http://www.rrfn.com en-us Copyright© 2012 Red River Farm Network Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:59:30 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5159 Drew Lerner, agricultural meteorologist with World Weather, Inc., expects the current dry bias to continue.  “As we get into March and April, we will see a little bit more of an enhanced jet stream that will bring more storminess across portions of the country, but it looks to me like we will also have a colder than usual bias playing out in those weeks and we’ll probably end up keeping the jet stream just a little too far to the south to bring meaningful moisture across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest; we’ll probably continue to see a below average precipitation bias prevailing across the region.” Lerner thinks the planting season will likely enjoy good conditions, but shortly thereafter, a developing high pressure ridge may surpress moisture for the summer months. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5149 A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected a bid by MF Global commodity customers for special priority status in the Chapter 11 case. The judge ruled that, under the bankruptcy code, the court does not have the power to grant the relief requested, and said commodity customers failed to allege any facts to support their motion. The Associated Press reports than unnamed investigators have located almost all of the $1.2 billion first reported missing when MF Global went under. The money has reportedly been tracked to other customer accounts and banks. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5155 The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the sale of Huskie Complete herbicide for post-emergence use on spring wheat, winter wheat and durum. Bayer CropScience says Huskie Complete has an active ingredient new to cereals, controls key grass weeds, as well as more than 50 broadleaf weeds. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5108 Ten members of the Federation of State Beef Councils and Ten members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board make up the Beef Promotion Operating Committee. This committee is responsible for all beef checkoff expenditures. For only the second time in the history of the checkoff, a North Dakotan has been nominated to serve on this committee—Jerry Effertz of Velva. What’s the priority for this group? "I think the challenge is how we deal with our declining dollars; we are dependent on that dollar checkoff and as our herds decline, we're going to have to be more efficient and prioritize more carefully on how we spend those dollars."  A ago, there was some head-butting between NCBA and the beef checkoff. Effertz credits NCBA President Bill Donald for change in attitude that is evident this year. "This convention certainly is a reflection of that," said Effertz, "There is an extraordinary change in attitude; there is a much more positive attitude of let's discuss our issues and move on; we have a lot more challenges in dealing with environmental, promotional and other issues than what we have to with our internal debates." RRFN's coverage of the Cattle Industry Convention is sponsored, in part, by Croplan Genetics Alfalfa and Forage Products.   Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5160 Sugarbeet growers are being told to diversify their use of herbicides to protect the Roundup Ready system. Extension sugarbeet weed specialist Jeff Stachler says giant ragweed, common ragweed, and waterhemp are resistant to glyphosate. Waterhemp is described as the enemy. “For the sugarbeet grower, it may cost them; it may go from $12 dollars an acre for three applications of glyphosate and Roundup Ready sugarbeets to upwards of $145 or more per acre to manage this, based on our research." Stachler’s advice to growers is diversify, scout, react, and stop weed seed production.  “Waterhemp is actually capable of producing five million seeds on a single plant, and I collected a plant in Moorhead last fall and it produced 644,000 seed on one single plant.” Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5099 The cattle industry is enjoying record prices, driven primarily, but low supplies. North Dakota Stockmen’s Association executive director Julie Ellingson says a state stakeholder’s group is working on ways to rebuild that herd. This group "will look at the trends for transition planning, what current producers are looking at for years to come and the imediments to growth," said Ellingson, "We think the results of this survey will give us a better idea of the challenges and policy direction to help us move forward and help the next generation enter our industry." This project is a joint effort of the NDSA, the North Dakota Beef Commission, North Dakota State University, NDSU Extension, North Dakota Corn Growers Association and the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association. Ellingson says a collaborative effort is needed to address the supply situation with cattle numbers at a 60-year low. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5154 A project to make ethanol from energy beets is taking another step forward, thanks to a two-year grant from the North Dakota Renewable Energy Council. The $1 million, phase II, project includes $500,000 from the Renewable Energy Council, with approval from the North Dakota Industrial Commission, plus cash-match funds from industry partners Betaseed and Syngenta, and other in-kind contributions. The public-private partnership includes the Green Vision Group and Heartland Renewable Energy, with plans to develop at least a dozen ethanol facilities across North Dakota. NDSU’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, and the Carrington Research Extension Center will continue to provide research for the project. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5140 Recent research done by Pioneer Hi-Bred shows corn grown in rotation with soybeans requires less nitrogen fertilizer than continuous corn, while producing higher average yields per acre. John Shanahan, Pioneer agronomy research manager, says corn residue acts like a sponge immobilizing the fertilizer, making it temporarily unavailable to the corn plant. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5157 The USDA announced the general signup for the Conservation Reserve Program. “We’re at about 30 million acres today, and again, that’s why we’re announcing this general signup to get as many acres re-enrolled in a CRP program as we possibly can," said Acting Undersecretary Michael Scuse. Scuse says the goal of the CRP program signup is to stay as close to the 32 million acres cap as possible. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://rrfn.com/news.php#5156 Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow has scheduled four farm bill hearings, beginning Wednesday February 15th.  The first hearing will evaluate policies dealing with the energy and economic growth title. The conservation title will be the topic of the hearing scheduled for February 29th, the food and nutrition title is the topic of the hearing scheduled for March 14th and risk management and commodities is the topic of the hearing scheduled for March 21st. 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