corn crop
Study: GE crops not driving herbicide-resistant weeds, but still cause for concern
In a new study, published in the December 2017 issue of the journal Weed Science, University of Wyoming weed scientist Andrew Kniss finds that GE corn does not produce increased herbicide resistance in weeds relative to non-GE crops, but that soybean and cotton plantings do — but only to a limited extent. (No paywall)
In shadow of NAFTA talks, a campaign for corn grown in Mexico
Mexico is the largest customer for U.S. corn exports, and with negotiations under way for a new NAFTA there is "a grassroots and political push" in Mexico for larger domestic farm production, says Cronkite News. The initiative is partly a response to President Trump's anti-NAFTA and anti-Mexico statements and partly a desire for more self-reliance.
U.S. corn stockpile swells by half a billion bushels in one year
U.S. grain bins hold the largest stockpile of corn in three decades — 32-percent larger than a year ago — and there will be little chance to reduce it given that a bumper crop is being harvested this fall. The outlook suggests comparatively low market prices through late 2018 at a minimum, possibly adding to pressure for larger federal supports as Congress writes the new farm bill.
Midwest crop tour finds great variability in potential corn yields
In their first day in the field, crop scouts found "extreme variability" in the outlook for corn yields in Ohio, Indiana, South Dakota and Nebraska, said the Farm Journal, which sponsored the tour. The tour will provide a ground-level test of USDA's Aug. 10 forecast of a 14.2-billion-bushel crop, the third largest on record.
On the horizon: Huge corn and soy crops, low market prices
The U.S. corn and soybean crops will be slightly larger than expected, mammoth production that would assure lackluster commodity prices far into 2018, according to a USDA survey of growers. With normal weather and yields, the corn and soybean harvests would be the second-largest on record and would be piled on top of stockpiles that have been growing since the 2012 drought.
Cool, rainy spring delays corn planting, lowers crop rating
Just 65 percent of the U.S. corn crop was rated in good or excellent condition in the USDA’s first assessment of the year. That figure came in well below the 72 percent rating at the end of May 2016, when farmers were headed for a record-setting harvest.
Rain slows corn planting; impact on acreage is unclear
Widespread rain has slowed corn planting this spring, especially in the powerhouse states of the Midwest, says the USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report.
U.S. farmers chase soybean profits, keep land in production
Instead of idling some land because of low commodity prices, farmers are plunging into soybeans, which have taking an ever-larger share of U.S. farmland. In a USDA survey, growers said they will plant a record 88.5 million acres of soybeans this spring, 7 percent more than a year ago because they offer a better chance of a profit than corn or wheat.
Big drop in U.S. wheat crop driven by smallest plantings since 1919
U.S. farmers will plant the smallest amount of land to wheat, 46 million acres, since record keeping began in 1919, the USDA projected at its annual Outlook Forum. Wheat has lost ground to corn and soybeans, which offer higher yields per acre and more potential for profit, for more than three decades.
Never mind the threats, U.S. corn has the lowest price in Mexico
According to one of the world's largest grain traders, the biggest advantage the United States holds in the Trump administration's war of words with Mexico is this: U.S. corn is the best deal. DTN says chief executive Soren Schroeder, of Bunge Ltd., told analysts during a teleconference, "The extent to which there is any switching that takes place to South America, frankly, it all depends on price. And at the moment, it doesn't work."
Mexico heads for record corn crop for second year in a row
One of the top importers of U.S. corn, Mexico is forecast to harvest a record 26 million tonnes of the crop during the 2016/17 crop year, thanks to larger plantings and favorable rainfall, says USDA's World Agricultural Production report. The crop would exceed the mark set last season of 25.9 million tonnes.
Chinese company aims for U.S. sales of GMO corn seed
Origin Agritech Ltd., based in Beijing, has planted biotech corn seeds in a U.S. greenhouse, "an early step toward launching China's first GMO corn products in the United States," said Reuters. The next step, field tests of seed that resist insect and herbicide damage, are scheduled for the summer, according to the company.
Brazil, a big U.S. rival, heads for record corn crop
A late-season drought slashed Brazilian corn production 20 percent earlier this year, but the USDA's early forecast is for a startling rebound for 2016/17, with a record crop of 86.5 million tonnes within reach.
Colorado county votes to bar GMO crops on public land
Over the next few years, farmers who rent land from Boulder County, CO, will have to phase out genetically modified corn and sugarbeet crops, said the Boulder Daily Camera. County commissioners voted 2-1 for the ban, and said research into the benefits and drawbacks of GMOs and conventionally bred seeds can proceed concurrently with the phase-out.
Mammoth U.S. crops get larger still, exceed domestic and export demand
For the third month in a row, the USDA said the record-setting U.S. corn and soybean crops are bigger than expected. At 15.2 billion bushels, the corn crop is roughly a billion bushels larger than the 2014 record and the soybean crop, now pegged at 4.36 billion bushels, is 10-percent larger than the previous mark, also set in 2014.
Corn prices stall below $4 with few paths for an increase
For the past 27 months, farmers have been paid less than $4 a bushel for their corn crops, "and prices below $4 are expected to persist well into 2017," says economist Darrel Good of the University of Illinois. There are only two paths that could lead to higher prices, he says at farmdoc Daily: a drop-off in South America or a much smaller U.S. crop in the new year.
Informa: U.S. to plant more soybeans, less corn and wheat, in 2017
U.S. growers will plant a record 88.5 million acres of soybeans in 2017, up nearly 6 percent from the mark set this year and pointing toward the second crop in a row to exceed 4 billion bushels in the estimation of Informa, a private consulting company, reports Reuters. The USDA forecasts a record soybean crop this year of 4.27 billion bushels, far exceeding demand and driving down prices for the coming year.
New to U.S., bacterial leaf stripe hits corn in nine states
A corn disease that originated in South Africa, bacterial leaf stripe, has been found in the heart of the Corn Belt with little known about how it spreads or its affect on yields, says DTN. The disease has been identified in field corn, seed corn, popcorn and sweet corn in nine states from South Dakota to Texas.