Rice: cercospora slipping through in Louisiana

Cercospora, a disease usually associated with soybeans, is widespread this year in Louisiana's rice fields. Johnny Saichuk, the state's Extension Rice Specialist, said none of the rice fungicides currently labeled or approved for use in rice are very effective at controlling this disease. And he said it’s possible fungicides used on rice to fight other diseases may have allowed cercospora to flourish.

The problem is complicated because a rice plant loses natural defenses as it matures, he said. Saichuk added that it’s possible cercospora could affect a second rice crop, but that’s not been proven.

Michael Hensgens with G&H Seed Co. in Crowley said the disease has shown up in all varieties of rice, including hybrids.

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Drought and cheese

Phillip McKibben, a Mathiston, Miss., crop consultant, said the other day that the general goal right now - both for him and his growers - is to finish out this crop "the best way we can without spending any more money than necessary on it."

Scattered fields look good, but drought and heat have taken a heavy toll on much of the cotton and soybeans.

"One of my growers, Sam Stone, probably said it best," McKibben told me. "As Sam put it, ‘I'm like a rat caught in a trap. At this point, I'm not looking for more cheese, just a way out.’”

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Drought of '06: Texans baling soybeans; many Ala. soybean acres won't be cut

Two items from the American Soybean Association's July 27 Leader Letter:

Texas Producers Baling Soybean Crop: Severe drought has many soybean producers in Central, North Central, and Northeast Texas baling their soybean crop for hay. "The last measurable rain on my farm was on Memorial Day," said ASA Board member Carl Weets of Cooper. "It’s so dangerously dry that you don’t dare strike a match." Weets said most of the region has received only 3 to 4 inches of rain since the crop was planted. Baling the crop is netting one-half to as much as two tons per acre in a few cases, which sells for $110 to $120 per ton. Weets estimates that at least 70 percent of the soybeans in the region will be baled this year. "A few fields that I’ve combined yielded between 8 and 20 bushels per acre," Weets said, "and the local basis, which typically runs 40 cents under, is now running 60 to 70 cents below." Weets said that 2006 is the eighth drought year in a row for area farmers, and each year has been worse than the one before. "Crop insurance is worthless," Weets said. "Nine years ago, my APH (average production history) for beans was 30 to 40 bushels. Now it’s in the low 20s. This year is going to put a lot of people out of business."

Alabama Growers Facing Severe Drought: Alabama Soybean and Corn Association President Don Glenn reports that his state is in the midst of a severe statewide drought. "Crop conditions are the worst seen in many years," Glenn said. "All of the states major crops are being affected. Cotton, corn, and soybean yields will all be far below average this year, with many acres not even being harvested. Even the state's horticulture industry is being adversely affected." The drought is worse in the southern parts of the state, where the drought goes back to last fall. Some areas were so dry at planting time that crops were not even planted. Livestock is not immune to the weather either. "Many farmers are already feeding hay that is in short supply to livestock," Glenn said. "They will have little feed to fall back on this winter." The heat is also taking a toll on the state poultry industry in the form of high heat mortality rates. Water levels in the state’s catfish ponds are far below normal causing aeration and oxygenation problems. "This season is going to leave many of our state’s farmers facing financial hardship," Glenn said. "This will be particularly true in South Alabama where farmers have lost the last two crops to hurricanes. Farmers in this area are looking at the third year in a row of crop losses. We are not a major crop production area, so our drought is not drawing national attention. But the hardships are being felt by our farmers just the same."

Rep. Berry (D-Ark.) introduces bills to lower fertilizer costs

Doane Agricultural Services filed the following report on our content site this morning:

7/27/2006 -- U.S. Representative Marion Berry (D-Ark.) introduced two pieces of legislation Wednesday to suspend the import duties on urea and ammonium nitrate fertilizers and lower the price of fertilizer for America's farmers.

Some industry experts estimate fertilizer prices could drop by as much as 50 percent if the International Trade Commission removed existing tariffs and allowed other countries to export urea and ammonium nitrate fertilizers to the United States.

"The demand for fertilizer here in the United States far exceeds what we are able to supply through domestic production," said Berry. "Instead of penalizing America's farmers, it is time to open our market to other countries capable of producing fertilizer at a much lower price. This will not only provide financial relief for farmers all across rural America, put protect the long-term viability of our domestic food supply."

