Farm Bill Negotiations

Cotton prices caught a break this week from what many called a neutral world supply demand report. The declining volume of world cotton stocks was the highlight of USDA’s October report and rode the wave nearly 200 points higher as it pressured the 79-cent level before settling the week at 78.37.

Rice stem infected with stem rot and a late tiller not showing infection. Photo: University of Arkansas Several low yielding rice fields recently have been identified as having stem rot. In the past few years I have not observed much stem rot, but some of the cases this year have been particularly severe. If you have low-yielding fields and are uncertain of the cause, it may be useful to evaluate the stubble residue left in the field to see if stem rot was present in the field.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today announced that the United State Department of Agriculture continues to invest in rural America with more than $4.8 billion in payments being made, starting this month, to agricultural producers through the Farm Service Agency’s Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Conservation Reserve (CRP) programs.