Delta and Pine Land and Monsanto Announce Agreement with U.S. Department of Justice on Elements of Consent Decree

Monsanto, Delta and Pine Land and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today that agreements had been reached that will allow Monsanto to acquire the Scott, Mississippi, cotton seed company.

The announcement listed a number of points, including that Monsanto would have to sell Stoneville Pedigree Seed Co.

Almost immediately, Bayer CropScience announced that it had agreed to acquire U.S. cotton seed company Stoneville for $310 million.

At nearly the same time, Americot announced that it had agreed to acquire the NexGen Cotton Seed Brand from DPL.

Related items:

• Department of Justice press release.
  
  
• DPL release: Delta and Pine Land and Monsanto Announce Agreement with U.S. Department of Justice on Elements of Consent Decree.
  
  
• Monsanto Release
  

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North Carolina Farm Bureau cites failed ag recruitment campaign in call for guest worker program

North Carolina Farm Bureau last week set up an employment hotline, (919) 571-5197, and initiated a state-wide media campaign in an effort to attract domestic workers to apply for available farm jobs.

North Carolina needs at least 100,000 farm workers to keep their diverse agricultural industry from taking a $260 million hit, according to a press release today. After the week-long blitz, a total of 2 callers had expressed an interest in seeking farm jobs, not nearly enough to tend the fields, it was reported.

The response is a dire signal about labor availability and the viability of the state's ag industry, said.Larry Wooten, President of the North Carolina Farm Bureau, who is advocating immigration reform that includes a guest worker program.

Click here to read more.

Drought worsens, widens in the South

Drought continues to widen and deepen in the South.

Drought Monitor Maps, 5/24/07 vs. 5/31/07 Click here for an enlarged view

The current drought monitor map, based on NOAA data and presentations released by the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility, rates much of Alabama and Georgia as extreme and the severe range has also expanded in both central Mississippi and south-central Tennessee.

We saved last week’s Weather Bank drought monitor map for comparison to this week’s map, which was released this morning. Click here to compare the 2 maps.

The range included in the stage 1 drought classification has also expanded over a wider area of South Carolina and into crop production areas in south-central Kentucky and the southern half of North Carolina.

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More Southern agricultural news.

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Woodard: ample wheat seed supply

Randy Woodard with Cache River Valley Seed in Cash, Arkansas, sent us the following note this morning:

There have been some concerns about wheat quality and supply. Delta Farm Press had an article in regard to wheat seed. Early indications are there will be plenty of wheat seed and the quality is good. We have purchased some option acres that we always have. Supply should not be a problem. We will have a good supply of Agripro, Coker and Dixie brand wheat available for this fall planting.

Texas: taking a second look at triticale, Canola

Texas researchers are taking a second look at the hybrid grain, triticale. It, along with Canola, were highlighted at a recent field day. Triticale is seen as a logical dry-weather alternative to corn in dairy production. Canola, which also does well in drier climates, is a potential biodiesel crop.

Click here for a full report.

Louisiana: cercospora showing up in Acadia Parish

Cercospora - a.k.a. narrow brown leaf spot - has been found in 3 Acadia Parish (Louisiana) fields, according to Eddie Eskew, Extension agent in neighboring Jeff Davis Parish.

"Ronnie Levy (Extension agent in Acadia Parish) let us know today that cercospora had been confirmed with samples that were examined by Don Groth (plant pathologist at LSU's Rice Research Station in Crowley)," Eskew said. "He cultured them out and made a positive ID. So, this looks like it may be another problem year for cercospera in some areas."

Frequent showers in south Louisiana this month are stirring concerns about rice disease, he said.

In his parish, rice fungicide applications started 7 to 10 days ago, Eskew added. Treatments were made when the panicle was 2 to 4 inches long inside the boot. "That was the timing indicated by research for cercospora control," he said. "Growers were hurt pretty badly in this area last year, and they wanted to make cercospera and sheath blight treatments a little early. Normally, fungicides don't start until heading, but this earlier approach is what it takes with cercospora."

Click here to download a white paper on cercospera that was prepared by Groth and fellow pathologist Clayton Hollier.

Drought: Georgia issues special peanut advisory

The University of Georgia Peanut Team has just released a special white paper focusing on this spring's drought and delayed planting season. Here's a link to the report in PDF format:

Peanut Pointers: Special Drought Edition

The report covers a full range of topics, including:

• Crop insurance
• Tillage
• Agronomics
• Fertility
• Disease Management
  
• Weed Management
• Insect Management

"We are currently experiencing one of the most extreme drought situations in south Georgia in over five decades," the report opens. "We are already approximately 12 inches below normal in rainfall in most of our peanut producing area for the first five months of the year. These severe conditions have lead to numerous uncertainties in regards to peanut production decisions."

