Reduced corn yields in Brazil

By Eduardo Paim: 

 

At this point we can begin to understand that we will not have all the corn we expected toharvest in the northern state of Mato Grosso. On the best plantandos early corn we are now realizing a 20% reduction in production and the corn that suffered from the lack of rain we can expect a reduction in output of up to 35% (or even more); In southern Mato Grosso harvest has not yet begun. We first started harvesting in the north. The producers here waiting better prices and have almost almost no  maize (best price of $ 9.00 per 60kg sack) now have price U $ 6.30 per bag of 60 pounds. Inother words, we're not reaping all the maize that was expected and the price can be better! But every time our government informs the numbers they say that production will record ... do not understand how the less becomes more? 

Soybeans have little available, prices plummeted but producers are not selling hoping to return to U.S. $ 29.50, today we have U $ 26.00. We're not seeing crashes in 2015, prices are very low (about $ 19.00).

Newer Hybrids Need Nitrogen Later in the Growing Season

Researchers with Iowa State University and Pioneer have studied nitrogen uptake in corn to better manage nitrogen.  They have found That hybrids developed since about 1990 take up more nitrogen later in the growing season.  The implication is that early applied nitrogen may be less than ideal for top yields.  It also looks like nitrification inhibitors may play a bigger role in nitrogen management.  High clearance equipment for sidedressing is also looking like a good nitrogen management tool.  Check the link above for more details. 

Road Trip to Chicago

We made a weekend road trip to Chicago.  We like to take I-57 north from Champaign.  When we got to Decatur, we decided to head toward Bloomington because of storms. Crops along the way looked good until Dwight.  There were a few spots showing stress from wetness.  North of Dwight the wetness issues got worse.  The addition rain probably added to the stress.  Soils remain on the dry side in my home area.

On the way home we were able to return via I-57.  There was lots of wetness stress and heavy rains had fallen on Saturday as well.  Where not drowned out, crops were looking decent.  Along the I-57 corridor,  the corn was not as far along as other corn we have seen.  only maybe 50% was pollinating until we got close to Champaign.  Kaskaskia River was running bank full at Tuscola. We still had no rain at Hillsboro when we arrived home, but as we tried to unload the car we had a pop up shower. 

Road Trip to Carmi

A friend has been telling me about his farm in White County for 25 years.  Friday I finally took a ride with him to the farm.There will be another blog about what we were looking at later.

Almost the whole trip we were commenting to each other about the good condition of both the corn and soybeans.  As we got closer to Crossville we were starting to see the effects of wetness.  Double crop soybean planting is mostly complete.  The field below is near Crossville.  Moisture was excellent in that field and the stand was almost 100%. 

Double Crop Soybeans

Unmanned Aerial Systems

Farm Magazines and other media have made a big deal over the use of unmanned aerial systems in agriculture over the past few years.  60 Minutes has even covered the topic.  A number of agriculture related media sponsored a Precision Aerial Agriculture Show at the Farm Progress site in Decatur yesterday.  The show had lots of vendors on hand.  Two buildings were used for lectures.  The program was well organized and informative. Chad Colby and other organizers did a good job

Below are some photos of some of the products on display.  This is not an endorsement of any particular product.  It is just to show examples of what is available.  I caught the end of a lecture by Trimble.  They have a $50000 system that they will not sell unless the buyer has legal permission to use it.  Hoverfly has a tethered product that is legal under current rules. The problem with Hoverfly is limited utility.

One of the interesting lectures was a discussion of legal issues by New York attorney Brendan Schulman.  FAA rules and court rulings are not always in agreement, and cases are moving through the courts.  FAA has rule clarifications open for comments. Deadline for comments is July 25.  The rule below would pretty much put Ag on hold till final rules are done in 2015. 

Agriculture and real estate are singled out.  In the past the thought has been that as long as no money exchanges hands, unmanned aerial systems could be used. The propo,sed rule changes that.

One thing I don't see mentioned is the movie industry.  Those guys use unmanned aerial systems to make money.  I guess they could film in foreign countries.  

A big part of utilizing UAS is photo analysis. Pix4D and Field of View caught my eye, but they seem expensive.  Trimble's system included flying ship and software.

The Decatur Aerocommanders  made the show possible by their presence.  They also had some interesting aircraft on display

                                     Flying wings are one of the genera used in agriculture

                                                 Multi-blade coptors are also popular

                         
                        This aircraft is for aerial application.  Size and weight might be be a problem.

Road Trip to Decatur

I took a road trip to Decatur for the Precision Aerial Agriculture Systems program today.  There will be more on the topic another day. 

About 90% of the corn I saw was pollinating.  I saw more wetness stress than drought stress, but over all the corn crop looks very good.  The soybeans were also in good shape for the most part.  Some are as tall as thigh high. I did not go into any fields, but I suspect most of the soybeans are blooming too. 

Business Commits to Small Town Roots

National Bank is a small town bank with headquarters right here in Hillsboro Illinois.  They have locations in 11 communities in south-central Illinois and provide complete banking services to our business and agricultural people. Most people in  Hillsboro were delighted to hear the bank  was needing more space and planned to construct the new building below. The building covers a half block in the downtown area.  The building was designed to blend in with historic architecture in the downtown area.  Workers were hired locally to the extent possible to complete the construction.  All this is the good news.

The bad news is that the construction has been completed for 3 months.  They did everything possible to eke sure they were in compliance with all  banking   and environmental regulations.  Despite their  best efforts, banking regulators are holding up the move to the new facilities because of NEPA issues that should have been addressed during the planning and construction phase.  While I do not have all the details, it would appear to be an example of government run amuck. Small towns need committed business and we have one, but we seem to be bogged down here.