corn
US project tries to raise corn yield and farm income in Africa
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), aided by a giant U.S. seed company, "are testing a new approach to improve the production of corn among the millions of poor, small-scale farmers who dominate African agriculture," says the...
Growers plant 30 percent of US corn in one week
Farmers planted an eye-popping 30 percent of the corn crop, or more than 43,000 square miles of land, in the week ending on Sunday, according to USDA's Crop Progress report. After lagging for weeks due to rain, planting surged to reach the average pace of nearly 60 percent for this time of year. It is a remarkable leap but not uncommon.
“Little risk” of corn-for-ethanol to fall below 5 billion bushels
Ethanol makers are likely to need at least 5 billion bushels of corn for making the renewable fuel in the coming year despite the biofuel selling at a premium to gasoline, say economists Scott Irwin and Darrel Good of U-Illinois.
World grain stockpile heads for 15-year high, food prices flat
Swollen by record wheat and corn harvests, the global inventory of cereal grains will be the largest in 15 years, up 8 percent this year, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Low market prices could mean $6-$8 billion in corn subsidies
Two agricultural economists say corn subsidies could cost $6 to $8 billion for this year's record-large corn crop, says Reuters. The estimates are based on the projected U.S. average price of $3.50 a bushel for the crop, the price guarantees of the farm bill and...
Northern Plains grow a lot more grain than they used to
A huge increase in grain production in the Northern Plains over the past decade is an unspoken factor in the transportation snarls reported in the region, says economist David Widmar in the blog Agricultural Economic Insights.
Corn and soybean harvests enter final stages
Only a fraction of the corn and soybean crops are still in the field, says the weekly Crop Progress report. It says 89 percent of corn and 94 percent of soybeans have been harvested.
Doggett is named Corn Growers executive vice president
The National Corn Growers Association promoted Jon Doggett, its vice president of public policy since 2002, to the post of executive vice president, starting Jan 1.
FAO – Corn, rice, wheat must become more sustainable
New and more sustainable varieties of the three major food crops of the world, corn, rice and wheat, are needed to supply world food needs while conserving natural resources and withstanding climate change, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Persistent low prices to reduce US crop area by 5 percent
Farmers will scale back plantings of the eight major field crops by nearly 5 percent - a total of 12.3 million acres - over the next five years in response to sustained, lower commodity prices, projects the Agriculture Department. The biggest cutbacks would be in wheat, down 8 percent, and soybeans, down 7 percent, from this year's levels. Corn, the most widely grown crop in the nation, would drop by 1.5 percent.
Corn DNA strands could affect thousands of genes
A research team led by Florida State University identified four-stranded elements of DNA in corn that could affect thousands of genes, says an FSU release.
Dow will limit sales of GE seeds to avoid market disruptions
The developer of biotech corn and soybean varieties that tolerate 2,4-D and glyphosate pesticides said it is putting restriction on sales of the seeds to prevent the crops from moving into the marketing channel, said Reuters.
ADM sues Syngenta over rejected GE corn cargoes
ADM, the world's largest corn processor, sued Syngenta in state court in Louisiana over cargoes of corn rejected by China because they contained an unapproved Syngenta variety, said Bloomberg.
Armyworm resistant to GE corn is found in Southeast
Researchers confirmed that fall armyworms in North Carolina are resistant to a variety of corn genetically engineered to produce a protein toxic to the insects. It is the first documented occurrence of insect resistance to so-called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn in 18 years of use, said Entomology Today.
More lawsuits over Syngenta corn barred by China
Seed company Syngenta faces lawsuits by at least 130 farmers in 13 states over its MIR 162 strain of genetically engineered corn, says DTN. A judicial panel in Charleston, SC, is to decide on Dec 4 if the cases should be transferred to a single federal court...
Food price index dips, so does global grain outlook
Lower dairy and meat prices led to a decline in the world Food Price Index for the seventh month in a row, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Drought cuts China corn crop, Europe has record harvest
Serious drought cut yields sharply on as much as 15 percent of corn land in China, second to the United States as the world's top producer, says USDA. It estimates the harvest at 214 million tonnes, down 8 million tonnes from estimates made before the brunt of the dry weather was felt.
Are record US corn and soybean crops bigger than thought?
The government will raise its estimates of the U.S. corn and soybean crops modestly when it issues its new forecasts for the record-setting fall harvest, say traders in two surveys.
Corn earworm develop Bt resistance via unexpected genetic path
The corn earworm is a widespread crop pest, particularly in the U.S. South, and adept at quickly developing resistance to genetically engineered crops. Over time, researchers looking at lab-selected strains of earworm have identified 20 genes that harbor mutations conferring resistance to pest-killing proteins in so-called Bt crops, which have been genetically engineered to produce bacteria that repel the earworm.