Red River Farm Network News
Mad Dash to Get the Crop Planted — Assuming the weather straightens out, Darryl Berg at Walhalla Bean Company says growers priority will be sugarbeets. He’s wondering if any dry edible beans will get planted before June 1st. "It's going to be tough. A lot of growers don't have all of their wheat in or their other crops," Berg said, "It's going to be a mad dash that's for sure."
Planting Progress Takes a Step Backwards — Curt Kirking at Cavalier Bean Company, says farmers planting progress has gone backwards. Kirking thinks corn has now become a non-issue up north. "With the insurance dates that are involved with that and looking at it, it's going to be at least a week before we get into any of this with all the inundation of water," Kirking said, "I'd be skeptical, but farmers are always optimistic."
Johnson Leaves Techmark, Joins Black Gold Farms — Techmark is looking for a replacement for Damon Johnson. After nine years with Techmark, Johnson has taken the job of Red River Valley ag manager for Black Gold Farms. As Techmark searches for a new regional manager for storage ventilation, they have enlisted the help of retired Extension potato agent Duane Preston to cover the territory through this fall’s harvest.
Rain Puts Producers Further Behind — In the Drayton, North Dakota area, Scott Weinlaeder doesn’t have as much planted as he’d like to see. Weinlaeder says the area was wet last fall so they were behind from the start. "Some growers left some beets in the ground and they seeded soybeans or wheat into those beets. When it's dry it's not so bad, but when it gets wet like this I'm not sure how that's going to work," Weinlaeder said, "All the growers want to get their crop planted, it's just a matter of what kind of weather we get to make that advantageous."
Senate Committee Passes Immigration Legislation — On a 13-5 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee has passed immigration reform legislation. The bill is expected to come before the full Senate next month. For agriculture, the new farm worker program would replace the current H-2A program and provide a long-term path to legal status for undocumented workers.
Burning Ban Lifted for Majority of Minnesota — With the recent moisture, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has lifted the burning ban on all or parts of 32 counties. That includes a large part of northwest Minnesota. Restrictions remain in Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, Roseau and north Beltrami counties.
Asgrow/DEKALB Adds DSMs — Asgrow/DEKALB has added three new district sales managers in North Dakota. They are Jacob Prather in Jamestown, Jamie Pulkrabek in Blanchard and Tim Leshuk in Hillsboro.
Argentine Farmers to Plant More Wheat — High wheat prices, a government tax rebate plan and expected good weather are expected to prompt Argentine farmers to plant 40 percent more wheat this season, compared to last year. Agriculture Secretary Lorenzo Basso tells Reuters that wheat acreage will be close to 4.5 million hectares, or 1.3 million more than last year’s record-low acreage.
Get the Latest Weather Information on Your Smartphone — The North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network is offering real-time data that can be viewed from any web browsing device, including mobile devices. North Dakota State Climatologist Adnan Akyuz says the real-time service is currently available at 19 of NDAWN’s 72 stations. "Farmers are going to be able to use their smartphones to look at the latest weather data updated every 10 minutes without calling the stations" Akyuz said, "this is available to 19 stations." For information on how to link an NDAWN’s 10 minute data page to a smart phone visit the NDAWN website.
Rain Delay Raises Concern — Even before this rain, farmers were already running behind schedule. Bill Ongstad near Harvey, in central North Dakota, is concerned. "We're 10 percent done with corn and 90 percent done with wheat, now we're going to be delayed another week," Ongstad said, "It's starting to be a concern. My son just told me that we're not going to panic yet, we're going to plant our corn up until June 1. For the wheat, we only need another day-and-a-half."
Some Producers Adjust Planting Plans — With the moisture, some planting plans are being adjusted. Winfield marketing manager Mark Torno says that is evident across northern North Dakota. "I've had some interest in committing to canola; not a lot of people but a few people that haven't traditionally planted corn that are considering coming back to canola," Torno said, "We've also moved back some of those canola dates. I think people have seen that late planting canola can be quit profitable, whether the insurance is there or not."
