3 BIG THINGS TODAY, APR 7

1. GRAINS, SOYBEAN FUTURES HIGHER OVERNIGHT ON BARGAIN HUNTING

Grain and soybean futures were higher as investors seeking bargains jump into the markets.

With little fundamental news to trade, those seeking to get into the agriculture markets are taking advantage of the current low prices.

Wheat prices were higher despite a  storm in the Southern Plains bringing much-needed rain to the region.

Sales of U.S. corn to overseas buyers since the start of the marketing year on September 1 are up 51% year over year, and soybean sales have risen 24% vs. the same time frame a year earlier, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Wheat sales since the start of the grain’s marketing year on June 1 are up 37% compared with the prior-year period, USDA data show.

Corn futures for May delivery rose 1¾¢ to $3.59½ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Soybean futures added 1¾¢ to $9.73¾ a bushel. Soy meal rose $1 to $316.30 a short ton, and soy oil gained 0.04¢ to 32.51¢ a pound.

Wheat futures for May delivery rose 2¼¢ to $4.26¾ a bushel in Chicago. Kansas City wheat gained 2½¢ to $4.26½ a bushel.

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2. USDA LIKELY TO BOOST ACREAGE FORECASTS ONLY SLIGHTLY FROM OUTLOOK FORUM

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to raise its forecasts for corn, soybean, and wheat acreage in its Prospective Plantings Report this week.

The USDA like will peg corn acreage at a shade under 91 million acres, analysts polled by Reuters said, down from a prior projection at its annual Outlook Forum conference of about 90 million.

Soybean acreage is seen at about 88.2 million, little changed from the previous forecast for 88 million, Reuters said.

Wheat acres will probably be pegged at 46.1 million, also little changed from the 46 million estimated at the Outlook Forum.

Reuters also said the USDA will peg stockpiles of corn at 8.53 billion bushels, up from 8.21 last year, while soybean inventories will increase to 1.68 billion from 1.63 billion. Wheat carryout will jump to 1.63 billion bushels from 1.37 billion a year earlier.

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3. STORMS WILL CONTINUE IN SOUTHERN PLAINS, HELPING HARD RED WINTER WHEAT

Thunderstorms are expected to continue in the Southern Plains this week, bringing much-need moisture to the region, the National Weather Service said in a report Wednesday morning.

The storms have been dropping rain in the area, which hadn’t seen any precipitation for the past 30 to 45 days, curbing prospects for hard red winter wheat.

It’s likely the storms will continue for several days, which is good news for wheat growers and for firefighters battling several blazes caused by the dry conditions.

“Thunderstorms will be possible across portions of the panhandles Friday night through Monday,” the NWS said. “Some of the storms may get strong with hail and gusty winds possible. However, no widespread severe weather is expected at this time.”

DRONEDEPLOY RELEASES ITS THIRD INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

In its third Commercial Drone Industry Trends Report, DroneDeploy takes a look at the growth in commercial drone adoption in the past year. The report also explores trends in drone hardware, the economic impact of drone mapping, and usage of drone data.

According to the report, DroneDeploy users say drone mapping has become an integral part of their workflow with 60% creating drone maps at least once a week. The report also noted that the multirotor drone is the platform of choice; 97% of drone mapping is performed with this drone rather than a fixed-wing device. In fact, fixed-wing drone use, the report says, continues to decline and hovers at around 3%.

In addition, 84% of drone mapping is done with drones that cost $1,500 or less. 

“More businesses are adopting drones to capture data across industries such as agriculture, construction, surveying, mining, and more,” says DroneDeploy CEO Mike Winn. “It’s clear that as our users experience greater productivity and ROI, they – in turn – are increasing the frequency of drone mapping and further integrating drone data into day-to-day business operations.”

Many drone hardware companies have come and gone in the last year, and new ones like Autel and Yuneec are working hard to make a name for themselves in the space. However, DJI and senseFly are still the leaders in the industry and make up a significant percentage of the DroneDeploy user base.