John Beasley, Georgia Extension Peanut Specialist, said that Extension personnel tried to bring together all of the questions being asked right now about dealing with the drought, which NOAA classifies as "extreme" or "severe" across a good deal of the peanut production areas of Georgia, as well as production areas in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. A lesser "stage 1" drought classification also was applied late this week to parts of South Carolina and northeast Louisiana.

A similar report has been issued by the UGa Cotton Team. If you missed that report, click here to download a copy.

Return of Peruvian Watergrass

Howard Cormier, Extension Agent in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, reports that Peruvian watergrass is back. USDA has this species on its list of Invasive and Noxious Weeds.

It disappeared from canals after Hurricane Rita's 2005 storm surge, but it is now being found in the Forked Island area.

Click here for more information about the weed and a line drawing.

Winter Egg Mortality Reduces Soybean Aphid Threat

This year's hard winter may work against soybean aphid pressure, according to Wayne Bailey, a Missouri Extension entomologist. Writing in this week's Integrated Pest and Crop Management Newsletter. Here is Brown's report:

Surveys conducted this past fall by researchers at the University of Illinois and Purdue University found very high numbers of soybean aphid eggs on Buckthorn in several states. They predicted the possibility of high spring and summer populations of aphids if these eggs successfully survived the winter.

In a survey 2 weeks ago, they found egg mortality was very high due to winter weather conditions. Although some areas of the Midwest may still experience damaging soybean aphid populations, the threat of problems from this pest are reduced for the 2007 season.

Problems in Missouri could still occur during June and July if high numbers of aphids migrate into the state from more northern states with soybean aphid infestations. We have two aphid suction traps operating in Missouri (Columbia, Portageville) to assist in the detection of migrating aphids.

Georgia: planting lags, crops wither in oppressive drought

The following is an excerpt from a University of Georgia article we received yesterday. Click here to read the full report.

Extreme drought now covers most agricultural areas, delaying peanut and cotton planting and raising concerns for the crops this year.

Dust blows thick across dry Georgia fields, where 66 percent of the soil is reported as very short in moisture, the worst category. Only 7 percent is normally ranked very short at this time of year. In central and south Georgia, where most peanuts and cotton are planted, 70 percent to 90 percent is very short. "

The drought is the worst for this time of year that anyone can ever remember," said John Beasley, a peanut agronomist with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension."We've had a dry April and May before, but never preceded by ... well below normal rainfall from November to March."

Georgia farmers usually start and finish planting peanuts in May. Earlier this spring, Georgia agricultural officials estimated farmers would plant 500,000 acres.

But so far, only 33 percent of that has been planted, according to a Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service survey of county extension agents. Planting is typically more than half over by this time.

Drought: Monsanto extends 2007 crop-loss program deadline in 8 states

In a letter to growers yesterday, Monsanto announced that it is extending its 2007 crop-loss program deadline for cotton acres lost due to drought to August 10. The letter was signed by Ernesto Fajardo, Monsanto's Vice President, U.S. Crop Production.

The change affects growers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Click here to read the complete text of the letter.

Drought monitor map: parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi in "extreme" condition

NOAA updated its drought monitor map today. It's not a pretty picture across a wide swath of the Southeast and Midsouth.

• Parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi are now in the "extreme" category, with wide areas rated in the "severe" category.
• Tennessee's south-central counties fall into the "severe" range, as well.

Click here to see the May 24 map (it's the one on the left). Click on the map for an enlarged view.

NCSU, UGa study: world population now more urban than rural

A team of researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Georgia have concluded that on May 23 - yesterday - the majority of the world's people now reside in cities, not the countryside.

This is the first time in human history that more people lived in towns and cities than in the country. Here's an excerpt from an NCSU report today:

Working with United Nations estimates that predict the world will be 51.3 percent urban by 2010, the researchers projected the May 23, 2007, transition day based on the average daily rural and urban population increases from 2005 to 2010. On that day, a predicted global urban population of 3,303,992,253 will exceed that of 3,303,866,404 rural people.

Click here to read more.

