This just confirms that the USDA Data is from June 1st. No one can dispute that fact!
Friday, June 28, 2013
Twitter Chatter I Talk of Massive Seed Corn Returns
How do corn acres increase when seed companies talk of massive seed return this year? $ZC_F
Twitter Chatter I Corn Acres Up vs. Trade Expectations
Anthony Lackore @Lackore
Olympic Avg. Pull out the high for the year “@ArlanFF101: USDA - corn acres 97.379 vs trade expectations of 95.313 $ZC_F”
Twitter Chatter I USDA June 28 Report
Doug Bartlett @Grainmonster
We should have planting delays and floods more often - it expands acres...
Iowa Dairy Quick Stats
Bill Northey (@BNorthey) tweeted at 8:19 AM on Fri, Jun 28, 2013: Iowa has 1550 #dairy farms; 210 dairy #goat farms. Avg farm 135 #cows. 1/2 farms < 70 cows
Benton County, IA Soybeans
Brandt Fehl (@BrandtFehl) tweeted at 7:35 AM on Fri, Jun 28, 2013: Started spraying #soybeans this morning. A lot more out there than we thought. Start scouting folks.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Governor Christie stands up to HSUS I Powerful animal rights lobbying groups have legislation vetoed
Earlier this morning, Governor Christie stood up to HSUS and the powerful animal rights lobbying groups and vetoed legislation banning the use of individual maternity pens in New Jersey. Thank you to everyone who took the time to contact his office over the last few months to help him understand the importance of this issue on a national level. Without a doubt, your communications were instrumental in helping him stand with agriculture.
Thank you again,
Thank you again,
Bryan Humphreys
National Pork Producers Council
(515) 451-0484
Producers Praise Christie For Supporting Farmers
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 27, 2013 – America’s hog farmers and the National Pork Producers Council today thanked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for vetoing legislation that would have banned the use of individual maternity pens for pregnant sows. The legislation was pushed by animal-rights groups despite the fact that few of New Jersey’s small number of hog farmers use such housing.
“This is a great example of a governor standing up to powerful lobbying groups on behalf of small, independent farmers,” said NPPC President-elect Dr. Howard Hill, a pork producer from Cambridge, Iowa. “America’s family hog farmers thank Gov. Christie for rejecting this bad legislation.”
The legislation was championed by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other radical animal-rights activists even though it would have prevented farmers from caring for their animals in a way approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. Those organizations long have recognize individual maternity pens as appropriate for providing for the well-being of sows during pregnancy.
“HSUS continues to drive this unreasonable legislation in states with little pork production in an attempt to push a national agenda, but states are starting to push back,” Hill said.
In rejecting the legislation, Christie said: “The proper balancing of humane treatment of gestation pigs with the interests of farmers whose livelihood depends on their ability to properly manage their livestock best rests with the State’s farming experts – the State Board [of Agriculture] and the Department [of Agriculture].”
The New Jersey agriculture departments in 2004 adopted “Humane Standards” for livestock, and the state Supreme Court in 2008 upheld most of the standards, including a direct challenge of the regulations governing the treatment of gestating pigs.
The defeat in New Jersey was the latest in a series of them for HSUS, which over the past 10 years has spent millions of dollars in states around the country to advance its radical agenda.
Very few states have enacted bans through ballot initiatives or through the legislative process because of the negative impacts such prohibitions would have had on local pork producers. Most recently, the legislatures in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont chose not to pass measures banning individual maternity pens.
# # #
NPPC is the global voice for the U.S. pork industry, protecting the livelihoods of America’s 67,000 pork producers, who abide by ethical principles in caring for their animals, in protecting the environment and public health and in providing safe, wholesome, nutritious pork products to consumers worldwide. For more information, visit www.nppc.org.
Tama Livestock Auction- Market Report
Tama Livestock Auction
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Progressive Farming at a Glance
Iowa Corn (@iowa_corn) tweeted at 10:26 AM on Thu, Jun 27, 2013: Farmers grow 87% more corn per ounce of fertilizer thanks to innovative farming practices (USDA)
Nitrogen Loss in 2013 I Tim Harbaugh- AgriGold Rep.
