Insider Trading

#BSE lead considered insider trading? CFTC seems to think so! http://t.co/UZCF7pXr #markets -- Farm Journal (@FarmJournal)

Do you know this man?

Text answer to 319-327-0806

Reality

just got the car stuck in the corner of the field assessing the conditions for spraying. Need a hovercraft. -- Mark Thompson (@anorfolkfarmer)

Follow-up to previous post on Union Rags

Union Rags 59.97 from 1/2 to 7/8 out 1:13.34 w/Leparoux by far best of the quartet also Eden's Moon (Oaks) 101.56 -- Mike Welsch (@DRFWelsch)

Derby Hats

Here's a dumb one for ya....from Joe Burmeister

12 Most Ridiculous Kentucky Derby Hats

SEND THEM IN NOW!!!

319-327-0806 OR PRBURMEISTER@GMAIL.COM

Morning Market Action

CORN MAY 647+23
BEANS MAY 1502.25+21
LCAT JUN 112.15-0.225
LHOG MAY 85.6-1.2

Dairy Update

Penn State #dairy economist says the biggest #milk price drops of this cycle may be over. http://t.co/1d2McnY7 -- Rabo AgriFinance (@RaboAg)

Party- May 6th

Pete,

Attached is information for the 2012 Bulls & Boars Event!  Please extend the invitation on your blog and we hope to see you there!  If you have any questions please feel free to contact Dustin at 641.660.7069.

Thanks,
Dustin & Ashlee Snakenberg

Child Labor Rule Shelved

Jerry Hagstrom DTN Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (DTN) -- The Labor Department on Thursday announced it would withdraw its controversial proposed rule dealing with children who work on farms and would not pursue its revision as long as President Barack Obama is in office.

In a news release, the department said it would withdraw the entire rule -- the section dealing with the children of farmers who own or operate the farm, which the agency already announced it would repropose, and the portion of the rule that would affect neighborhood youths and migrant worker children who are employed on the farm.

Click here to read entire article

New Crop Corn Sale

1,400,000 new crop corn sold to unknown -- Paul Georgy (@allendale_Paul)

Planting video- East Central Iowa

Video sent in by Scott Hingtgen- Jackson County, IA

Soil Temp- April 25th

56° at 10 AM... sent in by Adam White, Pioneer Seed

More BSE News

Japan Has No Plan to Halt U.S. Beef Imports on Mad-Cow Case http://t.co/6bpeuvYq via @BloombergNews -- MDARD International (@MIAgExport)

Recent BSE Case Facts

Well put, "37,316 CASES OF BSE worldwide in 1992. In 2011 there were 29. Worry more about a meteorite hitting you." -- Chip Flory (@ChipFlory)

Wrapping Silage Bales- Tubeline Wrapper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pov60jGrDnM&feature=player_detailpage

 

 

More great video coverage from Scott Hingtgen-

Jackson County, IA

 

Our Reply: Thanks for sending this in Scott.

Planting Progress- SE Minnesota

Rolling again. Nice weather On the way for this week 20% planted in SE MN will be 70% if weather holds by end of week....from Lena Farms (@lenafarms) on Twitter

Seed Corn Feedback

AgriGold, your 70# bags are killing me...ugh :( -- Kristin Boe (@lapryorfarms)

Kehrli swine on display

Berkshire swine seedstock from Ken Kehrli, Winthrop, IA on display now at Heartland Acres Agribition Center in Independence, IA.

From Adam White- Buchanan County, IA

	4 Inch Soil Temp 2011
Date	Time	C on C   Ground
4/4/2012	10am	55
4/5/2012	10am	50
4/6/2012	10am	47
4/7/2012	10am	50
4/8/2012	10am	45
4/9/2012	10am	48
4/10/2012	10am	45
4/11/2012	10am	42
4/12/2012	10am	47
4/13/2012	10am	50
4/14/2012	10am	51
4/15/2012	10am	58
4/16/2012	10am	51
4/17/2012	10am	50
4/18/2012	10am	55
4/19/2012	10am	56
4/20/2012	10am	48
4/21/2012	10am	46
4/22/2012	10am	50
4/23/2012	10am	48

Cutting Hay in April

"To wet to start planting, just dry enough to start cutting hay. We would have been done with hay 10 days ago if weather would have stayed warm".... From Scott Hingtgen- Jackson County, IA

Walmart

The giant retailer is trying to get 400 local food growers within 400 miles of its stores or distribution centers to deliver products. "Mom (Walmart's typical customer) tells us emphatically she likes locally grown," explained Joe Quinn, senior director of issue management and strategic outreach, Walmart corporate affairs. "If our core customer knows that those green beans were picked 20 miles down the road two days ago, and they have been touched less and they have made a short run from that field to that table, mom very much likes that. That matters a lot."

Read the full DTN article here 

VEISHEA, Zulu, Cock Fighting

VEISHEA was held this past week on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, IA. If you went to school at ISU or aren't living under the proverbial rock within the State of Iowa; you know what this event is all about. Unruly inebriated college kids, burning dumpsters, and riots that garner front page press. All jokes aside, had you been at the parade on Saturday, a burning dumpster would have felt pretty darn good! The chilly damp air and steady rain at times kept a lid on any potential "black eyes" from coming out of this years really neat celebration. I have some really good friends from my college days that were heavily involved with the planning aspect of VEISHEA and with making sure the largest run student event in the country survived whatever sucker punches came flying their way. All things considered, they did well, as did this years leadership group.  How you get that many vastly different students, cultural organizations and clubs to remain civil is a bit of a mystery. Every small town in Iowa could use a healthy dose of whatever they're doing beneath the campanile in central Iowa. It would probably resolve a lot of the multi-generational issues that linger in rural Iowa today. Then again, maybe not. On lighter note...I noticed this year that there was only 1 big helium balloon in the entire parade. Float numbers were down too. I'd imagine someone somewhere had safety issues with both of them. I hope that bad idea and trend gets reversed... kids can go to any town celebration in the state and see a parade of firetrucks.

The fasten seat belt sign was just turned on!

My wife and I made the 125 mile trip to the Alma
Mater in 34 minutes this time. Big thanks to friends Michael and Rachel for letting us co-pilot for the day. I overheard "Zulu" being used on the headset several times throughout the trip. It's a fun word to say, which is mainly why I was interested in what it meant. Here's what I learned in la men's terms from my pilot: "it's the time pilots use in the aircraft that is standard all over the world" (no time zones involved). After a quick Google search, I learned that the Department of the Navy serves as the country's official timekeeper, with the Master Clock facility at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C. You can follow the link if you desire to learn more. Or, if you don't give a damn about the meaning, you now have a nifty word to add to your vocabulary.

Little Jerry and his hens.

We're in the chicken business. Five Buff Orpington hens and a rooster my daughter calls Little Jerry- thanks to a little coaxing from me in the naming department. Those of you who were avid Seinfeld watchers probably remember Kramer's pet rooster, Little Jerry in one particular episode. You may recall, that Kramer got his pet rooster mixed up in a cock fighting ring... it didn't end well for Little Jerry. Our Little Jerry is no pet, he is one mean dude though. So mean in fact, that my daughter only enters the chicken pen fully equipped with a 1/2" piece of conduit when she collects the eggs. If his attitude continues, there's a good chance he'll be finding a new home. He might actually prefer that over the alternative of being pestered non-stop by a 2-yr. old. Either way, doesn't look like it's going to end well for this Little Jerry either.