Top Headlines

As Congress prepares for an Independence Day Recess to be followed by vigorous discussion of a new energy bill, the National Corn Growers Association has stepped up its campaign to ensure that corn-based ethanol is part of the formula that brings our country to energy security and independence.

“With nearly two-thirds of our oil imported, we need to focus on a broad range of domestic fuel solutions,” said Darrin Ihnen, NCGA President, a South Dakota farmer. “Legislation is before Congress to continue much needed incentives and there is a new energy bill on the horizon, making it an important and critical time to talk about ethanol’s many environmental and economic benefits to our country.”

Front and center in the NCGA campaign is a new television ad using powerful images and common sense to stress the importance of ethanol. It will air starting Monday, June 28, on local news programs in Washington and on major cable channels such as Fox, CNN and MSNBC.… Continue reading

By Chris Bruynis, Assistant Professor/Extension Educator, OSU Extension

Producers that carry multi-peril crop insurance policies subsidized and reinsured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (as overseen by the Risk Management Agency (RMA)) may be eligible for quality loss adjustments if the reason for the loss in value is due to a covered event such as the excessive precipitation received this spring. Reports coming from the elevators on harvested wheat indicate that not only are wheat yields lower than expected, but vomitoxin levels are high, ranging from 5 to 10 parts per million (ppm) in Northwest Ohio.

In order for producers to protect their rights, it is imperative to report any damage in the required time frame and seek advice from the insurance company before proceeding with harvest or destruction of the damaged crop. Failure to do so may jeopardize the claim. Crop insurance policies require that farmers notify their company within 72 hours of noticing a loss.… Continue reading

By Robert Moore, Wright Law Co. LPA

The unusually wet spring has predictably caused disease problems in Ohio’s wheat crop. In addition to head scab and other more common diseases, vomitoxin is being found in this year’s crop. Vomitoxin is a mycotoxin that causes suppressed appetite in livestock and can be harmful to people as well.

Producers with a contract

Producers who have a contract with a buyer must look to the contract to determine their rights. All provisions, including any small print on the back of the contract, must be read entirely before assessing legal rights. The language of the contract is what matters; any verbal agreements made outside the contract have very little effect in enforcing legal rights. Even if the producer and buyer agree to certain terms, if the terms do not find their way onto the contract then the parties are probably not bound by the terms.… Continue reading

by Dan Looker

Successful Farming magazine Business Editor

Operators of both large and small dairy farms told a government hearing on competition in Madison, Wisconsin Friday that trading in cheese at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is hurting prices received by producers.

The growing market power of big box retailers and imports of dairy proteins also came up, but a group of farmers from New York to the Midwest to California was nearly unanimous in criticizing a block cheese market that is thinly traded and vulnerable to manipulation.

“This volatility that is being created by the CME is the source of the problem,” said Joel Greeno, who milks 48 cows on his farm near Kendall, Wisconsin. USDA milk prices became more volatile after they were tied to trading of cheese, he said. “It went from fairly stable ups and downs to looking like a heart monitor, and it can’t look like a heart attack.”… Continue reading

U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, 2010 was 64.4 million head.
This was down 4 percent from June 1, 2009 but up 1 percent from March 1,
2010.

Breeding inventory, at 5.79 million head, was down 3 percent from last year
but up slightly from the previous quarter.  Market hog inventory, at
58.6 million head, was down 4 percent from last year but up 1 percent from
last quarter.

The March-May 2010 pig crop, at 28.2 million head, was down 3 percent from
2009 and down 2 percent from 2008.  Sows farrowing during this period totaled
2.87 million head, down 5 percent from 2009 and down 6 percent from 2008.
The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 50 percent of the breeding
herd.  The average pigs saved per litter was a record high 9.81 for the
March-May 2010 period, compared to 9.61 last year.  Pigs saved per litter by
size of operation ranged from 7.70 for operations with 1-99 hogs and pigs to
9.90 for operations with more than 5,000 hogs and pigs.… Continue reading

Farmers who can’t get into their cropfields to work because of excessive June rainfall shouldn’t surrender to Mother Nature, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service specialists say.

