[copious.abundance]

The final corn and soybean numbers for 2008 are in. And the verdict is . . .

--> LINK <--
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]2008 corn crop tops 12 billion bushels, beans at 2.96 billion
Monday, January 12, 2009, 12:04 PM
by John Perkins

The United States Department of Agriculture's 2008 final crop production estimates for corn and soybeans came out above all expectations.

Corn was pegged at 12.101 billion bushels, the second largest on record behind 2007's 13.038 billion bushels and up 1% from November's guess of 12.020 billion. Before the report, estimates ranged from 11.880 billion to 12.078 billion bushels, with an average of 11.982 billion. Average yield was also the second biggest ever at 153.9 bushels per acre. That's compared to the November estimate of 153.8 bushels per acre and the 2007 average of 151.1. The average expectation was 153.3 bushels per acre, in a range of 152.3 to 154.5. 2008's planted area came out at 85.982 million acres, compared to 2007's 93.527 million. Harvested area for 2008 totaled 78.640 million acres, compared to 2007's 86.520 million.

Soybeans were placed at 2.959 billion bushels, the fourth largest in U.S. history. November's guess was 2.921 billion bushels and the 2007 total was 2.676 billion bushels. Analysts were expecting production to be around 2.910 billion bushels, with a range of 2.879 billion to 2.940 billion. That’s 1% more than November's projection and up 11% from last year. The average yield came out at 39.6 bushels per acre, up slightly from November's 39.3, but down 2.1 from 2007's record of 41.7 bushels per acre. 2008's planted area for soybeans came out at 75.718 million acres, compared to 2007's 64.741 million, while harvested area for 2008 was pegged at 74.641 million acres, compared to 64.146 million for 2007.

[...]

[bratticus]

ammonium hydrate fertilizer is made of guess what?
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Shaky Ground: Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute Could Affect U.S. Fertilizer Supply

Sara Muri, Top Producer Business & Crops Online Editor
AgWeb
January 9, 2009

... skip ...

While the event is still unfolding, concern has already been raised on how this will affect U.S. fertilizer availability this spring. Chrislip says it is likely U.S. fertilizer supplies could be affected.

“Some of the nitrogen production in some countries has already been shut down,” he says. “It looks like it could very easily shut down additional urea capacity in the world, at a time when urea stocks are going to need to be built up before the spring season. It certainly could have an impact on supply availability for spring.”

... snip ...

[copious.abundance]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bratticus', 'a')mmonium hydrate fertilizer is made of guess what?

[copious.abundance]

'Bout time to resurrect this thread. Where's lorenzo? Or is he on Mt Everest right now?

>>> Bloomberg <<<
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Brazil’s Crop Output Could Triple With Amazon Plan, Unger Says
By Fabiola Moura

April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil could triple its agricultural output without harming the Amazon rainforest by converting to farmland areas now used for low-intensity ranching, Minister of Strategic Affairs Roberto Mangabeira Unger said.

“For every acre under cultivation in Brazil, there are more than four acres given over to low-intensity ranching and much of that has become degraded pasture land,” Mangabeira Unger said in an interview today in New York. “If we could recover even a small part of that territory, we could double the area under cultivation and triple our agricultural output in a brief time without touching a single tree.”

[...]

[copious.abundance]

Speaking of India and agriculture, looks like India's gonna have another bumper wheat crop. Funny how these doomsday theories just never seem to come true

>>> LINK <<<
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]USDA revises India’s March wheat output
2009-04-13 12:30:00

WASHINGTON : The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised India's wheat output slightly upward at 78.6 million tones in March from 78.4 million tones in February.

If the USDA projections come true, India will be harvesting a bumper crop for the second consecutive year. The country had produced a record 78.57 million tones last year, which had helped the government to procure over 22.6 million tones for the public distribution system.

The US seems to be more positive about India's wheat harvest as it projects higher output at 78.6 million tones for 2008-09, compared with the Indian government's estimate of 77.78 million tones.

Meanwhile, the Indian government is yet to revise its second advance estimate, which was released much before the harvest season, though officials have expressed that the output would be higher than 77.78 million tones. Wheat harvesting has already commenced from mid-March.

Major wheat growing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Besides India, USDA has also marginally increased the estimates for Australia, Morocco, Mexico and Bangladesh.

The estimate for global wheat production has also been raised by 1.6 million tunes to a record 684.4 million tones during marketing year 2008-09, it said. The marketing period of wheat varies from country to country.

[copious.abundance]

BTW fertilizer prices are coming down.

>>> Fertilizer Prices Coming down <<<
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '4')/13/2009 3:49:00 PM
Fertilizer Prices Coming Down

Fertilizer prices increased dramatically then decreased during the past two years, with many producers delaying fertilizer purchases in hope that costs would continue to drop.

However, many dealers locked in costs last summer, so price decreases have lagged until they can sell current inventory. To better understand future price trends, it's helpful to examine world and port prices for fertilizer.

Nitrogen

Nitrogen prices tripled compared to two years ago, but world prices have dropped to early 2007 levels. Urea is a good example . . . This is good news for crop producers as they look at decreased grain prices for corn and wheat compared to a year ago. Fertilizer is still a good investment and lower prices help improve profitability, especially if you can buy lower cost N for sidedress application for corn or later summer application for wheat.

Phosphorus

Phosphate prices also have seen major declines (Figure 3). US and international fertilizer manufacturers are still producing 18-46-0 (DAP) and 11-52-0 (MAP) because of lower natural gas prices and lower super phosphoric acid costs, so product availability should not be a problem. Prices are just above $300 per ton. Information on 10-34-0 production and costs is difficult to find.

[...]

