1. FarmPolicy » Blog Archives » Policy Issues; Ag Economy; and, Regulations- Tuesday
“AP writer Steve Karnowski reported yesterday that, ‘The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $328 million in funding Monday to protect and restore farmlands, grasslands and wetlands across the country.
‘The initiative, using money provided in the new five-year farm bill, will buy conservation easements from farmers to protect the environment, help wildlife populations and promote outdoor recreation, the USDA said in its announcement. The agency selected 380 projects nationwide covering 32,000 acres of prime farmland, 45,000 acres of grasslands and 52,000 acres of wetlands.’”
Agricultural Economy / Farm Bill / Regulations
2. Bayer breaks ground on Wheat Breeding Centre in Canada-Bayer, wheat breeding centre, disease resistance, Canada, laboratories
“As part of its ongoing commitment to innovation in Canadian agriculture, Bayer CropScience broke ground on its new Wheat Breeding Centre. The facility is being established to research wheat breeding with a focus on yield, disease resistance and other agronomic benefits, to develop seed varieties that can be utilized by Canadian farmers.
‘Continued investment in wheat breeding programs is critical to providing Canadian farmers with the solutions they need to meet growing demands for wheat and to further increase their competitive edge in the global market environment,’ said Dr. Marcus Weidler, Seeds Business Operations Manager for Bayer CropScience. ‘Our new state-of-the-art Wheat Breeding Centre will be a significant step forward, giving Bayer CropScience the ability to develop the best suited varieties and hybrids for the Canadian farmers.’
The site, located 25 minutes Southwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the rural municipality of Montrose, was chosen due to its proximity to a variety of different growing regions and conditions in Western Canada. It is recognized as the heartland of wheat production in Canada, with all classes of wheat represented. The Centre is part of Bayer CropScience’s ongoing investment in Canadian agriculture following the expansion of its Canola Breeding Centre of Innovation in 2009.”
Good for BCS.
3. FMC Corporation Announces Agreement to Acquire Cheminova for $1.8 Billion-FMC, agreement, Cheminova, acquire, Auriga
“Brondeau added that Cheminova brings complementary technologies in insecticides and herbicides, significantly enhances FMC’s fungicide portfolio and adds a growing micronutrient business. ‘Cheminova has a portfolio of more than 60 active ingredients, over 2,300 registrations and a pipeline of active ingredients currently under development. It is the addition of this broad suite of technology that is particularly exciting to us, and we firmly expect to increase our pace of new product launches in the coming seasons as a direct result of adding Cheminova’s capabilities to ours,’ said Brondeau.”
FMC continues to ramp up its business. Cheminova, another smaller player (and the only one based in Denmark) becomes another merger and acquisition.
4. Preliminary Results – 2014 Spring Wheat FHB Survey | Crop Chatter
“MAFRD Farm Production Advisors have been conducting the annual Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) Survey in spring wheat, in conjunction with the Crops Knowledge Centre and Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (Morden).
Preliminary 2014 results in Spring Wheat. In spring wheat, the 10-year average FHB Index rating is 2.9% (2003-2012). While not all data is inputted for the 2014 season, preliminary results show a FHB Index of 0.8% for spring wheat, which is significantly lower than FHB levels in the 2014 winter wheat crop, and lower than the 10 year average in spring wheat. Results of previous plant disease surveys are available on the Canadian Plant Disease Survey website.
The final results for the 2014 FHB Survey in Spring Wheat will be released in the coming weeks. Results from the winter wheat survey.
Submitted by: Pam de Rocquigny, Provincial Cereal Crops Specialist”
5. Winter Wheat Seeding – A History of Crop Chatter Posts | Crop Chatter
” It is that time of year again where producers are making plans to seed winter wheat. There have been numerous posts on Crop Chatter regarding winter wheat production over the past year and I’ve summarized the most relevant ones to seeding below:
- Top Tips for Seeding Winter Wheat
- What impact can rotation have on winter wheat yields?
- What happens if I do seed my winter wheat deeper than 1 inch?
