USDA Releases APH Yield Exclusion Resources to Help Farmers

The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced program details related to a new Farm Bill initiative that will provide relief to farmers affected by severe weather, including drought. Information made available Thursday includes eligible crops, crop years, and counties where producers are eligible to exclude certain yields under the Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion, a fact sheet, and a list of frequently asked questions.


The APH Yield Exclusion will be available in the actuarial documents beginning in the 2015 crop year for spring planted corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, barley, canola, sunflowers, peanuts, and popcorn. It will allow eligible producers who have been hit with severe weather to receive a higher approved yield on their insurance policies through the federal crop insurance program.


"APH Yield Exclusion will provide additional options to producers who have suffered from devastating natural disasters," said RMA Administrator Brandon Willis. "The resources made available today will help eligible producers get the most benefit out of the new protections created in the 2014 Farm Bill."


Under the new Farm Bill program, yields can be excluded from farm actual production history when the actuarial documents provide that the county average yield for that crop year is at least 50 percent below the 10 previous consecutive crop years' average yield.  Click here to read more on how the APH Yield Exclusion will allow farmers to exclude yields in exceptionally bad years. 

Syngenta Receives Chinese Import Approval for Agrisure Viptera Corn Trait

Syngenta announced Monday that it has received the safety certificate for its Agrisure Viptera® trait (event MIR162) from China's regulatory authorities, formally granting import approval. The approval covers corn grain and processing byproducts, such as dried distillers grains (DDGs), for food and feed use.


Syngenta originally submitted the import approval dossier to the Chinese authorities in March 2010. As Agri-Pulse first reported Dec. 15, Chinese officials informed a wide variety of seed industry officials that they had approved the seed trait, but they had not yet provided the official certificate.


In mid-November 2013, Agri-Pulse reported China began rejecting shipments of U.S. grain after finding the presence of Syngenta's Agrisure Viptera seed trait mixed in other corn shipments. A study by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) estimated that U.S. exporters and farmers lost up to $2.9 billion because of the uncertain trade environment surrounding the product's approval in China.  

Litigation against Syngenta continues to bubble up- as just last week, we saw a TV ad for people involved in the "corn business" to call a legal firm to find out more about how they could join a class action lawsuit over this issue.   

Click here to read more the Agrisure Viptera® trait and its import acceptance by many countries around the world.  

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow/Calf Corner newsletter.


All the ingredients came together to cause a significant break in feeder cattle markets in the last week of cash market trading before the Christmas and New Year's holiday break. The impact on cash feeder cattle markets came after several days of sell-off in Feeder futures. The futures market decline was the result of liquidation of relatively large long positions in Feeder futures markets that are illiquid and thinly traded. The final ingredient affecting the Feeder futures market, and ultimately the cash feeder cattle market, was the timing of these actions immediately prior to the holiday break.


The fact that these activities occurred near the holidays played a large role in the severity of the futures market impacts and the fact that it spilled over into cash markets. The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is not a generally a period of strong cattle market direction as meat markets are focused on holiday demand and traders are typically content to close out the year and start fresh after New Year's. That said, recent weakness in fed cattle and boxed beef prices had led to a feeling that cash feeder cattle markets were near the top after an incredible market run and that Feeder futures were somewhat overbought. As a result, when significant selling pressure hit Feeder futures, buyers, with an end-of-year mindset, were willing to let futures lock limit down for several days before expanded daily limits encouraged buying that put a floor in what was clearly an oversold market at that point. Feeder futures bottomed and began recovering late last week. The bearish psychology spilled over into cash feeder cattle markets for the last round of auctions for the year. Cash market buyers were either already out of the market for the holidays or content to sit on their hands until the futures market drama was over; leaving cash markets on a weak tone at the end of the year. 

Click here to read more about cattle and beef market trends into January.  

With this world record announcement, DEKALB® brand is excited about the progress and possibilities ahead for the role of agriculture innovation in helping farmers bring more harvest to market from each acre. Advancements in breeding, biotechnology and improved-farm management practices will continue to play an important role in safely increasing the global food supply as farmers continue to feed a growing world population that is expected to expand to more than 9 billion people by 2050.


