“If you don’t turn into ‘Air Jordan’, we’re
going to blow you out!” – Ervin “Magic” Johnson to his Dream Team counterpart
Michael “Air” Jordan
In preparation for the 1992 Olympics, the U.S. Dream Team basketball coaches conducted
several internal full-game scrimmages to keep the competition at a high level
and focused since most of the games were forecasted to be very lack-luster. Well, as you can imagine, the trash talking
escalated and Magic thought he would rub a little salt into his scrimmage
opponent’s wound as Magic’s side got a big lead early in one of the games. Magic continued his story by describing the
most memorable dunk he has ever witnessed, and it came from Jordan in response
to the verbal jab. Unfortunately, there
are no stats or game highlights to reference, but here’s a great entertaining
clip of Magic himself telling the story!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcDBJJkWvDk&feature=share
Weather and Corn Development
Despite
the below average conditions over the past 10 days to two weeks, the weather
again looks to change with some near 50F temps towards the end of this week. For many operations, harvest is complete and
it’s primarily the very large operations that have some corn and/or sunflower
acreage still standing in the field.
Even
though we may hit 50F this coming weekend, the GDD accumulation will be very
minor. When conditions are like this,
it’s common to only experience 1-2 points of moisture loss per month, or ¼ to ½
a point per week. If you have corn
and/or sunflowers still in the field, it’s best to assume that very little
natural drying will occur for the remainder of the autumn. The good news is that reports on corn grain
moisture content remain in the upper teens (15-18%) primarily.
I’ll count on your weather app
for the best guidance through the 7-8 day forecast, but looking beyond that,
I’ve found this site from NOAA to be fairly reliable for a general 8-14 day
outlook (next week). https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/index.php
For the first week in November,
the forecast is to have significantly greater chances of above average temperatures
and below average precipitation.
The NOAA group
also provides three month outlooks. If
we would like to get a general forecast for the first three months of spring
2021 (Mar-Apr-May), it can be seen here: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/...
This forecast
currently predicts below average temperatures for our region, while also calling
for equal chances on the precipitation outlook (equal chances of being above or
below average).
US Crop
Progress
The US corn harvest continues to click along
at a robust pace with approximately 72% of the nation’s corn crop in the
bin. The 5-year average for US corn
harvest pace is 56%, which probably places the nation at a good 10-12 days
ahead of the average for this 2020 harvest season. For North Dakota, the corn harvest percentage
number is 73% completed, and 33% for the 5-year average in the state. So, in N. Dakota, we’re probably at least 2-3
weeks ahead of the average pace when it comes to corn harvesting (primarily a
factor of fewer corn acres across the state).
The US soybean harvest is 83% complete for
soybeans versus 73% for the 5-year average.
North Dakota soybeans are 97% complete versus a 76% 5-year average.
The National Sunflower Association (NSA)
estimated the nation’s sunflower harvest progress at 54% (40% last week) complete
which would be about 2-3 weeks ahead of the 5-year average pace. Sunflower harvest in ND is estimated at 58%
complete. The sunflower production for
the year continues to be estimated at 2.81 bil lbs with an average yield per
acre of 1,730 lbs (which would basically tie the record yield level). Contract prices for 2021 are available and
the early momentum is towards bullish.
https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/8336h188j?locale=en
EPA Re-approves
Several Pesticides
The US EPA created some controversy
with their recent action of approving the re-registration of some pesticides. The products in question do have concerns
around human and environmental safety.
The compounds on this list are primarily older products on the market
and include:
· * paraquat
(Gramoxone™)
· * many
pyrethroids (no reference was given to the exact pyrethroid compounds but the
pyrethroid insecticide class includes Warrior™, Mustang Max™, Capture™, Tempo™,
etc.)
· * 1, 3-Dichloropropene
(Telon II™ - a soil fumigant)
· * methomyl
(in the carbamate class of insecticides and commonly used against a wide
spectrum of insects including cutworms and foliage feeders – example of Lannate
LV™)
So, what are the pros and cons? In my estimation – the Pro: US farm managers
will continue to have a robust set of pesticides to choose from to continue to
combat pesticide resistance within their ag commodity production.
The Con: The risk increases from a
liability standpoint concerning worker protection standards and safety.
http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---36984.htm https://www.neobits.com/honeywell_760008aw_honeywell_medium...
Prof. David
Kohl’s Guidelines to Success
I
always enjoy an update from Prof. Kohl (ag-economist at Virginia Tech) and therefore
from time to time, I’ll do an internet search to see what his latest takes are
on the ever-evolving agriculture scene. Earlier
this year (pre-COVID), Kohl spoke to a group of producers at a dairy conference
in Michigan. Some key points from his
discussion:
·
Farming will change more in the next decade than
it has over the past 70 years – driven by technology and consumers
·
Today’s consistent positives: low interest
rates, stable energy costs, continual land appreciation, and young high-level
talent in the ag-sector
·
Today’s concerns: over-abundant government
assistance, global politics affecting trade, and consumer demand shifts
·
Alternative agriculture and direct selling to
consumers are trends that continue to gain momentum; most say consumers are
driving this trend
·
Struggling farm businesses will have success
with: written marketing plans, projected cash flows, working closely with a
financial advisory team, and development of a condensed and simplified written
plan around the challenge of making the farm successful
https://www.mimilk.com/mi-milk-messenger/dr-kohl...
