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GRAM URGES IMMEDIATE RELIEF FOR MINNESOTA GROWERS
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Rod Grams has urged his Senate colleagues to
raise the payment limitations for marketing loan gains so that growers can receive the financial relief that is needed this year.
In a letter to Agriculture Appropriations conferees, Grams wrote, "With bumper crops keeping commodity prices low, it is likely that loan deficiency payments
will constitute a significant portion of producers' income this year.
With the expected large harvest, it is also likely that many producers' marketing loan gains will exceed the current $75,000 payment limit." In the last fiscal year, Congress raised the payment limitations to help financially distressed farmers, and with commodity prices failing to move upward, similar assistance is still needed.
Grams said, "It is important that Washington hear the concerns I hear as I travel around the state of Minnesota.
As farmers already know, it's even more important for Washington to tune in and address those concerns."
Contact: Steven Behm (202) 224-3244
CROPS IN MIDWEST DESPERATELY NEED RAIN
Farmers are watching their crops wither in the fields. Those growing corn, soybeans,
sorghum and other fall crops are badly in need of rain and a respite from the heat, particularly those who farm dry land and rely on rain to provide needed moisture.
In southwest Nebraska, even irrigated fields were struggling as farmers trying to keep corn and soybean fields from burning up were running low on water as
natural resource agencies rationed water supplies for the first time in decades.
In Missouri thousands of fish have died in lakes and ponds due to the suffocating heat, according to conservation officials.
"This is one of the longest hot dry spells we've had in a number of years," said Mike Bailey, consumer protection manager with the Oklahoma City
County Health Department. Wildfires have also been raging through Texas, where temperatures reached 103 degrees (39 Celsius) on Monday and little to no rainfall has been seen in two months.
Still, as hot as it is, it still is cooler than it was when Kansas recorded an all-time high of 121 degrees (49 Celsius) in 1936.
KOREA SAYS BUYS 30,000 U.S. No. 1 SOYBEANS
SEOUL, Aug 30 (Reuters) - According to Reuters, South Korea's state-run Agricultural
and Fishery Marketing Corporation (AFMC) bought 30,000 tonnes of U.S. No.1 common edible soybeans from Cargill via tender on Wednesday, an AFMC official said.
The AFMC bought the soybean at $219.56 per tonne on a cost-and-freight basis, traders said.
SASKATCHEWAN COMBINING IN PROGRESS
Saskatchewan farmers have been harvesting at a good pace and are now projected to be 19
percent complete, says the weekly crop report, Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food.
Across the province, combining operations were almost three-quarters completed in parts of the southwest and only two percent completed in parts of the
northwest.
The grade quality of the spring wheat harvested thus far was above-average. Of the 11 percent harvested, 82 percent was
expected to grade No. 1 Canada Western (CW).
Different areas of Saskatchewan reported good harvesting conditions, with the exceptions of the areas with wind damage, which was reported in almost every
region.
Drought stress was also reported in some areas. Some crops were extremely dry, and seeds and seed pods were cracking.
WEEKLY HARVEST REPORT
Hard Red Winter
The hard red winter harvest is now complete and all samples have been collected
with the addition of Montana this week. Montana shows high average test weight at 61.4 lb/bu (80.8 kg/hl), average protein content of 13.3% with an average falling number of 413 seconds (3% of samples below 300
seconds). Montana wheat is also very dry, with an average moisture content of 9.6%. A final summary of the 2000 HRW crop will be included in a future report.
Soft Red Winter
The SRW survey is now completed. Test weights are running from 52.5 to 60.7 lb/bu (69.3 to 79.8 kg/hl). Protein content averages range
from 9.7% to 12.1%. Falling numbers range from 156 up to 377 seconds, with about 39% of the Illinois falling numbers below 300 seconds, thus caution should be exercised if purchasing wheat from this region.