The legislation (H.R. 5879 and H.R. 5880) has been endorsed by the USA Rice Federation and appears to be consistent with the policy position of the Agricultural Retailers Association as presented when trade issues were up for consideration before the U.S. International Trade Commission. H.R. 5879 would terminate the limitations in imports of ammonium nitrate from the Russian federation, and H.R. 5880 would suspend the antidumping duty orders on imports of solid urea from Russia and the Ukraine.

Fertilizer prices have increased by 86 percent since 1990, leaving many farmers struggling to stay in business, Berry's news release explained. The price of fertilizer is directly related to the price of natural gas - which is on the rise in the United States. Since natural gas accounts for 70-90 percent of the production costs for nitrogen fertilizer.

Unlike the United States, countries like Russia and the Ukraine have a supply of natural gas at a consistently low price. Fertilizer producers in those countries spent one-twelfth of what producers here in the United States spent for a unit of natural gas last year, Berry explained. Berry's bills would allow these countries to export large quantities of nitrogen fertilizer to the United States, with the expectation of driving down the price of fertilizer for America's farmers.

"The tariffs on fertilizer imports are simply outdated," said Berry. "Instead of protecting domestic fertilizer producers, they are only driving prices up for our farmers. We need a new system that gives our farmers the best deal for their agricultural products."

The International Trade Commission issued tariffs on urea and ammonium nitrate in the late 1980's to protect domestic fertilizer producers. Since then, domestic fertilizer production has plummeted significantly, with the number of domestic producers dropping from 24 in 1987 to just 7 today.

Berry's legislation is unlikely to be voted on by the House this year, but it is the initial step that lays the ground work for congressional action in the future.

SOURCE: News release from U.S. Rep. Marion Berry

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Bt Cotton Not Helping Chinese Farmers' Economics

Doane Agricultural Services filed the following report on our content site this morning:

7/27/2006 -- Cornell University agricultural economists presented a report this week that says small cotton farmers in China are making less money planting biotech cotton, even though similar seed assists farmers in the United States earn higher income.

The economists looked at the last seven years of Bt cotton seed use in China and determined that the control of bollworms was appropriate, but bollworm control is not sufficient to assure a profit.

Extremely aggressive crop-destroying secondary pests that are not controlled by Bt cotton have converged on Chinese fields to attack the crop even more than in the United States. Chinese farmers had to spray for an increase in secondary pests such as the sap-sucking mirid.

The researchers said they hope their work will encourage the Chinese government to assure Bt technology is being used properly, with appropriate insecticide use.

"We don't want to see such a wonderful technology die at age seven," Cornell University agricultural economist Shenghui Wang told St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporters. Wang
presented the unpublished research at the American Agricultural Economics Association's annual meeting on Tuesday in Long Beach, Calif.

The researchers reported that during the first three years of using Bt cotton, Chinese farmers cut pesticide use by 70 percent and earned 36 percent more than farmers using traditional cotton. These environmental and economic benefits did not continue.

After seven years, the Bt cotton farmers were using as much pesticide as non-Bt users, and they were paying for seed at two to three times traditional seed prices. In the end, the Bt-cotton-seed users were earning eight percent less than the conventional-seed farmers, said study co-author Per Pinstrup-Andersen.

For seven years through 2004, the researchers surveyed the farming practices of nearly 500 Chinese farmers who used Bt cotton or conventional seeds. "This study is the first to confirm in the field that the secondary pest problem is happening," Pinstrup-Andersen said.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Soybean rust confirmed in Louisiana soybeans

Asian soybean rust (ASR) has been confirmed in Louisiana in a sentinel plot at LSU’s research and education center in Alexandria. David Lanclos, Louisiana Soybean Specialist, said the find was made Tuesday in MG V soybeans. An adjoining sentinel plot of MG IV beans had been harvested just prior to the discovery.

“It’s pretty much all over the sentinel plot,” Lanclos said.

About 70% of the state’s crop is out of danger, he estimated this morning. Some early planted dryland beans already are being harvested. About 240,000 acres, however, are still at vulnerable stages, Lanclos said. Most of those are in south Louisiana. Lanclos added. The bulk of these beans, he said, are found in the following parishes: Jeff Davis, Rapides, St. Landry, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee and Evangeline.

Rainfall over the last 2 weeks has spurred development and movement, Lanclos said. As we filed this report, a tropical system was bringing more rain to south Louisiana.

