Top 10 Ag Stories of 2014: 8, 9, 10

Weed Woes; Immigration; South American Production

(DTN photo illustration by Nick Scalise)

OMAHA (DTN) -- Our annual countdown of the top 10 agricultural news stories of the year begins today with stories 8, 9 and 10, as voted on by DTN analysts, editors and reporters.

No. 8: Weed Worries Spread

By Pamela Smith

DTN/Progressive Farmer Crops/Technology Editor

John Gricius had only seen pictures of Palmer amaranth. So last July, he decided to take a look for himself by attending a northern Illinois field day held near his farm.

What he found was his worst weed nightmare. "I've never seen weeds that thick," said the Manteno, Ill., farmer. Palmer amaranth towered over corn and smothered soybeans in the plot. University of Illinois and Bayer CropScience weed scientists have been using this piece of land near Kankakee, Ill., as a testing ground to see how Palmer amaranth behaves and what weed control practices work best in the Midwest. The weed population was discovered growing naturally at the site two years ago, about 75 miles southwest of Chicago.

Tough-to-control weeds coupled with their ability to resist popular herbicides dominated the agronomy scene in 2014. Palmer amaranth, the scourge of the South, became well-established in states where growers desperately hoped it would never grow. Purdue University weed scientist Bill Johnson told DTN Palmer amaranth has spread to nearly every corner of Indiana. "We now think we were misidentifying a lot of waterhemp that was really Palmer," Johnson said.

Meanwhile, waterhemp also continued to romp across the landscape. The weed capitalized on gaps in fields hammered by weather in Iowa and Nebraska. Missouri captured the dubious honor of having the first confirmed waterhemp population with resistance to five different classes of herbicides (glyposate, HPPD, PPO-Inhibitors, PS II-Inhibitors, ALS-Inhibitors). More multiple resistance and cross-resistance issues cropped up and the message that no "new" chemistries are coming in the near future intensified from the chemical industry.

To fight back, farmers reached for more residual herbicides and sequential residual applications in an attempt to plant clean and not rely on post-emergence rescue treatments. However, cost-cautious farmers are concerned about this spring as commodity prices leave little cushion for pricey inputs.

University of Tennessee weed scientist Larry Steckel said from 2006 to 2014, growers in his state saw the cost of corn herbicide controls grow to $60 to $70 per acre compared to $30 per acre. Soybean herbicide control has risen to $80 to $100 per acre, compared to $30 per acre during times of Roundup Ready dependence. Cotton farmers are experiencing herbicide costs of $100 to $120 per acre today, versus $60 per acre in 2006. Southern growers are also spending an additional $25 to $30 per acre for hand chopping crews, he said.

Purdue's Johnson polled a crowd of growers and custom applicators about herbicide costs during a meeting in Illinois in mid-December. The average cost for herbicides only in the Midwest was estimated at $60 per acre, compared to $30 to $40 per acre pre-glyphosate resistance.

An intense weed education campaign called "Take Action" (http://takeactiononweeds.com/…) sponsored by universities, industry and commodity associations identified the "11 to Threaten" weeds in the U.S. as: common waterhemp, Palmer amaranth, marestail (horseweed), giant ragweed, common ragweed, common lambsquarter, Johnsongrass, kochia, Italian ryegrass, barnyard grass and giant foxtail.

Still, it's the rapidly growing Palmer amaranth that seems to be driving the message home to growers such as Gricius. The long-term message for 2014: Farmers must begin once again to understand weed biology and herbicide interactions to manage weeds rather than simply kill them.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com


No. 9: Immigration

By Chris Clayton

DTN Ag Policy Editor

"Got a dream to take them there, they're coming to America," crooned Neil Diamond in the hit song "America" from the 1980 movie, "The Jazz Singer."

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While it's still a favorite for 4th of July firework celebrations, any remake of Diamond's famous tune would be far more complex and politically charged today.

If anyone thought the political landscape for immigration reform couldn't get more complicated, 2014 proved them wrong. The House of Representatives rejected calls to take up a comprehensive immigration bill the Senate passed in 2013. Meanwhile, a surge of kids from Central America created political controversy throughout the summer over whether they could stay in the U.S. and exactly where they should be housed. Those children, coupled with fears over Ebola in the U.S., effectively eliminated any possibility for Congress to complete an immigration reform bill.

Following another mid-term drubbing, President Barack Obama instead unveiled an executive order in late November to essentially defer deportations for an estimated 3.5 million to 5 million undocumented immigrants by up to three years. Those affected would have to show they have lived in the U.S. for at least five years. The action affects roughly half of those people who may be living in the country illegally.

The president's action provides work permits for parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents to work in the U.S. legally. The executive order also allows a broader group of undocumented children to remain in the U.S. The executive order is supposed to officially go into effect in late February 2015.

