Corn, soybean and wheat prices are up while cotton prices are mixed for the week. The March U.S. Dollar Index traded before the close at 79.51, up .28 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was up 141 points for the week at 12,942. Crude Oil traded before the close at 102.98 a barrel, up 4.31 a barrel for the week. Prices are up this week despite strength of the Dollar which is buoyed by events in Europe. Continue reading →

I’ve had a couple of calls related to the use of insecticides for cutworms. No-till and late burndown applications that allow weeds to persist in the field are factors that increase the chances of cutworm infestations. It is best to maintain a clean seedbed for at least two and preferably three weeks prior to planting. This will go a long way in eliminating the chances of cutworm problems, but it is sometimes easier said than done. Continue reading →

As you know, we have been working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts (TACD) to develop a program to highlight the impact of herbicide resistant weeds on agriculture.  It appears that some cost share incentives will be offered to those farmers with “Herbicide Resistant Weed Management Plans”.

However, these plans must be written by qualified “Technical Service Providers” (TSPs) and since this is a new program, there are currently no TSPs to write the plans.  A training program has been pulled together over the past few days to offer TSP training to any consultant interested. Continue reading →

There’s a slight change to the annual University of Tennessee Cotton Focus. This year it will be held in conjunction with the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show in Memphis, Tennessee.  The Gin Show takes place on March 2-3, with the UT Cotton Focus scheduled for Continue reading →

The National Cotton Council released their annual producer cotton planting intentions survey today with cotton producers suggesting that they will plant 13.63 million acres in 2012, down 1.1 million acres or 7.5% from 2011. This is slightly higher than the 13.5 million acres number that has been bantered around. The breakdown is 13.34 million acres of upland cotton (down 7.5% from 2011) and 287,000 acres of extra-long stable (down 6.4% from 2011). Continue reading →

Corn, cotton, and wheat prices are all down while soybean prices are mixed for the week. The March U.S. Dollar Index traded before the close at 79.24, up .18 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was down 107 points for the week at 12,755. Crude Oil closed at 98.82 a barrel, up .98 a barrel for the week. USDA updated their monthly Supply & Demand report on February 9 and for the most part was a neutral report with the exception of cotton where ending stocks increased rather than decrease. Continue reading →

This table should be used as a guide as yields, prices, and expenses will vary among producers and locations. This table looks at crop prices as of February 9, 2012 for 2012 and can give a glimpse of what crop profitability is in Tennessee as of this date. Continue reading →

Corn

In today’s report, ending stocks were lowered 45 million bushels to 801 million bushels and a 6.3% stock to use ratio. The trade was expecting stocks of 797 million bushels. Adjustments were a 5 million bushel increase in imports and a 50 million bushel increase in exports with reduced supplies in Argentina and recent increases in both sales and shipments. The season average price is projected to range from $5.80 to $6.60 a bushel, narrowed 10 cents on both ends. Global corn stocks decreased 109.8 million bushels from last month to 4.935 billion bushels on mainly lower production in Argentina and Paraguay. The global stocks to use ratio is projected to be 14.5%, the tightest since 1973/74. Continue reading →

Warm weather this winter has many wheat fields progressing at a faster than normal pace. Several questions have been asked recently if we are setting up for a repeat of the 2007 Easter freeze. Continue reading →

The question has been asked how to manage fields with heavy infestations of glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth that will be planted to cotton. Continue reading →

Comments and prices are through Thursday, February 2, 2012. Corn and wheat prices are up while cotton and soybean prices are mixed for the week. The March U.S. Dollar Index closed on Thursday at 79.11, up .10 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Thursday up 47 points for the week at 12,707. Crude Oil closed at 96.60 a barrel, down 2.96 a barrel for the week. The market continues to watch the weather and production prospects in South America while the U.S. Dollar ebbs and flows with Europe’s latest financial news. Continue reading →

I wrote last week on managing heavy glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth infested fields in a corn rotation.  Several have commented that this leads to the next question of how to manage these fields going back into conventional, Roundup Ready or Liberty Link soybeans. Continue reading →