Reports throughout the North Central region of the Corn Belt indicate that many growers are facing the prospect of continued delays in harvesting corn and soybeans well into December and beyond.  Given the cool temperatures and unusual amount of precipitation this fall, producers are also confronting challenges with higher moisture content and potential quality losses in their crops. 
 
With the 2009 crop insurance periods for multi-peril policies and revenue based policies (Crop Revenue Coverage and Revenue Assurance) set to end December 10 and 25, respectively, NCGA staff have contacted officials at the Risk Management Agency regarding questions on claims and appraisal procedures for delayed harvest completion due to the adverse weather conditions.
 
Although insurance providers are expected to soon receive updated guidance and clarifications from the Risk Management Agency, NCGA is encouraging growers to contact their crop insurance agents for more detailed information on the appraisal and loss claims process for crops that will not be harvested by the end of the insurance period.

 

  
High Yields, Wet Harvest
 
The fact that U.S. farmers are in the process of harvesting one of the largest corn crops in history, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, gives assurance to global end-users that U.S. farmers will meet all domestic and global demands, U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Ken Hobbie said this week. At the same time, he said international end-users of U.S. corn are concerned about the impact the delayed harvest could have on corn quality.
 
"Reports of wet conditions throughout the Corn Belt have many customers on edge," Hobbie said. "We are getting a lot of questions about the potential ramifications this wet October could have on the quality of product our customers receive."
 
Tim Burrack, chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and a member of the National Corn Growers Association's Joint Trade Policy A-Team, said harvest has been much slower than usual on his farm as a result of continuous rain showers.
 
"So far, the quality is hurt by harvesting so wet, 28 percent moisture and higher, and running it through the dryer. Test weight drops and huge amounts of fine material is created," said Burrack, who remains optimistic the weather will improve next month. "If by some miracle November weather turns out to be as good as October was bad, which is what I'm hoping for now, then this issue could diminish."
 
In the meantime, some growers are upbeat. Vince Samson, who grows corn on creek bottom land north of Frankenstein, Mo., characterized the season as aggravating and frustrating, but he adds that the crop has turned out very well. That, he says, limits his complaints.
 
"It was a lot of delays getting the crop planted - too wet. The only good thing about is we didn't have to irrigate very much because it rained all the time," Samson said in a radio interview with Brownfield in his nearly harvested corn field this week. "And now it's been kind of a hit and miss deal on getting [the crop] out, but I believe we're going to make it."
 
Some of Samson's crop, entered in the NCGA National Corn Yield Contest, outdid what he usually grows. "It checked 243 bushels to the acre," he said. "That's the best I've ever had."
 
ACRE Program Debut Strong
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week that 129,000 farms successfully enrolled in the Average Crop Revenue Election program, equaling 13 percent of eligible base acres. NCGA, which spearheaded this new program along with the American Farmland Trust, is pleased with sign-up numbers, especially as this first year of the program.
 
"While the participation number is relatively small compared to the number of farms that opted to remain in the regular Direct and Counter Cyclical program, we were pleased with how many enrolled in the new ACRE program," NCGA President Darrin Ihnen said. "This was the first year the ACRE program was offered and there was definitely an educational process for farmers and FSA employees. Hopefully before next year's sign up ends, there will be a nationwide training program for FSA employees to clarify enrollment processes."
 
Enrollment for the 2010 ACRE program has already begun and will run through June 1, 2010. Farmers who decide to participate will enroll their farms for the remaining three years of the program.
 
Grants for Genome Research
 
Projects looking to improve our understanding of corn genetics benefitted from the receipt of additional funding this week. The National Science Foundation made 32 new awards totaling $101.6 million during the 12th year of its Plant Genome Research Program. NCGA and its state affiliates were a driving force in the creation of this genome research program.
 
"We are on this trend line where the average yield will increase to 300 bushels per acre by 2030, even though in 2009 we are only in the 160s," said NCGA Research and Business Development Action Team Chair Larry Hasheider of Okawville, Ill. "We need this type of genome technology to improve yields, make our plants more resistant to disease and decrease the chemicals that we use. This funding is a very positive development for the future of our nation's 300,000 corn farmers."
 
Seven of the NSF's new round of grants in the Plant Genome Research Program went to projects with a focus on corn, for a total of approximately $27.8 million, or roughly 27 percent of the total funding awarded. A project looking at the relationship of genotype and phenotype in corn received significant support with a nearly $10 million award. The other projects funded include studies looking at next-generation sequencing technologies for corn, improvement and annotation of the current maize genome sequence and the use of proteogenomics to discover and validate genes.
 
Survey Finds Support for Corn
 
A nationwide survey conducted for NCGA found broad public respect and trust for family farmers and support for corn as food, feed and fuel. Ninety-five percent of those polled find farmers to be trusted messengers on issues such as agriculture, corn products and ethanol - and ethanol itself was supported or strongly supported as a good fuel alternative by 65 percent.
 
"We expected to see some pretty solid results in this polling, but the final numbers were beyond what we imagined," said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a farmer in Hurley, S.D. "This high level of support is gratifying, and it is also a challenge for us to work hard to maintain the trust consumers have placed in us."
 
When it comes to uses for corn, support was broad. Ninety-five percent support its use as food for people and 93 percent as livestock feed, while 67 percent support the use of corn as a sweetener and 65 percent, as noted, support corn ethanol. Other uses of corn, such as for fiber and packaging, were supported by 73 percent of those polled.