The top drones include:

1. DJI
2. senseFly
3. 3DR
4. Parrot
5. Autel

The report also notes that 20% of DroneDeploy users are flying multiple drones. That number is expected to increase going forward.

The DroneDeploy App Market, which was launched in November 2016, is a one-stop shop for cloud-based drone data analysis. With more than 30 apps available, DroneDeploy users can access tools such as Autodesk and MyJohnDeere. 

Apps at the top of the list for agriculture include:

1. AgriSens
2. PDF Annotation
3. KML & SHP Import
4. Tensor Flight
5. Skymatics

While DroneDeploy says it’s difficult to determine the exact economic impact drones are having on local and national economies, it estimates DroneDeploy users have generated more than $150,000,000 in economic value with the over 10 million acres mapped.

Click on the link to view the entire Commercial Drone Industry Trends report.

Tree felling to attract jail term or N500,000 in Niger state

The governor of Niger state Abubakar Sani Bello introduced jail term or N500,000 fine for illegal tree felling in the state.

The governor who gave the warning in Mashegu Local Government, during his tour of the 25 councils of the state said lives and properties are lost every year across the prone areas in the state.

Bello added that the felling of these green resources posed a threat of global warming and this has necessitated stringent laws against deforestation.

He, however, noted that the fine was not against existing legislation banning tree felling in the state.

Bello also promised to assist law enforcement agencies with necessary logistics to enable them tackle the menace and also collaborate with the federal government to make the forest reserve safer.

Cellulant set to launch Agrikore

Africa’s leading one-stop payments and digital commerce service company, Cellulant is set to launch its new innovation for the continent’s agricultural space, Agrikore.

Speaking in an interview with Agro On Tv, Cellulant Chief of Operations Network, Mr. Sanmi Akinmusire, said Agrikore is a platform designed to power agricultural transformation across Africa.

“Basically, it is also a platform that connects everybody to everything within the agricultural sector, what we are doing with this platform is that we are improving the lot of the farmer. We are connecting the different layers of agriculture that before now have always been fragmented”, Akinmusire stated.

He explained that the platform will help an off taker to easily interact with the farmers, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders in the sector.

“This platform is not just about farmers , it’s about the off takers, the input suppliers, the financial institutions, the development organizations who wants to offer support to the farmers, it’s also about the government. It’s not something that is focused on the rural areas alone, it’s a platform for everybody within the agricultural space” he said.

He said that the platform will ensure more transparency and credibility and will encourage active participation in the sector.

He informed that the platform will be launched officially at the Feed Nigeria Summit.

“So we are excited about it and we are looking forward to it being the one stop shop for agricultural development within the country”, he added.

KWARA ASSEMBLY INTERVENES AS PEST INVADES FARMS

The Kwara State House of Assembly has enjoined the state government to draw the attention of the federal government to the invasion of farms by pests in the state, with a view to collaborating with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in combating the problem.

This is part of the resolutions of the House while considering a motion titled “Invasion of Crop Farms by Pests in Kwara State” sponsored by a member representing Kaiama/Kemanji/ Wajibe Constituency Ahmed Ibn Mohammed.

Reading the resolutions of the House, the Deputy Speaker, Mathew Okedare who presided over the sitting, said the need became imperative, in view of the huge loss of farm produce due to the invasion.

The Legislature equally urged the state government to assist the affected farmers, through provision of pesticides to forestall reoccurrence in the State.

Mohammed had while raising the motion, narrated the ordeal of the affected farmers since last year, pointing out that most of them took bank loans to embark on the farming and appealed to  the house to call on the relevant authority to wade in with a view to finding enduring solutions to the problem.

Other members who spoke on the motion among other things identified the causes and called for appropriate pro-active measures, from the state government to tackle the problem once and for all.

SOURCEDaily Trust