Flour quality data indicate flour yield is averaging about 69.8% at .429% ash and 8.5% flour protein content. Wet gluten average is about 23.0%; farinograph
absorption is about 52% at 1.7 minute peak and 3.3 minute tolerance. Alveograph "W" value average is 91 with "P" value of 30 and "L" value of 129. Eighty-two percent of kernels are
retained on a 7-wire sieve, thus, indicating a very high percent of large, plump kernels.
Hard Red Spring
The hard red spring harvest is nearing completion with South Dakota finished, Minnesota 90% complete, Montana at 84% and North Dakota
76% harvested. Test weight average increased slightly for the week from 60.2 lb/bu (79.2 kg/hl) to 60.4 lb/bu ( 79.5 kg/hl). Last year's average was 59.3 lb/bu (78.1 kg/hl). The wheat protein content dropped very
slightly to 14.2% from 14.3% which is still higher than the long term average of 14.0%. Falling number average remains high at 395 seconds compared to 313 seconds for last year. The grading factors and average grade
changed very little from last week. The average percentage of vitreous kernels is 71% compared to 61% for the 1999 crop. Protein distributions: 23% of the crop is less than 13.5% wheat protein; 38% is between 13.5
to 14.5%; and 39% of the crop is greater than 14.5% wheat protein.
Soft White Wheat
The soft white harvest continues ahead of last year's pace and the five-year average. Idaho is 69% harvested, Oregon is 79% complete
and Washington is at 85%. Of the 59 SW samples received in the past week, 14 were from northeast Oregon, 12 were from east central Washington and 11 were from north Idaho. Compared to last week's data, test weight
decreased 0.1 to 61 lb/bu (80.1 kg/hl), 0.9% higher than the 1999 crop average. Dockage decreased 0.1 to 0.5%, slightly below last year's crop. Moisture decreased 0.1 to 8.6%, 1.5% lower than last year and protein
increased 0.1 to 9.1%, lower than 1999. Falling number stands at 319 seconds and sedimentation decreased 0.3 to 12.7 mL, well below the last year crop average. Overall, both moisture and protein content of the 2000
SW crop are lower than the 1999 crop.
Durum
Harvest of the 2000 Durum wheat crop is progressing ahead of last year and the five-year average according to the North Dakota Agricultural
Statistics Service office. Average test weight is 60.0 lb/bu (78.2 kg/hl), slightly higher than 59.8 lb/bu (77.9 kg/hl) for the 1999 crop. The average wheat protein content is 14.1% slightly higher than last year's
13.8%. The average dockage is 1.3% compared to 1.9% for last year. The falling number average is 416 seconds indicating the crop thus far is sound. Approximately one third of the samples tested were from
southwestern North Dakota. We have not received any preliminary grading information.
COUNTY SOYBEAN AND CORN PLOT TOURS SCHEDULED
The Norman County Corn Variety Plot Tour starting at 3:00 p.m. on Sept. 5th.
Location is one mile west of Perley, MN and ¼ mile south on the Bryan Hest Farmland. Over thirty conventional and Bt corn varieties of 80-85-90 day maturity.
Clay County's Soybean Plot Tour of the Minnesota Reseach Soybean Variety Trials will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Sept 5th at the Alvin Swanson farmland, one mile north of Kragness, MN Co. Rd. # 99 and 1 ½ miles west.
Mahnomen County Soybean and Corn Variety Plot Tour will be on Sept 6th starting at 12:00 noon with lunch sponsored by participating seed companies. The location is on the Paul & Bill Donner Farmland, one mile east of the Norman - Mahnomen County line on County Road # 6 or 5 ¼ miles west of Hwy # 59.
The University of Minnesota Research Variety Plot Tour will be on Sept. 6th starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Swenson Brother Farmland, two mile south of Shelly, MN and ¾ mile west on Rd. # 119. Soybean Research Plots have Public and Private varieties.
