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.
Showing posts with label FROM AROUNG THE WORLD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FROM AROUNG THE WORLD. Show all posts
You don't have to go to an auction to get great deals on machinery these days. Dave visits with Nate Weinkauf from Case IH to discuss used machinery prices on dealer's lots and what incentives dealers can give buyers of used machinery. Successful Farming Show #1009. Originally Aired March 16, 2017
SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Brazil could harvest 113.3 million tons of soybeans in the 2016/2017 season. According to the Rally da Safra, the main expedition to monitor the grain harvest in Brazil, this estimate is a result of favorable weather and an investment in technology.
According to the survey, soybean production will grow 18% compared with the previous crop, which was 96.3 million tons. The estimate indicates an increase in acreage from 82.28 million acres to 83.76 million acres.
YIELD RECORD
The outstanding result of the Safra Rally was the record yield of 49.78 bushels per acre, compared with 43 bushels per acre in the past season. “This is a spectacular soybean harvest,” said André Pessôa, coordinator of the Rally da Safra, in a statement released on March 30.
During the expedition, technicians observed favorable weather in most producing regions, a low incidence of pests and diseases, and an increased investment in seeds. “This year, rains occurred earlier and were constant throughout the season, and farmers took advantage of early planting,” says Pessôa.
The earlier soybean harvest allowed the good implementation of the second-corn crop until the second fortnight of February in the states of Mato Grosso and Goiás. It offers a positive outlook for the second crop, increasing the chance of higher productivity of corn, too.
SOYBEAN HARVEST REACHED 68%
According to the consultancy AgRural, the soybean harvest reached 68% of the planted area. In a statement released March 24, AgRural said that productivity is surpassing estimates. The consultancy also stated that its production estimate will be revised upward.
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.
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.”
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:
DJI
senseFly
3DR
Parrot
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:
AgriSens
PDF Annotation
KML & SHP Import
Tensor Flight
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.
Brazil and Argentina are on the way to record corn harvests this year, underlining their rising stature as competitors of the U.S. in the export market. Neither country is in the same league as U.S. farmers in corn production. Combined, however, the two countries exported more corn than the U.S. in two of the past four trade years.
They could make it a neck-and-neck race with the U.S. in the current trade year for prominence in the world market, although the U.S. is unchallenged as the largest single grower and exporter.
With more land in corn and yields rebounding from drought, the USDA forecasted in March that Brazil would harvest a record 91.5 million tonnes in 2016-2017. In Argentina, planted area is up by 31% from last year, driving the USDA forecast of a huge increase in output to a record 37.5 million tonnes. “Rains have maintained ample soil moisture reserves for the crop, and plant health is generally good,” says the World Agricultural Production report.
The record corn crop in Brazil is paired with a record soybean crop, matching the U.S. performance of record corn and soy crops in 2016-2017. Brazil has expanded soybean plantings for 11 years in a row and corn plantings in five of the last seven years.
This article was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, an independent, nonprofit news organization producing investigative reporting on food, agriculture, and environmental health.
The U.S. farmers will plant a record amount of soybean acres, while reducing corn and wheat acreage.
On Friday, the USDA pegged the U.S. 2017 soybean acreage at 89.5 million acres, above the trade’s expectation of 88.12 million and above last year’s acreage of 83.43. If realized, this year’s soybean plantings would be a new record.
As a result, the CME Group's soybean market closed down double-digits.
At the close, the May corn futures settled 6¢ higher at $3.63 1/2, while December futures finished 6 3/4¢ higher at $3.87 3/4.
May soybean futures closed 17¢ lower at $9.46. November soybean futures finished 8 1/4¢ lower at $9.55.
May wheat futures ended 3 1/2¢ higher at $4.24.
May soy meal futures closed $7.20 per short ton lower at $307.70. May soy oil futures closed $0.19 lower at 31.82¢ per pound.
In the outside markets, the Brent crude oil market is $0.34 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is lower, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 62 points lower.
MARKET REACTION
Michael Rusch, Sales Director- Ag/Commercial for Stewart-Peterson, says that the corn market reaction to the report is surprising.
“With lower than expected acres, higher carryout, the reaction,so far, is a little disappointing only being up a few cents,” Rusch says.