“If you have a crop to protect between R1 and R5, we recommend treatments,” Lanclos said. “Before you make that fungicide application, contact someone with experience in material selection. There are any number of products, along with combinations that have varying amounts of one compound or another. The thing we have to remember is that there are other diseases that have to be considered, so select materials or combinations that will give you optimum protection.”

Click here for more info from USDA's web site.

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Doha Round Negotiations Suspended

COMMENTS FROM USA Rice Federation, National Cotton Council, AFBF:

From National Cotton Council press release this afternoon:

The Geneva meeting of G-6 ministers concluded without a breakthrough and future Doha Round negotiations have been suspended. Allen Helms, Chairman of the National Cotton Council, praised the U.S. negotiating team and its commitment to an ambitious result in the Doha Round.

“I commend U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, and the entire U.S. negotiating team for continuing to demand an ambitious result in the Doha negotiations and refusing to allow unwarranted pressure or deadlines to undermine the U.S. position. Ambassador Schwab and Secretary Johanns have demonstrated they clearly understand that the significant U.S. offer on market access, domestic agricultural support and export subsidies has not been matched. It may take longer than anticipated to bring the Doha Round to a successful conclusion, but the determination of the U.S. negotiating team is a positive sign for U.S. agriculture and for the world’s agricultural producers.”

Commending Congressional leaders, particularly Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, American Cotton Producers’ Chairman Jay Hardwick stated, “Congressional leaders have clearly stated that their support for the ambitious US proposal made in October 2005 would be realized only if our trading partners match the ambition of the United States. Chairman Chambliss has continually stressed a single undertaking in agricultural negotiations that achieves U.S. ambitions in both market access and domestic support. The resolve of U.S. leaders is to be commended.”

Statement from USA Rice Federation On Suspension Of WTO Trade Negotiations

ARLINGTON, VA — The USA Rice Federation today expressed its full support of U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in the face of the suspension of multilateral trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round.

“Amb. Schwab and Secretary Johanns are to be commended for standing with the U.S. rice industry by insisting that a Doha agreement provide U.S. farmers and exporters with real and measurable market access gains in order to justify cuts in U.S. farm programs.

“Despite press releases and rhetoric, it is clear that the market access offers by the European Union and several other WTO players are illusions and will not result in a real expansion in trade. They simply don’t stand up to the aggressive U.S. proposal tabled in October 2005, and the administration was right to stand firm.

“Our trade negotiators will now shift to intensive bilateral discussions with other WTO members to determine where a convergence of interests may exist. USA Rice remains committed to achieving a multilateral trade agreement that is fair, results in meaningful increases in trade, and addresses key bottlenecks to exports of U.S. rice. We will continue to support the administration in this effort.

“Today’s suspension of the negotiations also calls into question the ability of the administration to negotiate, and Congress to approve, a multilateral trade agreement before the expiration of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in mid 2007. As U.S. negotiators strive to obtain a solid agreement for the U.S. rice industry, it is critical that the president be given the tools he needs to negotiate the best agreement possible. This means that TPA must be renewed.

“The USA Rice Federation commends the Bush administration for standing up to calls for unilateral U.S. concessions and for defending the interests of U.S. rice producers and exporters. We appreciate that our negotiators remain ambitious and know when to walk away from a bad deal.”

From American Farm Bureau Federation:

World Trade Organization Director Pascal Lamy suspended the Doha Round of global trade negotiations today after officials from six key governments remained deadlocked. Lamy suspended the five-year-old talks after trade negotiators from the United States, EU, Brazil, India, Australia and Japan were unable to overcome their differences. AFBF President Bob Stallman called the suspension a regretful outcome.

"At a time when the goods produced by America's farmers and ranchers continue to be barred from markets across the world by stifling tariffs and other trade barriers, the American Farm Bureau regrets that the opportunity for fairer trading rules has been set aside," Stallman said. "We will continue to push for enhanced market access for our farm goods, whether through regional or multilateral initiatives. When the opportunity presents itself, we will again support efforts to reform trade rules through the WTO process.

"It is truly unfortunate that other nations of the world failed to seize this Doha Round opportunity for freer trade created by the bold agricultural proposal offered by U.S. negotiators. United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns stood behind that solid proposal and pushed hard for an agreement to create real increases in global trade that would have benefited all nations."

