Agriculture

“Producers have realized the benefits of including feed-grade antimicrobials, but since they’ve been embedded into their programs for so long — often 50 or 60 years — they might have forgotten how much value they really bring,” said Blaine Corners, PhD, beef cattle nutritionist with Zoetis. “And when you can’t remember the value, you might not understand the risks of not including them.” Less stress, An option for an effective treatment, Healthy and productive animals,Veterinary involvement. [node:read-more:link]

The August 1 U.S. average corn and soybean yield projections, at 175.1 and 48.9bpa, respectively, were record large and a major surprise to the market. While these are indeed "big" yields in an absolute sense, it is an open question whether these are truly "monster" yields. We provide some perspective on that issue in today's article. For corn, this comparison shows that the August 1 yield projection is 10.9 bushels above trend, but it would only be the 8th highest deviation since 1960. [node:read-more:link]

While U.S. retail sales of farm tractors under 40HP in July declined 6.3 percent, the year-to-date total was up 9.8 percent compared to last year, according to the latest monthly data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the leading trade organization for off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers. [node:read-more:link]

The major concerns for California agriculture as an industry are water and workers. Most everybody seems to understand that.  Phil Martin in the department of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Davis has clarified the issues and written a report that appears in the current issue of Update, his department’s bi-monthly newsletter. He forecasts warmer winters ahead as an important issue in the supply of water to irrigate crops. [node:read-more:link]

Milk prices for farmers have plunged to their lowest point since October 2009 as cheese stockpiles swell.Dairy farmers drowning in cheap milk begged agricultural officials on Friday to buy up tens of thousands of tons of cheese to help bail them out. Jim Mulhern, chief executive of the National Milk Producers Federation, asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to buy $150 million worth of cheese to protect struggling dairy farmers and provide 90 million pounds of food to needy Americans. “Dairy producers here in the United States need assistance,” Mr. Mulhern wrote to Mr. Vilsack. [node:read-more:link]

Sometimes ag publications are the industry’s worst enemy. Bloomberg News published an article August 5, 2016, about vaccines becoming a bigger player in animal health, helping to lower the use of antibiotics used in animals raised for food. Beef Producer copied it word for word in its August 9, 2016, edition. It does not exactly state the truth, and implies that deaths from antibiotic resistant bacteria stem from animal ag use of the products. Some quotes follow from the article. “Farm animals are fed about 80 percent of the antibiotics in the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

A senior director of food policy for the Humane Society of the United States last week sent a letter to the CEOs of major broiler processing companies, asking for an audience, saying the organization’s focus is “likely to shift toward broiler welfare issues.” [node:read-more:link]

Cow dung and cow stomach gas: not just smelly, but also politically loaded. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. corn production is forecast at a record 15.2 billion bushels, up 613 million from the July projection, according to USDA’s first survey-based corn yield forecast of the year.  Consequently, USDA slashed its projected range for the season-average corn price by 25 cents on both ends to $2.85 to $3.45 per bushel for the 2016/17 crop year.  This would be down 45 cents at the midpoint from the $3.55 to $3.65 per bushel range now expected for 2015/16. Corn ending stocks for 2016/17 are projected 328 million bushels higher and, if realized, would be the highest since 1987/88. U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. agriculture department predicted another record harvest this fall on Friday, raising the prospect of yet more financial pain in farm country.  Crop, livestock and dairy farms are all suffering. Some are filing for bankruptcy, among them John Quaal, who runs a dairy farm near Fergus Falls.  It's nearly impossible to break even producing milk, he said. Milk, like corn and soybeans, has been fetching less money than it costs to produce the commodity for most of those two years. Grain producers are in the third year of a financial downturn. [node:read-more:link]