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Vilsack: Changing crop report release times is ‘complicated’

May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA is studying its procedures for releasing crop reports in response to new expanded trading hours implemented by the CME Group.

But Vilsack says changing report release times is not as simple as it sounds.

“A decision as to timing and information being accessible can potentially make the difference of millions of dollars, one way or the other, to those who are trading,” Vilsack says, “and now we have essentially two competing entities that have different hours that don’t necessarily align.”

Those competing entities are the CME Group and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which recently expanded its trading in grain futures. 

The Kansas City Board of Trade and MGEX, formerly the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, have followed suit and expanded their trading hours as well.

Vilsack made his comments during a conference call with reporters this week.

AUDIO: Tom Vilsack (1:58 MP3)

 

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Let’s talk aquaponics

May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Rebecca Nelson and John Pade have an aquaponic greenhouse in Montello, Wisconsin. They feed tilapia fish in tanks, the fish waste goes through a bacteria tank and then to plants suspended in the water. The plants take the nutrients out of the water which then cycles back to the fish tanks. There are no pesticides or chemicals used in the operation, the produce, mostly lettuce is sold to schools, grocery stores and customers within a fifteen-mile radius and so are the fish.  More information is available on their website here:

AUDIO: Nelson talks about aquaponics 3:00 mp3

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The battle of the bugs

May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There’s a good and bad side to just about everything. Many farmers took advantage of the unseasonably warm spring this year and planted corn early with hopes of maximizing their yield potential.  Terry Semmel, Technology Development Rep says that same warm, dry weather could open the door for some pest problems this year.

AUDIO: Terry Semmel on Corn Rootworm (3:00mp3)

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A potential for a pretty good crop

May 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The old adage is “knee-high by the fourth of July”.  For some farmers that planted corn in March – it’s already knee high.  I visited Illinois corn grower Garry Niemeyer’s farm in Auburn, Ill. and he says a year that starts this – has him feeling pretty good about the potential of the 2012 corn crop.  And that could be pretty good for farmers.

AUDIO: Garry Niemeyer, 3:00mp3

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4-H Healthy Living initiative helps kids and families

May 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

More private and public partnerships are cropping up to teach kids about healthy living. Molina health care – with a presence in 18 states – is teaming up with 4-H, the youth organization in every state – to provide money for their “healthy living initiative” teaching kids where their foods come from, healthy eating, physical fitness and more.

HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAM – Molina boosts 4-H Healthy Living initiative (1:30 mp3)

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Iowa Farm Bureau continues push for infrastructure improvements

May 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The president of Iowa Farm Bureau, Craig Hill of Milo, says he’s disappointed with the 2012 Iowa legislature’s failure to address the states rapidly deteriorating infrastructure. 

“Many of Iowa’s roads and bridges are in need of significant structural improvements, and we continue to fall further behind every year.  Clearly, this problem will not go away without additional funding; that’s why Farm Bureau members have identified a fuel tax increase as the most equitable, feasible funding method,” says Hill.

Hill discussed that topic and other state legislative issues in a recent interview with Brownfield’s Ken Anderson.

AUDIO: Craig Hill (4:57 MP3)

 

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ASA president voices concerns with expanded trading hours

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The president of the American Soybean Association (ASA) says he has concerns about the expanded trading hours at the Chicago Board of Trade.

The new trading hours are from 5 p.m. to 2 p.m. Central time, Sunday through Friday.  They went into effect this past Sunday.

ASA president Steve Wellman of Syracuse, Nebraska tells Brownfield there is still confusion about how the expanded trading hours will coexist with the release of USDA reports on grains and oilseeds.

“Having the major USDA reports released during trade hours, I think, does open up possibly having inaccurate price discovery happening during trading,” says Wellman.

Another concern, Wellman says, is that there is already unequal access to USDA information based on differing Internet capacity across the country and around the world.   He says differing abilities to place orders in reaction to reports released during trading hours will create, what he calls, “inequitable opportunities for market participants”.

AUDIO: Steve Wellman (3:51 MP3)

 

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Easy beef summer recipes

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Some easy to cook beef cuts this summer:  Two of the more than two-dozen lean cuts of beef are Flank and the Flat Iron. University of Missouri Chef instructor Jeff Guinn showed students of Show Me Beef University how to work with flank steak and flat iron steak. Both are good for grilling and stir-frying – but the flank is better for kabobs on the grill.

HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAM – Easy to cook lean beef cuts this summer (1:30)

Beef, it’s what’s for dinner recipes

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Trade talks not dead but ‘stalemated’

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

With the new millennium, a new round of World Trade Organization talks held promise for dropping trade barriers around the globe. The talks, referred to by the city in which they began, the Doha Round, are now all but stalled nowhere near a resolution. However, Rebecca Bratter, with the U.S. Grains Council, refuses to refer to the aging talks as “dead.” She’s not giving up, because there’s too much progress that’s been made and too much at stake that the talks address. Regardless, the outcome has a bearing on producers’ bottom lines. Here’s how they stand.

AUDIO: Rebecca Bratter (3 min. MP3)

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Food allergies and food labeling

May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There are eight foods most likely to cause food allergies but did you know that any food can cause an allergic reaction?  This is Food Allergy Awareness week and those foods are Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, Tree nuts, Wheat Soy, Fish and Shellfish. Once an allergen is known, labeling information on foods becomes an extremely important tool.

HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAM – Food allergies and labeling (1:30 mp3)

Food Allergy.org

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