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Articles by PLC Enrollment
Ag Trade: Coronavirus Impacts Demand, Phase One Purchase Targets
Bloomberg writers Lydia Mulvany and Michael Hirtzer reported last week that, “In times of economic woe, one of the first luxuries to go is beef. That old adage is so far proving to be true as the global coronavirus outbreak dents demand. “A key U.S. government report Tuesday lowered forecasts for American exports of the meat amid weaker demand, while an industry group a day earlier said weakness in red meat shipments due to coronavirus could show up soon in trade data.
Shurley on Cotton: Prices Will Recover; When, How Much Uncertain
The US stock market has been in a meltdown. There are increasing fears of a global economic slowdown. Businesses and events and schools are being shut down. The situation has really escalated quickly over the past week. How much of what we hear is fact or fiction? Is this all mostly an overreaction? I don’t know and neither do you. Does anybody? What we are likely witnessing is a fear of the unknown and out of an abundance of caution just to be on the safe side.
Arkansas Rice: When To Use Combo Seed Treatments
Over the past three years, we have talked a lot about combinations of insecticide seed treatments and the benefits of combining different seed treatments for control of grape colaspis and rice water weevil. We have been comparing combinations of a neonicotinoid (CruiserMaxx Rice or NipsIt INSIDE) with a diamide seed treatment (Dermacor X-100 or Fortenza) for multiple years now.
Texas Rice: Growers Making Headway With Planting
Seedling emerged rice. Photo: LSU AgCenter Texas rice growers planted 22% of the expected crop statewide as of Friday, March 13. That was up significantly from the 1% reported the week before on March 6. The three major zones for the state’s rice belt – East, Northwest and Southwest – all reported similar percentages plus or minus 1%. Reports were filed by county agents on the Texas Rice Crop Survey page. As of Friday, March 13, extension agents reported mixed conditions.
California Almonds: Moving Past Bloom With Big To-Do Lists
Almond trees blooming.©Sara Savary, AgFax Media Here is this week’s issue of AgFax Tree Crops. Our thanks to BASF and its California team for sponsoring this coverage. Got questions or comments? Let us know. Jenny Holtermann, Contributing Editor OVERVIEW After a stretch of warm winter weather, temperatures are supposed to shift into a cooler pattern with wet conditions in the forecast for much of our coverage area.
California Almonds: Record Shipments And Other Takeaways From Position Report
Almond trees blooming, petal drop. ©Sara Savary, AgFax Media The Almond Board of California released the February 2020 position report. Shipments were 201.78 million lbs. vs. 186.95 million lbs. in 2019 – a new record and an increase of 7.9% (+4.96% YTD) DEMAND U.S. +10.2% (+1.5% YTD) Exports +6.9% (+6.5% YTD) The USD reversed against some currencies such as the Euro where it’s at 1.11 vs. 1.09 a month ago. Other currencies have been hurt by oil pricing or other global economic issues.
California Almonds: Understanding The Relationship Between Nitrogen And Yields
Almond trees blooming,petal drop. ©Sara Savary, AgFax Media Last week, in the first of two-part series, we explained the vital role nitrogen plays in tree health and in the creation and maintenance of a sustainable almond orchard. Today, we are going to demonstrate how to efficiently manage nitrogen, taking the information from last week and putting it into action.
Arkansas Rice: Where The Market (Might) Be Heading
In Tuesday’s USDA Supply/Demand rice report, old crop (2019/20) supply and use estimates for long-grain were unchanged from last month. The projected season-average farm price for 2019 was also unchanged at $12 per cwt or $5.40 per bushel. Projected 2019 PLC payment rates are 90 cents and 94 cents per bushel, respectively, for long-grain and southern medium grain. As a discussion point, USDA currently projects old crop exports at 71 million cwt.
Grain Marketing: What To Make Of New Soy-To-Corn Price Ratios?