With 90.0 million acres and trend line yields at 170 bushels per acre (assuming demands stays as predicted), Stewart-Peterson sees a 2.2 bill bu carryout.
“If trend line yield drop to 160 b.p.a., we see potential carryout drop to just under 1.5 bil bu. And the odds of 5 record crops in a row is in question. So, the point is that we don’t need to see a disaster of a crop to see carryout drop far enough below current levels to support price,” Rusch says.
“So far, the reaction to the bearish soybean report is mildly supportive, considering that we are not down more than 12-15 cents. It was probably built into the market over past few weeks,” Rusch says.
Jack Scoville, The PRICE Futures Group’s senior market analyst, says that the surprise is in the acres.
“There was a bigger switch between beans and corn than expected, by about 1 million acres. So, I think we will see some support for corn. The stocks were big across the board, but the bean guys are beating on it a bit too much, I think. The rice data is about right and should support the market longer term. Cotton high, at the expense of corn, wheat, rice. Overall, I think corn holds and maybe beans find a bottom today. We still have to plant, grow, and harvest after all, and the prices have gotten pretty cheap.”
Deanna Hawthorne-Lahre, StatFutures co-founder and trader, says that the report was not friendly to the soybean market.
“Bean acres caught weak longs with their pants down with the 89.5 mill acres,” Hawthorne-Lahre says. The peeps I talk to had this number in mind, but clearly the market didn't believe it.”
She adds, “Another big surprise is the spring wheat acres at 10.6 v. 10.9 last year. The trading pit was whispering under 10, so this definitely caught the big boys wrong.”
“Corn acres at 90.0 million is a bit surprising but I was figuring 91.5, so no biggie,” Hawthorne-Lahre says. Stocks build continues to weigh on the market as well - wheat stocks up 21% year-over-year is pretty amazing, given the lower acres last year.”
See the USDA’s U.S. Prospective Plantings report here. See the USDA’s U.S. Grain Stocks report here.
SOYBEAN FUTURES LOWER IN OVERNIGHT TRADING; ETHANOL OUTPUT, STOCKS INCREASE.
1. SOYBEANS LOWER OVERNIGHT AS U.S. EXPORTERS BATTLE WITH BRAZIL
Soybean futures declined overnight as the battle for exports between the U.S. and Brazil heats up.
The countries are now officially fighting for customers, who likely will go to whichever supplier offers the lowest price. Prices at ports in the Gulf of Mexico are reportedly nearing five-year lows as exporters attempt to attract overseas buyers.
Meanwhile, production in Brazil is expected to jump to a record, with some state and private forecasters saying output could total as much as 111 million metric tons. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has pegged Brazilian production at 108 million tons.
The U.S. is still the big kid on the block, expected to produce 117.2 million tons, according to the USDA.
Soybean futures fell 4¢ to $9.65 a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soy meal was unchanged at $315.80 a short ton, and soy oil dropped 0.45¢ to 31.76¢ a pound.
Corn lost a penny to $3.57½ a bushel in Chicago.
Wheat futures for May delivery fell 1¼¢ to $4.24¼ a bushel in Chicago. Kansas City wheat declined ¼¢ to $4.23¼ a bushel.
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2. U.S. ETHANOL PRODUCTION HIGHEST IN SEVEN WEEKS, STOCKPILES SECOND HIGHEST EVER
U.S. ethanol production rose to the highest level in seven weeks, which is good news for corn growers.
Output in the week that ended on March 24 totaled 1.054 million barrels and day, on average, the highest since the seven days through February 3, according to the Energy Information Administration. Production was up 10 million barrels a day, on average, from the prior week.
Ethanol output has fluctuated greatly since the last time it was this high. On March 3, production dropped to 1.022 million barrels a day, the lowest since November, worrying some that it would stay low. It rebounded the next week, however, and is again at relatively lofty levels.
Output reached a record 1.061 million barrels a day, on average, in the week that ended on January 27.
Stockpiles of the biofuel last week also rose to an historic high, climbing to 23.257 million barrels, the second highest on record behind only the week ending March 4, 2016. Inventories a week earlier totaled 22.595 million barrels.
