In the last eight months, corn prices have doubled while U.S. corn stocks dropped, stated a recent Wallaces Farmer article. Even with prices as high as they are today, it still looks as though 2011 corn acres are going to fall short of demand.

USDA will release its Planting Intentions report this Thursday, and farmers and grain traders alike are eagerly awaiting the numbers. In February, USDA economists said they anticipated close to 92 million acres to be planted to corn nationwide this spring, but even those 92 million acres (up from 88 million last year), wouldn’t be enough to satisfy demand.  Grain market analysts say this number falls five million acres short of what’s needed to help rebuild tight U.S. corn stocks.

The Dakota-Minnesota region which accounted for 16 percent of U.S. corn acres last year is being looked upon intently in this scenario. “If corn planting is delayed in that region, that will tend to push more acres into beans,” says Bob Wisner, retired Iowa State University Extension grain marketing economist.

As if there weren’t enough coals in the fire, ISU Extension climatologist Elwynn Taylor is projecting a 2011 drought based on a continuing strong La Nina. If this prediction comes true, the 2011 average U.S. corn yield could fall well short of the trendline. Taylor’s worst case scenario is a 148 bu/acre corn yield average in 2011, the article stated.

What are your thoughts on the current corn acre projections? Will you be planting any acres to corn this year?

Click here to read the full article at wallacesfarmer.com.

World-wide demand for U.S. soy is climbing, according to a recent article in Beyond the Bean. The U.S. Soybean Export Council believes the need for U.S. soy by users in eight countries could significantly increase over the next five to 10 years: China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Syria and Vietnam.

Escalating incomes among these citizens means they can now afford to consume more vegetable oils, protein, poultry, meat and fish. Thus, the animal producers in these countries will require more animal feed and food processors more vegetable oil.

In Southeast Asia, for example, the annual per capita meat consumption is expected to increase to 11 pounds by 2030. That’s double the amount of meat consumed by the average citizen a decade ago!

Soybean oil continues to be the preferred vegetable oil for consumption in the Middle East, and Syria’s growing demand has led to the construction of several new processing facilities.

Demand is also expected to increase for soy in China and Mexico, which are currently the United States’ strongest export markets. In 2010, China imported 825 million bushels of U.S. soy.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) predicts the global population will reach 8.3 billion by 2030. As the world’s population grows, demand for high-quality soybeans, soybean meal and soybean oil is expected to further increase.

Click the below links to read more about growing soy exports:
Growing global demand.
Can U.S. ports handle growing soy exports?

I had the honor of joining some Latham customers on combine rides last fall.  I talked with them about product performance and the markets. I talked with them about their goals for expansion or about their desire to pass their farm to their children.  Although agriculture has been a part of my life since I was a child, I was reminded during those conversations just what an incredibly special group of people farmers are.

That’s why when consumers have misconceived notions about food prices, food quality or “food versus fuel,” I have to give farming a voice. I believe it’s vitally important to educate individuals about today’s agriculture practices, so they have a better understanding of just how dinner arrived on their plate or clothes on their backs.

The South Dakota Corn Growers Association is doing a marvelous job at educating consumers about agriculture and the many reasons consumers should “thank a farmer.” With their recent campaign, the True Environmentalists, the SDCGA is sharing with consumers how farmers were concerned about the environment before being concerned was “trendy.”

This campaign website shares ways in which farmers work to protect the soil, air, water and wildlife.  It also shares 10 reasons consumers should “thank a farmer.”

One reason to thank a U.S. farmer is because their productivity allows us to save money at the grocery store.  Americans as a whole spend just 9.6 percent of their disposable income on food (including dining out) – the lowest percentage in history! Not only that, but according to a United States Department of Agriculture article, just 11.6 cents of every dollar we spend on that food makes it back to the farmer.

I encourage you to visit SDGA’s site and share this page with your Facebook friends and Twitter followers to help educate consumers about agriculture and provide them with a few of the many, many reasons they should thank a farmer today.

Thanks to those farmers in Latham country and beyond who work so hard to help feed and fuel our world!

“America’s ‘Most Valuable People’ aren’t found on magazine covers. Rather, they are found in farm fields, feed stores, and livestock barns. They are American farmers, a group whose labors, although largely unrecognized, are vital to the lives of all U.S. citizens – or at least the ones that eat,” writes the 2011 Ag Day Written Essay Contest Winner Nora Faris.

Faris of Concordia, Missouri, continues by writing, “In this modern age of supermarkets and 24-hour fast food restaurants, it has become increasingly hard for the American public to fathom where their food comes from. Long gone are the days when a chicken dinner meant selecting a bird from the henhouse. Today’s consumer, faced with an endless array of choices, selects their poultry with little knowledge of its origin, unaware of the work that went into producing and dispatching the bird. They fail to realize the vital connection between farm and food, between production and consumption. Little do they realize that without our nation’s strong agricultural infrastructure of farmers, their grocery store shelves would be bare.”

It’s so true that many Americans have no concept of where their food comes from or how it’s produced.  AgWeb Editor Greg Vincent recently conducted “man on the street” interviews in New York City by asking them, “What comes to mind when ya think of a farmer?”  Although the indivdiuals’ responses were entertaining, it was a sad commentary because it highlighted how many Americans are ignorant about their food supply. It’s one thing not to understand how a dairy cow is fed and cared for; it’s another thing to not even know that the milk in a milk chocolate bar was produced by a cow.

“Agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis. But too few people truly understand this contribution,” writes Jeffrey Stapper in the Southwest Farm Press.  “Today each American farmer feeds more than 144 people, a dramatic increase from 25 people in the 1960s. Quite simply, American agriculture is doing more – and doing it better.”

Hats off to America’s farmers who produce the safest, most abundant food supply in the world!  Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is  proud to help you feed and fuel the world.