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Articles by Soaking Rain’
Rice Harvest Begins But Rain Tosses in a Wrench
Harvest is underway in the southern states, and the good news is, the theme seems to be promising yields from early reports. However, depending on where you are, untimely rain showers are causing some issues in keeping up with the early harvest schedule. In Louisiana, harvest got off to a quick start, but afternoon showers have caused many growers some frustration in trying to stay on track. One farmer said it took him five days to harvest 80 acres.
NOAA Drought Outlook Monthly - August
The Monthly Drought Outlook for August 2022 is a challenging forecast to make across the Nation’s midsection from the Rockies to the Appalachians. For most of July, hot and dry weather dominated most of this region, bringing rapid drought development where departures from normal were the greatest; specifically, from northeastern Texas northward through central and eastern Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, and much of Aransas.
Cleveland on Cotton: Patience Paying Off in Summer Doldrums
Continuing with patience…it is paying off. Cotton prices blew through the 93-cent price resistance as suggested, albeit much sooner than I expected. Keep thinking patience as prices now look to trade the dollar mark. Beyond that, marketing fundamentals, particularly on the supply side of the price equation, are building an argument for trading to the 108-110-cent level.
USDA: Aug. 2022 Lending Rates
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced loan interest rates for August 2022, which are effective Aug. 1, 2022. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.
Thompson on Cotton: Prices Rally for 2nd Week
Could it be a sign the winds of change are a blowing? For the second consecutive week, cotton prices closed higher. Advancing almost six cents last week, December futures settled at 96.74. To our good fortune, we’ve experienced a rally of over fourteen cents in just the past two weeks. More impressive, it was done within a backdrop of a souring economy, waning export sales, strained China relations, and renewed Covid lockdowns.
Weekly Cotton Market Review - USDA
Spot quotations were 37 points higher 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 104.41 cents per pound for the week ending Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Rice Market Update: Harvest Gaining Strength, Market in Turmoil
The USDA reported earlier this week that Texas was 68% headed, which is a little behind schedule. Still, some growers are already tuning up and even running their harvesters. Rice headed is on pace with historical averages for Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi, but it’s considerably off in Arkansas where only 19% of the crop has headed. Conversely, in California the early planted rice crop is already 40% headed compared to the norm of 24% for this point and time.
Texas Plains Cotton: Expect Bollworm Numbers to Start Rising
Bollworm, cotton square. Photo: Aaron Cato, University of Arkansas General Status As we advance through this 2022 Bar-B-Que Pit of a summer growing season this week plenty of pests continue to nickel, dime, threaten, and in a few cases, hit hard. Still, the heat and drought continue to be the main issue threatening most fields. Several area cotton fields have reached peak water use, or that time of year I generally refer to as crunch time.
Goergia: Southeast Research and Education Center Row Crop Field Day, Midville, Aug. 10
The University of Georgia Southeast Research and Education Center (SEREC) will host its annual field day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10. The annual event is an open house tour of current research projects taking place at the center where College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty will highlight the work they are doing in cotton, peanuts, soybeans, corn, small grains and cover crops. “I always look forward to this day,” said Anthony Black, SEREC superintendent.
Michigan: Crop Production and Irrigation Research Field Day, Three Rivers, Aug. 22
Farmers gathered at University of Arkansas field day. Photo: Fred Miller: University of Arkansas Michigan State University Extension researchers and educators write grants, develop protocols and invest time to conduct on-farm research throughout the state in an attempt to show farmers and agribusinesses the outcomes of various agronomic and pest management practices at the regional and local level.
Texas West Plains Cotton: Irrigation Considerations with Ongoing Drought
Let us look at what the average cotton plant looks like based on what I am finding in the scouting program: Average number of total nodes is 15 (range 11 to 19) 1st fruiting branch at node 7.2 (range 5-10) Square retention of 1st positions is 91% (range 80-99%) Node length is 0.8″ (range of 0.7″-1.4″) Plant populations average 36,300 per acre (range 23,000 to 49,000) Nodes Above White Flower 5.5 (range of 2 to 9) Average 1st position bolls per plant 1.1 I continue to see more blooms and small...