In determining a farm’s crop mix, there are a wide range of factors to be considered. Such factors include acreage availability, rotational strategy and spring weather conditions that could potentially impact the actual planting activities and ultimately affect the final crop mix. Two crops that commonly compete for acreage are corn and soybeans. Often, producers will use the soybean-to-corn price ratio prior to planting as an indicator of the relative profitability of the two crops.
Cotton Seed Treatments - Comparing Your Choices
In Louisiana and the cotton belt, thrips are considered the No. 1 early-season pest of seedling cotton. Tobacco thrips compose the primary species infesting Louisiana cotton, while western flower thrips are often present at lower numbers. With the absence of Aldicarb (although we now have a commercially available Aldicarb replacement named AgLogic), insecticide seed treatments now dominate the early-season cotton insect pest management landscape.
Iowa Corn, Soybeans: High Speed Planters - Do They Perform as Advertised?
Iowa State University (ISU) recently completed a five-year study of high-speed planter equipment in corn and soybeans. The study utilized a 12-row planter equipped with the Precision Planting SpeedTube high speed planter system and a 24-row planter equipped with the John Deere ExactEmerge high speed planter system (Figure 1). Both planters utilized individual row hydraulic downforce and were tested using a side-by-side strip trial experimental design.
Farm Crops Lose Water During Hot Nights, Says Study
A Kansas State University researcher whose work is helping to redefine the way that farmers and plant breeders view the impact of night-time temperatures on farm crops has been recognized by a publication that promotes innovation in science. Krishna Jagadish, an associate professor in K-State’s Department of Agronomy, is the co-author of an article just published in the journal, Trends in Plant Science, that explains why crops and other plants lose water as a result of high temperatures at night.
Nebraska: Undersowing Red Clover Into Winter Wheat as an N Source for Corn
Frost seeded red clover in wheat stubble. Photo: Paul Gross, Michigan State University Red clover can be an excellent green manure that fixes nitrogen, suppresses weeds, and increases corn yields. As a slow-growing cool-season legume, it is suitable to undersowing into winter small grains in early spring. It continues to grow after small grain harvest and can be terminated in the fall or following spring before corn planting.
Nebraska Ag Land Values Increase for 1st Time Since 2014
Photo: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska agricultural land values increased 3% over the last year to a statewide average of $2,650 per acre, according to preliminary results from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Farm Real Estate Market Survey. This marks the first year-to-year increase since land values in the state peaked at $3,315 per acre in 2014.
Soybeans: Drought Resiliency - Researchers Explore Plant-Microbe Relationships
Iowa State University researchers are working to better understand how soybeans interact with the community of microbes living around their roots, and how these relationships may enhance the crop’s resiliency in the face of drought and other stresses. The project is funded by a three-year, $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its Agricultural Food Research Initiative.
Weekly Cotton Market Review - USDA
Spot quotations averaged 138 points lower than the previous week, according to the USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service’s Cotton and Tobacco Program. Quotations for the base quality of cotton (color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35-36 and 43-49, strength 27.0-28.9, and uniformity 81.0-81.9) in the seven designated markets averaged 56.15 cents per pound for the week ending Thursday, March 12, 2020.
Cleveland on Cotton: Putting Numbers To Potential Volatility
Cotton modules lined up in a gin yard. ©Debra L Ferguson Cotton’s legacy fundamentals have not had any positive impact on the cotton market. U.S. cotton export sales recorded a marketing-year high, and the USDA March supply/demand report noted a substantial decline in U.S. carryover. Additionally, USDA clarified its export shipment information, making it clear that the so-called inflated 2019-20 marketing-year export estimate was almost assuredly underestimated.
Thompson On Cotton: Looking Past The Short Term
Cotton bales in gin warehouse. ©Debra L Ferguson Stock Images With all the attention pointed at the coronavirus, I’m reminded of a quote from FDR’s first inaugural address when he said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He, of course, was referring to resurrecting the economy after the Great Depression. Today, it would apply to the ultimate impact this virus will have on the global economy.