Watch for Insects After Rain —
University of Minnesota North West Research and Outreach Extension Center entomologist Ian MacRae reminds farmers to be vigilant for insects after this rainy spell. "A lot of the stuff that might not show up until later in the year might be here earlier than we might expect," MacRae said, "Then again, we haven't had a lot of accumulation of heat units and insects, that overwinter here, respond the same way to heat units as plants do, so they may show up a little later than we would typically suspect."
With Updated Rental Rates, CRP is More Competitive — The latest sign-up period for the Conservation Reserve Program is underway. Pheasants Forever vice president of government affairs Dave Nomsen is optimistic, saying there still is demand for CRP. "CRP is struggling a bit with high land values, record commodity prices and those type of things. But there are still acres out there where the single best use should be conservation," Nomsen said, "A lot of the new CRP is targeted to smaller tracts of land that can fit within farming operations. Plus we've had the rental rates updated, so it's worth checking out to see what the rates are. I think we're going to find they are a little more competitive than they have been in the past."
Support Needed to Defeat Bad Amendments, Hoeven says —
Unlike some other Midwest Republicans, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven voted for the farm bill approved by the Agriculture Committee, and now on the Senate floor. Hoeven says he’ll need the support of southern senators to defeat some bad amendments. "I'm trying to bring the whole team together. I want to make sure our producers are well represented, and they are, in this bill. At the same time I'm trying to bring everybody together that's going to be necessary to get it passed in the necessary. I expect some challenging amendments on the Senate floor that we're going to need to defeat," Hoeven said, "I expect that there will be a run at sugar. Ironically that comes from the states that manufacture candy. They think that they're trying to get a lower price for sugar and the irony is that the price for sugar in the United States is lower than the world price; on a long-term basis they're better off because of the sugar program we have. That's the message that we have to take forward."
Minnesota Legislative Session Ends — The 2013 Minnesota legislative session has come to a close. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton says the new budget “puts fairness back in the system.” The plan increases the tax obligation for the richest two percent of Minnesotans. Property tax relief totals $441 million. House Agriculture Policy Committee Chair Jeanne Poppe says the budget also provides significant support for the agriculture economy. That includes $1.4 million in additional funding for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and investment in the so-called AGRI fund.
Event Focused on Telling Agriculture's Story to Consumers — The US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance is preparing for Food Dialogues: Chicago. USFRA board member Lisa Luntz, who farms at Wakefield, Nebraska, says this event is designed to reach consumers and other centers of influence. "All of us in agriculture need to have those conversations with people in your town, people on an airplane and anyone we can talk to," Luntz said, "Tell them what you do and how you're producing food, because there's such a disconnect between the producer and the person going to the grocery store to buy food." Food Dialogues: Chicago will be held June 19th. Farmers and ranchers can learn more at food dialogues.com or on the USFRA Facebook page.
Court Rules in Favor of Roundup Ready Alfalfa — The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Monsanto and USDA’s deregulation of Roundup Ready alfalfa. The Center for Food Safety, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups filed the appeal action, claiming the biotech alfalfa was harmful to endangered species. The activist groups also said the Plant Protection Act was violated because Roundup Ready alfalfa was not considered as a noxious weed. The courts did not agree with that argument. In a statement, Monsanto said “growers can be confident of their right to make their own decisions about the crops they want to plant and harvest.”
Name Change for Premium Standard Farms — The swine company, Premium Standard Farms, has changed its name and is now known as Murphy-Brown of Missouri. Murphy Brown is a hog production subsidiary of Smithfield Foods.
North Dakota APUC Awards Funding — The North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission has awarded funding requests for six projects totaling more than $332,000. Cloverdale Foods Company of Mandan was awarded $101,000 to defray costs associated with its Big Flavor Tour, including promotional equipment, meat, and digital media efforts. Great Plains Processing, LLC was awarded $81,000 to assist Northern Plains Grain and Milling’s efforts to help North Dakota farmers in the marketing of specialty crops. Velva Development Corporation gets $61,000 to defray the costs of examining a potential livestock auction facility.
