding from its engine that lent it a distinctive look in the field.
undisputed king of horsepower
By today’s standards, the Oliver 99s seem piddling, power wise. In
the 1950s, however, rarely did wheeled tractors produce more than 60 hp.
The only competition for the regular Super 99 diesel (on a rated belt
horsepower basis) was International Harvester’s 57-hp. McCormick Super
WD-9, John Deere’s 57½-hp. 80 diesel, and Minneapolis-Moline’s 56-hp. GB
diesel.
The Super 99 GM stood alone as the undisputed king of farm
horsepower, overshadowed only by the massive construction crawlers of
that time.
Soybeans Lower in Overnight Trading; Money Managers Most Bullish HRW Since June 2014.
1. Soybeans Decline as Weather Improves in Argentina
Soybeans were lower in overnight trading as less precipitation in
Argentina will likely allow growers to finish planting in the world’s
third-largest producer of the oilseeds.
Showers will continue in eastern parts of the South American country
for the next six to 10 days, but “continued drier weather in central
areas this week will allow wetness there to ease further,” said Donald
Keeney, a senior ag meteorologist at MDA Information Services.
Excessive rainfall has kept planting behind its normal pace in
Argentina. Growers should be able to seed fields they were unable to
plant due to the wet weather.
Corn and Kansas City wheat also were lower, while Chicago wheat was little changed.
Soybean futures for March delivery fell 8¢ to $10.59½ a bushel
overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soy meal futures lost $3.50 to
$345.20 a short ton, and soy oil declined 0.04¢ to 35.11¢ a pound.
Corn futures fell a penny to $3.68¾ a bushel overnight.
Wheat for March delivery ¼¢ to $4.28 a bushel in Chicago, while Kansas City futures dropped 2½¢ to $4.40½ a bushel.
**
2. Money Managers Push Hard Red Winter Net Longs to Highest Since June 2014
Money managers continue to get more bullish on hard red winter wheat
grown in the Southern Plains, pushing their net-long positions to the
highest level in more than two years.
Speculators were net-long 26,451 hard red winter wheat contracts last
week, the biggest such position since June 2014, according to data from
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The bullishness in hard red winter contracts comes as growers slash
acres. Overall winter wheat area dropped 10% to 32.4 million acres
during planting last year, the Department of Agriculture said in a
report earlier this month, the second-lowest ever and the least since
1909.
Sowing of hard red winter wheat, used to make bread and highly sought
by overseas buyers, declined by 12%, and soft red winter seeding fell
5.6%, according to the USDA. Growers in Nebraska and Utah planted
record-low amounts of wheat, the agency said.
Money managers were actually more bearish soft red winter wheat last
week, though only slightly. The number of net-short positions, or bets
against higher prices, rose to 97,245 contracts from 96,583 the prior
week, according to the CFTC.
**
3. Winter Storm Watch Goes Into Effect Early Tuesday as Snow, Wind Expected
A winter storm watch will take effect starting early Tuesday for much
of northern Nebraska, southern South Dakota, southern Minnesota, and
northern Iowa.
The storm is expected to move into the region overnight, bringing as
much as 8 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.
There is a potential for higher amounts in some areas, the agency said.
Winds also may be a problem, as gusts up to 30 mph are forecast. The
storm will make driving difficult as roads will become snowpacked
quickly, the NWS said.
If you do, then are you conversant with the different uses of this crop?
If you are still thinking of the answers to the above questions, this piece will take the burden off you. CASSAVA is the largest grown crop in Africa, Nigeria precisely. The
use of cassava is generally classified into two – Culinary
and Industrial.
Culinary Use
The boiled root tastes similar to potato and is a great side for meat
dishes or in soups. Cassava is handled similarly to potatoes, meaning
they are eaten as mash, fried or boiled.