Southern grain: drought widens, red banded stinkbugs showing up, wheat harvest, more doublecropped peanuts possible

High points from last night's AgFax: Southern Grain:

• Southeast: The drought grows worse, and moisture is running short on a wider basis.
• Louisiana: We've received the first report for the season of red banded stinkbugs. One was found in Rapides Parish, according to David Lanclos, Extension Soybean Specialist.
• Georgia: The state will fall short of its anticipated corn plantings by 65,000 to 70,000 acres, estimated Dewey Lee, Extension Grain Specialist. That's mainly due to the lingering and intensifying drought.
• Georgia: The early wheat harvest will give growers more options in terms of what they plant in irrigated fields, Lee also said. That might mean more doublecropped peanuts, depending on the kind of contracts peanut buyers offer.
• Wheat harvest: Wheat harvest is underway in areas not blasted by the Easter freeze, and strong yields are being initially reported.

If you're not receiving this report and want to be added to the free distribution list, click here.

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Oklahoma wheat report

Gordon Cougar, a friend in Stillwater, Oklahoma, sent us the following report this morning. Thanks, Gordon!

My brother sent me this picture of our wheat today. You can see some of the damage from red leaf rust if you look closely. That is the best looking cotton-stalk wheat I have ever seen. I am not familiar with the variety, so I can't guess at the yield. But my pessimistic brother and the farmer think it is pretty good.

I take to the elevator at home, and they were still there at 8:15 p.m. (Tuesday night), so they still had people out cutting wheat. Harvest is just getting started, and Mike Cassidy of Cassidy Grain only knew of one field that had been cut and the yield calculated. It made 37 bu/ac and had a test weight of 57 #/bu. The wheat did not look as good as what will come later.

Mike was concerned about the effect the rust was having on the test weight of the wheat. So far, it is all running light. Unseasonable cool and damp weather is delaying harvest. Hopefully, the mild weather will put a few more bushels in the combine bin.

Everyone's hope is the later wheat will be better and have better test weights.

With a couple of hot, dry windy days, they will cut a lot of wheat. The cash price of wheat in Frederick is $4.10 today. I doubt anyone will sell at that price. They either already have it priced or will hold on for a while.

Web cam, blog track rice field's progress

Bruce Shultz, an LSU AgCenter communications specialist, has created a web log that chronicles the growth and development of a seed production field on the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station at Crowley, Louisiana. Information will be added periodically so you are encouraged to view the site often.

The web log can be accessed at:

http://lsuagcenterrice.blogspot.com

In addition, there is a webcam on this field that can be accessed at: www.lsuagcenter.com/ricecam

For additional information, contact Steve Linscombe at slinscombe@agcenter.lsu.edu or Bruce Schultz at bschultz@agcenter.lsu.edu

Source: Memo from Steve Linscombe

Tribbett's Tribulations

During the main part of the summer, the Tribbett community in Washington County, Mississippi, has been a bit like the Sahara Desert, according to Ronnie Bibb with Jimmy Sanders Seed Co., in nearby Hollandale.

"Growers at Tribbett are already in better shape in 2007 than they were last year," Bibb said, half-jokingly. "In 2006, the last day they got rain in Tribbett was on May 6. That was it until just about the time they started picking cotton. This year, it rained on May 13. I hope we get more rain there, but at least we know it rained a week later this season."

One grower received 2.6 inches of rain at Tribbett a month ago. That was more rain, said Bibb, than the farmer received during the previous 2 summers combined. In 2005 and 2006, he said, the total accumulation during the summer months was only 1.8 inches.

Soybean rust: time is on its side

In terms of Asian soybean rust development, Florida and Louisiana might as well be on 2 different continents.

One state - Louisiana - continues to receive rain. More fell across a wide part of the state yesterday and last night.

The other state - Florida - continues to suffer under a drought that actually started in 2006. Forest fires that began in south Georgia have since spread into northern Florida, forcing the state to temporarily close at least 2 interstates due to poor visibility caused by smoke.

These opposite weather conditions are giving rust plenty of running room into the central part of the continent but, so far, denying it entry into the Southeast and up the Atlantic Coast.

Rust was discovered on May 8 in Iberia Parish in south Louisiana, 53 days ahead of the first sighting in the state in 2006. Several factors now favor additional movement from that point:

• Plenty of rain. The Midsouth and lower Midwest have received ample showers to give rust places to propagate. That's in sharp contrast to 2006 when a spring and early summer drought created almost a "scorched earth" boundary between rust in south Louisiana and the rest of the Delta and regions farther north. Some growers in Mississippi made nearly their entire cotton crops with irrigation. In other words, there was no moist, humid climate to nurture spores.
  