Grandin, Loula Join Tyson Foods Advisory Panel — Tyson Foods has formed an independent animal well-being advisory panel. This panel includes animal care expert and Colorado State University professor Temple Grandin, Minnesota swine veterinarian Dr. Tim Loula and former USDA undersecretary for food safety Richard Raymond.
Pederson Named US Canola Association President —
At the recent annual meeting of the US Canola Association, Ryan Pederson of Rolette, North Dakota was elected president. Pederson is the past president, and current secretary/treasurer of the Northern Canola Growers Association. The new president of the Northern Canola Growers Association is Jon Wert from New England, North Dakota. Pat Murphy from Minot is the vice-president.
Corn Matters — The Minnesota Corn Growers Association presents a weekly update on the Red River Farm Network. This broadcast can be found at http://rrfn.com/indepth/051313%20MN%20Corn%20Matters%20Harrison.mp3
AURI Innovations — The Minnesota Agricultural Utilization Research Institute aims to bring innovation from idea to reality. In this update, hear from AURI director of planning and government relations Dan Skogen, http://rrfn.com/indepth/051713%20AURI%20Skogen%20Hot%20Sauce.MP3
Soybean Minute — To hear this week's North Dakota Soybean Minute, click http://rrfn.com/indepth/051613%20ND%20Soybean%20Minute.mp3
Incognito Dry Bean Report —
To listen to this week's Incognito Dry Bean Report, click http://rrfn.com/indepth/051313%20MANA%20173%20Week%209.mp3
MFU Legislative Minute — To hear this week's Minnesota Farmers Union Legislative Minute, click http://rrfn.com/indepth/051613%20MFU%20Leg%20Minute.mp3
Download the RRFN Smartphone App —
The Red River Farm Network has launched a new smartphone app for iPhone, iPad and Android users. The RRFN app delivers the power of the Red River Farm Network agriculture journalism team to your fingertips. Farm news, weather, market analysis, agronomy information and the latest RRFN broadcast is now available anytime, anywhere. The features of the RRFN app include the latest radio broadcast and news headlines. World Weather, Inc. ag meteorologist Drew Lerner, who provides agriculture forecasts on the Red River Farm Network, will be featured on this app. In addition, agronomic information and commentary from leading market analysts will be found on the RRFN app. The Red River Farm Network app can be downloaded from the Apple Store or from Google Play.
Soybean Update — To hear this past week's edition of the Minnesota Soybean Update, click on http://rrfn.com/indepth/051613MN%20Soybean%20Update%20Ziegler.mp3
Canola Minute — For this week's edition of the Canola Minute from the Northern Canola Growers Association, go to http://rrfn.com/indepth/051513%20Canola%20Minute%20Sheri.mp3
Last Week's Trivia — In the movie 'Sandlot, Scotty Smalls and his neighborhood baseball team try to recover a Babe Ruth autographed baseball from the Beast. Joseph Stinar of the Risk Management Agency was the first in with the correct answer and is our weekly trivia winner. Marla Thissen of McLeod County Extension, Jim Altringer of Columbia Grain, Nick Shockman of Larson Grain Company, and Keith Rekow of Dairyland Seed earn runners-up honors. RRFN's 'first 20' rounds out with North Dakota FFA State Advisor Steve Zimmerman, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen, David Fairbourn of the United States Potato Board, Mandy Kvale of Farm Credit Services of Mandan, Kristal Rick of SES VanderHave, Tim Dufault of Prairie Grains Magazine, Paul Coppin of Reynolds United Co-op, Ryan Locke of Novoyzymes BioAg, Pat Kearney of AMPI, Dan Sartell of Wensman Seed, Brenda Christensen of Swanson Russell, Kathy Noll of Noll's Dairy Farm, Grand Forks County Extension Agent Willie Huot, Rene Scheurer of Betaseed, and Kevin Schulz of The Land.