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GLICKMAN TO ADDRESS THE ANNUAL CONVENTION FOR THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WHEAT GROWERS WASHINGTON
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman will address the 2000 Wheat Industry Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, NV on Wednesday, February 9, 2000 at 8:30
a.m. The event, hosted by the National Association of Wheat Growers, will be followed by a press availability where Glickman will receive questions from members of the media on issues facing the wheat industry today.
WHO: Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
WHAT: 2000 Wheat Industry Conference and Expo
WHERE: Tropicana Hotel South Pacific Rooms 2-6 3801 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, NV
WHEN: Wednesday, February 9, 2000 8:30 a.m. PST NDSU RELEASES SCAB-RESISTANT WHEAT
By John MacDonald
Associated Press - 02/08/2000
www.in-fourm.com
North Dakota State University researchers are releasing their first wheat variety bred specifically for scab resistance, calling it better than
virtually all other varieties available.
The hard red spring wheat, called Alsen, is the result of a decade-long research project that crossbred three other wheat varieties after getting breeding material from
China. NDSU wheat breeder Richard Frohberg said it is only the first in what researchers hope will be more resistant varieties in the future.
Field trials show Alsen, while not immune to wheat scab, can fight
off the disease, Frohberg said. The characteristics of Alsen restricted the disease from spreading in the wheat spike, even if a kernel becomes infected.
"It's good, but it's not perfect," Frohberg said Monday.
"We believe that with time, it will be possible to breed cultivars that are even better."
The NDSU Agricultural Experiment Station is releasing the wheat variety this week for what is known as "seed increase."
County crop improvement associations will select farmers who will grow the crop specifically to make more seed available.
Frohberg said Alsen will not available for crop production until at least the 2001
planting season.
The new variety could prove especially important to wheat farmers in northeastern North Dakota, hardest hit by scab in recent years.
Scab, the common name for Fusarium head blight, is a
fungal disease that has caused an estimated $2.6 billion in lost crops between 1991 and 1997. Scab shrivels kernels of wheat and barley and produces toxins that can make the grain unsuitable for food and animal feed.
NDSU experts say Alsen proved to have better yields than other varieties when grown in environments where scab is most prevalent. However, it does not have better yields than other varieties of wheat when grown
in areas where scab is not a serious threat, such as western North Dakota.
Researchers believe they will eventually come up with an even more scab-resistant, higher-yielding alternative. But Frohberg said it is
necessary to make Alsen available to farmers as soon as possible.
"I don't think it's fair to growers to say, 'Please wait until we come up with the perfect variety,' " Frohberg said. "That is something that's
going to develop step by step. ... Alsen is not our ultimate goal, but it is a good variety for scab resistance right now." CLINTON AG BUDGET: SOME DETAILS
The proposed ag budget unveiled Monday by USDA Sec. Dan Glickman contains several allocations to other categories. The budget package contains a proposal to restore food stamp benefits to legal immigrants who lost
eligibility under the 1996 welfare reform bill. Another provision would allow states the option of raising the value of vehicles a person could own above the current level. Additionally, states would be allowed to
conform food stamp eligibility rules to their Medicaid income definitions. Read more at www.agdayta.com
GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES
$475 MILLION IN AID TO OILSEED PRODUCERS WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 1999
Agriculture
Secretary Dan Glickman today announced the Oilseed Payment Program that will distribute $475 million to farmers who produce soybeans, sunflowers, flaxseed, canola, rapeseed, safflower seed, mustard and crambe.
"American farmers have been hit hard by collapsing prices and other market conditions beyond their control," said Glickman. "This assistance to oilseed farmers is really needed, at a time when the 1996
Farm Bill has failed to provide farmers with an adequate safety net." To be eligible for the 1999 Oilseeds Program, a farmer must have planted an eligible oilseed in 1999. Producers who have not
already reported acreage for 1997, 1998, or 1999 may do so by February 18, 2000. According to USDA records, about 850,000 farms reported oilseed crop acreage in crop year 1999. The top oilseed producing states are Iowa
,Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and South Dakota. A typical soybean farm of 100acres, with a 38 bushel per acre yield, can expect to get about $533 from thisprogram. This estimate could change depending of the number of
farmers that sign up for the program. Sign-up for the program will begin February 28 and is scheduled to end March 31, 2000. Producers should apply for the program at their local USDA Service Center or Farm Service
Agency county office. A fact sheet on this program is available at www.fsa.usda.gov, or at FSA .
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: THE OILSEED PAYMENT PROGRAM
1. Who is eligible for oilseed payments?
Producers who planted an
eligible oilseed in 1999 are eligible to participate in the Oilseed Payment program. Eligible oilseeds are soybeans, sunflowers, flaxseed, canola, rapeseed, safflower seed, mustard, and crambe.
2. How will the payments be calculated?
A producer's payment is equal to the producer's payment acres times the producer's payment yield times the national payment rate. Payments are calculated differently for new
producers and for those who planted in 1997 or1998 as well as in 1999. 3. How are the payment yield and payment acreage determined?
For producers who planted oilseeds in 1999 and also in 1997 or 1998:
The payment acreage is the higher of the 1997 or 1998 acreage planted to the oilseed. The payment yield for these producers is the higher of: (1) the county average yield for soybeans (the national average yield for
minor oilseeds) from 1994 through 1998, after dropping the high and low yields;(2) the producer's proven yield for 1997; or (3) the producer's proven yield for 1998. NOTE: The year selected for the payment acreage may
differ from the year selected for the yield .For "new" producers of oilseeds who planted the oilseed for the first time in1999, the payment acreage is the 1999 acreage of the oilseed. The payment yield is the
higher of: (1) the county average yield for soybeans (the national average yield for minor oilseeds) from 1994 through 1998, after dropping the high and low yields; or (2) the producer's 1999 yield. 4.
What about producers who have not reported their oilseed acreage?
Producers wishing to receive payments who have not already reported acreage for 1997, 1998, or 1999, may do so by February 18, 2000.
5. What are the payment rates?
Projected payment rates are calculated based on the 5-year average price for each oilseed, after dropping the high and low yields, adjusted to keep spending within the authorized
level. Actual payment rates may be more or less than the projected rates and will be determined after sign up results are available. Crop Projected Payment Rates --Soybeans (bu) $0.1409
--Sunflowers (cwt) $0.2553
--Flax (bu) $0.1212
--Canola (cwt) $0.2531
--Rape (cwt) $0.2680
--Safflower (cwt) $0.3369
--Mustard $0.3149 Crambe $0.2531 6. How do I apply for payments?
A
producer must file one application for all of the producer's farms, and apply in the county office which serves as the producer's control county. When possible, CCC will prefill the application with the producer's acres
and county average yields. If the producer does not wish to prove actual yields, the producer only has to certify to the application's accuracy and sign it. Source: http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2000/02/0039
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