The brutally cold arctic air that’s covered the U.S. at different times this winter has caused an unusually high buildup of ice in some of the nation’s waterways. Portions of the Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio Rivers that are open year-round have become smaller, or closed entirely, due to ice buildup. Mike Steenhoek of the Soy Transportation Coalition says it’s impacting …
Farm Futures Releases 2018 Planting Intentions Survey Results
Farm Futures magazine recently released its survey of 2018 planting intentions, which shows that farmers aren’t quite ready to make major changes to their crop rotations. However, they are going to plant more of what paid best in 2017. For the first time since 1983, farmers want to plant more soybeans than corn. Back then, the government’s PIK program idled …
Foliar Field Enhancements for Soybeans
Dr. Jim Dunphy, Soybean Extension Specialist with North Carolina State University, spoke at last week’s NC Commodities Conference, sharing his findings on Foliar Field Enhancement research covering the last several years. He says what he DIDN’T find may have been more important than what he DID find. Findings Dunphy is looking forward to learning the importance of uniform emergence on …
2018 Setting a Friendlier Tone for Commodities
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released reports that included World Ag Supply and Demand and 2017 Crop Production figures. The agency said American farmers posted an average of 176.6 bushel per acre after the 2017 corn harvest, bringing in a total of 14.604 billion bushels. The soybean harvest brought in 4.329 billion bushels, with an average yield of …
Corn Yield and Soybean Production Up in 2017
Winter Wheat Seedings and Grain Stocks also reported Across the Midwest, a lack of extreme heat helped boost the nation’s corn yield to its highest level on record – slightly above 2016. The nation’s soybean yield was down 6 percent from 2016, but production reached a record level due to record high acreage, according to the Crop Production 2017 Summary …
U.S. Crop Acreage Still Moving to Soybeans
Farmers in the United States have been slowly switching their cropland to just two field crops. Corn is king in the United States. Soybeans have been on a swift move upward. And wheat acreage has been on the decline for about 40 years. About half-way through those four decades two important things happened. Congress passed the 1996 farm bill – …
China Implementing New Import Requirements on U.S. Soybeans
U.S. soybean exports will undergo a new procedure to meet new phytosanitary requirements for shipping to China, starting on January first. A Bloomberg report discussed the new rules for American soybean shipments. The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says the new procedure applies to both bulk and container shipments of raw and unprocessed American soybeans to China. APHIS …
U.S. Soy Losing Ground in Race to Feed Livestock
Compared to other soybean-supplying countries around the world, the protein content of U.S. soybeans is losing ground. A Bloomberg report says the world is eating more meat, poultry, and dairy products than ever, but U.S. farmers may be losing some ground to Brazil in the competition to feed the world’s animals. South America and Europe expanded their soybean sales this …
New Procedures for U.S. Soybean Exports to China
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is making U.S. soybean farmers and exporters aware of a new procedure to comply with China’s phytosanitary import requirements. The new procedure, which applies to both bulk and container shipments of raw, unprocessed soybeans to China, goes into effect January 1, 2018, and is necessary to maintain …
Less Corn Acreage More Soybeans Predicted for 2018
2018 should see less corn acreage worldwide—that according to U.S. market analyst Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics. Acreage Fewer corn plantings and more soybean plantings seem likely to pressure soybean market prices lower. That, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts record soybean acres in 2018 in the United States. Meanwhile, Zuzolo says soybean demand, which has been increasing, …