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PSF on barn odor: “We’re working on it”

March 31, 2010 By 2 Comments

A large hog operation in northern Missouri says it’s working to satisfy the odor abatement requirements it has agreed to with the state of Missouri. Premium Standard Farms of Princeton, a wholly owned subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, signed a consent decree over 10 years ago with the state to implement “next generation technology” to reduce or eliminate odors and pollutants. The decree comes due July 31st. PSF president Bill Homan says they’re working with the state attorney general and have submitted plans to an expert panel on promising manure “scraper” technology. Homan says there are misconceptions about PSF and blames activists for going after not just CAFOs but smaller farms, “There’s an assault on animal agriculture in the state of Missouri. We have trial lawyers from outside of our state who are focused in on our state because we have some favorable law to plaintiff lawyers seeking large damage claims.”

PSF is appealing a recent judgment in Kansas City awarding 15 neighbors 11 million dollars for an odor nuisance lawsuit. Homan says Missouri law might force PSF to pack up and go elsewhere, “If it’s cheaper to raise pigs in Iowa or Kansas or western Illinois, pigs can be raised and still shipped to the Farmland plant in Milan (Missouri). Perhaps Missouri isn’t a state that’s favorable for animal agriculture.”

PSF employs a combined 25-hundred people at its CAFO in Princeton and at its processing facility in nearby Milan.

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Filed Under: Livestock, News Tagged With: , , ,

Grains and oilseeds drop on USDA numbers

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Soybeans were lower with most down sharply on speculative and technical selling. USDA’s expecting a less than 1% increase in planted area but quarterly stocks were larger than expected. Also, South American soybean conditions are generally solid and the trade expects a record crop. On top of that, striking dock workers and exporters in Argentina have reached a deal to end the more than week long work stoppage with dock workers set to receive 27% salary increase for this year. Soybean meal and oil were lower on spillover from beans and the resolution of the port strike in Argentina. Losses in oil were limited by spillover from crude oil and product spread activity. South Korea bought 110,000 tons of soybean meal from Argentina and Japan picked up 24,000 tons of Indian soybean meal. USDA’s weekly export sales report is out Thursday at 7:30 AM Central. Soybeans are placed at 300,000 to 600,000 tons, meal is seen at 75,000 to 250,000 tons and oil is pegged at 5,000 to 20,000 tons.

Corn was lower on fund and technical selling, in addition to spillover from beans. USDA has corn planted area up 3% from a year ago and quarterly corn stocks were near the high end of estimates. Those numbers, along with technical weakness, pushed corn to new lows for the year. End of the month and end of the quarter related selling were additional features. Weather is not currently considered an issue, but traders are most certainly keeping an eye on 6 to 10 day forecasts. Ethanol futures were modestly lower. South Korea bought 281,000 tons of 2009/10 corn ahead of the open. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange raised its 2009/10 Argentine corn production projection to 21 million tons. Weekly U.S. corn sales are estimated at 450,000 to 850,000 tons.

The wheat complex was sharply lower, making new contract lows, on technical and fund selling, along with spillover from beans and corn. Total wheat acreage was a little larger than expected but still down sharply from last year. Quarterly stocks came out within expectations and remain ample, especially considering the relatively poor demand and price premium for U.S. supplies. European wheat was lower on the USDA numbers and negative fundamentals; May Paris was down 1.4% and May London lost 1.2%. Egypt issued a tender for 120,000 tons of wheat. Weekly U.S. wheat sales are expected to be between 250,000 and 550,000 tons.

Filed Under: Closing Futures & Livestock Briefs, Markets Tagged With: , , , ,

Nebraska corn acres projected up one percent

March 31, 2010 By 1 Comment

A report on prospective plantings from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows corn acres in Nebraska this spring will be up one percent with soybean acres up two percent.  Kelly Brunkhorst of the Nebraska Corn Board says the acreage increase, combined with the increase in corn stocks, means demand needs to pick up as well.

