Efficiency is one of the key words on the farm these days and nowhere is it more popular than with energy use. Jenny Brinkner is with Focus on Energy in Wisconsin and spent some time at the WPS Farm Show talking to farmers about energy audits and other things they can do to make their operations more efficient.
Less than three months left for State FFA President
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
One of the special features at the WPS Farm Show each year is a silent auction fundraiser for the Wisconsin FFA. Numerous businesses donate prizes which are bid on, some each day and some all three days of the show. This also means the Wisconsin FFA Officer Team is at the show, talking to members and supporters about the opportunities the organization presents. B.J. Chrisler serves as state president this year, he talks about the Rose Bowl parade, the year so far and the state convention coming up in less than three months.
Farmer attitude is good at spring farm shows
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The annual WPS Farm Show is underway at the E.A.A. Grounds in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This is kind of the last of the spring farm shows as the weather starts to warm up in farm country. Ron Zygarlicki with H & S Manufacturing has been doing shows across the country for several months now and he says in general, the farmer attitude has been pretty good.
The WPS Farm Show runs through Thursday at the Experimental Aircraft Association grounds in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Raw milk bills advance in Wisconsin
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Rural Economic Development passed the raw milk bill on an 8-1 vote on Tuesday. AB 628 was changed to mirror the version passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this month. Both bills are now set to be voted on by the full Assembly and Senate before the current legislative session ends in April.
As the Assembly bill currently stands, raw milk can only be sold on the farms where it is produced. Signs must be posted on the farm declaring raw milk may contain harmful pathogens. The farms selling the milk must meet Grade “A” standards and deliver samples to a milk plant for testing for pathogens. Farmers could lose their license to sell raw milk if pathogens are found in two of four consecutive samples.
The authorization for raw milk sales would expire December 31, 2011. Some legislators hope to pass a permanent measure after they have heard from an expert panel appointed by state Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen. Nilsestuen says he would rather the Legislature wait until the committee completes its work before passing the bills. “This law has been in place for 40 years, another six months isn’t going to hurt anything.”
Governor Jim Doyle says if the bill delivered to his desk is crafted properly, he may sign it.
Vilsack says relationship key to Japan trade trip
March 30, 2010 By 1 Comment
U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is going on a trade mission to Japan next week (April 5th through 9th) and tells reporters there are many issues to discuss, not the least of which is Japan’s partial ban on U.S. beef related to the one domestic case of a BSE-infected cow years ago. Vilsack says the bilateral agricultural trade relationship with Japan is worth nearly 12-Billion dollars. But Vilsack says he will not make any demands of Japan, “This is a relationship that has been bound in friendship for an extended period of time and it is really about friends basically talking to each other about each others’ needs.”
Former Ag Secretary and current U.S. Senator Mike Johanns has been critical of the administration for not doing more to urge Japan to lift its ban. When asked if steps Johanns has taken to push for more action have helped or hindered, Vilsack said as long as the message is the same, it can help, “Obviously, Senator Johanns has an appreciation from a number of perspectives, both in terms of his prior service here as Secretary of Agriculture and also coming from a beef producing state like Nebraska it makes sense for him to want to promote beef trade.”
Vilsack says he hopes during this mission they can create a framework to fully reopen markets to U.S. beef, giving Japanese consumers what they want, more choice, “We’re gonna continue to work hard. I’ve got no illusions about how easy this is going to be, it’s obviously going to be difficult. But, I think if we listen and effectively communicate that we can see, see forward progress.
Vilsack has made three previous trips to Japan when he was governor of Iowa. His fourth trip marks a significant anniversary following a typhoon in Japan 50 years ago, “An Iowa farmer took it upon himself to begin a ‘hog lift’ to reestablish the hog industry in Japan and that ‘hog lift’ developed a relationship of a sister-state relationship between Yamanashi and Iowa.”
Vilsack says he’s part of a new administration that will be meeting with Japan’s new administration in the midst of elections in both countries, potentially adding to the complexity of the issue. Vilsack says the message to the Japanese is that U.S. beef is safe to eat.
AUDIO: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, conference call with reporters (25 min. MP3)
Corn down, beans and wheat up ahead of USDA numbers
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Soybeans closed modestly higher on old crop/new crop spread trade, the lower dollar and position squaring ahead of USDA numbers. Those reports are expected to show an increase in acreage and a quarterly and year to year decrease in stocks. However, the acreage rise is seen as only modestly and due to greater than expected monthly use, stocks may have a bigger than expected cut. Contracts did move lower at points, but saw late support from short covering and commercial buying. Soybean meal was higher and meal was lower on product spread activity. After the close, Brazilian agronomists at Agroconsult raised their 2009/10 soybean production estimate to 68 million tons, above most other projections. Celeres states that as of March 26, 66% of the crop had been harvested with 37% of the crop sold. According to Dow Jones Newswires, dock workers and exporters in Argentina remain at an impasse, almost completely halting shipments for the world’s top soybean meal and soybean oil exporter.
Corn was lower on consolidation, profit taking and technical selling but still managed to hold above 2010 lows. Weather looks generally good and the USDA numbers should be bearish with a year to year increase in supply and planted acreage. For all intents and purposes, Tuesday’s session was pretty much traders marking time ahead of the numbers. Spread trades with wheat and beans were additional features. Ethanol was down modestly. Egypt bought 120,000 tons of U.S. 2009/10 corn and South Korea’s Nonghyup Feedmills picked up two cargoes of 55,000 tons.