Carryout of ethanol has been relatively high since the start of the year, never falling below 20 million barrels. It’ll be interesting to see if stockpiles next week breach the record of 23.307 million.
3. COOL WEATHER, SUNSHINE IN SOUTHERN PLAINS TODAY; STORMS EXPECTED IN ILLINOIS, INDIANA
Storms that were bringing much-needed rainfall to the Southern Plains have seemingly disappeared, giving way to cool overnight weather and sun in the afternoon.
Much of the Oklahoma panhandle saw temperatures in the low 30s overnight, some at 30˚F. and 31˚F., the National Weather Service said in a morning report, not cold enough to damage plants. It’ll get up to almost 70˚F. in some counties in the area this afternoon.
A new front will move in tomorrow, however, bringing a 50% chance of rainfall, and storms are likely on Saturday, according to the NWS.
In the Midwest, widely scattered thunderstorms are forecast for much of northern Illinois and Indiana this morning with coverage expanding by midday, the agency said.
“Some of the thunderstorms will likely become strong to severe in the afternoon,” the NWS said.
IT’S PART OF A EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIVESTMENT RULING FOR THE PLANNED DOW-DUPONT MERGER. IN RETURN, DUPONT GETS FMC HEALTH AND NUTRITION AND $1.2 BILLION.
FMC is expanding its footprint in the agricultural insecticide and herbicide business through a purchase from DuPont. In exchange, DuPont is acquiring FMC Health and Nutrition.
It’s all part of a European Commission divestment ruling related to DuPont’s merger with The Dow Chemical Company.
HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING
FMC will acquire DuPont’s global chewing pest insecticide portfolio, its global cereal broadleaf herbicides, and a substantial portion of DuPont’s global crop protection R&D capabilities. After closing of the acquisition, FMC Agricultural Solutions will become the fifth-largest crop protection chemical company in the world by revenue, with estimated annual revenue of approximately $3.8 billion.
Meanwhile, DuPont is acquiring FMC Health and Nutrition and will also receive $1.2 billion in cash as part of the deal.
WHAT FMC GETS
According to an FMC news release, the acquired portion of DuPont’s crop protection business includes a selective insecticide portfolio consisting of Rynaxypyr, Cyazypyr, and Indoxacarb. The first two of these products have full patent protection over their respective active ingredients, and FMC expects these products will generate over $1 billion in 2017 revenue. These selective insecticides are complementary to FMC’s existing broad-spectrum insecticide portfolio.
The acquired portfolio also includes DuPont’s global cereal broadleaf herbicides, consisting of nine active ingredients and multiple formulated products. This herbicide portfolio includes recognized brands and DuPont’s proprietary PrecisionPac technology. These products bring diversification to FMC’s crop exposure in herbicides and also increase the balance of preemergent and postemergent applications in FMC’s portfolio, the release said.
The geographic spread of the revenue in this portfolio will result in a significant increase in FMC’s presence in Asia and Europe. Following the acquisition, FMC’s crop protection revenue will be almost equally spread across all four major regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
The underlying intellectual property related to the acquired products, including patents, registrations, and data packages, will be transferred to FMC. FMC will acquire a global manufacturing network to support these products, including four active-ingredient manufacturing facilities and 10 regional formulation plants.
The acquisition will bring DuPont’s discovery and development organization, including its Delaware crop protection research headquarters, 14 regional development labs, and related regulatory capabilities. This organization includes a pipeline of 15 synthetic active ingredients currently in development, covering insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, and a library of 1.8 million synthetic compounds. The majority of DuPont’s crop protection research workforce will transfer to FMC as part of this transaction.
WHAT’S NEXT
The transaction is subject to the closing of the Dow and DuPont merger, as well as customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Closing is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Leaders from the three UN Rome-based agencies on March 8 2017 marked the International Women’s Day by reinforcing their commitments to step up efforts to invest in the capacities of rural women as key agents of change in building a world without hunger.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) reminded the world that women and girls play a crucial role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, the goal of eradicating hunger and extreme poverty.
FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva on the occasion said “Women play a critical role in agriculture and food systems – not just as farmers, but also as food producers, traders and managers.” He however said “women still face major constraints in rural labour markets and in agricultural value chains. They are more likely to be in poorly paid jobs, without legal or social protection. This limits women’s capacity to advance their skills, earn incomes and access employment opportunities.”