• Later soybean plantings. Parts of the Delta have been pushing for earlier and earlier soybean plantings since the mid 1990s, but that hasn't been the case in 2007. Dry weather and a focus on planting corn held up most of the "ultra early" soybean seeding in Mississippi, south Arkansas and northeast Louisiana. By the time soybean rust got rolling last year, a large portion of the soybeans in these areas already had been cut, denying rust an easy stopover in its path north. While these areas will have fewer soybeans - one soybean seed salesman told us his territory in Louisiana and south Arkansas will be off 20% - there will still be plenty of locations for rust to lay over. And because of all the late planting, the welcome mat will be out longer.
• Louisiana missed most of the freeze. Yes, it got cold in southern Louisiana, but the region didn't experience any hard freezes. South Georgia and north Florida, on the other hand, saw a significant amount of dieback on kudzu, a main native host for soybean rust. That likely gave soybean rust more opportunity to establish itself in Louisiana's Acadian parishes, so the early find this year shouldn't be surprising.
• Time is on rust's side. Several plant pathologists who've followed rust development on other continents speculated that the disease probably wouldn't be much of a factor for at least the first couple of years after it made landfall in the U.S. It would take time for it to find niche areas to linger over the winter. Well, a couple of years have now passed.

Florida, in contrast, is dry, and so are most areas north of it into Alabama and Georgia. The drought has held up most dryland planting of any kind and delayed emergence where seed have gone into non-irrigated fields.

The following was posted on USDA's soybean rust web site by Florida Extension workers:

It is still very dry, and Florida is burning. If smoke, alone, could kill the rust, we probably would have eradicated it by now. We had some scattered rain, but the soil is very dry and leaf moisture from dew is still limiting. The forecast is for continuing dry weather. The kudzu is growing rapidly and in those sites that are infected the rust is progressing slowly. We have not had any sites become negative since the winter, but thus far we have found fewer positive sites than in previous years.

One sign of the pullback from cotton in the Delta

One of the biggest swings away from cotton to corn in the South this year is in Mississippi’s south Delta, the country below U.S. 82. One consultant told us this week that 4 gins serving part of the south Delta would each only have 20% of their of their normal cotton acreage. “In other words,” he pointed out, “there isn’t enough cotton among the 4 gins to even permit one of them to run at capacity this fall.”

Possible New Control for Whiteflies Discovered

From USDA's Agriculture Research Service:

By Alfredo Flores
May 11, 2007

An unusually durable fungus that was first spotted on tiny insects feeding on eggplants in Texas may become a new biological control for the widespread and costly agricultural pests known as whiteflies.

The fungus was first isolated by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Enrique Cabanillas, working with entomologist Walker Jones at the ARS Beneficial Insects Research Unit, Weslaco, Texas.

The silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii (previously known as B. tabaci biotype B), may be small in stature, but it can be deadly as a pest—sucking and feeding on the juices of a myriad of host plants. Heavy feeding can give plants under attack a yellow, mottled look and eventually kill them. Whiteflies cause major crop losses, both directly by feeding and indirectly by transmitting plant viruses.

Pesticides have been ineffective for controlling whiteflies because of a built-in natural resistance, the need for repeated applications and the potential hazard some insecticides may pose to the environment, animal life or humans.

Isolated by Cabanillas in 2001, the new fungal species has been named Isaria propawskii. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, it has been shown to kill both larval and adult stages of silverleaf whitefly. In fact, since 2001, it has periodically wiped out whiteflies at the ARS insect-rearing facilities in Weslaco.

Notable aspects of I. propawskii include its natural establishment in a semiarid region where temperatures can reach 107 degrees Fahrenheit—and its continuing persistence, even in the absence of insect hosts. A high spore production in common culture media makes this fungus comparatively easy to grow in vitro, in the laboratory.

These features, plus its high pathogenic potential against a second major insect pest—the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (previously known as H. coagulata)—make the I. propawskii fungus a promising candidate for practical biological control of two major U.S. farm pests.

Soybean rust confirmed in S. Louisiana kudzu 53 days ahead of first 2006 sighting there

Asian soybean rust was confirmed in south Louisiana this week. Clayton Hollier, LSU Extension plant pathologist, just sent an advisory.

This is 53 days earlier than the first confirmation in the state last year.

Our web master is posting the full advisory. She said this will be the link:

http://agfax.com/news/2007/05/lasoyrustfirst.htm

For additional information on Ascian soybean rust throughout the season, subscribe to our free Southern grain report.

