Filed under: News
Grain Angles: Corn, beans trending higher
Corn and soybeans have been trending higher the last two weeks. Wet weather in the eastern Corn Belt is enough to cause a weather scare and dry weather in South America has led to a short crop of soybeans. The U.S. corn crop will get planted and it will take until fall to figure out its size. The last several years have proved that the corn crop is resilient. The corn and soybean crop is south central Minnesota is in the best shape it has been for several years.
Good weather gives break to Indiana farmers
Indiana’s farmers made quick progress last week planting corn and soybeans thanks to good weather that dried out fields after several rainy weeks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 55 percent of Indiana’s corn had been planted as of Sunday. That’s up from 24 percent a week ago but 19 days behind the average pace.
Pork Producers Still Reeling from Misnaming of Flu, False Accusations
The Congressional Research Service has released a report which indicates 25 percent to 33 percent of U.S. hog producers may be adversely impacted by the A-H1N1 flu, originally called the “swine flu,” and the U.S. pork industry could lose up to $400 million in the next few months due to lower market prices. “Reduced demand for pork could have adverse ripple effects throughout the hog sector, resulting in production changes as producers respond to lower prices,” the report states. “Hog producers may choose to curtail planned farrowing and/or decrease their demand for weaned feeder pigs; or they may choose to liquidate or reduce herd sizes, if lower prices result in low/negative meat-to-feed profit margins.”
Filed under: News
Attached is a document we recently received that I thought might be of interest to your members. It includes a sample announcement that you might find useful, as well. Please feel free to distribute it as you wish.
Filed under: News
Add more ethanol to gasoline blends
Ethanol has already proven itself as a major player in our country’s effort to become energy independent and as an engine for economic development and job creation, especially in rural America. Much more, however, can be expected from this vital industry if action is taken to make a wider variety of ethanol-blended fuels available to the American public. A major stumbling block to increased ethanol production and use is an outdated Environmental Protection Agency regulation limiting the amount of ethanol in a gasoline blend to just
Purdue’s specialized ag training helps Guard aid Afghan farmers
After decades of turmoil, some farmers in Afghanistan are getting a helping hand from an Indiana National Guard unit trained to help them boost productivity. The 60-member unit, trained at Purdue University, arrived in March in Afghanistan’s Khost province, along the border with Pakistan. The unit’s mission is to help farmers regain the knowledge lost in the years since the former Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion, the subsequent civil war and the 2001 U.S. invasion that ended years of Taliban rule.
Farmers waiting on dry weather
Everyone likes to complain about the weather, but for area farmers, the wetter-than-normal spring is preventing the planting of the 2009 corn crop. The National Weather Service said central Indiana — the state’s prime corn growing region — had its wettest April in 45 years, with 7.23 inches of rain, or nearly 4 inches more than normal, falling in the Indianapolis area. The wet weather has not slowed any in May. “Stressful,” is how Miami County farmer Mike Morris described this spring. “We’re running out of time for our better yields.”
Purdue Receiving $20 Million for Energy Research Center
Purdue University will be the site of an Energy Frontier Research Center. The $20 million initiative is being funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The center will create at least 20 jobs in the state and will focus on finding more efficient and less expensive methods to produce biofuels. The Purdue-based center will collaborate with the University of Tennessee, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory.
