Farm Journal back issues from January 2006:
What happened to January weakness?
Jan 03, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback One of the most frustrating aspects of the market is that you can look at its history and at the fundamentals to develop a strategy-and it still may not be viable. Once a game plan is developed and you have taken some time to mull it over in your mind, you ...
Why the strong rally in soybeans?(invest in corn, beans and wheat )
Jan 04, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback As far as I can tell, it's not about the fundamentals; it's all about the index funds, which are looking to diversify their holdings. They have been holding money back until the new year to invest in corn, beans and wheat to diversify their holdings against ...
What are the demand prospects for corn?(demand of feeds)
Jan 05, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback The first cornerstone of demand is feed usage, which is going to increase in my opinion. Grain buyers are attempting to lock up farmers in multiple-year commitments around the $2.50 to $2.60 level. This is a strong sign that end users are worried about ...
AgDay Daily Recap - 01/06/06.
Jan 06, 2006 ... TODAY ON AGDAY: JANUARY 6, 2006 NCC – WTO ISSUES: 2006 ISN’T STARTING OFF STRONG FOR COTTON PRODUCERS. WITH COTTON SUBSIDIES SET TO END THIS YEAR AS PART OF THE DOHA TALKS, ...
It's report week!
Jan 09, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback The January supply and demand report, which will be released on the 12, will put some finality to the size of last year's crop. Our expectation is that the 2005 crop is going to get a little bigger, and carryover will drift a little higher. However, ...
A correction in soybeans.
Jan 09, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback Today's correction was no surprise since the rally was not justified based on the fundamentals. Early estimates of next week's supply and demand report are starting to come in. The estimates are 58.4 for Brazil and 41.25 for Argentina. If we don't start ...
Volatility in the wheat market.
Jan 10, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback The wheat market has been on a roller coaster ride since last June. The July 2006 contract has now experienced three moves in the market of at least 30cents each time. The wheat market appears to be attracting a lot of index and speculative fund ...
Everything we feared and more.
Jan 12, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback When the bean market was rallying last week on funds buying, we were questioning our bearish prospective of the market. Did they know something we didn't? We recommended selling a little but not as much as our convictions suggested. Today's report, however, ...
The report's influence on corn prices.(markets)
Jan 13, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback If the expected cash-flow movement surfaces during the next four weeks, you should anticipate the March corn contract to drift back to the $2 levels. In my opinion, it will be difficult for prices this summer to move above $2.40. What about new ...
In the pipeline for corn.(corn prices)
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback How can the market react with such large stock in corn? The answer: There's more than $300 billion available to hedge funds to put into commodities. Granted, most funds don't place much more than 4% to 5% in corn or beans, but if the metals, sugar, meats ...
Move The Needle.(ethanol fuel)
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Jeanne Bernick On the outskirts of Wichita, Kan., in the small town of Colwich, the Abengoa ethanol plant churns out 25 million gallons of corn-based fuel per year. Yet most Wichita drivers have no idea ethanol is made in their backyard, much less that it's available at ...
Conservation Now.
Jan 17, 2006 ... Byline: Darrell Smith Fall-Seeded Rye Benefits Rye, no-tilled after corn harvest, serves several purposes for Dan Weiss and his brother Don who farm near Durand, Wis. "Our soil is sandy, so we like to have cover growing on all our fields going into winter to prevent ...
New Products.(Gorgonz Performance Work Gear produces Breathable Work Gloves)(temperature logger)(portable cutting system)
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Michelle Kowalski and Pam Henderson Waterproof, Breathable Work Gloves The waterproof Winter Pro 475 glove from Gorgonz Performance Work Gear has an engineered microporous liner that is 100% waterproof and allows hands to breathe by letting moisture from ...
Tailgate Talk.
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Rod Larson Curse of the North Prairie One beautiful, early spring day twenty-some years ago, I was on a flight over northern Illinois. The skies were clear, the air was warming and the snow had melted, but field work was still a good week or two away. ...
Production Journal.
Jan 17, 2006 ... We Look Forward to Seeing You If you're hankering to get out of the office, shop or house, pack your bags and head to Louisville, Ky., for the 2006 National Farm Machinery Show and Championship Tractor Pull. Held Feb. 15 to Feb. 18 at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, the ...
Editor's Notebook.
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Karen Freiberg Take A Chance At the Prize Have you ever entered a contest thinking there's no way you'll win? In my own experience, lotteries and raffles are good examples. What are the odds-hundreds or even millions to one that you will win? Now ...
Aggressive Biofuels Agenda.
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Sonja Hillgren As part of an ambitious plan to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports from the Middle East, every vehicle in the U.S. should be manufactured to run on 85% ethanol, says R. James Woolsey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). ...