Mashing up cassava to make fufu
Cassava “mash”, fufu, is widely consumed by pounding and sieving
cassava to make flour which is then stirred in hot water. This is a
particularly popular food in Nigeria, Ghana and the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
African Dish “fufu” with vegetable sauce "egusi soap"
Cassava is used to make garri, a kind of cassava porridge, which is a
white flour made from fermented cassava tubers. The flour can be added
to cold water and milk and seasoned to taste. Women processing cassava to make garri
Garri, made from cassavaCassava can be fried and offered as “yuca frita” as a side dish (a chicken soup).
Carimañola is a Panamanian dish that is a stuffed cassava fritter.
It is normally stuffed with cheese, meat or chicken and then fried.
Cassava is used in the form of tapioca which is a flavorless, starchy ingredient
used as a thickening agent in foods. It is gluten-free and therefore
used in many gluten-free foods. Tapioca is also used to make tapioca
pudding and used to make gluten-free bread. Tapioca is also a main
ingredient in the popular Bubble Tea, a Taiwanese Drink that has a tea
base and includes tapioca pearls.
Industrial Use
Cassava pellets is used as animal feeds. It provides a lot of calories
to animals.
Cassava Pellets
Cassava when fermented and distilled produces Ethanol. Ethanol can be
mixed with petrol or used on its own as a transport fuel. It can also
be used as a base for alcoholic beverages. Lastly, ethanol can be
utilized as industrial alcohol which is important in the
pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.
Cassava Flour is gluten-free and can be used as a substitute for wheat flour.
Starch can be extracted from cassava roots used by the food industry
to form products sold in small packages for household cooking, but
also used by the paper and textile industry, as well as an adhesive in
glass, mineral wool and clay.
Cassava FlourThought for a new week: How adequately do you think cassava is being utilized in Africa.
About 16, 000 farmers in Bauchi State have been selected to
participate in the state’s Anchor Borrowers Programme for the 2017 rice
production scheme.
The Consultant to the state government on the programme, Dr. Nura
AbdulMalik who disclosed this while addressing journalists at the state
capital said the 16,000 were selected out of 25,000 who registered for
the programme.
According to him, “we have verified 16,000 farmers to take part in
the programme and each of them is expected to cultivate one hectare of
rice farm”.
Speaking on the selection process, he informed that the state
government targeted 30, 000 farmers but only 25, 000 registered. However
during the verification, they discovered that some of the farmers could
not meet the scheme’s requirements.
“Some of them are not real practicing farmers; some did not own
farmlands while the farmland of some of them are not suitable for
irrigated agriculture” he explained.
AbdulMalik said the selected farmers were currently undergoing
training on the best agronomic practices across all the 20 local
government areas in the state.
He however urged farmers to be fully involved in the training adding
that the banks would not give loan to farmers who failed to participate
in the ongoing training in local government areas of the state.
Feeding cattle just got easier thanks to the Libra TMR app from
Central City Scale, Inc. The app builds and manages your rations, pens,
and feed groups wirelessly.
With this new technology, cattle feeders as
well as dairy producers know the exact weight of ingredients going into
the mixer and can track what has been fed to each pen. The app, which is
iPad-based, connects to load cells on the feed mixer via Bluetooth.
The operator simply enters the feed ingredient information into the
app, along with rations for each of the ingredients. Information is
assigned to what ration gets fed to which pen and how many head are in
each pen.
By entering the name of your feed group, Libra TMR will let you
know how much weight volume of each ingredient is required for each
ration being mixed.
The system will also allow the operator to scale by dry matter. The
operator can input and adjust dry matter percentages for ingredients or
record as fed.
The Libra TMR allows the feed mixer operator to use a smartphone
or tablet as a full-featured indicator. The number of remote displays
are unlimited.
Users can also set a custom timer for mixing between each ingredient
or after all ingredients have been loaded, which helps generate a total
mixed ration (TMR). Automatically adjust the batch size based on any
loaded ingredient.