Drought Monitor Weekly: Mostly Intensification, Expansion; Some Localized Heavy Rains
Summary Drought persisted across much of the West this week, while flash drought over parts of the Great Plains, Ozarks, and Mississippi Valley continued to intensify and cause agricultural problems. Short-term drought also expanded over parts of the Northeast this week, where deficits in short-term precipitation and streamflows mounted in some areas. Conditions locally improved in parts of the Southwest due to an influx of rainfall from the North American Monsoon.
Virginia Cotton: Check Field for Boll Damage
©Debra L Ferguson Stock Images We are moving back into a bit of drought for many areas and even though the forecast is calling for some rain, we are getting to the period where cotton can use two inches per week to sustain a developing boll load. This boll load is vulnerable to damage at this young stage, however we continue in somewhat of an insect lull.
Pennsylvania Corn: 1st Incident of Tar Spot Confirmed for 2022
Tar spot on corn leaf. Photo: University of Minnesota After a few weeks of diligent scouting on the part of private and Extension agronomists, the first positively identified tar spot lesions of 2022 were discovered today in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This find indicates that environmental conditions have been sufficient for initial infections in this area, and growers should be sure to start or keep scouting on their own farms.
Pennsylvania: Corn Leaf Aphid, an Argument Against Tank Mixing Insecticides
This time of year, more and more farmers are considering applying fungicides to their maturing corn crops. At the same time, many will convince themselves that there must be value of including an insecticide in the tank of the sprayer because “we’re going over the field anyway and we might as well control some insects at the same time.” This argument is made more convincing because the cost of adding a pyrethroid to the tank is just a few dollars per acre. I have heard this argument many times.
Arkansas Rice: Endigo ZC Approved for Rice Stink Bug Control
A Section 18 Emergency Exemption for the use of Endigo ZC for control of rice stink bug in rice has been authorized for the 2022 growing season. See the Endigo ZC Section 18 Label and Documentation. Rice stink bug numbers and control with lambda have varied greatly this year and depending on where you are in the state. In our assay work with lambda, we have rarely exceeded 65% control with a 1X rate; and no benefit has been observed for going above 1X.
Moving Grain: Army Corps of Engineers Endorses Deepening Port of New York and New Jersey
USACE Endorses Deepening Port of New York and New Jersey The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently endorsed a 4-year study done by USACE and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which recommends deepening the port to 55 feet, from its current depth of 50 feet. To accommodate longer, larger ships, the study also recommends widening all bends in the channel leading to the port.
Grain Deal Control Center Launches to Monitor Exports, Obstacles Linger
Bloomberg writers Megan Durisin and Archie Hunter reported earlier this week that, “Now that Ukraine’s grain-export deal has been signed, all eyes are on clearing a major obstacle: freeing the scores of ships stuck there since February. “As many as 100 vessels carrying grain and agricultural products were trapped in Ukrainian ports when Russia’s invasion began, and seeing them sail would mark a first step in revitalizing seaborne trade.
Louisiana: Sweet Potato Research Station Field Day, Chase, Aug. 18
Sweet potato field day. The LSU AgCenter Sweet Potato Research Station will hold a field day Aug. 18 highlighting upcoming varieties, best management practices and other research. Registration for the event will begin at 8:30 a.m., and field tours will follow at 9 a.m. A sponsored lunch will be provided at the conclusion of the program. The station is located off U.S. Highway 425 at 130 Sweet Potato Road in Chase. Topics to be covered include: Sweet potato breeding.
Arkansas: Growers Need Forecast Precipitation To Be ‘Slow, Soaking Rain’
Arkansas’ thirsty farm fields and emptying reservoirs may get some relief this weekend, with hopes that the forecast rainfall is gentle rather than furious, said Mike Hamilton, extension irrigation educator for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Weeks of triple-digit highs and dry weather at a time when crops are at peak water need have prompted Arkansas farmers to drive their irrigation equipment relentlessly.
Texas: Annual Wheatheart Wheat Conference, Perryton, Aug. 11
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the 24th annual Wheatheart Wheat Conference on Aug. 11 at the Ochiltree County Expo Center, 402 Expo Drive in Perryton. Those attending the event will hear educational topics related to wheat marketing, variety selection and management practices, and updates on wheat forage, said Scott Strawn, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Ochiltree County.
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