John Bradley rides again!

For those of you who remember - and there should be plenty of us - John Bradley directed the Milan (Tennessee) Field Day after Tom McCutcheon started it in the 1970s. John, a young county agent in West Tennessee at the time, filled a big pair of shoes when he took over as Milan's superintendent in the late 1970s after McCutcheon's death.

Bradley jumped into the job and quickly built on McCutchen's legacy, expanding both the scope of the station's research and its outreach through the field day.

The field day - which came to be known as the "Milan No-till Field Day" - drew visitors from most states and several foreign countries. The field day helped introduce no-till cropping to tens of thousands of Southern farmers and demonstrated that, among other things, cotton could be grown without tillage.

It wasn't just a field day. John turned it into a bonafide tourism destination. The "Milan No-Till" name was attached to all sorts of events. We seem to remember beauty pageants, runs, car shows, concerts, golf tournaments.

The idea was to have as many events tied to the field day as possible so that a farmer would find more than one reason to drive to Milan for the day and maybe even spend the night. At its height in the late 1990s, upwards of 6,000 people showed up at the station for the field day every year, and a fleet of school busses shuttled them from point to point.

Thanks, in part, to those field days there is now a generation of Southern farmers who've never grown crops any other way.

John never quite got out of the field day business. But after leaving UT, he organized small company events while working as an agronomist for Monsanto and, later, Beltwide Cotton Genetics.

Now, though, John is back in the public field day business after several years in ag industry. Last year, he was named director of research at Agricenter International in Memphis. One of his first goals was to build up Agricenter's AgTechnology Field Day.

This year, the event will be held on July 19 at the center. The schedule isn't completed yet, but you can click here for initial details.

John Bradley is once again in his element, with a well-situated venue where he can put more than 2 decades of experience into building another world-class field day. He's come at a good time to craft a field day that stands out and draws a crowd.

Field days still exist, but not to the extent they did 15 years ago. Fewer farmers mean lower attendance. For several years, the newer herbicide technologies reduced the interest in viewing weed control plots. And, let's face it, anyone who hasn't latched onto conservation tillage by now will probably never show up for a field day just to learn about it.

But, there's still plenty to learn about agriculture.

Herbicide resistance, if nothing else, will renew everyone's curiosity about how one herbicide or tankmix compares to standard treatments and the ever-popular untreated check. Precision ag technology opens up whole new areas of learning and demonstration. And Southern growers are making a mammoth commitment to corn, and field days will be a good place to learn more about the crop.

And now, John Bradley is ready. He has a well-earned reputation for thinking outside the box and a native instinct for understanding what farmers want to see, hear and know.

John says he's excited about the field day and assures all of us that "it will be worth your time."

If experience is any guide, it will be.

Virginia: Commonwealth Gin planting advisory

Johnny Parker, Agronomist for Commonwealth Gin in Windsor, Virginia, posted the following report Wednesday on the gin's web site:

This last cool spell was relatively mild, although it lasted a long time. The wind was unusual for this time of year and actually made it feel colder that it was. Now that warm weather has returned, cotton farmers will be able to finish planting over the next week or so.

Typically, we like to finish planting the cotton by the middle of May, which will be next week. But there are a number of varieties available now that do quite well planted even after May 15th. The predominant variety that fits the bill for later planting dates is Delta Pine 444, although Stoneville 4575 is another very early maturing variety.

Be sure and finish up the full season varieties now. These would be varieties such as 5599, 989, and 515. Also, try to get the medium varieties finished this week, such as 449, 958, 455, and 445. We have a good week left to finish the medium early varieties. Phytogen 370 is new to a lot of folks this year and it should do well planted right on until May 15th along with 310, 434, and 432.

Commonwealth Gin provides advice on production and marketing of cotton. Information contained herein is from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. No responsibility is assumed with respect to any statement, nor with respect to any expression of opinion herein contained. All views are the opinions of the author and no statement should be construed as an offer to buy or sell a commodity. This publication is for information purposes only.

Peanut planting underway in south Georgia, north Florida

Peanut planting is underway in parts of south Georgia and north Florida. Due to the continued drought, most - if not all - of the planting is on irrigated ground.

Howard Small Jr., a Colquitt, Ga., consultant, said earlier in the week that his growers were running at least 7 peanut planters at that point.