In addition, feeding schedules for different feed groups can be
created to increase efficiency. Being able to enter bunk readings in the
system allows the operator to quickly adjust rations and feed amounts.
Using the Agrimatics’ cloud service, which will be available soon, a
nutritionist will be able to log in and remotely manage rations for
customers.
To learn more, visit ccscales.com or call 800/582-3175.
When Dermot Hayes traveled to China last fall, he saw something
eye-opening. Pork with the Smithfield Foods label was selling for twice
what the local Chinese product was bringing.
Smithfield, which is owned by the Chinese company WH Group, is
raising and killing pigs in the U.S. and shipping carcasses to China for
processing and packaging in that country. The plan is working.
“Chinese consumers will pay a premium for U.S. product,” says Hayes,
Iowa State University professor and Pioneer Chair in Agribusiness. “The
Chinese product is heavily discounted.”
Consumers trust U.S. pork more than Chinese pork, where drug
withdraws and other regulations are not as well monitored, says Hayes.
2. Will Chinese companies buy more U.S. pork producers?
“I keep waiting for that to happen,” says Hayes. When Chinese
investors rank companies they would like to buy, U.S. agricultural
companies are often at the top of the lists, he says.
“I suspect there are Chinese investors checking out various large
U.S. integrated pork producers right now,” says Hayes. For example, he
expects that once Prestage Foods of Iowa builds its new pork packing
plant near Eagle Grove in 2018, a Chinese company will swoop in. “They
are looking for large private pork producers that have integrated into
packing,” he explains.
It is more economical for China to import pork rather than corn or
soybeans, says Hayes. “It’s best to import the final product because of
transportation costs. When they buy from Smithfield they buy at cost of
production.”
The chart below shows Chinese imports of all pork products starting
in 1995 (when there was nothing) to 2016. There is lots of potential for
the U.S. to sell more to China.
“We are not in that market as much as we could be, so the European
pork industry has been kicked back into profitability,” says Hayes.
“Europe has been so busy in China we are getting back into our
traditional markets of Japan and Korea.”
U.S. pork exports to China jumped up last November and have stayed
up. “November was a huge month for exports, and partially responsible
for the uptick in hog prices,” says Hayes. He thought the China bounce
would happen sooner in 2016.
3. What’s holding us back with exports?
“We saw this China thing coming, but I thought we would get
ractopamine out of the system faster than we did.” This feed additive
that promotes lean muscle growth has been popular in the U.S. until
recently, but is banned in China.
Hayes estimates that half of the U.S. swine industry still feeds
ractopamine, especially in the summer when the hog market is
traditionally higher, but that number has shrunk in the past year as
more packers go “racto-free” in their plants. This is a drastic change
from just two years ago when the only U.S. pork company trying to
eliminate ractopamine was Smithfield, and that was only on one farm in
Illinois, says Hayes.
The ability to export to China if your plant is racto-free means the
feed additive is on the wane. Triumph Foods recently went made the
switch to eliminate it from its farms and plants.
“I struggle with the ractopomine issue,” says Hayes. “I’m all for
science, but the customer is always right. More and more producers will
quit using it; that’s already happening.”
4. Will China expand?
“Chinese pork producers are making a fortune, as much as $80 a hog,
so you would expect they would increase production,” says Hayes.
“However, year over year their sow numbers are going down.”
Modern pig farms are under scrutiny in China, he says. “People are
getting fed up with pollution and a lot of modern hog facilities are
right in the heart of cities. The pigs are in the wrong place. The
fundamental problem is pigs and people are in the same places.”
The central government slapped a duty on all pork and gave permission
to local governments to shut down facilities, killing 10 million sows,
says Hayes. “The government is trying to shut down smaller units, has
been for the past seven years. They are finally getting rid of the last
of the backyard units.”
In one province, the Chinese government forcibly closed 70,000 pig
farms producing 5 million pigs, says Hayes. “About 10,000 sows were
dumped in a river.” There is a national ban on pork production near
markets or highways and restrictions on how to dispose of manure.
