Agricultural Summary

Remnants of Hurricane Isaac dropped much needed rainfall across the state limiting farmers to 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork.  Rain fell slowly over several days misting plants, allowing good soil absorption, and limiting runoff.  Topsoil moisture supply improved to 35 percent very short, 33 percent short, 31 percent adequate, and 1 percent surplus.  Subsoil moisture supply remained low at 71 percent very short, 23 percent short, and 6 percent adequate.

Field Crops Report

Corn mature was 84 percent, 15 days ahead of last year, and 4 weeks ahead of normal.  Corn harvested increased 12 points to 44 percent, 3 weeks ahead of last year, and 4 weeks ahead of normal.  Corn moisture at harvest was 16.3 percent ranging from 17.5 percent in the north-central to 13.3 percent in the southwest district.  Corn condition at 58 percent very poor, 27 percent poor, 10 percent fair, 4 percent good, and 1 percent excellent, remained similar to last week.  Soybeans setting pods and beyond were 94 percent, 4 days ahead of last year, and 10 days ahead of normal.  Soybeans turning color and beyond were 27 percent, 1 week ahead of last year, and 8 days ahead of normal.  Soybeans dropping leaves and beyond were 7 percent, 6 days ahead of last year and normal.  Soybeans began to mature with condition rated 44 percent very poor, 33 percent poor, 17 percent fair, 5 percent good, and 1 percent excellent.  Cotton opening bolls and beyond was 43 percent, 6 days ahead of last year, and 3 days ahead of normal.  Cotton condition was 11 percent very poor, 29 percent poor, 40 percent fair, 18 percent good, and 2 percent excellent.  Rice harvested was 18 percent, 16 days ahead of last year, and 9 days ahead of normal with condition at 5 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 52 percent good, and 20 percent excellent.  Sorghum turning color and beyond was 61 percent, 5 days ahead of last year, and 4 days ahead of normal.  Sorghum mature was 24 percent, 8 days ahead of last year, and 6 days ahead of normal.  Sorghum harvest, at 2 percent complete, was 6 days ahead of last year, but the same as normal.  Sorghum condition was 26 percent very poor, 38 percent poor, 27 percent fair, and 9 percent good.  Alfalfa hay 3^rd cutting was 72 percent, 17 days behind last year, and 11 days behind normal.

Pasture & Livestock

Pasture condition improved from last week to 82 percent very poor, 17 percent poor, and 1 percent fair.  Some producers began to drill rye or other perennial grasses into pasture to prepare for fall.  Supply of hay and other roughages improved to 57 percent very short, 31 percent short, and 12 percent adequate.  Stock water supplies also improved to 65 percent very short, 26 percent short, and 9 percent adequate.  Prolonged precipitation was still needed to replenish stock water supplies.

Weather Summary

Temperatures were 1 to 4 degrees above average.  Precipitation averaged 2.84 inches statewide.  The west-central district received 3.73 inches, and Ray County received 8.86 inches last week.

The latest DTN/The Progressive Farmer Agriculture Confidence Index shows farmers have lowered their expectations for profitability this year due to the drought. Even so – they are more hopeful about the future than they were ahead of planting. The composite Agriculture Confidence Index accounts for how farmers feel about their present and future situations. It came in at 107 – with a value of 100 considered neutral, higher values indicating optimism and values lower than 100 indicating pessimism. When split into different time frames – the rating for the present is 120.4 – while the rating for future expectations is 98.2. The numbers indicate an attitude shift over the course of the growing season. Optimism about the current crop is down 20 points from March – but expectations for the future have actually strengthened slightly from 87.4 in March.

The view from agribusiness owners isn’t quite as rosy. The agribusiness composite index is 93.3. While business owners gave their current situation an optimistic 112.2 rating – their expectations for the future score only an 80.5. That is the lowest rating since DTN/The Progressive Farmer started tracking business confidence in 2010.

To get the Agriculture Confidence Index – at least 500 crop and livestock producers are surveyed about their input costs and farm income and whether they think those indicators will be better, worse or the same one year from now. Surveys are conducted before spring planting, before harvest and after harvest. Current ratings are based on responses to a telephone survey in August. The agribusiness index is based on responses collected from a minimum of 100 agribusinesses. The questions focus on current sales and profitability – as well as the direction business owners see those numbers heading 12 months into the future.