“We started 3 weeks ago, and close to half of my peanuts are planted now," Small said. "Our peanuts that are up look good, and there aren’t a lot of weeds or grass. It’s been dry and hot. We’re irrigating before we plant and after we plant. Those planted 3 weeks ago came up in 5 to 7 days."

Some soil temperatures have been at 90 during the afternoon, Small said. On Monday morning at 8 a.m., the soil temperature was 68 at 4 inches, he said.

"We’ve had no measurable rain right here for at least 3 weeks," Small added. "The area is 9 to 10 inches down for the year to date, and Tallahassee is over 11 inches down. Rain has been in the forecast, but we haven’t gotten any. Dryland people don’t need to plant. I told one grower with some dryland acreage to wait for rain to bring them up. We don’t need to gamble right now.”

Posted on our Sunbelt Agriculture News page today

Posted on our Sunbelt Agriculture News page today:

USDA: Planting Wheat Blends Means Higher Yields 5/09

Kentucky: armyworms continue to cause concerns 5/08

Georgia: Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer amaranth more widespread than initially thought 5/08

Kentucky: Crisis Exemption for Using Wheat as a Forage Crop 5/08

Johanns Announces Specialty Crops Farm Bill Proposals 5/08

Soy Outlook: Down 5-7c On Crop Progress, Corn Spillover 09:01 5/08

Corn Outlook: Down 10-12c On Strong Planting Progress 09:18 5/08

Wheat Outlook: 8-10c Down On Overnight, Corn Pressure 09:06 5/08

Cash Grain Outlook: Mixed Basis, As Futures Fall 10:07 5/08

Livestock Outlook: Cattle Mostly Firm, Hogs Called Mixed 09:15 5/08

North Carolina: cotton planting forecast looks better later in the week

Keith Edmisten, North Carolina Extension Cotton Specialist, said the immediate cotton planting forecast for his state is somewhat marginal for today (Monday, May 7), but begins to look a bit better after that.

"Yes, if I have a lot of cotton to plant, I would keep going and make sure the seed I am using has good cool germination (hopefully above 65-70%)," Edmisten said in his cotton planting forecast report this morning. "If I could finish planting within a relatively short period I would consider resuming planting on Tuesday or Wednesday."

To see his complete forecast (PDF), including the DD60 accumulation table, click here.

Free Southern soybean and grain reports. CLICK HERE.

On our news page, May 7, 2007

Items posted on our Sunbelt Ag News section today:

Louisiana: Cautionary Notes On Thrips Treatment on Seedling Cotton 5/07

Virginia: Cotton planting conditions improving 5/07

California: Farmers finish planting cotton on schedule 5/07

Plant Pathologists Fighting Global Threat to Wheat Supply 5/07

Researchers Showcase Biotech at International Event 5/07

North Carolina: armyworms turning up in wheat 5/06

Mississippi 2006 forestry decline may repeat

Asian rice: slower export demand adds downward pressure to Thai rice prices STAT 5/06

War stories from the Easter freeze

Several of our contacts this week shared observations about Easter freeze damage to wheat, soybean and corn crops. Due to space limitations with our fax edition, we could not pack the into this week's AgFax: Southern Grain. Here are some of their comments:

Wayne Dulaney, Dulaney Seed Co., Clarksdale, Miss.: "Heavier ground took the freeze much better than the lighter ground because it held more heat. One farmer – who cultivates after nitrogen to build a good bed – covered a lot of acres the day before the freeze, and he opened the soil and let the heat escape. It was pretty dramatic. You could tell to the row where they stopped cultivating. Corn on the cultivated ground was killed cold-stone graveyard dead."

Wendell Minson, Bootheel Crop Consultants, Dexter, Mo.: "There were strange cases where wheat on the north side of the field – where you would have expected it to be wiped out – seems to have been only slightly injured. But on the south side down the hill, the wheat was destroyed. It was like the cold air went over the hill and settled on that south end."

Bill Rushing, Research and Production Manager, Delta King Seed, McCrory, Ark.: "There may be more damage on some beans that were up before the freeze than might initially be thought. I visted a friend in Texarkana last week and saw a high percentage of terminals burned out in 2 soybean fields. Those plants will grow more like peas now, more flat to the ground. There’s an indication that you could be looking at a 30% yield loss if enough plants sustained that damage. Those fields had enough lost terminals that I suggested that the grower consider replanting."

David Hydrick: "On Easter weekend, the temperature dropped to 23 both Saturday and Sunday nights. Some people said corn would be fine, but the beds froze all the way through. Where corn was on flat ground, the freeze didn’t kill the growing point. In some fields, the only corn that wasn't killed was at the end of the field on the turnrow."