“However, the pig producers located farthest away from people are making so much money it’s crazy,” says Hayes.
5. How easy is it to expand in China?
“In areas where the government wants them to go, I suspect expansion
is easy,” says Hayes. One challenge to increasing pig numbers is “their
sows are just not very productive, mainly because of disease pressure,”
he explains.
China doesn’t want to drive imported pork prices too high because
their volume of demand is so big. “When they do buy they shoot
themselves in foot because they cause prices to be more expensive,” says
Hayes.
China is comfortable importing 5% of its muscle meat needs, he says.
That may sound small, but they were importing less than 1%. And 5% of
China’s protein needs is a lot. “They are going to need to import 10
million tons of meat,” says Hayes. This includes pork, poultry, and
beef. Poultry will be difficult due to trade restrictions. China lifted
trade restrictions on U.S. beef last year, but there is no beef moving
there yet.
History shows if a developing country gets access to pork it starts
importing pork instead of importing corn and soybeans, explains Hayes.
This happens in about a 10-year period. “If that happens with China you
can see more pig farms being put into the Dakotas and Kansas.”
6. Are there countries outside of China we should be watching?
“Vietnam is like a small China 10 years behind, but
it’s so hot there they will never have productive sows,” says Hayes.
That means we may have access to 100 million people who are going to eat
a lot more pork in their future.
Central and South America will see trade increases,
he predicts. Southern Brazil imports corn and that’s where the good pork
producers are located. “But production costs are not any better than
ours,” he says. Western and Central Brazil have foot and mouth disease.
They vaccinate swine herds, but because cattle and wild animals are
infected, “there is no solution.”
Mexico will grow in pig numbers, says Hayes. “Mexico
is growing as an importer and as an exporter. It’s possible some
boneless hams they export came from U.S. originally, but we will never
know because there is a substantial transformation so it’s Mexican
product.” Mexico has cheap labor to remove the bone.
Mexico bought a lot of U.S. pork last November, helping our hog
prices, says Hayes. “One thing I learned talking to exporters, they look
at the forward curves in futures. It was telling them to fill their
freezers in November. Mexico was down all year in imports and suddenly
in November and December they are back up. They saw what going on in our
futures market.”
Canadian hog production is growing, too, he says.
Over 300,000 more feeder pigs came into the U.S. from Canada last year
than in 2015. The exchange rates and strength of the U.S. dollar have
helped.
The U.S. is lagging behind where we should be in exports to China,
says Hayes, and “Canada is taking advantage of this. Canadian exports
are really high right now.”
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) hurt Canadian pork producers, he
says. “The fact that we would do that damaged their confidence.” When
the final rule amended the regulations to remove beef and pork from
mandatory COOL requirements (along with the cheap dollar and general
profitability in North America), Canadian hog farms geared up.
7. What should concern us?
One concern with Mexico, says Hayes, is if President Trump gets in a
border war. “We export more than 10% of our pork to Mexico. He talks
loosely about slapping duties on things like cars coming in from Mexico.
He can’t do that, because they retaliate against where you are weak. It
would be crazy to do that. But just because it’s crazy, doesn’t mean it
won’t happen.”
In November, for example, we exported 28% of the pork we produced,” says Hayes, “so we can’t afford a disease or a trade war.”
A border adjustment tax, where a tax is levied on imports, is being
considered and could be controversial, says Hayes. “When we export pork
to Europe, China, and Japan, as soon as it lands there is a value-added
tax put on it. If they export pork to us they get a refund on their
value added tax. We are thinking about switching over to that system.”
8. What about domestic markets in 2017?
November and December were expected to be a really bad time for U.S.
pork producers, due to a record supply of hogs and pork, and suddenly we
got this bump in exports, says Hayes.