Graziano da Silva posited that the future of global food security depends on unleashing women’s potential. “Achieving gender equality and empowering women are crucial ingredients in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition which is strongly recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he said.
Also speaking, IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze said, “We need to face the fact that we will never overcome poverty and hunger without empowering rural women.” He added that “We have ample evidence from around the world that greater empowerment of women in rural and urban areas leads to higher economic growth and a better quality of life for women and men alike.
Despite progress, it is still the case today that rural women’s double burden of farm labour and unpaid domestic work prevents them from participating fully and fairly in income-generating activities. Improving rural women’s access to technologies that save time and labour is essential to reducing their workloads. Transforming gender relations within the family is also crucial to empowering women and enabling them to make decisions about their lives.”
WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin said, “Empowering women economically is one of the key steps to realizing gender equality and achieving Zero Hunger. The changing world of work – as patterns of economic activity shift – provides the opportunity to achieve these goals.
“Ensuring women have adequate access to land, tools, fertilizers and credit improves their lives and the lives of their families; potentially freeing millions from hunger. We also know that school meals are a powerful incentive to keep girls in class, boosting their chances of completing school and finding employment. Enabling women to seize these opportunities will transform lives and help bring the Sustainable Development Goals within reach,” she said.
This past Sunday when I picked my oldest son up from his preschool-age class after church, the teacher pulled me aside.
“Your son made me so proud today,” she said.
These are words every mother loves to hear. I was curious about what he’d done in class to make her proud.
She went on to explain. The class had gone out to the playground, but instead of jumping on a swing or climbing up to slide, my son went over to a bare patch of dirt.
“Don’t you want to play on the playground?” his teacher asked.
“I have to finish my work first. I need to plow the field,” was his reply.
She told me he proceeded to visit every bare patch of dirt on the playground to “plow the field.” When he was done, he joined the other kids on the playground.
His teacher wasn’t the only person proud of him that Sunday. He may be only 4 years old, but he’s learning great life lessons growing up on a farm.
Note: The photo above is one I took of his sandbox at home. He had to finish “planting his field” before coming in for dinner.
TRAITS CAN BE WORTH THE MONEY, BUT PROFITABILITY DEPENDS UPON PEST PRESSURE AND OTHER FACTORS.
Farmers quickly gobbled up corn and soybean transgenic traits when federal regulators first approved them in the 1990s. Initially, those traits zapped weeds and insects with nary a hitch.
For the most part, genetically modified traits still work. “Some have struggled with resistance issues, but these traits do what they say they will,” says Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin (UW) Extension agronomist. “Conversely, they are expensive, but with all the licensing and regulations, companies have to make a buck, too.”
Therein lies the rub. As a rule, traited hybrids cost more money than conventional ones.
SO ARE THEY WORTH IT?
Superficially, the decision seems simple. “Buy the traits you need,” says Lauer.
If you farm in east-central Illinois where corn rootworm can swarm cornfields like flies on a rotting animal carcass, a rootworm trait needs to be part of your rootworm-management program. If resistance to one trait has developed, another trait in a pyramid package will do, coupled with tools like crop rotation and a soil-applied insecticide.
Meanwhile, farmers in northern Wisconsin who rotate alfalfa and soybeans every so often with their corn, where rootworm is seldom a problem, likely don’t need a corn rootworm trait. That’s because by themselves, traits don’t increase yields.
Since corn traits hit the market 20 years ago, U.S. annual corn yield gains have clipped along at around 2 bushels per acre. Compare that with the mid-1950s yield gain from .8 bushels to 1.9 bushels per acre as a result of widespread use of hybrid corn, pesticides like 2,4-D, commercial nitrogen fertilizer, and on-farm mechanization.
Although traits have maintained the annual rate of U.S. corn yield gain, they haven’t increased it, says Bob Nielsen, Purdue University Extension agronomist.
“Current transgenic traits protect yields,” adds Lauer. Sill, yields won’t increase if pests are not present.
Seed price, though, complicates matters. Hybrids with trait packages don’t always cost more than conventional hybrids. Often, though, they do.