Agricultural leaders on immigration reform have repeatedly called for congressional action on the topic. After all, the president's actions did nothing to reform the flawed H-2A guest-worker program that many in agriculture seek to change. Moreover, legal status for more individuals could translate to people leaving harder labor on farms for other employment.

"What farmers, ranchers and growers need, and what the American people deserve, is for policy makers in Washington to do their jobs and act to solve the country's broken immigration system," The Ag Workforce Coalition stated when the president announced his plan.

Republican leaders in Congress were quick to call the president's actions unconstitutional and have sought since then to reverse the action. Even as Congress sought to close 2014 with an omnibus spending bill, some members of the GOP sought to shut down the government or block any funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security. In the omnibus funding bill that passed earlier this month, DHS is only funded through February.

Attorneys general in 17 states have sued the president over the executive action as well.

With the GOP controlling both the House and Senate starting in January, immigration will become the focal point for a lot of political blocking maneuvers and battles between the White House and Congress in 2015. Both political parties will use those actions to shore up their bases for the upcoming presidential campaigns.

Chris Clayton can be reached at chris.clayton@dtn.com.

Follow him on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN.


No. 10: Brazil, Argentina Produce More Soybeans

By Alastair Stewart

South America Correspondent

Weather was less than perfect for South American grain farmers in 2013-2014 but an expansion in soybean-planted area ensured record crops.

Despite sharply falling prices, the continent's producers have opted to plant even more beans in the 2014-15 season.

Brazil produced a soybean crop of 86 million metric tons in 2013-14, up 6% on the year, mainly because of a 9% increase in area. Dry weather in the south and southeast cut what was set to be a bumper crop.

After the Helicoverpa armigera caterpillar caused chaos across soy fields in northeastern Brazil in 2013, Brazilian farmers got organized and managed to contain the threat in 2014, although extra insecticide spraying weighed on costs.

Brazilian corn output slipped 4% to around 76.5 mmt in 2013-14 due to reduced area and losses to the southern summer crop.

In Argentina, farmers felt they dodged a bullet in 2013-14. Key summer grain regions suffered extended dry periods, but underlying soil moisture from a waterlogged winter and timely showers produced excellent crops.

Soybean production rose to around 55.5 mmt from 48.5 mmt the year before, while corn output totaled around 27 mmt, which, while down from 28.5 mmt, is very creditable considering a 9% drop in planted area.

Brazilian farmers took the opportunity to sell soybeans amid price peaks in the second quarter of 2014 but Argentine producers largely held their beans amid the growing economic turbulence there.

Going into 2015, Argentina farmers continue to stock the oilseed, one of the few dollar-linked assets available in the country, in the expectation of a devaluation of the Argentine peso.

According to the government, producers still hold 14 mmt of soybeans, or a quarter of their soybean crop, although farmer groups point out that much of this product has or will be exchanged for seeds, fertilizers and other inputs for the 2014-15 soybean and corn crops.

In an effort to force farmers to sell, the Argentine government announced on Dec. 12 that those retaining soybeans after Jan. 1 will lose access to farm credit from Banco Nacion, the state bank that finances around 40% of Argentine agricultural production.

However, the Argentine soybean market has not been particularly active over the last week, indicating the move has not shaken loose that much product.

Over the last few months, farmer attention has moved to the 2014-15 season.

Lower prices mean an end to the ample margins enjoyed over the last five years but South American farmers continue to plant more soybeans.

In the case of Brazil, that's because corn margins are even worse than for soybeans and new land converted to grains in previous years is just now coming into production.

In Argentina, it's because the import tariff system makes soybeans more attractive than corn. Also, with the economy teetering, farmers want to limit debt and soybean production is cheaper per acre than corn.

Planting of the 2014-15 soybean crop is virtually complete in Brazil, as is corn planting. The crops are reasonably healthy, although dryness concerns remain in parts of the south. Generally, caterpillar attacks on soybeans remain under control, helped by the spread of Monsanto's Intacta RR2 Pro, which has an insect-resistance trait and is present in about a quarter of the crop.

But while the crop looks good, there is little consensus about the size of the soybean crop. The government's CONAB is most optimistic, forecasting a crop of 95.8 mmt while Abiove, the industry association, predicts just 91 mmt.

Corn output is only expected to fall slightly, by about 2% to 78-79 mmt, as farmers will likely plant a large second corn crop after soybeans in February for lack of another option.

Argentina's soybean crop is two-thirds planted and the corn about half planted. Soil moisture levels remain good and the crops look strong. At the moment, the determining factor in the size of each crop is the 2.5% increase in soybean area and the 16% fall in corn.

(CZ/SK)

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