Stallman said that Farmers and consumers all around the world had "a lot to gain" from the Doha Round of WTO trade negotiations. He said AFBF stands behind its belief "that freer and fairer agricultural trading rules would benefit all people of the world." Since the talks have been suspended, Stallman said AFBF "will prepare to move forward with proposals to ensure that U.S. farmers have the kind of support they need to survive in today's global trading environment."

Louisiana Rice Field Day Reports

The following is an LSU press release distributed this afternoon:

Farmers Hear From Experts At Rice Field Days

Encouraging news for Southwest Louisiana farmers came during the four rice field days held recently by the LSU AgCenter.

• The Riviana Rice Mill in Abbeville is re-opening under new management for the upcoming harvest as Planters Rice Mill.

• In addition, a dedicated grain-loading facility at the Port of Lake Charles could be in operation as early as next year. And prices are edging upwards.

On the other side of the ledger, however, was the recent discovery of Asian soybean rust on two kudzu patches south of Lafayette and the decrease in rice acreage, particularly in storm-ravaged Vermilion Parish.

Field days were held in Acadia, Evangeline and Vermilion parishes along with the Southwest Louisiana Rice Tour, which made stops in Jefferson Davis and Calcasieu parishes.

At the Southwest Louisiana Rice Tour July 6, rice farmer Clarence Berken of Jefferson Davis Parish said a feasibility study from McNeese State University shows the rice industry has a $700 million impact on the area economy, but 20 percent of that could be lost without adequate port facilities to ship rice.

Berken said rice mills encountered storage problems at the port last year. Half of the warehouse space that was used for rice went to a company shipping Brazilian wood products to the United States, Berken said. Soda ash will be shipped out of the port and that also will require more space, he said.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco agreed to a $21 million bond issue to build a bulk loading facility and warehouse at the port. It was approved by the legislature, and currently details are being finalized.

Even with the unfinished details, Berken said it’s possible the facility could be in operation by 2007.

Jamie Warshaw of Farmer’s Rice Mill said countries prefer to ship rice in bulk rather than bagged because it is cheaper.

Richard Fontenot, president of the Evangeline Parish Farm Bureau, said many farmers were forced to sell rice to companies in Texas last year.

At the field day in Vermilion Parish on July 11, Howard Cormier, LSU AgCenter county agent in Vermilion Parish, said the management of the new Planters Rice Mill is eager to buy rice from area farmers.

"They made a commitment to the growers that they are in it for the long haul," Cormier said.

He said the facility laid off more than 200 workers employed by Riviana, leaving a staff of 44 employees.

Dane Hebert, Vermilion Parish farmer and president of Vermilion Rice Growers, said he was encouraged the mill will benefit farmers.

"They want to buy as much rice as they can this year," Hebert said.

The group taking over the mill, which includes the Godchaux family of Vermilion Parish and Elton Kennedy of North Louisiana, has a three-year lease with an option to buy the mill.

Dr. Mike Salassi, LSU AgCenter economist, said Louisiana rice acreage of 360,000 acres this year is down 32 percent from last year. Overall, the U.S. total at 2.9 million acres is down by 13 percent, he said.

Prices have increased slightly, according to Salassi, and U.S. use of rice is projected at its highest level ever this year.

Salassi also said work is being done to consider research at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station near Crowley on the use of rice in ethanol production.

Dr. Gary Breitenbeck of the LSU AgCenter’s Department of Agronomy and Environmental Management, briefed farmers at the Vermilion Parish Field Day on salt contamination of soil from Hurricane Rita. He said some fields have become impermeable to water because of the high amount of sodium from salt water.

"At that point, there’s nothing you can do to put that soil back in production," he said.

Breitenbeck said plowing contaminated fields after they are flooded is probably a good way to speed up the process of eliminating salt.

Farmer David LaCour of Abbeville said he and his father, Francis LaCour, have 1,100 acres that can’t be farmed because of saltwater flooding from Rita. He said testing is being done on his property by private companies to determine if new products can return the salt-contaminated soil to production, and RiceTec is trying several new varieties to determine their ability to grow in soil with high sodium levels.

In Acadia Parish, Dr. Ray McClain, LSU AgCenter crawfish specialist, told farmers that growing a second crop of rice could create problems for crawfish in the same field. The crawfish population could be decreased by draining a field for second-crop harvest, he said.