There was no shortage of  in the month’s first 23 days, leaving thousands of acres of corn, soybeans and hay either in standing water or in drenched soils, and producers desperate to tend to their crops.

There’s still time for growers to work their fields if weather conditions improve and soils dry, said Tony Vyn, cropping systems specialist.

On the positive side, the rain, heat and humidity has accelerated corn crop development — so much so that many crops have outgrown the ability of some insects to feed on them, Vyn said. That rapid growth, however, is quickly making weed control more difficult and delaying necessary nitrogen fertilizer applications.

“I would encourage farmers not to give up on those applications and to keep trying,” Vyn said.… Continue reading

For every $1 spent on drainage technology, producers get $3 to $4 back in corn and soybean profits, according to long-term Ohio State University research.

Twenty-five years of field studies (from 1984 to 2009) at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Northwest Agricultural Research Station in Hoyvtille showed that subsurface drainage significantly improved corn and soybean yields on poorly drained soils. Add crop rotation and some sort of conservation tillage practice and production just keeps getting better.

“Overall, a farming system that includes subsurface drainage, crop rotation, and no-till, or other conservation tillage system, provides the best long-term economic and environmental benefits for the farmer,” said Randall Reeder, an Ohio State University Extension agricultural engineer.

Reeder said that the long-term research was designed to evaluate the effects of drainage, tillage systems and rotation on corn and soybean yields to provide a better understanding of how to increase yields while maintaining sound conservation practices.… Continue reading

Ohio State University kicked off a new “Soy Toner Alliance” to celebrate its use of soy-based toner in many of the university’s laser printers.

The effort has been spearheaded by the university’s printing facility, UniPrint, which maintains about half of the estimated 7,000 printers on the Columbus campus. UniPrint will be using soy-based toner in any printer it maintains for which cartridges are available, currently totaling about 700. Those printers print about 800,000 pages per month.

“It is not simply about using a new product,” said E. Gordon Gee, university President. “It’s about staking our claim that this university and its leadership role in this state is making sustainability a very important part of who we are.”

The event was held at the university’s first LEED-certified “green” building on campus, the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. The 4-H Youth Development program is part of Ohio State University Extension, housed in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).… Continue reading

The State Executive Director for Ohio’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Steve Maurer, would like to announce a new program available for retired or retiring owners and operators who are willing to sell or lease Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres to beginning or minority farmers.  The Transition Incentive Program (TIP) provides annual rental payments to the retired or retiring landowners for up to two additional years after the date of the expiration of the CRP contract, provided the transition is not to a family member.  Sign-up for the new TIP program began in May, at your local FSA office.

To be eligible, TIP requires that the retired or retiring farmer:

§  Have land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that is in the last year of the contract.

§  Agree to allow the beginning or minority farmer to make conservation and land improvements.

§  Agree to sell, or have a contract to sell, or agree to long-term lease (a minimum of 5 years) the land under CRP contract to a beginning or minority farmer by Oct.

New research shows nearly 70% of U.S. consumers consider sustainability when choosing food products at the grocery store. What’s more, 78% of consumers consider the sustainability of farm-produced ingredients when buying products on the supermarket shelf.

To measure U.S. consumers’ perceptions of sustainable farming, the United Soybean Board (USB) fielded an independent quantitative study in early 2010. When American consumers think about sustainable farming, they most often refer to a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, provides a fair wage to the farmer and supports and enhances rural communities. They highly rate the nation’s soybean crop, which produces soyfoods like tofu as well as soybean oil for fried foods, baked goods, salad dressing and cooking oil (where it’s often labeled “vegetable oil”).

