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MO multi-issue ag bill heads to governor

May 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A multi-issue agriculture bill has been passed by Missouri lawmakers and sent to the governor for his signature, on this last day of the legislative session.

Among other provisions, the omnibus ag bill protects the right of children under 16 to work on family farms.

It makes the theft of Missouri livestock a Class B felony.

It allows for additional civil penalties to be imposed for violations of the Missouri Livestock disease control law.

It creates farmer market tax exemptions for producers with annual sales of less than 25-thousand dollars.

It expands the definition of eggs for inspection to include not only chicken but turkey, duck, goose and guinea eggs that are intended for human consumption.

It allows for the creation of University of Missouri Extension councils.

Filed Under: Crops, Livestock, News, USDA/Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

Dairy bounces back

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A bit of a rebound in the dairy markets the last couple of days. Cash cheese barrels gained 2.25 cents on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Thursday while blocks added a penny. Class III futures for June have increased 69 cents since Tuesday, the July contract has increased 69 cents since Wednesday.

Dairy Market News says milk production is variable in the Central Unites States while the South and Northeast are seeing a strong comeback in production. Florida exported 90 loads this week. The flush is yet to arrive in the West. California changed its 4b pricing formula this month and producers are seeing a higher pay price.

Some are wondering what is going to happen when schools close for the summer, right now spot loads are running even to $1.60 over but that could quickly turn-around.

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Cool, wet and record Missouri weather

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Cool, wet and record setting are the months of April and May in Missouri this year – far different from those two months last year.

University Extension ag climatologist Pat Guinan says several inches of snow in May has only happened a few times in the more than 100 years that records have been kept in Missouri.

He says March and April were the coolest since 1997 and all the rain in April “erased nearly all the drought in Missouri.” Far northwestern Missouri has had residual drought conditions but that may have been alleviated by rain over the last few weeks, he says.

Unprecedented were the high temperatures on May 3rd in Missouri, which never got beyond the 30s.

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Chemical use on ’12 soybean crops outlined

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The top monitoring practice for managing pests in U.S. soybean crops last year was scouting for weeds, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, NASS.  The agency’s Chemical Use Survey Data for soybeans and wheat was released Wednesday.

For soybeans, it found that 94 percent of planted acres were scouted in the 19 states surveyed for the 2012 crop year. 96% of the soybean acreage used chemicals. Phosphate and potash were the most widely used fertilizers, applied to 37 percent of planted acres. Nitrogen was applied to 27 percent of planted acres. The survey found that farmers applied herbicides to 98 percent of planted soybean acres…followed by 18 percent insecticides and 11 percent fungicides.

Eighty-percent of planted winter wheat acres had chemicals applied – in the 13 states surveyed for chemical use.

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Chemical use report on wheat crops in ’12

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Thirteen states were surveyed by the USDA for chemical use on 2012 wheat crops and 80-percent had chemicals applied on winter wheat acres (including Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio).

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) says 91 percent of spring wheat, excluding durum, had chemicals applied on four states surveyed.

Chemicals were applied on 88 percent of the durum wheat acres in two surveyed states.

Nitrogen was applied to nearly all durum and spring wheat excluding spring durum. Eight-five percent of winter wheat acres had nitrogen applied.

The report says herbicides were the most extensively used pesticide.

 

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Senate passes WRDA

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) on an 83-14 vote on Wednesday. The plan includes more than 20 new projects for the Army Corps of Engineers including making ports more accessible, harbor maintenance and dredging of inland waterways. 20 percent of the dredging is to be in the Great Lakes region. The bill takes another step toward upgrading the lock-and-dam system on the upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers with a barge fuel tax. It would speed-up the environmental review process for the projects.

The plan also sets up a commission to consider defunding old uncompleted projects; the Corps has a $60 billion backlog of projects.

The $12.2 billion, ten-year plan now goes to the House for approval. Even if the House passes it, the projects would still need to be funded through the annual appropriations process.

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House Ag Committee sticks with Dairy Security Act

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

After a lengthy discussion, the House Agriculture Committee defeated an attempt to change the Dairy Security Act in the farm bill. Congressmen Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and David Scott (D-GA) introduced their alternative plan which would provide margin insurance for milk producers but without any supply management provision.

While the two representatives cited support for their plan from dairy processors and a number of dairy producers, ranking member Collin Peterson (D-MN) countered with producer support via the National Milk Producers Federation along with a number of ag economists. Peterson stated that margin insurance without supply management would encourage overproduction even in times of low prices.

Goodlatte noted that House Speaker John Boehner opposes the Dairy Security Act and that was one of the reasons the farm bill never came to the floor in the last Congress asking, “Do we want to run into that wall again?”

The Hill reports that while House leadership may not be on-board, Chairman Lucas acknowledged the farm bill needs Peterson and the Democrats to pass the House. In the end, Goodlatte-Scott failed with 20 voting “yay” and 26 voting “nay”. The Dairy Security Act moves forward.

The farm bill passed by the Senate Ag Committee on Tuesday also contains the Dairy Security Act.

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Global Dairy Trade prices decline again

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Global Dairy Trade auction at Fonterra on Wednesday saw prices decline for the second consecutive sale. Overall prices declined 2.1 percent from the May 1st sale. Rennet Casein was the only product to see an increase over the last sale, up 3.7 percent. Anhydrous milk fat slipped 0.2 percent, whole milk powder was 1.7 percent lower, skim milk powder declined 2.8 percent, butter milk powder fell 5.1 percent and butter dropped 12.4 percent. There were no sales of cheddar cheese, milk protein concentrates or lactose.

Meanwhile here in the U.S.A., National Dairy Products Sales for the week ending May 11th, cheddar cheese blocks averaged $1.89 up 3.1 cents from the previous week. Barrels decreased 2.1 cents to $1.74, butter lost 3.8 cents to average $1.68, dry whey was 0.2 cents lower at 57.8 cents per pounds and nonfat dry milk increased 3.5 cents to $1.64.

It was a mixed day in the dairy markets on Wednesday; cash cheese barrels increased a half-cent on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to $1.73 while blocks lost another 2.5 cents to $1.755. The barrel-to-block spread is down to 2.5 cents from 23 cents a couple of weeks ago. Class III futures rebounded with the June contract moving back above the $18 mark.

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STL Fed – 1st quarter farm income/spending up

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

First quarter farm income and capital spending both rose in the Midwest and Mid-South, compared to this time last year, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. Both income and spending were higher than expected.

But, the fed cautions that risks remain with the “ongoing weakness in the US economy and higher producer input costs.”

The results were fromm 55 ag bank leaders in the Eight Federal Reserve District which includes all or parts of seven states including Illinois, Indiana and Missouri (also, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee).

Filed Under: Crops, News Tagged With: , , ,

KC Fed says non-irrigated farm land values up

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Values of non-irrigated farm land rose in parts of the U.S. Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains in the first quarter of the year, according to the Kansas City federal reserve bank, via Dow Jones newswires.

They say the biggest rise in non-irrigated farmland values were in portions of western Missouri.

District wide, the value of non-irrigated farmland rose 19 percent above this time last year.

But they says farmers face rising production costs and an expected drop in crop prices in what the government expects to be record harvests this fall. Ongoing drought conditions and livestock price decline affected first-quarter profitability.,

The district covers ag lenders in Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, western Missouri.

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