Water quality could decrease because of decomposition of plant material cut in the harvest, McClain said, and removing the second crop results in a decreased food source.

At the Evangeline Parish Field Day, Dr. Clayton Hollier, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist, said even though Asian soybean rust is being found in isolated sites in the United States, it would be wrong to assume the disease will mirror the devastation experienced by Brazilian growers. Growing conditions in the United States and Brazil are significantly different, he said.

Hollier said the fungus has not been found on soybeans in Louisiana, but he said it’s possible the disease could be found in the crop. "I suspect with these weather patterns we’ve had in the last 10 days, there could be some," he said.

Hollier said chemicals are available to protect plants against the disease and to treat the plants if they already have it.

Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, told farmers at the Evangeline Parish Field Day July 12 that this year’s crop is doing well.

"I don’t say it’s quite as good as last year, but it looks pretty decent," he said.

Dr. Don Groth, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist, said recent rainfall has brought disease, but the rice crop has matured sufficiently that many fields won’t be affected.

Dr. Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter’s Southwest Region and its Rice Research Station, said work is under way to develop a Clearfield line of medium-grain rice. He said by using the winter nursery in Puerto Rico, a variety could be available as early as 2008.

"It is a priority for us," Linscombe said.

Roy Johnson of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry gave Evangeline Parish producers an overview of the Aquaculture Disaster Grant Program. This program is designed to help aquaculture producers statewide recover from aquaculture losses from hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Johnson said the program would assist producers with property, including buildings and vehicles, in addition to production losses from the storm.

He said the deadline for applying for the aid is July 31.

UAP to buy Terral AgriService in Louisiana

Doane Agricultural Services posted the following item on our content site today:

7/14/2006 -- GREELEY, Colo. -- UAP Holding Corp. has reached an agreement in principal to acquire Terral AgriService Inc. and certain assets of Terral FarmService Inc. and Wisner Elevator Inc.

The acquisition is contingent on confirmatory due diligence and the negotiation of definitive agreements.

Terral, a leading chemical, fertilizer and seed distributor with more than 3,000 customers, has been operating in Northeast Louisiana for more than 60 years. UAP anticipates the Terral acquisition will solidify its leadership position in this market by expanding its fertilizer capabilities and significantly increasing its market share for chemicals, fertilizer and seed.

The acquisition will also contribute several key assets, including five distribution facilities throughout Northeast Louisiana and key management and sales personnel. As part of the transaction, Brad Terral will enter into an agreement to remain with the business for two years.

UAP Holding Corp. is the holding company of United Agri Products Inc., the largest independent distributor of agricultural and non-crop inputs in the United States and Canada.

Source: UAP Holding Corp. via PR Newswire.

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Demand spurs increase in wild-rice acreage

The following appeared in today's Food & Farm News, published by the California Farm Bureau Federation:

Attracted by strong demand, farmers have planted more wild rice in California this year. Wild rice isn't actually rice, but a form of grass, which has caught the interest of consumers. The California Wild Rice Advisory Board says demand for the crop far exceeded supplies a year ago. The board says sales of seed for wild rice grew significantly, indicating an increase in planting. Most California-grown wild rice comes from the Sacramento Valley.

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U.S. rice gene collection yields new blast-resistant genes

Doane Agricultural Services posted the following item on our content site this morning:

7/12/2006 -- Agricultural Research Service researchers have tapped the U.S. rice genebank in their hunt for rice genes to guard against devastating rice blast.

This diverse collection of rice -- the USDA Rice Core Collection -- contains more than 1,700 rice plant accessions from more than 100 countries.

The ARS scientists, working at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart, Ark., evaluated the hundreds of accessions by growing and testing each one in the laboratory and field.

Finding new genes to counter disease, pests and other threats is central to the longevity of all crops. But rice, which helps feed more than two-thirds of the world's population, especially benefits from continuous access to new genetic material, or germplasm.

That's because the crop's nemesis, rice blast, has growers and breeders engaged in a never-ending, tug-of-war battle. Farmers plant rice that's expected to stand up to the blast-causing fungus. But in just a short period of time, the pathogen finds a new way to overcome its weary host.

The blast resistance genes the Stuttgart researchers discovered should give rice plants a needed boost. These findings are different from any resistance genes currently available to the U.S. rice industry.

