Record high yields are on course to set another corn supply record, the National Corn Growers Association said today, commenting on new reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that even further increased their estimate of corn production and yield in the 2009 crop. If realized, this will be the highest yield on record and corn production will be the second largest, behind 2007 by only 20,000 bushels. Notably though, both the price and ability to harvest may be compromised due to cold, wet conditions across most of the Midwest in October.

"I understand that right now some farmers might be concerned about the impact of this month's cold, wet weather on the quality of their harvest and the price they will get at market," said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a grower in Hurley, S.D. "We know our record corn supply will greatly benefit the American consumer and further demonstrates our growers' level of farming excellence despite the many challenges we may face from the weather each growing season."

Corn production is forecast at 13.018 billion bushels, up 1 percent from last month and 8 percent higher than 2008. Based on conditions as of October 1, yields are expected to average 164.2 bushels per acre, up 2.3 bushels from September and 10.3 bushels from last year. Production is nearly on par with 2007 despite a 6.5 million acre decrease in land use. This strongly demonstrates the increased efficiency of U.S. corn growers, especially in light of the current unfavorable weather conditions.

Yield forecasts remained unchanged or increased from last month across the Corn Belt, Great Plains, and Ohio Valley where warm, dry weather during much of September helped push the late-developing corn crop towards maturity. Light frost was reported in parts of the northern tier of the Great Plains and Corn Belt in late September. However, temperatures were not considered low enough to terminate crop growth.

Click here for the USDA Crop Production Report.

Click here for the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report.

NCGA Seeks Corn Board Nominees

 

The National Corn Growers Association Nominating Committee invites members to become an integral part of the organization's leadership by applying for NCGA Corn Board positions. Click here for the application packet, which provides complete information on requirements, responsibilities and deadlines.

 

The NCGA Corn Board represents the organization on all matters while directing both policy and supervising day-to-day operations. Board members serve the organization in a variety of ways. They represent the federation of state organizations, supervise the affairs and activities of NCGA in partnership with the chief executive officer and implement NCGA policy established by the Corn Congress. Members also act as spokespeople for the NCGA and enhance the organization's public standing on all organizational and policy issues.

 

Applications are due Friday, Jan. 15. Nominated candidates will be introduced at the February 2010 Corn Congress meeting, held in conjunction with the Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif. Corn Board members will be elected at the July 2010 Corn Congress in Washington, D.C., and the new terms begin Oct. 1.
For more information, growers may contact Kathy Baker at NCGA's St. Louis office at (636) 733-9004.

USGC Promotes Ethanol Coproducts Overseas

Adding co-products of U.S. ethanol production like corn gluten feed (CGF) and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to feed rations are feasible solutions to optimizing livestock, poultry and aquaculture operations around the world. In many countries, however, there is a lack of knowledge about the nutritional and economical merits of the use of the corn co-products.

 

The U.S. Grains Council works to ensure end-users are aware of these advantages by setting up demo-trials in targeted countries.
"Conducting the trials locally gives local farmers a chance to see DDGS and CGF use firsthand in a trial that utilizes their own climatic conditions. It provides them a reliable source of data they can be more confident in," said Lori Feltis, USGC Rest of the World Advisory Team member, who is currently in Egypt to assess the use of U.S. DDGS and CGF.

 

In April of this year, the Council initiated a demo-trial in Egypt where local animal production operations formulated DDGS and CGF inclusion ratios in their feed rations. This week, USGC consultants, staff and Feltis traveled to Egypt to analyze the ongoing trials' progress, discuss any issues that may have arose during the trial and address end-users on issues related to grain handling, storing, marketing and quality control.

 

"Since the start of the Council's programs, about five years ago, Egyptian end-users have been using DDGS and CGF in their feed rations. We are here to make certain they are using it properly in order to help maximize their farming operations," said USGC Consultant Dr. Chhorn Lim, who spoke to feedmillers, researchers and farm managers about inclusion rations in the aquaculture sector. "If the end-users aren't using it correctly and are not achieving the desired results, they will stop using it. I am here to defend the product and address these concerns to ensure they use the product continuously."

 

Click here for photos.

USDA Begins 2010 Signup for ACRE Program

 

Growers can now visit their local Farm Service Agency office to begin signing up their 2010 crop in the Average Crop Revenue Election program. Enrollment will run through June 1, 2010, and farmers who decide to participate will enroll their farms for the remaining three years of the program. The 2009 crop year was the first year of this new program.

 

"When you consider rising input costs, a more volatile commodity market and other operation challenges, ACRE is a very timely addition to grower members' set of risk management tools," NCGA President Darrin Ihnen said. "While the enrollment for last year is relatively small compared to the 1.5 million farms that opted to remain in the regular Direct and Counter Cyclical programs, NCGA was pleased with the participation number for the first year the new ACRE program was offered."

 

USDA records show at least 130,000 applications have been approved, with many more still waiting to be processed. These applications represent roughly 10 percent of all farmable land.

