Wet Week Ahead
A review and forecast of the U.S. crop weather scene begins with the impact of the cold snap during the April 21-27 week. That cold event certainly left its mark. Winter wheat in either good or excellent condition declined by four percentage points overall from the previous week to 49% rated good to excellent compared with 53% the previous week. Oklahoma and Texas showed declines in the good-to-excellent totals of 9 percentage points in Oklahoma (70% to 61%) and 10 points in Texas (28% to 18%). In addition, corn planting was slowed by the cold outbreak. Planting did advance 9 percentage points to 17% complete, but fell behind the average pace of 20%.
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Planting Progress: Soybeans Ahead of Five-Year Average While Corn Lags Behind
While corn and soybean prices continue to march higher, farmers are making progress getting the 2021 crop in the ground. The latest estimates from USDA show soybean planting progress jumped from 3% to 8% in the past week, which is trending 3% ahead of the five-year average. Around 3% of the soybean crop has emerged, which is 1% ahead of last week. Louisiana trails in planting progress, but the other key soybean production states are tracking with the five-year average or even a bit ahead.
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Corn, Soybean Prices Climb, Record Chinese Corn Imports Expected
Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Michael Hirtzer reported on Wednesday that, “Corn prices climbed above $6 a bushel to the loftiest level in almost eight years after the U.S. said it expects China to buy an all-time high amount of the grain off global markets.
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Burndown Options For Corn
Weed management is a year-round job, but producers take special care to make sound management decisions prior to planting—including cover crop burndown.
David Russell, an Alabama Extension weed scientist, offers suggestions for planting into a weed-free field and maintaining a clean corn crop throughout the growing season. Russell’s areas of specialization include corn, soybeans, small grains, forages and non-crops.
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The Mississippi River is Running Lower in Baton Rouge Than Past Years, But Will it Last?
A drier-than-usual year up north has Baton Rouge-area farmers and communities along the Mississippi River breathing a sigh of relief as the threat of flooding due to high water levels may not be a significant headache this year.
The river in Baton Rouge appears to have crested last week at about 38 feet, just over what’s considered a moderate flood stage. The National Weather Service projects waters will gradually continue to fall and could even reach minor flood stages by early next week, even with this week's rains.
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Corn May Be King, But Soybeans Rule US Exports
By a wide margin, soybeans are the most valuable U.S. farm export, accounting for 18¢ of every $1 in sales during calendar 2020, said the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service on Wednesday. Corn, the country’s most widely grown crop, was second in export value to soybeans, which were worth a record $25.7 billion compared with $9.2 billion for corn.
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WASDE Report Bullish For Corn, Wheat, Bearish For Soybeans
USDA on Friday lowered corn ending stocks for the 2020-21 by 150 million bushels (mb) to 1.352 billion bushels (bb) but held pat with soybean ending stocks at 120 mb.
USDA raised corn use for feed, seed and industrial use, as well as exports to drop the ending stocks for the crop.
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Stepping on Stepped-up Basis Has Big Consequences
Any change in capital gains tax policy that eliminates or scales back stepped-up basis could result in a massive tax burden on the agricultural sector according to new analysis by the American Soybean Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
To minimize the impact of burdensome capital gains taxes, farmers and ranchers use stepped-up basis, which provides a reset for the asset value basis during intergenerational transfers. The magnitude of the tax burden that would be felt if basis is taken away or reduced would likely significantly exceed the annual income generated by the assets, something that has soy and other American farmers concerned.
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Cotton, Rice Down, Corn, Soybeans Up In Latest NASS Report For Louisiana
Louisiana Prospective Plantings Report, March, 2021
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Rebuilding The Grain Bin Destroyed by Hurricane Then Tornado
To understand the weather challenges of growing crops in the Blacklands of North Carolina, the story of both a hurricane and tornado that did in the grain facility of Green Valley Farms near Columbia in Tyrell County fits the bill perfectly.
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LA Corn Planting Nearly Finished But Delayed By Rain
Wet weather has stopped Louisiana farmers from finishing this year’s corn planting, but not before they got the majority of the crop in the ground. LSU AgCenter reporter Craig Gautreaux has this report from northeast Louisiana.
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Pro Farmer Survey Shows Farmers Plan To Plant Record Corn & Bean Acres In '21
As the acreage battle continues to play out, a Pro Farmer member survey shows better commodity prices are attracting more acres this year.
The Pro Farmer/Doane survey revealed farmers plan to plant more acres, with total area planted to crops in the U.S. expected to rise to 319.4 million acres. That would be up nearly 3%, or 8.9 million acres, from 2020. If the survey findings hold true, it also means U.S. acreage will hit the highest level since 2018.
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Updates from the Field on Spring Planting: Louisiana
Spring planting is underway in parts of the country. As farmers gear up their planters, we are bringing you updates from the field.
Louisiana farmer Drew Keahey spoke with RFD-TV's own Janet Adkison on his operation, planting status and current conditions, and any possible hurdles that might await him.
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China Buys $850 Million Worth Of US Corn
In a four-day shopping spree, importers bought 3.876 million tonnes of U.S. corn for delivery to China this marketing year, said the USDA. The corn was worth $850 million, based on futures prices in Chicago.
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Louisiana Corn: Nitrogen Rate & Fertilization Timing
Nitrogen is the most yield limiting nutrient for corn production. Corn requires nitrogen for amino acids, protein, and chlorophyll production. Chlorophyll is the key component for photosynthesis. Insufficient chlorophyll content results in reduced yield potential.
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