Please read this article from AgriGold Agronomist Bob Berkevich regarding our nitrogen situation this year. If you have questions, call me and we can discuss.
Thanks,
Tim
From: "Tim Harbaugh" <Tim.Harbaugh@agreliantgenetics.com>
Nitrogen Loss in 2013
June 07, 2013 by Bob Berkevich
While wet weather has many of us thinking about getting the rest of the crops planted, it's also important not to forget about the ones that have been planted. Warm soils and continuous soil saturation lead to losses of nitrogen that may have already been applied. The nitrogen cycle is complex and there is no way to know exactly how much nitrogen may have been lost, but understanding how nitrogen acts in the soil can help growers decide if additional nitrogen should be applied to corn in extremely wet areas to avoid the N deficiency and yield loss shown in Figure 1.
Forms of Nitrogen
Generally, fertilizer nitrogen is composed of ammonia, ammonium, urea, nitrate, or some combination of these sources (Table 1). Once applied, the fertilizer initially becomes either ammonium (NH4+) or nitrate (NO3-).
In the soil profile, ammonium cannot be lost, because its positive charge is held tightly by the negative charge of soil particles. Over time, all sources of fertilizer transform into nitrate (Figure 2) in a process called nitrification. As soil temperatures rise above 50°F, the nitrification rate increases.
Leaching
Since nitrate has a negative charge, it is not held by soil particles and flows wherever soil water flows. Nitrate leaching occurs when soil water is drained through natural outlets or in tile lines. The amount of nitrate lost from leaching depends on how much of the original fertilizer was in the nitrate form at the time of water drainage out of the field. Dr. Peter Scharf at the University of Missouri tracks rainfall amounts and identifies areas where nitrate leaching could be severe and where growers should be aware of the potential for nitrogen loss and deficiency. Fields in the cross-hatched areas of the "N Watch" in Figure 3 have significant leaching potential, especially if they are lighter soils or are tile drained.
Denitrification
Nitrogen can also be lost in a gaseous form. Aerobic bacteria in the soil need oxygen to survive. In saturated soil conditions where oxygen has been depleted from the soil profile, the bacteria break the oxygen off of the nitrate (NO3-) molecule. With the loss of the oxygen (the O's in the NO3-), all that remains is nitrogen, or N2 gas. Nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere in this gaseous form. Once again, the amount of nitrogen lost depends on the amount of the original fertilizer nitrogen that was in the nitrate form at the time of soil saturation. Areas in the cross-hatched areas of the "N Watch" in Figure 4 and localized fields in other areas that have been saturated for many days have significant denitrification potential.
How much nitrate has been lost?
There are several factors that influence how much of the originally applied nitrogen fertilizer might be present in the nitrate form at the time of heavy rainfall, and therefore available for loss.
•UAN solutions initially have some nitrogen in the nitrate form that could be lost immediately. Anhydrous ammonia, urea, and ammonium found in DAP/MAP/AMS nitrogen is initially in the ammonia form and is not immediately available for loss. See Table 1.
•Earlier applications give more time for ammonium to convert to nitrate and lead to higher loss potential.
•Nitrification inhibitors like N-Serve and Instinct delay nitrification, keeping N in the ammonium form, which is not at risk for loss. Urease inhibitors like Agrotain protect urea from volatilizing from the soil surface but do not protect from nitrate loss via leaching or denitrification.
•Soil temperatures in the 70-80°F range have occurred during parts of this spring, leading to 4-5% loss of nitrate-nitrogen per day, compared to 2-3% loss per day when soil temps are in the 55-65°F range.
•Soils don't need to have a foot of water on them to be considered saturated. If you kneel down in the field and your knee feels wet, there is enough moisture there for denitrification to occur. Longer periods of saturation lead to more nitrate loss.