“With a $100- to $200-per-bag hybrid difference, I question if you can make up that difference through traits,” says Lauer.
YIELD IMPACT
Lauer bases these findings on the Wisconsin Corn Hybrid Performance Trials dating back to 1973. Each year, this trial tests more than 500 hybrids at 14 sites around Wisconsin with the goal of providing unbiased performance comparisons of hybrid seed corn for the state’s farmers. Lauer began including traited hybrids in the trials when they debuted in 1996. Along with UW agricultural economists Guanming Shi and Jean-Paul Chavas, Lauer conducted a statistical analysis showing that yields of hybrids with genetically modified traits varied widely.
In most cases, higher yields did result with traited hybrids. That was particularly true with European corn borer (ECB)-resistant hybrids. On average, ECB-resistant hybrids outyielded conventional hybrids by more than 6 bushels per acre.
“Hybrids with this trait had no yield drag,” says Lauer. “It (the ECB trait) did well right from the start.”
That’s not the case with corn rootworm traits, though. On average, yields of hybrids with these traits trailed the trial average by 12 bushels per acre.
“As a group, growers need to be careful with rootworm-resistant hybrids,” says Lauer. “Some years they do well, but most years, they don’t.”
Stacked traits helped. One example is a triple stack in which a herbicide-tolerant hybrid is teamed with traits that resist ECB and corn rootworm. In these cases, yields were 2 to 3 bushels per acre higher than those of conventional ones.
Still, that’s good, isn’t it?
On a yield basis, it’s questionable, especially if you’ve paid a hefty premium for the trait package. “Yield increases have been underwhelming,” says Lauer.
Let’s say you have a triple-stack hybrid that gleans a 10-bushel-per-acre corn yield edge over a conventional one. With $3-per-bushel corn, you can pay up to $30 per acre more in seed costs – or $69 a bag. (This assumes one bag plants 2.3 acres.) If seed costs more than that, be wary.
“The bottom line is that if there is a price difference between hybrid A and B that is greater than $75 per bag, be careful about buying the more expensive hybrid,” says Lauer.
REDUCING RISK
There’s more to your seed decision than yields, though. You’d probably have steam churning out of your ears akin to the cartoon character Yosemite Sam if a hybrid that yielded 250 bushels per acre dropped to 100 bushels the next year. That’s another perk of traits, as they can reduce this variability. The UW scientists found that even if transgenes produced only slightly higher yields in hybrids, they lower year-to-year yield variability. In a sense, this mimics a slight yield increase. Shi, Chavas, and Lauer found the downside risk of lower pest pressure mimicked a 0.8- to 4.2-bushel-per-acre yield spike, depending on the hybrid.
“Reducing yield extremes is one route in which transgenics can help,” says Lauer.
Lower variability that translates into more consistent yields between years eases agronomic and economic farm planning.
This variance reduction is most pronounced in low-yielding environments, says Lauer. The UW trials show that grain yield rises among lower yielding hybrids with transgenic traits compared to conventional hybrids.
Thus, the more transgenes a hybrid contains, the lower the variance, he says.
PESTS STILL EXIST
Pest pressure also can determine the trait payoff.
“Last year, we didn’t see a lot of rootworm pressure in the heart of the Corn Belt,” says Jeff Hartz, director of marketing for Wyffels Hybrids. “That can push some growers toward a double-stack trait (herbicide-tolerant and European corn borer-resistant).”
Just don’t get caught. Corn rootworm still lurks in cornfields, and it can slice yields.
In 2016, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) On-Farm Network found many eastern Iowa fields had high beetle numbers. If eggs laid last summer hatch this year, it could set the stage for infestations. In some fields last summer, beetle numbers were more than seven times the threshold for adult beetle numbers.
Ditto for ECB. Although it’s almost vanished, ECB can overwinter on 200 types of plants.
“It is still there,” says Hartz. In eastern Iowa, there have been cases where ECB has sliced non-GMO yields by 30 to 40 bushels per acre, he says.
Hybrids high in traits like SmartStax, which contains eight herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits, will be under scrutiny by farmers for 2017, says Hartz.
“It will be a harder sell in 2017,” he says. “But farmers also have to make sure they don’t cut too many corners.”