Viewpoint.(biofuels market)
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Sonja Hillgren Hooray for Soybean Oil Biodiesel may be ethanol's little brother when it comes to market size, but the soybean fuel has more cache every day. Country music star Willie Nelson and his wife, Annie, fuel their cars with biodiesel. Nelson also ...
Outlook.(agriculture)(Industry Overview)
Jan 17, 2006 ... Byline: Bob Utterback New Year's Perspective Sales Index Key Excellent sales opportunity: 10 Excellent buying opportunity: 1 The market saw a good Thanksgiving-to-Christmas rally, but is it going to have a hangover in the new year? ...
Policy Journal.
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Sonja Hillgren Creation of the Next Farm Bill Top USDA officials held 52 Farm Bill Forums in 48 states last year. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns presided over 22 of those 52 listening sessions devoted to shaping the 2007 Farm Bill. Only Louisiana and ...
Technology Journal.
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Pam Henderson Claw Your Way Out Whether you're driving through snow, mud or sand, with today's traction technology there is no need to get stuck. GoClaws is designed for highway and off-road driving and is manufactured by Flex-Trax, Inc., Rainsville, Ala ....
$100 Ideas.
Jan 17, 2006 ... Clean as a Whistle-Almost The easiest way to keep a shop or shop office clean-short of taking your shoes off-is to never track in dirt and mud. To make cleanliness something you literally can't pass up, cut a hole in the concrete, and place a 1" strap-iron grate in front of ...
Dealers Unite to Deliver RTK Accuracy.(Real-Time Kinematics)
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith The benefits of Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) auto-steering began to surface as soon as a few Corn Belt farmers adopted the technology. With the ability to provide sub-1" accuracy, repeatable year after year, the advantages are obvious. Add in today's high ...
Crop Tech.
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Pam Henderson Rays of Growth Missouri farmers nearly doubled their number of sunflower acres in 2004-for a total of more than 10,000 acres. The U.S. planted more than 2.5 million acres of sunflowers in 2005-mostly in North Dakota and South Dakota-but interest ...
Helpline.
Jan 17, 2006; ... Byline: Jonathan D. Finck Estate Matters Create TensionM Q I have lived with a gentleman on his ranch in Colorado for 11 years. In that time, aside from about 40 days working outside the home each year, I have worked side by side with him on the ranch. We were ...
The funds cannot defy the natural pull of the market.
Jan 18, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback The bean complex has crumbled under bearish supply fundamentals. We have learned that the mighty funds can drive the market up short term,but without fundamental reason for the rally they can't defy the natural pull of the markets. New crop ...
Recommended target selling prices for corn.
Jan 23, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback This perhaps is one of the toughest questions to answer for a producer. Should the target price be a function of your cost of production? My answer is yes. Cost of production is very important in the initial planting decision of deciding crop mix. However, ...
What will drive soybean prices higher?
Jan 24, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback The bean market has taken a real swan dive since the first of year fund buying. By the end of the week, the tone was that the market had overdone the correction. I would not be surprised to see a little bounce, but a major recovery is a real problem. While ...
A strong rally in corn.(Brief Article)
Jan 25, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback The market rallied hard today on big fund buying and limited cash movement. We would not be surprised to see this market get a little overdone short term. The anticipated cash flow sales more than likely will show up in February,but the lows appear to be in ...
John's World.(farm machinery and land auctions)(Column)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: John Phipps Lights, Camera, Auction Rural America is drenched in drama. Unfortunately, it plays out like a runaway glacier. There are, however, events that compress the time scale and provide immense entertainment. One of these is the ritualized morality play ...
Editor's Notebook.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Karen Freiberg Ah, open roads. Less traffic and no rush-hour rage. Most of us think we're safer because less traffic means less chance of being in an accident-right? And you most likely drive a pickup, which is a big vehicle and, therefore, one of the safest on the open ...
Production Journal.(Brief Article)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith Check for Carryover Nitrogen Checking your fields for available nitrogen (N) could shave serious dollars off your 2006 fertilizer bill, says University of Wisconsin (UW) soil scientist Larry Bundy. After harvest last fall, Bundy took ...
Light-Stepping Combo.
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith A multi-tasking, high-flotation combine chassis pulls double duty for Mark Topp. In the fall, the chassis cradles a grain box to create a self-propelled cart that speeds harvest while tiptoeing across fields. In the spring, the box comes off, and a spray ...
Skills run in the family.(Kyle Heitman's nephews Bryce and Brandt carry on family tradition of fabricating equipment)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith There's a touch of pride in Kyle Heitman's voice when he talks about his brother Loring's sons Bryce and Brandt. The teenagers are carrying on the family tradition of fabricating equipment. "They saved us $2,000 by building new gates for our hog ...