The USDA Rice Core Collection is part of the ARS-coordinated National Plant Germplasm System, a cooperative effort by public and private organizations to preserve crops' genetic diversity. This collection is referred to as "core" because it captures the essential genetic diversity contained in an even larger USDA rice collection of 18,000 accessions. Working with a smaller core collection streamlines breeders' efforts to uncover valuable genes.

SOURCE: USDA/ARS news release.

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Missouri field trials confirm waterhemp resistant to glyphosate herbicide

Doane Agricultural Services posted the following item on our content site last night:

7/11/2006 -- COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Herbicide tests in a western Missouri soybean field have confirmed that tall waterhemp is the sixth glyphosate-resistant weed in the U.S. and the ninth such weed in the world.

"Our field trials follow full greenhouse tests in which this tall waterhemp survived higher-than-recommended rates of glyphosate and produced seed that grew into plants that also were resistant," said Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri weed scientist.

Bradley and MU graduate student Travis Legleiter are testing several soybean herbicides on the resistant weeds found in a field near the Missouri River in Platte County.

"In the field, we used up to eight times the labeled rate," Legleiter said. Notepad in hand, he kneels to count weeds in one high-rate section of the field plot.

"You can see the waterhemp was injured initially but recovered," he said. Plants are light green to yellow in the center, a symptom of glyphosate treatment. But the bulk of each plant's leaves are green and healthy.

"They are regrowing and will likely survive to produce resistant seed," Bradley said.

Their confirmation this week placed tall waterhemp on the international herbicide-resistant weeds Web site, www.weedscience.org. The site, dedicated to information on weed resistance, lists 183 weed species that have been proven to be resistant to one herbicide or another.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides.

Bradley and other scientists have been concerned about weeds developing resistance to the herbicide due to its popularity when used with Roundup Ready soybean, corn and cotton seed.

Bradley said the field history reads like a recipe for developing resistant weeds: back-to-back seasons of one crop -- soybeans -- and continuous use of the same herbicide -- glyphosate -- since 1996.

MU weed scientist Reid Smeda has been working on another field, in central Missouri, containing glyphosate-resistant common ragweed for several seasons. That field has been in a soybean-soybean-wheat rotation with almost sole use of glyphosate herbicide for weed control.

While all resistant weeds are worrisome, Bradley said resistant tall waterhemp is especially troubling.

"Waterhemp is one of Missouri's toughest weed problems. It has developed resistance to a number of other soybean herbicides."

That resistance has been known to spread quickly. Waterhemp plants are either male or female, which means females rely on pollen shed from surrounding male plants.

"If the resistant trait is carried in the pollen, which we are fairly confident it is, then you have pollen traveling to fields all around the resistant plants." Each female waterhemp plant produces hundreds of thousands of seeds, ensuring a ready supply of plants for the following season.

Bradley and Legleiter have found good news in their field plots. The glyphosate-resistant waterhemp is killed by a number of popular pre-emergence soybean and corn herbicides.

The pair plan at least two seasons of examining whether the resistant plants can be brought under control economically in continuous soybeans --- using pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides -- or whether it is better for farmers facing resistant weeds to alternate plantings of corn and soybeans. The rotation opens up a wider array of herbicides labeled for use in corn.

The eight other confirmed glyphosate-resistant weeds throughout the world include buckhorn plantain, common ragweed, goosegrass, hairy fleabane, horseweed or marestail, Italian ryegrass, palmer amaranth and rigid ryegrass.

SOURCE: University of Missouri-Extension news release.

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Memphis Biofuels LLC starts construction of large biodiesel plant

Doane Agricultural Services posted the following item on our content site this morning:

7/12/2006 -- MEMPHIS -- Memphis Biofuels LLC has closed its funding and is starting construction on its 36-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel production facility.

Located in Memphis, the facility is designed to be expanded to 100 million gallons per year in the future. The company plans to be in production this fall.

The company will use state of the art technology and regionally available, high-quality vegetable and animal feed stocks to produce biodiesel for the mid-south and national markets. With the strong agricultural base in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, in addition to being located near the Mississippi River and in one of the nation's largest trucking and railroad hubs, the Memphis facility is ideally situated to serve regional, national and international markets.

Memphis Biofuels will create approximately 50 manufacturing jobs at its Memphis facility.

SOURCE: Memphis Biofuels via Business Wire.