The worst case scenario of fall-applied N, no nitrification inhibitor, warm soil temperatures, and continuously saturated soils could equate to N losses greater than 50% at this time. Growers who utilize spring-applied N, nitrification inhibitors, split applications, and in-season applications will have less N loss, and therefore less uncertainty about how much additional N (compared to the planned program) the crop might need.
Sources:
Fernandez, Fabian. 2013. Determining How Much Nitrogen is Present. The Bulletin, University of Illinois Extension. 3 June 2013. <http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu/?p=523>
Lamb and Kaiser. 2012. University of Minnesota Extension.
Scharf, Peter. Nitrogen Watch 2013. University of Missouri Extension. 3 June 2013. <http://plantsci.missouri.edu/nutrientmanagement/Nitrogen/Nitrogen%20watch%202013/nitrogen%20watch%202013.htm>
Thanks,
Tim
From: "Tim Harbaugh" <Tim.Harbaugh@agreliantgenetics.com>
Nitrogen Loss in 2013
June 07, 2013 by Bob Berkevich
While wet weather has many of us thinking about getting the rest of the crops planted, it's also important not to forget about the ones that have been planted. Warm soils and continuous soil saturation lead to losses of nitrogen that may have already been applied. The nitrogen cycle is complex and there is no way to know exactly how much nitrogen may have been lost, but understanding how nitrogen acts in the soil can help growers decide if additional nitrogen should be applied to corn in extremely wet areas to avoid the N deficiency and yield loss shown in Figure 1.
Forms of Nitrogen
Generally, fertilizer nitrogen is composed of ammonia, ammonium, urea, nitrate, or some combination of these sources (Table 1). Once applied, the fertilizer initially becomes either ammonium (NH4+) or nitrate (NO3-).
In the soil profile, ammonium cannot be lost, because its positive charge is held tightly by the negative charge of soil particles. Over time, all sources of fertilizer transform into nitrate (Figure 2) in a process called nitrification. As soil temperatures rise above 50°F, the nitrification rate increases.
Leaching
Since nitrate has a negative charge, it is not held by soil particles and flows wherever soil water flows. Nitrate leaching occurs when soil water is drained through natural outlets or in tile lines. The amount of nitrate lost from leaching depends on how much of the original fertilizer was in the nitrate form at the time of water drainage out of the field. Dr. Peter Scharf at the University of Missouri tracks rainfall amounts and identifies areas where nitrate leaching could be severe and where growers should be aware of the potential for nitrogen loss and deficiency. Fields in the cross-hatched areas of the "N Watch" in Figure 3 have significant leaching potential, especially if they are lighter soils or are tile drained.
Denitrification
Nitrogen can also be lost in a gaseous form. Aerobic bacteria in the soil need oxygen to survive. In saturated soil conditions where oxygen has been depleted from the soil profile, the bacteria break the oxygen off of the nitrate (NO3-) molecule. With the loss of the oxygen (the O's in the NO3-), all that remains is nitrogen, or N2 gas. Nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere in this gaseous form. Once again, the amount of nitrogen lost depends on the amount of the original fertilizer nitrogen that was in the nitrate form at the time of soil saturation. Areas in the cross-hatched areas of the "N Watch" in Figure 4 and localized fields in other areas that have been saturated for many days have significant denitrification potential.
How much nitrate has been lost?
There are several factors that influence how much of the originally applied nitrogen fertilizer might be present in the nitrate form at the time of heavy rainfall, and therefore available for loss.
•UAN solutions initially have some nitrogen in the nitrate form that could be lost immediately. Anhydrous ammonia, urea, and ammonium found in DAP/MAP/AMS nitrogen is initially in the ammonia form and is not immediately available for loss. See Table 1.
•Earlier applications give more time for ammonium to convert to nitrate and lead to higher loss potential.
•Nitrification inhibitors like N-Serve and Instinct delay nitrification, keeping N in the ammonium form, which is not at risk for loss. Urease inhibitors like Agrotain protect urea from volatilizing from the soil surface but do not protect from nitrate loss via leaching or denitrification.
•Soil temperatures in the 70-80°F range have occurred during parts of this spring, leading to 4-5% loss of nitrate-nitrogen per day, compared to 2-3% loss per day when soil temps are in the 55-65°F range.