New Products.(Central City Scale's Big Dog Drag Scrapers)(BatteryMINDer Battery and Alternator Condition Tester )(Screw Adjust Residue Manager Option )(Braketex and Clutchtex)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Michelle Kowalski Scrape It Together Load, transport and spread with a wide range of tractors starting at just 75 hp (two-spool hydraulics required) using a new line of machines from Central City Scale's Scraper Division. Central City offers Big Dog Drag ...
Less Safe Than You Think.(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Pam Henderson You may think pickups are safer to drive, but new numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show pickups, thanks to their high-profile designs, are two times more likely to roll over than passenger cars. Rollovers account for ...
In the shop.(high-tech terminology for modern agricultural equipment)(Column)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Dan Anderson High-Tech Terminology Your mechanic says you need a new relay to power up the driver in the processor that controls the solenoids for your three-point lift system. What the heck is he talking about? Modern farm equipment comes with a ...
Policy journal.(American Farm Bureau Federation convention)(United States Department of Agriculture)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Sonja Hillgren Energy Costs to Cut Farm Revenues Steep fertilizer and fuel prices were key worries at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) convention last month. Jim Sullivan, vice president of Informa Economics, projected that energy prices will push ...
Viewpoint.(American Farm Bureau Federation)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Sonja Hillgren Reform Immigration Law Late last year, the House passed a tough immigration and border security bill in response to voter disgust over failure to stem a flood of illegal aliens and to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S. The ...
Tailgate Talk.(Sherry Wegner Crop Insurance )
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith and Karen Freiberg Of Combat and Corn Fields Although he packs a weapon like other soldiers, Master Sergeant Ronnie Wegner fights his war in Iraq with knowledge about seeds, chemicals and farmer co-ops. Wegner is nearing the end of his second ...
Outlook.(grain and livestock industry)(Column)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback Livestock Limbo Sales Index Key Excellent sales opportunity: 10 Excellent buying opportunity: 1 In the past few columns I've focused a great deal of attention on the grain markets. Now, it's time to throw in a ...
Helpline.(premarital counseling)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Jonathan D. Finck Before You Walk Down the Aisle A couple of letters asking about premarital counseling-in addition to thoughts of a new year and Cupid visiting in February-motivated me to spend some time on the subject. The readers who wrote were interested ...
Machinery journal.(Precision Planting introduces three new planter attachments)(Case IH fertilizer placement equipment)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Katie Humphreys Attachments Designed to Improve Seed Spacing Precision Planting introduces three new planter attachments-a vacuum disk, a seed belt and a seed tube-to improve seed spacing for a wide range of planters. The vacuum disk, eSet, for John Deere ...
In-Season Ideas.
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Katie Humphreys and Michelle Kowalski The Engine That Could You turn the ignition switch, you hear a click and then the starter groans as though it doesn't have the gumption. Finally, the engine sputters and comes alive. It is a common misconception that, once ...
Corrected Flex.(Monsanto Co.'s Roundup Ready Flex cotton )
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Pam Henderson It's true. The new Roundup Ready Flex cotton trait allows you to spray Roundup over the top, past the fourth leaf stage, to within a week of harvest. But Monsanto Company maintains that the flexibility ends when it comes to herbicide formulations. You'll ...
Best of Beltwide.(Beltwide Cotton Conference)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Pam Henderson Come the first of the year, you can count on cotton growers and scientists flocking to the Beltwide Cotton Conference to uncover new tricks and trends of the trade. Here's some of what our editors found at the most recent event in San Antonio, Texas. ...
Cotton Journal.(Cotton Inc.)(cotton insecticides)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Pam Henderson and John Leidner Cotton Wipes Up Oh baby ...what a way to wipe. Cotton's image of being pure, soft and gentle seems to be a natural fit for the proverbial baby wipe. Most parents don't realize that nearly all wipes are made of synthetic ...
Two careers in one.(Kyle Berck builds and races dirt-track stock cars)(Biography)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Dan Anderson Some farmers drive over-the-road semis to earn extra money during the off-season. Others sell gadgets they manufacture in their shop. Kyle Berck builds and races late-model dirt-track stock cars. "It started out as a hobby, racing go-carts when I ...
Technology journal.(new products from Trimble)(United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service makes plastics that expand or contract when stimulated by electricity)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Charlene Finck and Pam Henderson On Deck at Trimble Here's a quick peak at the Trimble technology you can expect to see late this winter and early spring. Farm Journal was fortunate to get a heads up on these introductions-to share with you. At the ...
$100 Ideas.