- Can I seed winter wheat into spring wheat stubble?
- Wheat Streak Mosaic & the ‘Green Bridge’
Submitted by: Pam de Rocquigny, MAFRD Cereal Crops Specialist”
6. Weak Aussie Canola Prospects May Hurt 2015 Sowings | Agrimoney.com
“Industry experts cautioned over the threat from dry weather to Australian canola production – both this season and next – even as they proved more upbeat on output prospects than commodity officials.
The Australian canola crop requires rainfall at least to meet average levels over the next two months, ‘critical’ for yield potential, the Australian Oilseeds Federation said, noting the damage to eastern crops in particular from dryness.
‘The poor winter rainfall over much of the growing regions has left the crops in need of moisture coming into the critical spring flowering time,’ the federation said.
In some areas, ‘severe frosts’, which have ‘led to loss of cereal crops’, have also ‘impaired the flowering potential for canola’.”
7. Firm Dollar, Reduced Frost Ideas Keep Pressure On Grain Prices | Agrimoney.com
“It is Tuesday, the day of the week associated in Chicago with turnarounds in grain futures prices. But not this time.
Futures in corn, soybeans and wheat fell back close to contract lows, under continued pressure from a less threatening US weather outlook, besides the stronger dollar, which made a little further ground in early deals, setting a fresh 14-month high against a basket of currency.
A stronger dollar undermines prices of dollar-denominated exports, such as many commodities, by making them less affordable to buyers in other currencies.
Frost threat
As for the prospect of a US frost, while cooler weather is on its way, the threat to crops continues to look less than it did on Friday, when freeze fears lifted prices.
Not that the risk is zero, and much higher for Canada.
‘Freezing conditions over much of Canada are highly likely this week,’ said Brian Henry at Benson Quinn Commodities.
Another US broker said: ‘The latest GFS weather model raised temperatures slightly but still has the potential for temperatures to dip as low as 28 degrees Fahrenheit in Canada, Montana, and North Dakota.’
However, Terry Reilly at Chicago-based Futures International highlighted how weather models had reduced the idea of a ‘large cold air pocket for Thursday into Friday’, while slowing the ‘advancement of the coldest air across the northern Plains into the Midwest later this week’.”
- Crop Ratings
- Data ahead
- ‘Virtually no supply shortages’
- Declining rating
- Signs of demand
8. Snow on Standing Canola. What to do? – Agronomic Resources – Alberta Canola Producers Commission
“The key harvest management issue with snow on standing canola concerns not so much the precipitation (although heavy snow can cause lodging) but the frost that comes with it.
The common scenarios growers face with the snow on standing canola are:
- Canola is immature when snow falls
- Canola is ready to swath when snow falls.
- Canola left standing for straight combining is hit with snow.
Here is a description of each scenario, along with some tips to help with decision making:”
9. PODCAST – Fall Disease Scouting In Canola – Agronomic Resources – Alberta Canola Producers Commission
“September 9, 2014
Clint Jurke discusses scouting your fields in the fall and what to consider when selecting varieties for next year.”
10. Canola Closes Down Only Slightly – The Western Producer
“The constant dampness and encroaching cold spell in Western Canada are having little impact on wheat futures prices.
Price action is mostly left to the cash elevator markets that will dominate real-world deliveries of the widely-varying crop.
But the snow today in Alberta and forcast for repeated frosts this week supported canola futures, which have held up better than U.S. soybean or soybean oil futures, regardless of their minor decline Monday.
While soybean futures fell 13 cents per bushel in nearby months on Monday, canola fell only a penny or two. Canola was also cushioned by a sharp drop in the value of the Canadian dollar.
Much of North America’s hard red spring wheat crop is stuck in the field, damp and cold, but damage to quality isn’t showing up in futures prices.
Austin Damiani, a broker with Frontier Futures in Minneapolis, said futures markets still believe the bulk of the crop will eventually e harvested and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange contract isn’t too sensitive to quality concerns.”
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