In the case of Noah Hultgren and his family, who farm near Raymond in central Minnesota, a diverse rotation (sugar beets-kidney beans-sweet corn-field corn-soybeans) has helped keep insects at bay. “We have not had to face as many issues as some,” he says. “We have had some glyphosate-resistant weeds, though.”
To counter them, the Hultgrens have planted Liberty Link (glufosinate-tolerant) hybrids on some corn acres before planting LibertyLink soybeans for the first time in 2016. In their Roundup Ready sugar beets, they also have resorted to some cultivation and hand weeding due to glyphosate-resistant weeds.
In the more intensive rotations of the Corn Belt, though, resistance has been more severe.
“We’ve considered cutting down or going without traits, but the risk of yield loss is still too great,” says Ron Moore, a Roseville, Illinois, farmer. In his own neighborhood, ECB infestations have occurred in non-ECB-resistant corn and caused yield losses.
Moore’s concern also extends to weeds. In 2017, Moore plans to plant some Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans accompanied by an approved dicamba herbicide formulation.
“We are seeing some herbicide-resistant weeds,” he says. “Preventive treatments that prevent weed escapes are cheaper than rescue treatments. Traits cost money, but the benefits are more than the cost of seed,” he explains.
In some cases, trait use transcends agronomics. “We have producers who have 50,000- to 60,000-acre grain farms in western Canada,” says Jay Bradshaw, president of Syngenta Canada. “They want technology to control disease, weeds, and insects. But when you talk more with them, it is also about time management. There are fewer people available to do on-farm work. Traits can help them manage their farms.”
SEED FIRST
Think of buying seed like buying a pickup. “You have different options, but at the start, you focus on the truck itself,” says Cole Hansen, portfolio marketing leader for Mycogen Seeds. “You can buy all the traits there are, but it won’t mean increased yield without pest pressure. Selecting the correct hybrid for that individual farm is key before addressing pest concerns.”
Low corn and soybean prices have caused seed firms to ramp up offerings of less-expensive seed.
“We have expanded our trait choices, which include lower-priced options,” says Duane Martin, Syngenta commercial traits lead. When pest pressure is high, stacked traits with multiple modes of action are a sound agronomic choice. Where pest pressure is low, though, a single trait can provide the needed protection, he says.
“With margins like they are, I think farm managers can make a difference by employing field-by-field insect infestation history and by putting the best fitting soybean varieties and corn hybrids on those acres,” he adds. “There are cases where growers want to focus more on genetics and less on traits, and vice versa. We want to make sure those choices are available to growers to help make sound and cost-effective trait decisions.”
TRANSGENIC WILD CARD
Transgenes inserted in seed offerings can often be a yield wild card. “There can be a tremendous yield difference when we switch transgenes in and out of a hybrid,” says Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin Extension agronomist. Swings of 20 bushels per acre or more have occurred either way between conventional and assorted trait packages in Wisconsin Corn Hybrid Performance Trials.
“There will be interaction between transgenes and underlying genetics,” he says. “The point is, there are yield interactions (including yield drag) that go on. Within trait technologies, there are good and bad hybrids. Each hybrid has to stand on its own.”
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS KEY HYBRID SELECTION
Each year, you spend time deciding whether or not to use products promising to coax just a few more bushels per acre out of your corn. Just don’t let these distract you from spending time on the decisions like seed that can literally cost you your family’s farm.
Each year, the Wisconsin Corn Hybrid Performance Trials test more than 500 hybrids at 14 Wisconsin sites with the goal of providing unbiased performance comparisons of hybrid seed corn for the state’s farmers. Year in and year out, there’s a 72-bushel-per-acre difference within relative maturities between top and bottom yielding varieties, says Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin Extension agronomist.
So how do you sort out the diamonds from the dogs?
“Use independent yield-trial data and multilocation averages to pick hybrids,” says Lauer. Picking multiple locations is more accurate than on-farm trials, he says.
On-farm trials do have merit. A random hybrid pick has a 50:50 chance of beating the trial average. Meanwhile, planting the best hybrids from on-farm trials can beat trial averages 67% of the time.