•Soils don't need to have a foot of water on them to be considered saturated. If you kneel down in the field and your knee feels wet, there is enough moisture there for denitrification to occur. Longer periods of saturation lead to more nitrate loss.
The worst case scenario of fall-applied N, no nitrification inhibitor, warm soil temperatures, and continuously saturated soils could equate to N losses greater than 50% at this time. Growers who utilize spring-applied N, nitrification inhibitors, split applications, and in-season applications will have less N loss, and therefore less uncertainty about how much additional N (compared to the planned program) the crop might need.
Sources:
Fernandez, Fabian. 2013. Determining How Much Nitrogen is Present. The Bulletin, University of Illinois Extension. 3 June 2013. <http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu/?p=523>
Lamb and Kaiser. 2012. University of Minnesota Extension.
Scharf, Peter. Nitrogen Watch 2013. University of Missouri Extension. 3 June 2013. <http://plantsci.missouri.edu/nutrientmanagement/Nitrogen/Nitrogen%20watch%202013/nitrogen%20watch%202013.htm>
Farmland Sale Report- Ida County, IA
John Nelson (@johnleroynelson) tweeted at 1:39 PM on Tue, Jun 25, 2013: 80 acres in Ida County Iowa sold for $18,900.00 today.
End of an Era for Cheapest Farm Mortgages
As seen on dtn.com
Like Rip Van Winkle, long-term interest rates are awaking from years of deep sleep. Panic over the Fed's eventual exit from mortgage markets sent rates on the benchmark 10-year Treasuries spiraling, up from 2.14% on June 14 to 2.62% a week later. Rates are now running the highest since August 2011.
Rates on 20-year fixed rate farm mortgages bounced to 5.55% this week, up from a low of 4.25% just a few months ago.
Farm mortgages at the nation's largest farm real estate lenders are responding in kind--and then some. As bond markets fell out of favor, the spread between Treasuries and Farm Credit System bonds widened, from 50-70 basis points to more than 100 basis points over comparable Treasuries.
Twenty-year, fixed rate mortgages for qualified borrowers at Louisville-based Farm Credit Mid-America (see Farm Finance page, under Farm Business) topped out at 5.55% today, up from all-time lows of 4.25% only a few months ago. For every $500,000 borrowed, that's an extra $4,400 payment annually. Popular 15-year mortgages bottomed at 3.9% in early December 2012, but have since risen to 5.2%. (Farm Credit rates in other regions may charge a bit more, as Mid-America pays no patronage dividend).
So far, short-term rates seem unaffected, in part because the Federal Reserve doesn't expect inflation or unemployment to reach trigger points until mid-2014. That's a rare situation, since short-term rates normally lead the charge when bond markets hit a turning point.
"These are very volatile times. We've got the Feds saying they will stop monetary infusions, but they haven't done anything yet," says Paul Bruce, Mid-America's chief financial officer.
Bruce isn't convinced this is the permanent turning point in rates. He characterizes the unusually large big bond moves the past few weeks as a possible over reaction, with the chance for some dips later should global imbalances in European or Asian countries send investors fleeing back to the safety of U.S. markets. Farmers could also capture some rate relief if the premiums Farm Credit bonds pay at auction later narrow back to normal. He recommends growers keep a close eye on credit markets.
Mid-America's customers converted much of their fixed-rate credit at historically low terms over the last 18 months, so they already may be immunized from some of the rate fallout. In 2012, the lender reset rates on 32,500 customer accounts saving $130 million in interest payments; another 11,200 customers refinanced through May.
Even with the rally, rates still appear low by historical standards, Bruce says. Normally, long-term fixed mortgage rates have run closer to 7% to 8%.
Several Federal Reserve economists believe the convulsion in long-term mortgage rates is worth monitoring, even if you pay cash for your farm purchases. History shows that for the past century, farm incomes and interest rates move in opposite directions, former Kansas City Federal Reserve Economist Jason Henderson points out. Rising rates and falling farm profits also curb enthusiasm for land purchases. Federal Reserve surveys already show farm real estate gains slowing in some regions in 2013.