“We do have a strong demand, especially as we look at the ethanol sector—and the economics are looking better in the livestock sector,” Brunkhorst says, “so hopefully, we can continue that demand and grow it in the future.”

Brunkhorst says, despite a large drop in fertilizer prices from last year, most producers are still looking at breakeven prices on corn right now.

“It’s been a big benefit to see the fertilizer prices drop,” he says, “but, nonetheless, we’ve seen increases in rental rates, land prices, seed prices—and so a lot of other costs have increased.”

Today’s report also showed Nebraska winter wheat acres are down six percent.

AUDIO: Kelly Brunkhorst (3 min MP3)

Filed Under: Crops, Events/Organizations, News Tagged With: , , ,

Iowa farmers expect state’s corn acres to increase

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The prospective plantings report showed Iowa corn acreage down 200-thousand acres from last year.  But Tim Burrack of Arlington in northeast Iowa, chair of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, says conditions have improved so much in just the past couple of weeks, he expects corn plantings to increase.

“It’s been working so well that I can see a shift,” Burrack says. “I’m going to plant an additional 160 acres (to corn) just because the weather is cooperating so well.”

And Burrack says, for his farm, the economics favor corn over soybeans.  He says beans would have to be in the 12 to 13 dollar range to make them more profitable than corn.

Kevin Ross, who farms in southwest Iowa just east of Council Bluffs, agrees with Burrack that corn is a better bet at this point.

“For me, it’s just a more consistent crop.  I can count on that more reliable yield from corn, so that certainly helps,” says Ross, “and dealing with crop insurance, your base price for your soybeans this year just isn’t that great.  The soybean market was fairly depressed for the month of February there when that price was set.”

Ross has as set rotation on his farm and will plant two-thirds corn and one-third soybeans this spring.

The report showed Iowa soybean acres up three percent.

AUDIO: IA Corn conference call w/ Tim Burrack and Kevin Ross (8 min MP3)

Filed Under: Crops, Events/Organizations, News Tagged With: , , ,

2009 corn harvest drawing to a close

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It appears the 2009 corn harvest may finally be drawing to a close.

Good drying weather in March has allowed many farmers with unharvested corn to get their combines back in the fields.  And, at least in southwest Iowa, the results have been surprising.

“From what I’m seeing—and what I’ve heard talking to a few guys—this corn crop coming in this spring is as good as it was in the fall—if not maybe a little bit better,” says Kevin Ross, who farms just east of Council Bluff, Iowa. 

Ross says the corn is now three to four points drier than it was last fall and field loss was minimal.  “There really was minimal damage from wildlife,” he says, “and the condition of the crop, as far as any mold or any other damages along those lines, is very good right now coming out of the field.”

So in the end, Ross says, letting the corn over-winter in the field appears to have worked out okay.  “The cost of drying those three to four points probably more than makes up for your losses due to wildlife and other factors,” he says.

Ross calls it “shocking” that there wasn’t more damage done to the unharvested corn.

AUDIO: Kevin Ross (2 min MP3)

Filed Under: Crops, News Tagged With: , ,

Feedlot cattle trade remains at a standstill

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 10 to 95 points higher on fund buying. The lower dollar helped to support the back months as traders are hoping for increased beef exports in the near term.  April settled .50 higher at 96.55, and the June was up .37 at 93.55.

Feeder cattle ended the session 170 to 200 points higher on the lower corn values. The expectations of large plantings of corn as well as increased corn stocks paint a pretty good picture for feeders hoping to reduce input costs.  April settled 1.70 higher at 110.42, and May was up 2.00 at 112.97.

The feedlot cattle market was at a standstill on Wednesday afternoon with just a few bids scattered across the area at 94.00 live and 152.00 dressed. Higher asking prices of 98.00 to 99.00 in the South and 158.00 plus in the North have been fortified by another round of higher cattle futures. The slaughter was estimated at 125,000 head, 2,000 more than last week and 17,000 greater than a year ago. Boxed beef cutout values were steady to weak on light demand and moderate offerings. Choice boxed beef was .27 higher at 163.75, and select was .48 lower at 160.63.