Jan 30, 2006 ... Every Last Ounce Before you throw away your "supposedly empty" grease gun cartridges, try this to salvage every last bit of grease. Weld a washer that's the same diameter of a grease cylinder to an end of a 1' round rod. You'll be amazed at the amount of grease that you can ...
New Kinze Meter Goes to the Field.(Kinze EdgeVac planter)(Product/Service Evaluation)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Charlene Finck The first thing you notice in the field with the Kinze EdgeVac planter is the sound of the vacuum blower. It drew quick attention from the farmers helping Farm Journal test the new meter last spring. Kinze supplied an 8-row prototype planter for ...
Wheat Journal.(new harvesting system designed by United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service)(Texas Small Grains Advisory Committee wants to improve whole-wheat tortilla quality)(National Association of Wheat Growers partners with Intercrop, Inc.)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Jeanne Bernick and Darrell Smith New Harvesting System A wheat harvesting system designed by a USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agricultural engineer promises to reduce farmers' cost, simplify stubble management and possibly produce cleaner grain. ...
Spray quandary.(preventing Asian soybean rust)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Boyd Kidwell William Tankard was one of many North Carolina farmers who applied fungicides to soybeans in 2005. Tankard's low-lying fields near Bath, not far from the Pamlico Sound, have a history of plant diseases, so it's no surprise that his concern about Asian ...
Coal-Fired Future.(coal power)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Jeanne Bernick In a field on the outskirts of Heron Lake, Minn., so-named for its 6,000-plus acre lake inhabited by throngs of heron and other waterfowl, local farmers and main street investors are building the state's first ethanol plant powered almost entirely by black ...
In your dreams.(truck diesel engines)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Dan Anderson So your grain trucks and wagons couldn't keep pace with your combine last fall? Will a Caterpillar 797 truck that lugs 360 tons or 12,860 bu. per trip do the trick? If your dryer has a high-capacity unloading system, the Liebherr T282, which ...
Conservation Now.(crop investigations)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith Cover Crop Investigations When he began no-tilling more than a decade ago, Doug Palen of Glen Elder, Kan., worried about planting through surface residue. Now he's looking for ways to create more of it by growing cover crops. But producing ...
Cotton Steps Up.
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Brett Shepard Northeast Arkansas rice grower Wayne Wilkison's decision to switch to cotton wasn't exactly rash. After all, he pondered the move for five years. "My neighbors believed it was just talk," Wilkison says. "They took me seriously last season when they saw ...
Cotton Country.(Georgia Farm Bureau convention)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: John Leidner No Easy Answers Journalists who write about cotton like nothing better than to eavesdrop on a lively discussion about our favorite crop. Fiber quality and policy challenges were hot topics at Georgia Farm Bureau's recent convention. ...
Field Notes.
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Doug Martin Reflections from the Combine Seat When you're behind the wheel of the combine, it's an ideal time to think about how your crop turned out and how you can improve. My father, my uncle and I discuss our ideas during harvest when we meet for lunch ...
To buy or not to buy.(evaluating a used planter takes time and knowledge)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Dan Anderson Shopping for a used planter requires a handful of wrenches, a tape measure and patience. It's not hard to check the frame for cracks and the hydraulic system for leaks. But evaluating the seed delivery system on a used planter takes a little more time and ...
Air-Tool Tips.
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith Sometimes an off-farm job provides more than a paycheck. His job at a power company has equipped Stanton, N.D., farmer Wayne Windhorst with more than 20 years of experience repairing, maintaining and installing pneumatic equipment. Knowledge he gained while ...
Put bio-waste to work.(using municipal bio-solids on farmland)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Del Deterling Rick Bond knows a bargain when he sees one. When he heard that the City of Omaha, Neb., was paying farmers to let the city dispose of its sludge on their cropland, he figured it was worth investigating. "Several of my neighbors who tried it said ...
No-Till on the Steep.
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Del Deterling Farming steep hills is no great challenge for Trevor Gress, his father, David, and brother Aaron since converting to no-till farming a dozen years ago. "If anything, no-till makes it easier to farm steep soils because we don't have to contend with ditches ...
Shop Journal.(building a farm shop)
Jan 30, 2006; ... Byline: Darrell Smith Room to Work in Comfort When Tom Krumm built a new shop in 1998 his objectives included room to work on several projects at once, plenty of workbenches and storage space, sufficient electrical outlets and a bright work area. Eight years later, ...
The market move in soybeans and why.
Jan 31, 2006; ... Byline: Bob Utterback The market move now is all about expectation and fear. Fear that Brazil's crop will be below 58 mmt and fear that the current break in beans will reduce farmers' motivation to increase planted acres in the U.S. This concern has been translated into a stop ...