Free Southern soybean and grain reports. CLICK HERE.

Arkansas follows Mississippi, testing Chinese catfish for banned antibiotics

Alabama started the process followed by Mississippi, and now Arkansas will follow with testing of Chinese catfish for FDA-banned antiobiotics, according to a story in the May 4 issue of The Clarion-Ledger newspaper Jackson, Mississippi.

To read full story, click here.

Virginia: cooler weekend weather puts cotton planting on hold

Johnny Parker, agronomist with Commonwealth Gin in Windsor, Virginia, posted the following on the gin's web site this morning:

Weekend conditions will remain cool with periods of clouds and sun with some rainfall possible. After a tremendous start on cotton planting, it looks like we are getting a little bit of a break this weekend before very warm and sunny weather return next week. By Tuesday, temperatures are expected to return to the 80’s with warm nights also expected. This will favor continued good performance for the early development of cotton.

This cooler weather we are getting right now should not harm any of the cotton that was planted in warm weather and has already sprouted or emerged; however I would expect that the planting conditions over the weekend with the cold night temperatures would only be marginal at best and in my opinion I would call the next several days poor for planting cotton. It would be better to wait until the first of the week to resume cotton planting. The top medium and early maturing varieties will perform well planted right on through the middle of May and there are 2 or 3 varieties that can be planted successfully after mid-May. If you had planted deep prior to the rain, be prepared to run the pecking rotary hoes early next week.

Commonwealth Gin provides advice on production and marketing of cotton. Information contained herein is from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. No responsibility is assumed with respect to any statement, nor with respect to any expression of opinion herein contained. All views are the opinions of the author and no statement should be construed as an offer to buy or sell a commodity. This publication is for information purposes only.

Virginia: thrips appearing early

Ames Herbert, Virginia Extension Entomologist, included the following note in last nights Virginia AG Pest Advisory:

"We caught an average of just over 50 adult thrips per sticky card this week, which is considerably higher than this time last year, or the year before. Adult thrips are crawling all over volunteer peanut plants. These early high numbers are most likely the result of the unusually warm May temperatures. How will the flight develop...we will keep you posted."

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Texas researchers seek new traits from wild cotton

Texas A&M scientists are delving into wild cotton seed collections from the U.S., Russia and France, looking for new traits that might widen the crop's gene pool.

Click here for a report.

Bill Bryson, Iowan, plans to clean up the English countryside

Bill Bryson, one of my favorite authors, is ready to clean up the English countryside, which seems odd on the face of it, since Bryson was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa.

"I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to."

So begins his loving, funny travelogue of America, The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, which recounts a trip he made through the country after years living and working in England as a journalist.

Bryson, 55, has lived in England off and on since 1973, and I read a report today that he had just been named head of "the quintessentially English Campaign to Protect Rural England."

According to the account by Jeremy Lovell of Reuters, Bryson said that being a foreigner would be an asset, not an impediment.

"I grew up in an industrial farming state. If you suggested to people they should go out for a walk they would think you were mad," he said in the report. "Here, the countryside is so beautiful but you are in danger of taking it for granted."

Lovell explained that the CPRE -- formerly the Council for the Protection of Rural England -- "describes itself as a charity promoting the beauty, tranquility and diversity of the countryside with 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county."

Bryson said the first focus of his presidency would be to fight "the relentless spread of litter across the English countryside."

He's a good man for the job, I suspect. Bryson's gift as a writer has always been to see the beauty in common, small and out-of-the-way places and recognize the magic in what seem to be the most mundane of things.

If you plan to travel to Australia, make it a point to read his In a Sunburned Country.

His look at the history of modern science - A Short History of Nearly Everything - delves into the large and small of the universe and leaves you with a deep appreciation of both what we have learned and what we have yet to discover.

The only thing more fun than reading one of Bryson's books is listening to him read it. If you can find a copy of any of his books on tape or as an audio download, take him on a long cross-country trip. He travels well.

Congress may refocus rural internet funding

For the last couple of years, I've questioned the efficiency and maybe even the propriety of the way the USDA has handled programs that were intended to spread broadband internet access to more rural areas. Too much of the money seemed to be going to either far-flung Indian reservations or suburban areas.

The vast heartland - where farmers and ranchers actually need broadband service - were passed over. Or, USDA made programs so restrictive or complicated that small business people couldn't readily gain the kind of support needed to build viable systems, like wireless networks.