The United Soybean Board and Goodyear are continuing a partnership with a new tire featuring U.S. soy – which the company says may offer consumers more tread life and another opportunity to go green. USB New Uses Program Chair Russ Carpenter says this new tire highlights soy’s versatility in the marketplace. Goodyear is committed to caring for the environment and communities – according to Jean-Claude Kihn – Goodyear’s Chief Technical Officer – and the use of soy oil proves to be another way to accomplish this goal. Tests by the company show soy lowers petrochemical amounts from manufacturing the tires as well as increasing the tire’s efficiency by reducing energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Goodyear believes soy oil’s increased performance could yield up to 10-percent longer tread life. The company expects the new tires to be available to consumers as early as 2015 if testing runs smoothly.

Expectations for Tropical Storm Isaac to cause more damage to crops already affected by the drought has caused the price of soybeans to reach a record high. Those for September delivery have reached nearly 17-dollars and 70-cents per bushel and November delivery reached around 17-dollars and 63-cents per bushel. The storm has moved into the Delta and in some areas of Arkansas, Illinois and Indiana – flooding some soybean fields. While some areas had fairly good soybean crops – those crops now face more problems with the storm hitting soybeans in the final phase of growth – which don’t need a lot of moisture or the wind that could flatten the plants. Nearly 40-percent of the U.S. soybean crop is in poor to very poor condition and global supplies are low – though demand is strong.

Free agTools designed to help farmers get more yield potential from technology were unveiled in Boone, Iowa at the Farm Progress Show Wednesday. The tools include a suite of mobile applications that deliver commodities, weather radar maps, exclusive agronomic information, industry news, grain elevator pricing and more to farmers’ tablets and smartphones. DEKALB Brand Manager Rick Myroup says the Asgrow, DEKALB and Deltapine brands are committed to innovation inside and outside of the seed bag and have launched this exciting lineup of agTools to provide customized information to meet their customer’s specific needs, when they need it.

The agTool agSeedSelect lets farmers create, store, e-mail and print a seed guide tailored to their specific geography and crops. It also allows farmers and dealers to create a record of those products specific for the operation and features videos of agronomists providing detailed information about top Asgrow soybean, DEKALB corn and Deltapine cotton products. agIndex is a dashboard app that provides commodity updates, exclusive agronomic information, weather with radar maps and industry news. Farmers can set weather, commodity and insect alerts based on their location and crop portfolio. With agExchange – farmers can plan their grain marketing and determine the best time and place to sell their inventory. Farmers can plan mileage costs into their ROI and maintain transaction records in one convenient place. Weed Manager PLUS delivers accurate, region-specific weed management recommendations, a tank-mixing tool, videos outlining best management practices and a measurement conversion calculator.

Farmers attending the Farm Progress Show can actually get the apps downloaded to their devices, speak to the experts or get hands-on experience at the agCentral display in Asgrow and DEKALB tent number 852. They are also available at agToolCenter dot com (http://agToolCenter.com), the Apple App store or the Google Play store.

More information is available at www dot asgrowanddekalb dot com (www.asgrowanddekalb.com). Farmers can also contact their local Asgrow and DEKALB dealer.

Using the past season as a guide for planning for the coming year isn’t the best policy for growers who want to get the most from each acre. That’s according to a DuPont Pioneer crop production expert who says it’s best to plan for next year by looking at the long-term weather trends. Brent Wilson – DuPont Pioneer Technical Services Manager – notes weather changes from year to year and we can’t predict what will happen the next growing season. So rather than using this year’s drought as a guide – for example – he says growers should look at several seasons and rely on that information to make decisions.

Because 2012 was not a typical year in most regions – Wilson suggests relying on years prior to 2012 for seed product selection and placement. He says making product selections based on one year of experience alone may not be a sound strategy. Wilson also advises speaking with a seed professional – and doing so early in the season to reserve the desired products.

As for fertilizer applications for 2013 – Wilson says most growers planned for a larger crop than they realized and should use grain removal as a guide for phosphorous and potassium application. Because of the drought – he says there may be opportunities to take nitrogen credits going into next year. Waiting to apply nitrogen in the spring – according to Wilson – may allow better decisions on how much nitrogen may be available for the following crop.

Wilson offered these suggestions at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service now is gathering final information on the 2012 U.S. small grains crops – focusing on harvested acreage, crops produced and stored – until September 17th. Also – NASS is conducting a survey of current hog inventories. Bob Bass – NASS National Operations Center Director – says with the most recent crop production report forecasting corn and soybean production at the lowest levels in years – it is as important as ever that farmers, livestock producers, grain dealers, policy makers and others using the statistics receive the best possible estimate.

Nearly 73-thousand producers will receive the survey and are asked to respond. Some already have received their surveys and can fill it out online or mail it back to NASS. Those who do not respond will receive a phone call from NASS representatives to help them respond. Bass says that NASS recognizes farmers and ranchers are having a rough summer – but NASS hopes they realize the value of the information to their businesses, communities and industries – therefore taking the time to respond to the surveys.