"Monsanto would like to congratulate Randy Dowdy on setting this new world yield record for corn," said Dr. Robert Fraley, Monsanto Chief Technology Officer and 2013 World Food Prize Laureate. "This accomplishment puts a spotlight on the important role that farmers all around the world play in society, and it showcases the valuable role that agriculture advancements can play in helping farmers achieve optimum and consistent corn performance so they can get the most from their land, wherever they are."


The Georgia growing season started off with challenging weather conditions. However, with a combination of favorable weather during the season's second half, strong agronomic practices and high-performing corn, Dowdy set the record with DKC62-08 Brand, known for exceptional top-end yield potential and excellent agronomics, in the Irrigated category. It is adapted to most crop rotations and a wide range of environments, including both irrigated and non-irrigated acres. The previous world record was an average of 454 bushels of corn per acre in 2013.  Click here to read more about NCGA's yield contest.    

Data Key to Unlocking Yield Potential

Agriculture has done a lot to improve yields with new advancements. From global positioning systems on tractors, to more advanced seed genetics, but where does the industry go from here? Dave Rhylander of Monsanto/The Climate Corporation said the next big improvement in crop yields will come from data.


"I think the unique opportunity we have in the future, is how we take all this data that farmers are creating and companies are developing and put it together, because I think that unlocks the future yield potential," Rhylander said.  


New corn varieties have the potential to produce 500 bushels per acre, but it seems few have been able to hit that milestone. Rhylander said it's because we don't understand interactions of all these variables. If we can start understanding the yield impact of all the different variables, then he believes it would be possible to develop better recommendations to help farmers optimize their yields.


The process begins with capturing data from planting, to harvest, along with soil nutrient testing and capturing weather data. Rhylander said if we can start layering that information together and utilize statistical models, then he believes their company will be able develop better insights for farmers in how they improve the productivity on their farm.


I interviewed Rhylander at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention.  Click here to listen to our conversation as he discusses how the process starts and addresses privacy issues.   

Growth Energy Responds to University of Minnesota Ethanol Study

Following the recent report released by the University of Minnesota, "Life Cycle Air Quality Impacts Of Conventional And Alternative Light-Duty Transportation In the United States," which contains significant flaws in regards to their analysis of ethanol, Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, released the following statement:


"Clearly this study was published with an agenda and without regard to the facts. It is misleading, inaccurate and runs counter to a large body of expert research.


"This report also fails to account for the numerous environmental benefits ethanol provides. According to Argonne National Laboratory, ethanol reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by an average of 34 percent compared to gasoline, even when the highly controversial and disputed theory on Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) is factored into the modeling. However, the study by the University of Minnesota specifically excludes ILUC impacts, and Argonne has found that without ILUC included, ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 57 percent compared to gasoline.  

Click here to read more from Growth Energy as to why this latest study from the University of Minnesota is flawed.

National Corn Growers Have New Executive Veep- Jon Doggett

The National Corn Growers Association announced this past week the promotion of Jon Doggett to Executive Vice President, effective January 1.


In his new role, Doggett will lead efforts to expand NCGA's alliances and strategic partnerships, and elevate its national profile. Doggett will continue to manage the organization's 10-person Washington, DC office and lead its public policy efforts. Doggett is considered one of the top ag lobbyists inside the DC Beltway- and has been a player in farm policy development over the last several farm bills- both with NCGA as well as a staffer with American Farm Bureau.


"Now, more than ever, corn farmers need to be expanding our reach to strengthen our alliances beyond the Beltway," said NCGA CEO Chris Novak. "Jon Doggett is one of Washington's smartest political minds, and has a track record of building solid political alliances in Washington. With the issues facing corn farmers today, Jon is the perfect person to lead efforts to grow our strategic alliances and tell the story of America's corn farmers to a wider audience." 

Read more by clicking here.