This week, members of a U.S. House committee charged that a 5-year, $1.2 billion program to expand broadband internet services to rural communities has missed many unserved areas while channeling hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidized loans to companies in places where service already exists.

"If you don't fix this, I guarantee you this committee will," House Ag Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.) told James M. Andrew, administrator of the Rural Utilities Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I don't know why it should be this hard."

Thank you, Congressman Peterson.

The quote from was an article in the Washington Post, which recently has delved into the workings of USDA rural development programs, including the mandate to expand rural internet service.

"In September 2005, USDA's inspector general reported that the broadband program "has not maintained its focus on rural communities" that are without service, according to the Post.

Anybody reading this on a dial-up connection would probably agree.

Click here to read the full story, posted on the Ag Observatory web site.

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Still Getting Drier: Georgia Drought Severe

With record to near-record high temperatures and little to no rain, northwest and south Georgia enter May in extreme drought conditions. Little if any widespread, sustained relief from the drought is anticipated. The long-term outlook is for the drought to continue to intensify.

Click here for more information.

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Reniform nematodes in cotton: simple organisms, but complicated solutions

Mississippi State University is evaluating a biological control agent - a fungicide - for controlling reniform nematodes in cotton. This is the first time this particular fungus has been tested in the U.S. Early tests showed positive results.

Click here for a report sent to us by Mississippi State.

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First rust find in Florida for 2007

The Florida Cooperative Extension Service reported today that rust was found in kudzu last week north of Tampa. Here's the report from the USDA web site:

It is still very dry but we did find rust in a kudzu site in Pasco County, north of Tampa, for the first time in 2007. The site was found positive on April 27; this same site was also positive in 2006. We had some scattered rain last week but the soil is very dry and leaf moisture from dew is still limiting. Forecast is for continuing dry weather. The kudzu is growing rapidly.

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Almond Acreage Up; Cotton Acreage Down

The increase of acres going to permanent crops in California has meant a steady decline in cotton acreage. The California Farm Bureau News reports that almond acreage topped 700,000 for the first time. The popularity of almonds encourages California farmers to plant more. A USDA reported on May 1 that planting of new almond orchards slowed slightly last year, after sharp increases the previous two years. California produces about 80 percent of the world's almonds, and demand has been rising steadily. The first estimate of the 2007 almond crop is due to be issued next week.

It's another dry year for California farmers

For those of us who live on the other side of the country, using melted snow as a real source of water might sound strange. But in California, it's serious business when the snow pack is low. And, this year, according to a May 1 advisory from the California Department of Water Resources, the snow level is 71 percent below normal. Communities throughout the state have already begun voluntary rationing.

To read more, click here.

Mississippi puts "stop sale" order on imported Chinese catfish after antibiotics found

Mississippi's Department Agriculture and Commerce announced Monday that it had put a “Stop-Sale Order” on some imported Chinese catfish in Mississippi grocery stores. This action was taken in accordance with the Retail Food Sanitation Law due to adulteration from banned antibiotics. Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, the department said in a press release..

The antibiotics were in the fluoroquinolones drug family, according to the release. The catfish were being sold in the following grocery stores: Save-ALot in Pontotoc and Houston, Sunflower Food Store in Quitman, and Aultman’s Super Value in Forest.

“Consumers have the right to know if the food they are eating contains illegal drugs. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce has a 'no-tolerance' policy on banned antibiotics in food items,” Spell said. “Currently, all samples of the foreign catfish tested have shown the presence of a banned substance, and similar laboratory findings have recently been reported in Alabama.”

Spell added: “Our authority is limited to retail grocery stores. We will continue testing for illegal substances and initiate fines for violations that are found. There is the possibility that these same adulterated fish are being offered to customers at hospitals, public schools, nursing homes, and public restaurants.”

Penalties under the Retail Food Sanitation Law include placing the adulterated products off sale and the possible imposition of an administrative fine of up to $500.00 for the first violation and up to $1,000.00 for each subsequent violation.

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Texas-Sized Sorghum: New Solution for Fuel?

COLLEGE STATION - Big Sorghum is moving up on Big Oil in Texas. Ten-foot tall stalks of bioenergy sorghum, planted on thousands of acres, could march across Texas just as oil derricks once did, replacing black gold with green gold.

Texas A&M Agriculture will host U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Gale Buchanan and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples on Tuesday, May 1, for a behind-the-scenes tour of some of the most promising biomass research efforts within The Texas A&M University System.

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