In the USB study, 72% of consumer participants agree U.S. soybean farming is sustainable. Asked what country leads in sustainable farming, respondents rate the U.S.… Continue reading

Breeding sheep for a more profitable flock will be the focus of a comprehensive seminar on defining and selecting traits that can increase profits in sheep production. OSIA in conjunction with the American Sheep Industry’s genetic stakeholders committee has planned a two day regional genetics symposium for July 10 and 11, 2010 at Riverwood Farms, Powell, OH.

This conference will feature three of the most nationally recognized sheep geneticists in the United States: Dr. David Notter, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Dr. Kreg Leymaster, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center and Dr. David Thomas, University of Wisconsin. The Saturday morning session begins with a focus on the basics of animal breeding which will include a discussion of cross breeding systems and their ability to enhance performance through increased hybrid vigor. Followed by a discussion of sheep breeds, both hair and wool, and how they function within the wide variety of sheep production and marketing systems that are found in the Midwest.… Continue reading

BY Victor Shelton, NRCS Grazing Specialist

The past week or so I’ve sure seen a lot of hay being cut; some even went through some wash cycles. I too had some down and had planned on baling it up in small bales until rainy looking weather made as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room of rocking chairs, so it quickly got rolled up. I think every producer stresses over making hay at least part of the time.

I’m often asked the questions, “to bale or not bale” or “should I put up hay or just buy what I need?” Good questions. I think everyone, no matter how efficient or type of grazing system, should have some hay on hand. It is your insurance plan; your contingency plan. Feeding less hay is a good thing though, at least it should be — meaning that you hopefully grazing more.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

It is easy to romanticize agriculture’s past. The water was clean, the air was fresh and the sun always shone (except when a rain was needed). There were pigs, geese, horses, cattle, sheep and chickens all residing in a quaint red barn that offered no unpleasant odors. All creatures lived in harmony and farmers had a nearly unlimited social license with the general public to run their operations with freedom from excessive regulations.

Well, times have changed for the reality (or the perception) of the farm and in the minds of the general public with regard to the general public’s social license for agriculture. This social license long granted the privilege of operating with minimal formalized restrictions based on maintaining a trust with the public; if people think farms are doing the right things, then there is no need to regulate them more formally.

Though people may used to think that way, it seems that they do not any longer.… Continue reading

With wheat harvest now under way in Ohio, sampling and testing for vomitoxin in head scab-infected wheat is vital to prevent further losses and avoid potential health problems in humans and livestock.

Pierce Paul, an Ohio State University Extension plant pathologist and small grains specialist, said that grain elevators will likely be testing every lot to ensure that any vomitoxin in infected grain stays below the acceptable limit of 2 parts per million.

“It’s important that the testing be conducted correctly to avoid overestimating or underestimating vomitoxin in the grain,” Paul said.

Wheat in some portions of Ohio is experiencing upwards of 60 percent incidence of head scab — a disease that attacks the wheat during flowering under wet, humid conditions. The disease can impact yields. In addition, the fungal pathogen that causes head scab produces several mycotoxins, including vomitoxin, that affect grain quality. Feeding infected grain to livestock can be harmful, and using infected grain for bran, flour and germ can be unhealthy for human consumption.… Continue reading

Ohio soybean growers may not have to worry about soybean rust, but they should be keeping their eyes out for potential white mold developments.

“The weather conditions over the past few weeks are very similar to last year. If it stays cool and wet, then white mold will be the next issue to monitor,” said Anne Dorrance, an Ohio State University Extension plant pathologist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

Last year, rainy weather and cooler-than-normal summer temperatures resulted in the first major white mold outbreak in Ohio in nearly a decade.

White mold, also known as Sclerotinia stem rot, is a common fungal disease that spreads by infecting old, decaying soybean stem tissue or blossoms prior to flowering (R1 stage) and during flowering (R2 stage). The fungus invades the plant by producing a compound called oxalic acid, which kills plant tissue and allows the fungus to take hold.… Continue reading

When we get in our semis and straight trucks to haul grain, we are glad when we hit the brake peddle to stop and we stop. The air brake system on our trucks is actually pretty simple and works the same on almost all trucks.