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Ready to bet the farm on renewable energy?

Are you ready to bet the farm on renewable energy? Evidently, USDA expects you to, based on a report from the newsletter EnergyWashington Week.

Here's the first paragraph from a July 5 article posted on Ag Observatory:

There is a vast and largely unencumbered store of wealth in the agricultural community that could be used to finance the agricultural sector's move to becoming a major player in U.S. energy production, Department of Agriculture's Undersecretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr told an audience at last month's Renewable Energy Finance Forum in New York.

Dorr estimates that American agriculture has $1.45 trillion in mostly "free and clear" equity that could be borrowed against to finance renewable fuel expansion. That includes land, buildings and equipment, he said.

Since many farmers I know are borrowed up to their chins, this vast, untapped source of equity must exist someplace outside of the South.

Click here to read the full report.

Rice harvest starting in south Louisiana.

A small amount of harvest has started in Vermilion Parish, La. Howard Cormier, Extension Agent, reported that a field of Cypress was cut today by Edwin Miller. Cormier estimated that the yield might be close to 40 barrels/acre.

Eddie Eskew, Extension Agent in Jeff Davis Parish, said that rains have delayed the start of harvest there. Some early rice was ready last week, but parts of the parish have received rain every day for the last eight or nine days, Eskew said. The forecast calls for drier conditions, and Eskew said some harvest probably will start there at the end of this week.

For more details, see this week's RiceFax, which will be updated late Tuesday night.

Cotton: bollworms gearing up in Louisiana

As we closed out our weekend issue of AgUpdates Saturday morning, we received the following advisory from Ralph Bagwell, Louisiana Extension Cotton Entomologist:

On Thursday and Friday of this past week, I was flushing fresh bollworm moths in cotton. Moths were observed in both the Red River Valley and in NE Louisiana. The number of moths observed was not high, but this was more than I have seen in cotton in two or three years.

All of the moths I caught were females and appeared newly emerged. Female adults usually emerge about 48 to 72 hours before males. Egg laying will start about 2 days after the males emerge. Thus, I anticipate seeing bollworm eggs in fields by Tuesday (July 4th) or Wednesday (July 5th).

Pyrethroids are the insecticide of choice for bollworm control. Ammo, however, may not be a very good option in some areas because of its potential for flaring mites.

Mites are being observed in many areas of the state. Southeastern Franklin parish appears to have the most significant infestation of mites. Many fields in this area either have been treated or are in need of treatment for mites.

Cotton: understanding mites and hot weather

Midsouth cotton farmers and their advisors have learned a good deal about spider mites over the last three or four years. For whatever reason, mites have become a problem through a wide part of the region (and some of those possible reasons are noted in an article of mine that appeared recently in Progressive Farmer). You won’t find mites in every field this season. But if they develop and aren’t treated, mites can quickly become a full-blown economic problem.

As several people pointed out in this week’s AgFax: Midsouth Cotton, more proactive treatments were made this year for mites, compared to last year when mites ran amok across many of the region’s cotton fields. This year, nobody waited to see what would happen with mites nor did anyone bank on a driving rain to suppress the tiny, eight-legged beasts.

To some extent, growers in northeast Arkansas and the Tennessee River Valley of Alabama have taken that approach for several years. And in Arkansas – where products like Zephyr have been available for several years – growers have been willing to treat with what are still considered high-dollar, “western” products.

The idea of treating early (and spending more) has been more widely adopted in the rest of the Midsouth this year, and it’s credited with helping contain spider mites this season.

Hot and dry weather, of course, spur on mites. There’s a common misconception that spider mites actually like those conditions, as evidenced by the fact that mites are an ongoing problem in places like Arizona and the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California.

But, as one of our long-time contacts in the SJV pointed out this week, spider mites multiply rapidly in hot, dry weather as a survival mechanism.

“They hit those kinds of conditions, with blazing temperatures and no moisture, and they go into a panic mode, thinking they are going to die,” said Vern Crawford, a PCA with Wilbur-Ellis Co. in Shafter, which is in the southern SJV near Bakersfield. “It’s basically a state of fecundity. They can’t lay eggs fast enough."

Several years ago, we published a couple of charts in our California cotton report that show just how fast mites can proliferate as temperatures climb. Click here to bring up that page.