However, findings in the Wisconsin performance trials show hybrid selection with a multi-location assessment can beat trial averages 71% to 74% of the time. The more locations you have, the better the odds have been of hybrids beating the trial average, he adds.
Gleaning these results can enable you to concentrate on the top-performing hybrids. “Don’t care about all hybrids, just care about the top-yielding top 20%,” he says.
Look at individual hybrids, too, whether or not they are traited. Lauer notes when traited hybrids were first introduced in 1996, their yields eclipsed those of conventional hybrids.
“But in the last three to five years, conventional hybrids have come back,” says Lauer. We still always find conventional hybrids in the top 10 of the same relative maturities.”
Don’t be distracted by a hybrid family. Seed companies will often sell a new hybrid as belonging to an outstanding family. Like your own family members, though, there can be stark differences among them.
“We see a big difference among individual (trait) technology packages within a hybrid family,” he says. “Each one has strengths and weaknesses. Try to measure just genetics. Hybrids within a family are not the same.”
Climate projections for West Africa has indicated that crop yields and grass for livestock grazing are likely to decline in the future.
But a new study in the journal Global Environmental Change shows that when ineffective institutions and political instability limit investment in agriculture climate change would have greater impacts on regional food security.
West Africa is a major producer of crops such as cassava, millet, and sorghum but in the future, regional production may not be able to meet the growing demand for food and livestock feed.
“How and to what extent the region’s agricultural sector develops in the future will have profound implications for the livelihoods of millions of people,” says IIASA researcher Amanda Palazzo, who led the study.
“How and to what extent the region’s agricultural sector develops in the future will have profound implications for the livelihoods of millions of people,” says IIASA researcher Amanda Palazzo, who led the study.
“In some ways, West Africa is at the mercy of changes in the rest of the world–there is not much that people can do to stop global change on a local level. Our study shows that indeed, socioeconomic development and climate change in the rest of the world will affect West Africa.”
But that doesn’t mean that policymakers are powerless to avoid the impacts,” says Ms Palazzo.
“We found that food security in the region could improve even under the threat of climate change if the region takes a coordinated and long-term approach to investment and development.”
In particular, the study finds that investments in agriculture, specifically to improve crop yields, could lead to greater food production but also to an expansion of agricultural area into forest and other natural lands within West Africa.
However, regional productivity gains in the agriculture sector could help to reduce the global burden on land for agricultural production, in some cases, sparing three times as much land outside the region for each hectare of land converted to agriculture within the region.
The study also shows that which people in the region make the decisions in managing resources, directing investments, and prioritizing market access, will be a key driver for the economic growth, and, therefore the food security, of the region.
In a process led by the CGIAR program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Palazzo and colleagues from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI) worked closely with local experts to develop plausible futures for the region.
Then they linked the scenarios with the new global socioeconomic projections developed for climate change research–the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) –and adapted them to provide specific information for West Africa.
In order to create scenarios that would be useful for regional planning, the researchers conducted extensive meetings with policymakers, farmers, and other stakeholders to gain an understanding of the many factors driving agricultural production in the region.
The study resulted in a package of scenarios specifically designed for West Africa, up to the year 2050, where climate change is considered an unavoidable outside force that looms in each scenario.
The scenarios provide descriptions of potential future developments, including narratives as well as quantitative projections for factors such as population, economic growth, deforestation, land use, food production, and trade.
The scenarios have already proved useful to policymakers because they offer multiple, challenging future worlds in which they can test draft plans and policies.
“This is quite unique. Often, the process ends after stakeholders and modelers finish envisioning scenarios through words and numbers. However, we design processes that allow policymakers to identify actions that are necessary to avoid potential problems or actions to take that have a good chance of yielding desirable results in all potential futures,” says Joost Vervoort, the scenarios officer for CCAFS and a senior researcher at the ECI, a study coauthor.
In 2015, policymakers used the scenarios to test and examine Burkina Faso’s National Plan for the Rural Sector (PNSR), which led to 22 policy recommendations.
In 2016, versions of the scenarios were used to examine Ghana’s National Livestock Policy. These processes relied on model-based quantitative scenarios, to give policymakers insights into the development of the agriculture sector and measure the trade-offs between regional development, food security, and the environment.