The wheat complex was higher on short covering and the lower dollar. Fundamentals remain very negative with a large supply and poor demand for U.S. wheat but that was ignored, at least after May contracts either matched or made new lows, in favor of the dollar and traders covering their huge net short position. USDA’s expected to show a year to year increase in stocks against a slight increase in spring wheat area and a big cut in total wheat acreage. European wheat was steady to weak ahead of the USDA numbers; May London was down .6% and May Paris was unchanged. Japan’s Ag Ministry is not expected to issue a wheat import tender this week. Ukraine’s Ag Ministry states poor planting weather has delayed spring planting with the total grain crop pegged at 46 to 47 million tons.
Farmer now anticipating normal spring timetable
March 30, 2010 By 1 Comment
Over the past month, there has been a lot of speculation about possible spring planting delays in the Midwest due to wet soils and cool temperatures. But conditions have improved significantly in recent days, to the point that a normal mid-April start to planting season looks like a real possibility for many farmers.
Klint Cork farms in Ida County in west-central Iowa, near the town of Galva. Despite record-breaking snow and cold this past winter, he says they hope to start planting in a couple of weeks.
“Right now we’re doing a little maintenance to the tractors, and we’ve got some fine-tuning to do to the planter, and I think we’re ready to go,” Cork says. “I would guess here in the next couple weeks there will be a lot of manure applied and I still have some lime I’d like to get put on, if conditions are right.”
Cork says he is incorporating more GPS technology into his operation this year, including the addition of autosteer on his sprayer.
“Hopefully with the autosteer we’ll reduce overlaps, especially in the spring,” he says, “reduce chemical use, be more accurate and potentially reduce drift and other issues—and less crop damage.
Yesterday’s crop and weather report for Iowa rated soil moisture conditions as 54 percent adequate and 43 percent surplus.
Cash hogs and futures show gains on Tuesday
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts settled 12 points lower to 67 higher. Live contracts bounced all over the place in the morning trade but gained strength at midday. Futures were supported by short covering and ongoing bullishness in the lean hog pit. April settled .67 higher at 96.05, and June was up .27 at 93.17.
Feeder cattle settled 65 to 125 higher on slightly lower corn values and continued support from the live pit along with sharply higher lean hog futures. April settled 35 points higher at 108.72, and May was up 1.07 at 110.97.
The cash cattle market was not established on Tuesday afternoon with producers patiently waiting for buying interest to develop. Asking prices are firming in light of the further strength in cattle futures. Asking prices are around 98.00 in the South and 155.00 to 158.00 in the North. Cattle slaughter was estimated at 126,000 head, 4,000 more than last week, but 1,000 below a year ago. Boxed beef cutout values were steady to firm on light demand and offerings. Choice boxed beef closed .21 lower at 163.48 and select was up .60 at 161.11.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Sioux Falls regional Livestock Market at Worthing, SD totaled 2269 head on Monday, on limited comparable sales with last week’s smaller run, feeder steers and heifers were mostly 2.00 to 5.00 higher. The exception being 650 to 700 pound steers 9.00 higher. Feeder steers medium and large 1; 178 head averaging 667 lbs traded at 119.64 per hundredweight. 158 heifers weighing 618 pounds brought 113.38 at Worthing.
Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.66 higher at 67.70, the West was up 1.81 at 67.69, and the East was up .05 and closed at 64.61. The Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed .05 higher at 64.61.Tuesday’s hog slaughter was estimated at 428,000 head, the same as last week, but 4,000 more than last year. Saturday’s hog slaughter is expected to be around 40.000 head plus and some packers are in need of more hogs to complete the week. Wednesday’s cash market is expected to be steady to higher. Pork trading was moderate to active, with moderate to good demand and light to moderate offerings. Pork carcass cutout value was up .99 at 72.93.
Lean hogs settled 60 to 225 points higher. Traders continued to focus on lighter supplies through the end of the year and the potential for increased demand. Additional support developed in the deferred months because the change in breeding herd size in the hogs and pigs report really does not affect short term values. May settled 1.17 higher at 73.05 and May was up 1.30 at 80.85, June was up 2.02 at 83.05.
Pork bellies settled higher in the May contract on spillover support from the lean pit. May bellies ended .45 higher at 97.65.
Hogs and pigs report still looks bullish
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Even though market analysts have had a few days to digest the quarterly hogs and pigs report, no one seems to be backing off on their bullish response.
University of Nebraska extension livestock marketing specialist Darrell Mark says one of the many surprises in that report was the weight breakdowns in the market hog category.
“The general expectation going into that report was for bigger declines in the nearby slaughter mix, and for pretty constant numbers—relative to a year ago—for some of the lighter weight hogs that will be coming into slaughter later into the third quarter, and maybe even to the beginning of the fourth quarter this year,” says Mark.
But Mark says the report showed just the opposite.
“The report ended up showing that we have much tighter supplies going farther ahead—for that less than 50 pound category and the 50 to 100 pound category, dropping in the neighborhood of three to four percent,” Mark says, “and so that’s going to substantially pull our slaughter numbers down by the time we get into the third quarter this year.”
Mark says the futures market is offering producers an opportunity to lock in profits of 15 to 18 dollars per head. He says it’s a chance for them to rebuild some of the equity they’ve lost over the past two years.
Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: March 30, 2010
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
May corn closed at $3.54 and 1/2, down 2 and 1/2 cents
May soybeans closed at $9.74, up 6 and 1/2 cents
May soybean meal closed at $283.10, up $6.20
May soybean oil closed at 38.67, down 60 points
May wheat closed at $4.72, up 7 and 1/4 cents
April live cattle closed at $96.05, up 67 cents
April lean hogs closed at $73.05, up $1.17
May crude oil closed at $82.37, up 20 cents
May cotton closed at 79.54, down 89 points
April Class III milk closed at $12.60, up 1 cent
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 10,907.42, up 11.56 points
Latest: 