Rice: Crowley Rice Station Field Day Highlights

Dr. Steve Linscombe - rice breeder and LSU regional director for southwestern Louisiana - said at Thursday's field day that more Clearfield varieties of rice are in development. Another LSU AgCenter rice breeder at the station, Dr. Xueyan Sha, said a medium-grain variety should be available for release soon, and work continues on an aromatic long-grain variety.

In other reports during the field day:

LSU AgCenter soybean specialist Dr. David Lanclos said this year’s bean crop needs rain soon. Some farmers have put off planting because they’ve been waiting on rainfall, he said, adding, "I know of three farmers planting today." But the potential for a good crop still exists, according to Lanclos, because the lack of rainfall in the spring forced young plants to grow deep roots, and that could mean a good yield. "When beans struggle for water early season, they usually do well late season," he said.

Dr. Don Groth, an LSU AgCenter plant pathologist at the Rice Station, said seed treatments are being studied as a way of decreasing diseases on rice. He said disease pressure is light this year because of dry conditions.

LSU AgCenter plant pathologist Dr. Chuck Rush advised rice farmers to be aware of consistently hot weather that could result in an epidemic of bacterial panicle blight. Outbreaks occurred in 1995, 1998 and 2000, he said, and some farmers had yield losses of 40 percent. He said a chemical can be used to control it, but it is not available in the United States.

Dr. Mo Way, an entomologist from Texas A&M who does cooperative work with scientists at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Station, said the use of acephate insecticides for rice stink bugs was rejected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for three reasons. Way said the EPA turned down the application because of opposition to another organophosphate, dietary residue data and an economic analysis that determined a savings of $46 an acre was insufficient to justify approval. But he said continued efforts could be successful in getting the chemical "labeled" for such uses. Way also told farmers the Mexican rice borer is in Texas only one county away from the Louisiana-Texas line.

LSU AgCenter rice physiologist Dr. Richard Dunand at the Rice Station gave an overview of his work on three different plant growth regulators. He said one product, Prestige, has shown some yield increase.

Dr. Eric Webster, an LSU AgCenter weed scientist, said early herbicide application is important to control weeds in rice. Yield losses can occur within the first three to four weeks of a crop if weed pressure is not controlled, he said.

Rice: Hamilton contends higher prices ahead

Crowley, Louisiana (LSU Press Release) – Rice prices worldwide will be strong the next two years because rice stocks in Asia have declined significantly, a rice marketing expert said Thursday (June 29) at the annual LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station Field Day.

Milo Hamilton, president and co-founder of Firstgrain Inc. and www.firstgrain.com, told the crowd of more than 500 people who attended the field day that the Chinese and Indian rice stocks are down by 85 million tons over the past six years.

"In two years, theoretically, China should have almost no rice left," Hamilton said. "The roosters are coming home to roost."

A water crisis in China is contributing to a price increase in northern China, he said.

Reservoirs in Brazil received half the normal rainfall recently, and the price of rice in that region has increased by $60 per metric ton in the past three weeks, Hamilton said, adding, "The price in Europe is trading at new highs of $15 per hundredweight due to a poor crop last year."

Hamilton said he’s bullish on the U.S. rice price. He said he expects prices to hit $10.75 to $12.75 per hundredweight in the next couple of years, and he said those prices could possibly reach $13.

The marketing expert said farmers should spend more time on marketing to get the best prices for their crop.

Hamilton said he’s hearing stories from many farmers across the United States about low prices for their rice and high prices for fuel. He also warned farmers should not look for U.S. price supports to continue – with the expectation that money will be available for conservation programs but not for production agriculture.

Farmers will have to become more innovative to make money, and that even includes off-farm income.

"The future will be bright, if we do it right," he said, stressing that farmers have to accept that the agricultural economy has changed.

"Farming is not a way of life anymore," he said. "It’s a big business. If farming is a way of life, it can be a very expensive business, but if farming is a business, it can be a very rewarding way of life."

Input costs for farmers have increased because of fuel prices, and many have gotten out of rice production. Even in Asia, farmers cannot make ends meet, and that means overall yields may suffer. In Indonesia, one of the largest importers of rice, the government has increased price supports to $8.50 per hundredweight– about $2 higher than the U.S. rice loan rate.

"We are in a growing and gathering storm," Hamilton said.

The expert also said even though crude oil prices are above $70 a barrel, commercial users are still buying crude oil futures, which may indicate much higher crude prices ahead.