Crops
The act that helped open the country to settlement by farmers and veterans, the Homestead Act, is now approaching its 160-year anniversary. In use until 1986, some 270 million acres were claimed and settled.
Drought conditions have lessened a bit in portions of North Dakota thanks to some rain, but frigid temperatures late last week and into the weekend also took its toll on crops across the upper Midwest.
The dire drought situation is one USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey thinks could last through at least the remainder of 2021. Forecasts also point to a drier weather pattern returning for Texas and the Plains.
A Brazilian agribusiness consultancy announced a new forecast reduction for the country’s second corn crop because of a severe drought, adding that yields are expected to touch a five-year low this season.
The final days of May were soggy and cold for areas of the Plains, which was a sudden switch from the dryness headlining the weather year so far. The wet weather could dampen outlooks for winter wheat harvest in areas.
USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says northern Iowa saw the third latest freeze in history, only behind the years 1897 and 1947. The damage is now exposed in fields, with acres of no-till soybeans wiped out.
Even with rains hitting areas of the Plains and Corn Belt last week, U.S. corn planting progressed to 95% complete, a five-point bump in a week and three percentage points ahead of last year’s pace.
Adjusting inputs can yield $100 more per acre.
USDA is set to release its latest WASDE report Thursday. Analysts say the June WASDE report typically isn’t the biggest market moving report for the month, but think there are key changes that need to be made.
Corn Prices Boosted by USDA Report Reflecting Robust Exports, Ethanol’s Rapid Recovery from COVID-19
USDA’s June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) caused corn prices to hang on to the day’s gains, but spurred soybean prices to tumble Thursday.
As drought conditions in the West are continuing to expand, hotter temperatures aren’t helping things. Heat that started building over the weekend is not good news for areas already dealing with that drought.
The change in the weather forecast sent commodity prices plummeting Monday. Corn and soybean prices saw pressure after the weather models produced an outlook for wetter and cooler weather by the end of the week.
It’s a steady theme since USDA introduced corn crop condition ratings this year. The quality of the crop continues to decline, with corn dropping 4 points each week. Soybean conditions also fell.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 10% of the contiguous U.S. is now under an “exceptional drought,” which is the highest the rate has been since 2011.
USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says dryness is a major factor impacting corn condition ratings in some areas. U.S. corn crop condition ratings dropped another 4 points this week, according to the latest USDA report.
Could Palmer amaranth, the king of resistant weeds and crippler of herbicides, be dethroned by its own sex drive? A herbicide-free technology is under testing and aims to attack pigweed with its own pollen.
Soybean prices saw the largest single-day drop in history on Thursday. Prices crashed vigorously, with July and August soybeans down more than $1 on Thursday. This tops any one-day record for a deferred contract.
Iowa farmer Kyle Mehmen will join Farm Journal Editor Clinton Griffiths to answer your questions and share his experiences with carbon programs at 9 a.m. Central on June 22.
To get the best return-on-investment from your nitrogen (N) applications in corn consider pairing them with sulfur.
Thursday’s historic price loss was spurred by weather forecasts, but it wasn’t the only factor that fueled the drop. As prices clawed back Friday, analysts say it will take multiple factors to see higher highs.
U.S. farmers are poised to expand plantings of sorghum by nearly 20% this year, a far larger percentage than soy or corn acres, as sorghum is particularly appealing this year since it’s more resistant to drought.
Along with that issue, Ken Ferrie addresses corn rootworm and other pests and diseases that he’s observing and addressing in the field now.
Wild weather over the weekend left some farmers are assessing the damage. Powerful winds and heavy rain hit some fields hard, with down corn as a result. after weekend rains and winds hit some fields hard.
USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report released Monday shows the corn crop condition ratings fell nationwide, down to 65% good to excellent. That compares to the 68% rated posted last week.
ICE cotton futures rose to their highest in nearly a week on Tuesday, propelled by fears of damage to the natural fiber crop in the delta region due to heavy rains.
Some parts of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska saw precipitation this past week, but dry weather prevails in many areas.
Kansas Wheat Tour scouts say the crop is behind schedule in terms of development, along with pockets of disease, drought and freeze damage. However, yield potential on day produced a yield of 59.2 bushels per acre.
Yield prospects for hard red winter wheat in central Kansas were above average, scouts on an annual crop tour said on Tuesday, although yield-robbing diseases, primarily stripe rust, were prevalent in some areas.
Whether the mercury is too high or the rain gauge too low, those producers who have already put away the planter now play the waiting game. And as always, the stakes are high.
Corn prices closed in the green Tuesday, but old crop soybean prices were under pressure again. AgriTalk host Chip Flory digested Tuesday’s market action with Joe Vaclavik of Standard Grain.