All air brake systems use air pressure to apply the brakes when you step on the pedal. The air is stored in a series of pressure tanks on the truck. The air is pressurized by the air compressor on the

truck’s engine. The pressure is regulated by the air governor on the air compressor. Most, if not all systems, work on 120 psi of pressure.

Some systems have an air dryer, which dries the moisture out of the air to keep it from freezing in the winter time.

The air dryer has a cartridge in it that should be changed once per year. The air is pressurized by the compressor,

passes through the air dryer and into the tanks.… Continue reading

Released June 21, 2010, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).

Special Note

NASS is in the process of modifying report layouts in order to improve
readability. This issue is produced using the new layout. This report will be
published weekly using both layouts through June 28, 2010. Beginning July 6,
2010, Crop Progress will only be produced using this layout. The previous
layout is available on the NASS website: http://www.nass.usda.gov.

Corn Condition – Selected States: Week Ending June 20, 2010
[National crop conditions for selected States are weighted based on 2009
planted acreage] —————————————————————————–
      State      : Very poor :   Poor    :   Fair    :   Good    : Excellent
—————————————————————————–
                 :                          percent                         
                 :                                                          
Colorado ……..:     –           2          12          67          19    
Illinois ……..:     3           7          21          52          17    
Indiana ………:     2           8          22          49          19    
Iowa …………:     2           5          18          52          23    
Kansas ……….:    … Continue reading

The Supreme Court over-turned a lower federal judge’s ruling that farmers could not plant a biotech alfalfa variety while the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepared a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment on the crop. In a major win for biotech crop breeders, the Supreme Court held by a 7 to 1 majority in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms that the federal district court judge abused his discretion by refusing to permit any planting at all, despite the USDA’s 2005 approval of the variety.

The news was welcomed by a coalition of agricultural organizations who had filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court in support of the petitioners in the case. The brief was submitted by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), American Seed Trade Association, American Soybean Association (ASA), National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance (NAFA), National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), National Cotton Council and National Potato Council.… Continue reading

Three upcoming USDA reports will provide important information for the corn and soybean markets, according to University of Illinois agricultural economist Darrel Good. The quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report will be released on June 25, and the quarterly Grain Stocks and annual Acreage reports will be released on June 30.

“The quarterly Hogs and Pigs report will reveal the inventory of market hogs as of June 1 as well as producers’ production intentions for the last half of the year,” Good said. “Last week’s Cattle on Feed report showed a large year-over-year increase of placements into feedlots during May. The information in the hog report will provide further insight into potential feed demand for the last quarter of the 2009-10 marketing year and for the 2010-11 marketing year.”

The quarterly Grain Stocks report will reveal the level of inventories as of June 1. “For context, it is useful to estimate the magnitude of June 1 stocks based on known use during the previous quarter and on USDA projections for the year for use that is not yet known,” Good said.

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for
feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.5 million head on
June 1, 2010. The inventory was 1 percent above June 1, 2009.

Placements in feedlots during May totaled 2.02 million, 23 percent above
2009. Net placements were 1.92 million head. During May, placements of cattle
and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 445,000, 600-699 pounds were
405,000, 700-799 pounds were 537,000, and 800 pounds and greater were
635,000.

Marketings of fed cattle during May totaled 1.87 million, 4 percent below
2009. This is the lowest fed cattle marketings for the month of May since the
series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totaled 102,000 during May, 1 percent above 2009.

 Number of Cattle on Feed, Placements, Marketings, and Other Disappearance on
         1,000+ Capacity Feedlots – United States: June 1, 2009 and 2010
——————————————————————————–
                                     :          Number           :  Percent of 
                 Item                :—————————:             
                                     :    2009     :    2010     :previous year
——————————————————————————–
                                     :   —– 1,000 head —-       percent   
                                     :                                         
On feed May 1 …………………..:  … Continue reading