Drought Monitor Weekly: Heavy Rains Mostly Miss Dry Areas
Summary A low pressure system propagated eastward across much of the southern tier states early in the period (March 4-6) and merged with a short-wave trough dropping southeastward from the Midwest before moving off the Mid-Atlantic coast on March 7. This system dropped more than 2 inches of rainfall over large areas from extreme southeastern New Mexico eastward to South Carolina. Some areas of central Alabama and Georgia saw more than 5 inches of rainfall, which fell over saturated soil.
Biofuels: Blending Law’s Purpose Is To “Err” Towards Industry’s Interests, Court Stresses
Since 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been generously granting exemptions to small refineries from the renewable fuels mandates on the transportation fuel industry established by Congress under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). This has raised a set of concerns with EPA’s implementation of the RFS and the impacts of that implementation on the biofuels industry.
Iowa Corn: Spring Nitrogen Fertilization Considerations
Nitrogen application to young corn. Photo: Iowa State University Perhaps you did not get planned nitrogen (N) applications accomplished last fall. Or you are pondering what the spring 2020 weather conditions might be – another wet spring? Are you are considering use of different products; if so how should they be handled?
Georgia Peanuts: Issues with Seeds, Fungicide Treatments
Peanut crown rot, Aspergillus niger. We have received many questions in recent days pertaining to the quality issues facing our peanut seed supply in 2020 and relative performance of seed treatments Dynasty PD and Rancona. Below is the information that you need to know now; as more information is developed we will pass it to you quickly. As you know, Rancona and Dynasty PD both contain several fungicides; however they do not contain the same fungicides.
Moving Grain: Flood Conditions Continue To Disrupt Barge Navigation
Barges on Mississippi River. ©Debra L Ferguson Flood Conditions Continue To Disrupt Barge Navigation on Lower Mississippi Consistent flood conditions on the Lower Mississippi River are causing disruptions from Cairo, IL, to the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, tow size has been reduced by 5-10 barges and productivity has been reduced by 14-24 percent.
Rice Market Update: Coronavirus + Planting New Crop = ???
Another week has passed in the rice market and while the news cycle is dominated by the coronavirus, rice has seen subtle movements in both new and old crop markets. Export sales for the week were up modestly over the previous report. Recall that this number is lagged by a week and any trade impacts following the presidential announcement this week will not be reflected until the next report.
California Cotton Revitalization Field Day, Dos Palos, March 26
Cotton field day. Photo: University of California Cooperative Extension Farmers and other agriculture professionals interested in cotton are invited to a field day 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 26 to find ways to revitalize the California cotton industry. The meeting will be at Teixeira & Sons Farm, 11323 Erreca Rd., Dos Palos. For free registration, email hello@fibershed.com or call (559) 303-9689. Lunch is included. There was a time when cotton was king in California.
Georgia: USDA OKs Hemp Plan; License Applications Open March 23
Industrial hemp. Photo: Clemson University The USDA has approved the Georgia Hemp Plan, which allows the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) to begin the process of accepting online applications for hemp grower licenses on March 23. The hemp grower license is issued by the GDA under the authority of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act, which authorizes cultivation and handling of hemp in Georgia.
Farm Business: 6 Quick Tips for Effective Employee Management
If your farm has employees, you know that managing them well is important. Well-managed employees are happy, more efficient workers. In addition, they are more likely to stay and you don’t have to worry about any bad PR coming from them related to your farm and management. How can you be a good employer and an even better manager? Here are some quick tips for employee management: It all starts with their first day on the job.
March 16 Last Day to Schedule with FSA for ARC, PLC Enrollment
Agricultural producers who have not yet completed their 2019 crop year elections for and enrollment in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs must schedule an appointment to do so with their local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) by Monday, March 16. “To date, more than 1.4 million contracts have been signed for the 2019 crop year.
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