[TheAntiDoomer]

^OF2 not to even mention some exciting new ways to make fertilizer:

http://www.freeenergy.ca/news/127/ARTICLE/1525/2009-03-23.html

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ndre Roy is a man of many ideas. But his latest idea is garnering attention from scientists at Colorado State University.


Working in an industrial park in Berthoud, Roy developed an efficient process to turn dead trees into nutrient-rich fertilizer.

"There's no added chemicals," Roy said. "It's just 100 percent natural."

Roy's patent-pending process is now being called revolutionary by forestry and plant specialists at CSU.

[copious.abundance]

Swimming in milk!

>>> LINK <<<
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')ay 25, 2009 11:34 a.m. PT
Global milk glut squeezes dairy farmers, consumers
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD
AP BUSINESS WRITER

BARNHART, Mo. -- A collapse in milk prices has wiped away the profits of dairy farmers, driving many out of business while forcing others to slaughter their herds or dump milk on the ground in protest. But nine months after prices began tumbling on the farm, consumers aren't seeing the full benefits of the crash at the checkout counter.

The average price for a gallon of milk at grocery stores last month is down just 19 percent from its peak of $3.83 in July. Farmers, on the other hand, got $1.04 a gallon in April - 35 percent less than they were paid last fall. This winter, wholesale prices were down as much as 45 percent.

Price disparities are a fact of life both for farmers and anyone who shops at a supermarket, but the nature of milk - how it's stored, priced and sold around the world - makes the gap all the more dramatic. In fact, the price that farmers get has been wildly volatile for years, creating a succession of booms and busts felt from pastures to the grocery store.

[...]

[Ludi]

There was a glut of milk during the Great Depression also. Farmers were pouring milk on the ground because people were too poor to buy it.

Lots of farmers went out of business.

[efarmer]

The government bought a load of powdered milk and handed it
out back then as well Ludi. Dried beans, powdered milk, and
spuds were the common handout items to those waiting in
lines. My grandfather had a small grocery and said people
stole everything out of the bulk barrels on a regular basis,
like crackers and biscuits and dog kibble. He thought they
were bringing home the dog food until he saw a couple
of folks reach into their pocket and munch some out on
the street. Our food production is our strongest suit,
even in light of what petroleum scarcity would do to
it. Diverting grain from meat production would be a
major mitigating strategy if the medical industry
lobby would allow Congress to do it.

[copious.abundance]

Time for an update!

>>> LINK <<<
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]US plants second-largest corn crop, prices plunge
Reuters, Tuesday June 30 2009
By Roberta Rampton

* Corn plantings second-largest since 1946
* Corn futures drop daily limit
* USDA report implies ample stocks for livestock, ethanol
* Large crop could lead to lift in ethanol blend rate-AFBF
* Record soybean acreage, but less than expected

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - U.S. farmers have planted their second-largest corn acreage since 1946, the government said on Tuesday, shocking traders who thought that cold, wet spring weather in the U.S. Midwest had shrunk corn sowings.

Corn plantings rose 1 percent from last year to 87.035 million acres, the U.S. Agriculture Department said, up from March estimates of 84.986 million acres and above trade estimates that averaged 83.961 million acres.

"These numbers definitely are bearish on corn," said Mario Balletto, an analyst with Citigroup in Chicago, noting crop conditions bode well for strong yields.

The report pushed Chicago corn futures for July delivery down 9 percent to a low of $3.37-3/4 per bushel early on Tuesday -- a bottom not seen in four months -- and new-crop December futures plunged their daily trading limit of 30 cents per bushel to $3.67-1/4.

Barring bad weather during the rest of the growing season, U.S. livestock and ethanol producers should have ample supplies of corn, said Darrel Good, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois.

"This takes a lot of pressure off the corn, and we might continue to see a little weakness," Good said.
[...]

[mos6507]

It's good that corn and soybean are doing well because UG99 has wheat in its sights.

[copious.abundance]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'I')t's good that corn and soybean are doing well because UG99 has wheat in its sights.

[copious.abundance]

Good rice crop in Vietnam.

>>> Ze link <<<
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '0')6/29/2009
A bumper rice harvest for Vietnam

Provinces and cities have harvested more than 18.6 million tonnes of winter-spring rice, an increase of 312,000 tonnes compared with the same crop last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Thanks to favourable weather conditions and the agricultural extension programme, northern farmers had a bumper crop this year, yielding a total of more than 6.8 million tonnes, up 120,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, farmers in the Mekong River Delta – the country’s largest rice granary - harvested 9.8 million tonnes, up 23,000 tonnes. This year, they focused on planting high-quality rice strains for export and several special strains for local consumption.

The MARD has instructed southern farmers to begin transplanting summer-autumn and autumn-winter rice and at the same time encouraged them to expand the acreage.

[mos6507]

As Monte says, nature bats last. This chart ain't sustainable.

[copious.abundance]

Here's an interesting bit of news: They've had such good crops in other parts of the world lately, demand for US agricultural exports has dropped.

>>> LINK <<<
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Bumper world grain crop is reason behind drop in US exports and railroad grain traffic
June 17, 2009

Implications

In these troubling times of economic contraction, it’s easy to assume all cutbacks are due to financial problems or decreases in consumer demand as citizens around the world adjust their purchases to both declining incomes and declining levels of wealth. Such is not the case however, in the U.S. agricultural sector. The current collapse in export demand, ranging from -25% to -65% for the various crops grown in the US, is due to bumper crops in other grain consuming and exporting nations. This decrease in exports is the reason rail grain shipments are down 15% compared to last year.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'A')s Monte says, nature bats last. This chart ain't sustainable.

[Quinny]

Do you realise what you've just said.

[copious.abundance]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Quinny', 'D')o you realise what you've just said.