Feeder cattle receipts at the St. Joseph, MO Stockyards on Wednesday total 2500 head. Compared to last week, feeder and stocker cattle opened 3.00 to 5.00 higher with instances as much as 7.00 higher. Trading started out very active with buyers suffering from green grass fever. Feeder steers medium and large 1 weighing 500 to 600 pounds traded from 130.25 to 138.00. 5 to 6 weight heifers at St. Joseph brought 109.35 to 119.25.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed .94 higher at 68.72 on a carcass basis, the West was 1.13 higher at 68.67, and the east closed .25 higher at 64.86.The Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed steady to 1.00 higher from 62.00 to 63.00. Hog slaughter was estimated at 431,000 head, 2,000 more than last week and 10,000 greater than last year.  There are some packers who still need hogs to complete this week’s slaughter schedule and also for early next week.  Thursday’s market is expected to be steady to higher. Pork trading was slow to moderate, with light to moderate demand and offerings. The pork carcass cutout value was down .17 at 72.76.

Lean hogs settled from 27 points higher to 37 lower. There was some profit taking after futures hit new contract highs for the third consecutive day.  Deferred months were lower on the bearish grain report, with fears cheaper inputs may encourage increased hog production. There was also some position squaring on the last trading day of the first quarter of 2010. April lean hogs settled at 73.32 up .27, and June was 15 lower at 82.90.

Pork bellies ended lower on profit taking and only the spot month was quoted. May was down .75 at 96.80.

Filed Under: Closing Futures & Livestock Briefs, Markets Tagged With: ,

Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: March 31, 2010

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

May corn closed at $3.45, down 9 and 1/2 cents
May soybeans closed at $9.41, down 33 cents
May soybean meal closed at $265.80, down $17.30
May soybean oil closed at 38.31, down 36 points
May wheat closed at $4.50 and 1/2, down 21 and 1/2 cents
April live cattle closed at $96.55, up 50 cents
April lean hogs closed at $73.32, up 27 cents
May crude oil closed at $83.76, up $1.39
May cotton closed at 80.55, up 101 points
April Class III milk closed at $12.64, up 4 cents
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 10,856.63, down 50.79 points

Filed Under: Closing Futures & Livestock Briefs, Markets Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Ethanol pipeline backers seek loan guarantees

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Proponents of a proposed ethanol pipeline that would carry ethanol from the Midwest to markets on the East Coast are stepping up their efforts to obtain federal loan guarantees for the project.  That according to an Omaha World-Herald report.

At a news conference this week, backers said a bill introduced in Congress that would provide those loan guarantees for the massive three-point-five billion dollar project is critical to making it a reality.  Magellan Midstream Partners, a Tulsa pipeline company, and POET Ethanol, the nation’s largest ethanol producer, are working together on the proposed pipeline.  It would extend from Mitchell, South Dakota to shipping terminals in New York, and would run through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The bill is sponsored by Congressmen Lee Terry of Nebraska and Leonard Boswell of Iowa.  They say they hope to attach the pipeline provision to an energy bill in Congress later this year.  Similar legislation is pending in the Senate.  If loan guarantees can be secured, the partners say they would hope to complete the project by 2015.

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, News Tagged With: , ,

Growers should heed soybean aphid research

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

University of Illinois researchers have found a new soybean aphid biotype underscoring the need for growers to plant aphid resistant varieties and intensely scout their fields while breeders and seed companies will need to keep up with the latest findings.

AUDIO: Glen Hartman, U of I professor of crop sciences and USDA research plant pathologist (3 min. MP3)

Filed Under: Crops, Feature Programs, Managing for Profit Tagged With: , , ,

Request to reinstate safeguards

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

With the addition of the American Agriculture Movement (AAM), 76 farm and consumer related organizations has signed a letter to U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack calling for more stringent standards for beef imported into the U.S. from Canada.

The groups want the Secretary to reinstate safeguards that can ensure animals and beef products that may be infected with BSE not be allowed into the U.S.

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Human Interest, News, USDA/Government Tagged With: , , ,
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