Lee Schulz, assistant professor and Extension livestock economist at
Iowa State University, was watching the domestic market closely.
“Producers were aggressively marketing hogs throughout the fall,
expecting the historical price crash post Thanksgiving,” says Schulz.
“We were able to pull some of those hogs forward and spread out supply,
and didn’t stress capacity as much. It’s amazing that the industry
collectively was able to do that. Packer margins were strong so they had
incentive to kill those hogs earlier and pay higher prices to do that.
They didn’t want to pay overtime, so they spread out the supply a little
bit more.”
Hayes agrees. “It was beautiful how the market told us we were going
to have a problem, we saw the problem coming, and we fixed that.”
9. What is the good news?
“We have two large plants coming online in 2017, and another in
2018,” says Schulz. “When they open, packers are going to have to get
after those hogs.
They want to operate near capacity level to spread out
their fixed costs, so it is going to put a little bit more leverage in
the hands of producers. They want their pork to be on shelves, on
food-service menus or in shipping containers going for export, so that
is setting up competition and support for prices later in 2017. Until
then it’s still a demand story.”
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As part of its social investment programmes, the Federal Government
of Nigeria has disbursed N375million for the feeding of 700, 000 primary
school pupils in 5 states.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the
Vice-President, Laolu Akande, disclosed that the money was released for
the implementation of the Home grown School Feeding Programme in
Anambra, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Ebonyi state to cover the feeding for 10
school days.
According to Akande, “the sum of about N375, 434, 870 has just been
released and paid to 7,909 cooks in those States for the feeding of a
total of 677, 476 primary school pupils”.
Giving the breakdown, he said Ogun state got a total of N119, 648,
900 paid to 1,381 cooks to feed 170, 927 pupils while Ebonyi got N115,
218, 600 paid to 1,466 cooks to feed 164, 598 pupils.
For Anambra, Akande stated that N67.5 million paid to 937 cooks to
feed 96,489 pupils, Oyo state got N72.2 million paid to 1,437 cooks to
feed 103, 269 pupils, and Osun got N867,370 paid to 2,688 to feed 142,
193 pupils.
The Vice President’s spokesperson further disclosed that Zamfara and
Enugu States would soon be paid N188.7 million and N67.2 million,
respectively, later this week.
He informed that in Zamfara, the sum would be paid to 2,738 cooks to
feed 269, 665 pupils and in Enugu, 1128 cooks would be paid N67.2
million to feed 96, 064 pupils
The Cocoa Exporters Association of
Nigeria, CEAN, has urged Federal government to restore the era when
Cocoa was a major avenue of revenue generation in the country.
The association recalled that in the
1960s and 1970s, the country banked on the commodity as the largest
foreign revenue earning and one of the leading cocoa producers, but
today, Nigeria is seventh in world ranking.
A statement by the Secretary-General of
the Association, Kayode Babade in Akure, noted that Nigeria “has all it
takes to take over the leadership position in cocoa production in the
world, if farmers and exporters are encouraged adequately by the
government.”
It however commended President Muhammed
Buhari and the Minister for Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh for
inaugurating the Cocoa Re-launch Committee aimed at diversifying the
economy to an agric-based.
This development, the association observed would boost the vision to make Nigeria becoming the world’s largest cocoa producer.
According to the statement, “CEAN had in
the past contributed immensely to the growth and expansion of cocoa in
the country by providing loans and herbicides to farmers to enable them
increase production.
“With this federal government
initiative,we are equally ready to further partner with the farmers to
ensure that the federal government vision on increased cocoa production
comes to reality very soon.”
The CEAN president, Pius Ayodele urged
the committee to make a success of the new assignment, stressing that as
major stakeholders in the cocoa value chain, it looked forward to the
cocoa re-launch campaign coming up at Ondo in March this year.
He promised that his association would
contribute to the success of the scheme to ensure that Nigeria’s
production of cocoa improves greatly like in Ivory Coast and Ghana.