Norman County Soybean Plot Tour will be at 6:45 p.m. at the Doug Nelson farmland, three miles north of Ada, MN along Highway # 9. A number of Public
and Private, and Roundup Ready varieties will be viewed.
Norman County Soybean Plot Tour will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Jason Gilbertson Famland, south of Ada, MN ½ mile east of quansets along Highway #9.
The tour will conclude with Brats, Beans and Beverage at the 4-H Building, sponsored by participating seed companies.
Speaker for each plot tour will be Dr. Jim Orf, University of Minnesota Soybean Breeder, St. Paul, MN, variety performance; Ross Rehder, MN Soybean Council
Representative and Mark Beedy, Farmer and Clay County Soybean Grower Member with lobbying efforts in the State and Washington D.C. Corn and Soybean Company Representative are invited to cover their varieties
at each location.
WHEAT HARVEST WEATHER AROUND THE WORLD AND PRODUCTION ESTIMATES
Rain showers are still slowing the 2000-01 UK wheat harvest,
fueling continued concerns about overall quality. Sources indicate nearly 50% of the UK wheat crop has been harvested, but rain showers continue to hamper fieldwork and may be affecting the quality of the
unharvested portion.
Although falling number information is not yet available, a national UK farmers' union representative indicates initial specific weights were "not bad", seeing specific weights of up to 78 kg/hl (58.84 lb/bu). Progress for the remaining wheat crop will be closely tied to weather patterns over the next 5-6 days.
Meanwhile, a drier weather pattern in the final week of Germany's wheat harvest means quality is "generally better" than originally thought when
constant rain fell throughout much of the country. According to one European trader, the price for German bread quality wheat is firming domestically because of increased confidence about new crop wheat
quality.
Furthermore, the trader believes that France's poor quality wheat harvest this year will motivate Italy, Spain and Britain to buy substantial supplies of German milling wheat. Sources indicate grain harvesting in north and central Germany is virtually complete.
Late last week, the EU grains management committee cancelled two tenders for the export of intervention wheat stocks.
This move was seen by many industry observers as a way to retain milling quality wheat from the 1999-00 marketing year for the domestic channels due to quality concerns about the 2000-01 wheat crop. One EU official indicated bread quality wheat should not be exported, while EU flour millers are complaining that they are having difficulties finding adequate supplies in the face of rising prices. Moreover, the official suggested the cancellation of ACP tenders was a deliberate signal to the grain markets that domestic wheat prices are getting too high and need to "cool down". However, he believes there is potential for domestic wheat prices to fall, as signals from the UK and Germany are suggesting that the quality of this year's wheat harvest is better than originally thought.
On Friday, Statistics Canada released their production estimate for the 2000-01 Canadian wheat crop.
Statistics Canada pegged 2000-01 total Canadian wheat production at 25.4 MMT, down from last year's output of 26.9 MMT. The US trade was slightly surprised with the forecast as the trade estimated Canadian wheat production between 26.2 MMT and 26.9 MMT. Sources from Statistics Canada indicated their lower forecast was based on lower-than-expected wheat yields in Saskatchewan.
Harvest operations in Saskatchewan are 19% completed, well ahead of last year's 6%.
However, crops are reportedly showing damage from wind, drought and insects. Across Saskatchewan, combining operations are nearly 75% completed in parts of the southwest, but only 2% completed in parts of the northwest. Harvesting of fall-seeded crops is nearing completion with 86% of winter wheat combined.
According to a USDA attaché report released on Monday, favorable weather has raised Russia's 2000-01 wheat harvest forecast to 37.5 MMT, up from an original
estimate of 36.5 MMT, with wheat import estimates of 3.5 MMT and export estimates of 500 TMT remaining unchanged.
While local observers were forecasting even higher numbers, the attaché said locusts and a shortage of machinery would probably limit any additional increases.
USDA RELEASED CROP PROGRESS REPORT 08/28/00
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/field/pcr-bb/2000/
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