It was easy for the Fed to create its $85 billion/mo. spending in mortgage markets as a way to jump start the economy, Henderson tells farm audiences, but the question now is how to retreat.
July Newsreel Topics
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Leave your responses in the comment section or via Twitter & Facebook
As seen on agweb.com- Crop Comments
- 6/26 - East central Iowa: We have received just under 2.5" of rain since Saturday. Areas around Jackson County received 2-9" (by my unofficial results). Some areas had 4-6", last night alone. Rain was welcome here, we were not hurting yet, but some corn was starting to roll in the light areas last week. Corn is knee to waist high and is looking good overall. Beans are also progressing well. We are due to cut 2nd crop alfalfa and new seeding.
I hate to beat a dead horse, but folks in my area feel extremely lucky yet. I know that doesn't help the rest of you who are having major trouble, but we do want to let you know that we hope for the best for all you realizing that we could be in the same boat.
And thanks for the kind words from Freeborn County. As you could probably tell, I get bored easily. I like to do it because I have a poor memory and like to hear how people outside of our area are doing to get the real picture of crop conditions (not so much this year). Like one of you stated earlier, "farmers want to plant". Like a lot of you are saying, where is the USDA coming up with these numbers and crop conditions? There are 2 websites that I look at every day: "agweb: crop comments" and "news from the coffee shop" to keep up on the happenings on the farm.
Top 5 pageviews this week I Check them out if you missed them
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
New crest level for Wapsipinicon River
Schnack KWWL (@KWWLSchnack) tweeted at 9:16 PM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: UPDATE: The Wapsipinicon River at Independence will now crest at 15.6 ft Thu eve. Much lower than the original forecast. Currently at 13.4ft
Farmland Sale Report- Jesup, IA
Benjamin Riensche (@BenRiensche) tweeted at 3:19 PM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: 80 Acres auctioned today. Jesup, IA. Nice farm. 80 CSR. $15,400.
NE Iowa Rainfall Chart 2011-2013 by Month
Chris Barron (@chrisbarron24) tweeted at 1:13 PM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: NE Iowa Rainfall Chart to Date. More Rain than 1993 so far. #rainmakesgrain?? #corn #soybeans
Do we need to build an Ark?
Chris Barron (@chrisbarron24) tweeted at 11:43 AM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: 5.3 inches of rain today on already saturated soil.
SW Minnesota
Peter Meyer (@openingprint) tweeted at 11:31 AM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: SE MN as advertised. Miles of prevent plant.
Corn planted 5/21/13... Population 86,000
Corn planted 5/21/13. Population 86,000. Left a little check strip to see what my screw up would look like throughout the year.
From Scott Hingtgen- Jackson County, IA
From Scott Hingtgen- Jackson County, IA
Sorghum/Sudan planted 6/12/13
Sorghum/Sudan planted 6/12/13. Hope to stretch corn silage supply.
From Scott Hingtgen-Jackson County, IA
From Scott Hingtgen-Jackson County, IA
Waterlogged in NE Iowa
Jon Blin (@jjbcattleco) tweeted at 7:43 AM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: Can hear the bank of the creek getting ripped away. Damn it we JUST bought that dirt.
Waterlogged in NE Iowa
Benjamin Riensche (@BenRiensche) tweeted at 8:28 AM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: 2" to 8" over our fields last night in Black Hawk and Buchanan County, IA. No explanation or comments required.
Wapsi River- Independence, IA
Schnack KWWL (@KWWLSchnack) tweeted at 8:01 AM on Wed, Jun 26, 2013: A very dangerous situation is unfolding in Independence. Wapsipinicon River will rise rapidly to a record 24 ft.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Rainfall Facts
Chris Barron (@chrisbarron24) tweeted at 0:20 PM on Tue, Jun 25, 2013: Since April 1st we have had 24.89 inches of rain. We are 13.29 inches over our 30 year average to date.
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