Next,
if you would like another short read from Prof. Kohl, this article – pic below
(from a magazine I could not find an on-line reference to) – is key insight if
you’re considering a younger business partner coming in to the operation for
inclusion at the management level. The key
I would stress here are that it takes a ton of cooperation and communication
between all parties involved for success to be obtained.
Argentina is
First Country to Approve GE Wheat
Earlier this
month, the Argentine federal government approved transgenic (genetically
engineered - GE) wheat. The variety is
named “HB4”, and is reported to have increased ability to produce under drought
conditions due to its genetic alterations.
Brazil purchases
(imports) about 50% of the Argentinian wheat production annually, so the two
countries are currently in discussion on the issue of exporting and importing
the GE wheat variety. In 2019, Argentina
exported 11.3 mil tons (a bit over 375 mil bushels) of wheat. Other key export destinations of Argentine
wheat include Indonesia, Chile, and Kenya.
Argentina farm producers hope to plant HB4 in 2021 when their
traditional wheat growing season will begin with sowing in March. We’ll now see how the acceptance of GE wheat
is perceived in some pockets of the world.
At this time, the
US Wheat Quality Council President (Dave Green) says that the US is not interested
in development of GE wheat. The US is
the world’s second largest wheat exporter, and thus minimal imports are needed.
https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2020/10/argentina-first...
MN DOA
Implementing “Groundwater Protection Rule”
Starting
September 1st, 2020, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is
restricting fall nitrogen applications in areas where groundwater nitrates are
already high, and/or in areas where ground water is vulnerable to nitrate
accumulation. For the time being, it
looks like the Mississippi River water sheds area is the only area for
implementation. Maybe at some point in
the future they’ll look to incorporate the Red River water shed area as well.
https://www.mda.state.mn.us/nfr https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/...
FBN® Launches Another Initiative
Back
in August, FBN® (Farmers Business Network) announced another round of funding
(Series F) to support and expand their business. This is the seventh round of funding to
sustain the company. https://www.businesswire.com/news/Farmers-Business-Network...
If
you’d like to read more on business funding “rounds” or “series”, this is a
good read from Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/.../series-b-c-funding-what-it-all-means...
Also
in FBN® news, the company recently announced a new business initiative that
will target on-farm research of biological products. Farmers Business Network will try to fill
what they perceive as a void in the industry by aligning biological product
developers with farm managers for more broad scale testing efforts. One perceived strength of FBN® is their
ability to collaborate data, and thus they hope to accumulate the generated
on-farm data to pinpoint environmental conditions that will lead to greater
potential of success for the various biological products researched (analysis
of soil types, weather, crop species, etc.).
This
is probably FBN’s® best idea to date, but there are many types of biological
products on the market (dozens), and getting enough data points on each
individual product will be a challenge.
At best, it’ll take several to numerous years of data to try and find suitable
environments for success. By then, some
of these businesses, and thus products, will no longer be in the market.
http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---36893.htm
Product Spotlight – P7417AM
For corn producers to the northern end of our
region, Pioneer continues to be excited about our P7417AM product – early
maturing with good drydown, late season standability, and European corn borer
protection highlight this hybrid’s offerings.
The 74 RM hybrid will have grain drydown in the field similar to P7332R
making it the earliest RM on the market for US corn grain producers containing
the above ground Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) protection for corn borer
control. The “AcreMax” designation
highlights a refuge blend of 95% Bt to 5% non-Bt (refuge). The short statured plant is delivering
consistent results with great yield performance and quality grain. A concern would be the lower than average tolerance
to Goss’s Wilt. Please continue to
reach-out to your local Pioneer agent for local insight on product performance
results and recommendations.
Random
Agricultural Facts – Pumpkins!
As we prepare
for some family fun at the end of the week with Halloween, let’s review some facts
and figures around the big orange squash commonly known as pumpkins.
- China leads the world in pumpkin production
with approximately 14 billion pounds per year
- The US produces about 1.3 billion
pounds of pumpkins annually. If the
average US pumpkin is 10 lbs in weight, that would equate to 130 million
pumpkins produced annually. Or,
about one medium sized pumpkin for every 2.5 US citizens
- Which US state produces the most
pumpkins?
-
Illinois by far is the number one
pumpkin producing state with approximately 95% of the US crop produced within
its borders
-
The unofficial “pumpkin capital of the
world” is in Morton, IL
- The name pumpkin originates from a
Greek word (pepon) meaning large melon, but pumpkins are believed to be
native to N. America
- The pumpkin is technically
considered a fruit and the flower blossoms can be eaten (utilized in a
number of native recipes for soup, salad and pasta)
- Native Americans used the pumpkin
seeds for food and medicine
- The largest pumpkin in North America
in 2020 was from Anoka, MN. It
weighed-in at a whopping 2,350 pounds earlier this month in California
- The Guiness World record for weight of a single pumpkin comes from Europe (Belgium) in 2016 topping the scales at a size of 2,625 pounds
- The largest pumpkin pie was 20
feet in diameter and weighed 3,699 pounds
- There are many pumpkin
favorites... pumpkin pie, bars, pancakes, cookies, etc.… all very
delicious and nutritious (potassium, vitamin A and fiber)
- The corn rootworm (CRW) adult
beetles are naturally attracted to pumpkin fields to lay their eggs. These eggs over-winter in the soil and
provide a field setting the following year of intense CRW larvae pest
pressure. Subsequently, these
fields are then commonly used as an ideal environment for CRW pest
management research studies.
http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/facts.html
https://www.herbazest.com/herbs/pumpkin/pumpkin-facts
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/heaviest-pumpkin
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