Corn Growers in Food Industry Summit

Corn growers joined colleagues from throughout the food industry Tuesday and Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo., for the 2009 Food System Summit, sponsored by the Center for Food Integrity and the National Council of Chain Restaurants, to discuss topics such as sustainability and animal welfare. The National Corn Growers Association is a member of the Center for Food Integrity's Animal Agriculture Committee.

 

"This conference was a great opportunity to get together with people from around the country who are dealing with many of the same issues we're facing," said Nebraska grower Brandon Hunnicutt. He is a member of NCGA's Grower Services Action Team and president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association. "It's especially important for us to work together on the issues and share best practices and our own experiences."

 

The summit included a presentation by Sarah Stokes Alexander of the Keystone Group. NCGA is an active member in Keystone's Field to Market initiative for sustainable agriculture, who reviewed the initiative's metrics measuring impacts of farming certain crops, including corn.

 

On Tuesday evening, the group heard from Robert Kenner, director and producer of the documentary Food Inc., which is considered by many to be an attack on conventional production agriculture. Kenner admitted he was no "food expert," and said he believed the film accurately presented what he learned in the course of producing it.

 

Click here for more information on the Center for Food Integrity.

With Harvest Comes the Yield Contest

While experts continue to predict record yields despite rainy conditions delaying harvest in many parts of the Corn Belt, the annual National Corn Growers Association Corn Yield Contest is well under way. The 2009 contest received a record number of entries, with roughly 6,995 participants. This easily surpasses the prior record of 6,727 entries set in 2008.
 

"We are extremely pleased to see growing support for our contest," said Steve Ebke, chairman of NCGA's Production and Stewardship Action Team. "The National Corn Yield Contest provides a great venue to showcase the incredible advancements in farming over the past years, highlights the achievements of a dedicated and knowledgeable group of farmers and promotes the adoption of new technologies. As our industry continues to modernize, we expect even more growers will choose to participate."

 

Increased interest in the contest coincides with increases in NCGA membership, which is required for contest entry. In August, membership hit a record with 36,378 registered members.
Corn yields could also set a new record this year. In its most recent report, the USDA predicted that corn yields this year could average 161.9 bushels per acre. This would represent the highest average yield on record. Multiple participants predict that they may have plots that produce over 400 bushels an acre. Verification of these entries is still pending.

 

Recent harvest reports paint a varied picture in which record yields could be possible in some areas while others experience significant difficulty. Some areas where individuals were able to harvest early, such as Nebraska and parts of the mid-South, report high yields and an excellent quality harvest. Other areas, including parts of North Dakota, parts of Iowa and the eastern Corn Belt, have experienced high moisture levels, early frost and other detrimental conditions adversely affecting both quality and yield.
In its Oct. 5 report on crop progress, the USDA reported that, nationally, about 10 percent of the corn crop has been harvested, compared with 13 percent at this time last year and significantly below the average of 25 percent for the past five years. Crop condition was rated highly, with 70 percent rated good or excellent, compared to 61 percent in 2008.

 

Farm Leaders Meet to Voice Atrazine Support

Growers from Kansas, Missouri and three other states left their combines briefly last week to speak with executives from Syngenta Crop Protection about the importance of atrazine to their farming operations. A roundtable meeting was held at the National Corn Growers Association office in Chesterfield, Mo., followed by an informal meeting at the Keith Witt farm in nearby Warrenton, Mo.

 

While atrazine was successfully re-registered by EPA in 2006, recent attacks by environmental activists including the Natural Resources Defense Council have brought the issue to the forefront. Trial attorneys also continue their efforts for legal action against the makers of atrazine.

 

Growers represented at the meeting included four past NCGA Presidents: Ron Litterer, Iowa; Ken McCauley, Kansas; Dee Vaughan, Texas; and Fred Yoder, Ohio. Three past presidents of the National Sorghum Producers were present: Greg Shelor, Kansas; James Vorderstrasse, Nebraska; and Bill Kubecka, Texas.

 

Atrazine is used to help farmers grow crops in a way that protects the environment, especially with no-till practices, McCauley said.
"Environmental activists would like you to believe that farmers don't need atrazine, so we might as well get rid of it," he said. "Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is it important to our growers' bottom lines, it is vital to the practices we use to protect the environment. The NRDC says we can use another chemical, but ask NRDC what chemicals they do approve of."

 

Iowa grower Ron Litterer said many people don't understand atrazine's role in reducing rates of herbicides. "For me, atrazine is an enhancer for weed control. Years ago, my dad used it as his sole product. Now we use much lower rates and have better weed control. As an enhancer, atrazine has allowed us to reduce the rates of other chemicals and has made them more effective."
 

Ohio Grower Fred Yoder said atrazine has been important to his family farm for years. "I'm trying to remember if we have ever grown corn without atrazine. It's been around such a long time. But does that mean we need to look at something else? I don't think so," he said.

 

Click here for photos of the event.