News from the Minnesota Association of Wheat
Growers for Wednesday, April 12,  2000

EX-SECRETARIES SUPPORT CHINA VOTE
April 11, 2000

An impressive bipartisan list of former secretaries of the Treasury and Agriculture has come out in support of permanent normal trade relations with China. The United States has nothing to lose by approving PNTR and everything to lose by rejecting it, say the secretaries.

Economics make a compelling case for PNTR, the agriculture secretaries say, but it's not the only one. "There are also national security implications. Rejecting PNTR would weaken our ties with a nuclear power that has the ability to tilt the global balance of power in Asia."

"There is no nation that offers a greater potential customer base for American businesses. Last year, "every man, woman and child in China took less than a dollar's worth of American agricultural goods," the secretaries said.

Signing the statement were former Secretaries of Agriculture Bob Bergland, John Block, Earl Butz, Orville Freeman, Mike Espy, Clifford Hardin, Richard Lyng and Clayton Yeutter.

AGRICULTURAL PROCESSING PLANTS IN NORTH DAKOTA: SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
The socioeconomic impact of four agricultural processing plants on their respective North Dakota communities was investigated.  The objectives were (1) to evaluate the impact of plant construction and operation on economic, demographic, public service, and fiscal structures of rural areas and (2) to develop a set of general principles and recommended actions for community leaders tofollow when a new agricultural processing facility is being considered. The full report can be found at http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/ndsu/aer437.pdf

CWB TARGETING FARMER SUPPORT PROGRAMS IN WTO NEGOTIATIONS
Ralph Goodale, federal minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, stressed if the Canadian agricultural industry is to survive in the future, it will need to rely less on safety net programs and work with the federal government to create a more fair world trade environment.  A newswire source indicated Goodale told attendees of the Canada Grains Council's annual conference that the government has increased its commitment to agriculture, with the federal and provincial municipalities contributing a combined C$1.8 billion ($1.24 billion) annually to farm safety net programs.  Despite the increases, Goodale emphasized that farmers will need to depend less on government safety nets in order to remain viable.  Sources indicate the first step to their long range plan is the elimination of trade-distorting programs.  Goodale stated, that during the next round of WTO negotiations, Canada would be calling for a reduction in trade-distorting subsidies and farmer support programs, especially in the EU and US.  Furthermore, Goodale defended the status of the CWB, suggesting the US has failed to prove the CWB is not complying with NAFTA and WTO rules in eight separate investigations.  Instead, Goodale indicated that weak commodity prices were responsible for problems within the industry, which is only made worse by subsidies from large exporters.

TEMERATURES THROUGH THE US CENTRAL PLAINS INDICATE LITTLE OR NO DAMAGE TO WINTER WHEAT
According to newswire weather sources, weekend freezing temperatures through the US central Plains induced little or no damage to the 2000-01 US winter wheat crop.  Sources indicate there were some cold spots on Saturday as Dodge City, Kansas, reported an extreme low of 23°F (-5°C).  However, sources suggest lost production potential is not anticipated to be very large.  Furthermore, sources speculate most of the central Plains wheat crop was not seriously hurt by last week's freeze event, although some production losses may have occurred in a few isolated areas.

On Monday, the USDA issued its weekly forecast for US winter wheat crop condition/progress for the week ended April 9, 2000.  According to a newswire source, 12% of the crop was rated excellent (12% last week), 49% rated good (48%), 25% rated fair (26%), 9% rated poor (9%), and 5% rated very poor (5%).  In addition, the USDA estimated that 6% of the winter wheat crop is headed, compared to 4% last week, 4% last year and a 5-year average of 3%.

The USDA also issued their weekly forecast for US spring wheat planting progress for the week ended April 9, 2000.  Sources indicate the USDA pegged 13% of the spring wheat crop planted, versus 6% last week, 8% last year and a 5-year average of 4%.

CARGILL ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT AND C.O.O.
Gregory Page has been elected president and chief operating officer of Cargill.  Page, 48, takes over the president's role June 1 from Warren Staley, who was elected president in 1998. Staley, 57, will continue as chief executive officer, where he has served since June 1999.

Page has been active in Cargill's meat processing, animal nutrition and financial businesses. He is a native of Bottineau, ND and has been with Cargill for approx. 26 years. He was elected executive vice president in November 1999 and serves on the corporate leadership team, which sets long-term corporate direction and strategy.

PRODUCERS IN CORN BELT REGION STATES TOPSOIL, SUBSOIL DRY
Weekly crop condition reports on Monday confirm that the topsoil and subsoil are dry.

Illinois reported 70% of the topsoil is short of moisture; in Iowa it's 80%. Problems with subsoil moisture ranges from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Moisture for the Plains states is generally improved, except for Nebraska, and Monday's rains may have begun to help parts of Nebraska as well.

Meanwhile, the South is wet. Radar shows that more rain is on the way, for much of Texas northeast through Arkansas and into Kentucky and Tennessee.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA RELEASES TWO NEW SOYBEAN VARIETIES
The University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station has released two new high-yielding public soybean varieties. Certified seed of both varieties is available for planting this spring, according to Seth Naeve, soybean agronomist with the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

MN0901 is classified as a late Group O maturity, with a relative maturity of 0.9. It matures an average of three days later than Lambert. It is adapted as a full-season variety in central and south central Minnesota. MN0901 is a product of conventional breeding methods.

"MN0901 outyielded Lambert by an average of two bushels per acre in the 1998 and 1999 U of M Central Minnesota Soybean Variety Trials," says Naeve.

The seeds of the new variety have yellow hyla and shiny seed coat luster.They are sized at approximately 2,700 seeds per pound. The beans are slightly lower in protein and higher in oil than Lambert. MN0901 is less tolerant of iron deficiency chlorosis than Lambert, making it moderately susceptible to susceptible. MN0901 contains the Rps1 gene for resistance to phytophthora root rot.

The other new variety, MN1801, is classified as a late Group I maturity, with a relative maturity of 1.8. It matures an average of three days later than Parker. It is adapted as a full-season variety in south central and southern Minnesota. MN1801 is also the result of conventional breeding methods.

MN1801 outyielded Parker by an average of four bushels per acre in the 1998 and 1999 Southern Minnesota Soybean Variety Trials, according to Naeve. Its seeds have buff-colored hyla, shiny seed coat luster, and are sized at approximately 2,900 seeds per pound.

MN1801 soybeans are higher in protein and similar in oil content to Parker. MN1801 is slightly more tolerant of iron deficiency chlorosis than Parker.  MN1801 contains the Rps1c gene for resistance to phytophthora root rot.

"Certified seed of these varieties is available from local Minnesota Crop Improvement Association seed dealers," says Naeve. The 1999 Minnesota Soybean Varietal Trials Results bulletin (MP 102-2000) has a list of sources of certified seed on pages 94 and 95. To obtain a copy of the bulletin, call MCIA at (800) 510-6242.

Source: Seth Naeve, (612) 625-4298
Editor: Joseph Kurtz, (612) 625-3168, jk@umn.edu