Soybeans were slightly lower while grains were modestly higher in overnight trading ahead of today’s Grain Stocks Report and Prospective Plantings Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Many investors are staying on the sidelines ahead of the reports, which are expected to show a jump in soybean acres in the U.S. and a decline in corn and wheat area.
Competition from Brazil is likely capping soybean prices, as both countries are expected to produce large crops. Brazil is forecast by the USDA to produce a record 108 million metric tons. Prices at ports in the Gulf of Mexico are reportedly nearing five-year lows as exporters attempt to attract overseas buyers.
The U.S. is expected to produce 117.2 million tons of soybeans.
Soybean futures fell 2¢ to $9.61 a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soy meal rose 30¢ to $315.20 a short ton, and soy oil dropped 0.25¢ to 31.76¢ a pound.
Corn rose a penny to $3.58½ a bushel in Chicago.
Wheat futures for May delivery added 1¼¢ to $4.22¼ a bushel in Chicago. Kansas City wheat gained 1½¢ to $4.18¾ a bushel.
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2. USDA EXPECTED TO RAISE BEAN ACREAGE FORECAST, LOWER CORN AREA, ANALYSTS SAY
Area planted with soybeans is expected to jump this year while corn acreage declines, according to analysts surveyed by Reuters.
Producers are expected to plant 88.2 million acres with beans this year, up from 83.4 million last year, the survey said. The range of estimates was from 86.4 million to 89.3 million.
Much of the increase in area will come from corn that will be sown on about 91 million acres, a sharp decline from 94 million last year, analysts said. The range of estimates was entirely below last year’s area from 90 million to 92.5 million acres.
The USDA also will report quarterly grains stockpiles at noon in Washington, D.C.
Inventories of corn in storage in the U.S. on March 1 likely totaled 8.53 billion bushels, up from 7.82 billion on the same date a year earlier, according to analysts. The range of estimates was wide from 8.21 billion to 8.9 billion.
Soybean stockpiles at the start of the month probably totaled 1.68 billion bushels, according to the survey, up from 1.53 billion a year earlier. The range of estimates was from 1.63 billion to 1.89 billion.
3. THUNDERSTORMS RETURN TO SOUTHERN PLAINS, ILLINOIS MAY SEE FLOODING
Thunderstorms are expected in the Southern Plains, while flooding may occur in parts of Illinois from rain that’s already fallen, according to the National Weather Service.
Storms are expected to return after a one-day break to parts of southwestern Kansas and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles.
“Thunderstorms are expected in northwest sections of the combine panhandles this afternoon,” the NWS said in an early Friday forecast. “Chances for thunderstorms will increase this evening and overnight to include all of the panhandles. Some of the storms, particularly across northern sections, may be strong to marginally severe with hail and gusty winds possible. Brief heavy rains will also be possible.”
In Illinois, as much as 2 inches of rain fell in parts of the state in the past 36 hours and more is expected, the NWS said. The Illinois River in Henry is at 17.3 feet and is expected to rise to 23.5 feet by Monday afternoon due to upstream precipitation, which would be above its 23-foot flood stage, the agency said.
Minor flooding is expected near Peoria early next week as the river breaches the flood stage of 18 feet, reaching a crest of 19 feet on Tuesday, according to the NWS.
The U.S. farmers will plant a record amount of soybean acres, while reducing corn and wheat acreage.
On Friday, the USDA pegged the U.S. 2017 soybean acreage at 89.5 million acres, above the trade’s expectation of 88.12 million and above last year’s acreage of 83.43. If realized, this year’s soybean plantings would be a new record.
As a result, the CME Group's soybean market closed down double-digits.
At the close, the May corn futures settled 6¢ higher at $3.63 1/2, while December futures finished 6 3/4¢ higher at $3.87 3/4.
May soybean futures closed 17¢ lower at $9.46. November soybean futures finished 8 1/4¢ lower at $9.55.
May wheat futures ended 3 1/2¢ higher at $4.24.
May soy meal futures closed $7.20 per short ton lower at $307.70. May soy oil futures closed $0.19 lower at 31.82¢ per pound.
In the outside markets, the Brent crude oil market is $0.34 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is lower, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 62 points lower.
