AlB—Lancaster Finning, Saturday, June 28,1980
Delmarva farmers are bullish on beans
CHESTERTOWN, MD -
If farmers follow through on
their April 1 intentions, the
June 27 U.S. Department of
Agriculture first planting
report of the season will
show soybean acreage
higher than a year ago in the
Delmarva and Mid-Atlantic
areas, but lower m most
other parts of the nation.
The state-by-state
breakdown will probably
show Maryland soybean
acreage about even with last
year’s all-time record But
soybean acreage intentions
Md, Angus
Assoc, plans
field day
WOODBINE, Md. - The
Maryland Angus Association
will be holding their annual
Field Day on July 12, at Back
Acres Angus in Mount Any,
Maryland.
The farm, operated by the
Emmett Full Family, is
located on Twin Arch Road,
one mile north of the Mt.
Airy exit off 1-70 between
Frederick and the Baltimore
Beltway.
The Fulls have prepared a
program that begins with
registration at 9 a.m. Ac
tivities include judging
contests, speakers, displays
and demonstrations, a
delicious beef luncheon and
tour of the Back Acres
registered Angus herd and
cattle feeding operation.
There is no registration fee
and all cattle enthusiasts are
welcome. For information,
contact the Maryland Angus
Assoc., 1868 Rt. 94, Wood
bine, Md. 21797, phone
301/4894519,
( 25* 1
Xyear^
rearming
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CLOSED WEDNESDAYS
indicate a rise of six per cent
in Delaware and 11 per cent
m Virginia, with an over-all
rise of six per cent for the
Delmarva Peninsula.
Some possible ex
planations for this were
offered last week by Ex
tension specialists at the
University of Maryland in
College Park. John L.
Crothers, Jr., senior
marketing specialist m
agricultural and resource
economics, and David B.
Jones, gram and oil crops
specialist m the agronomy
department, agreed that the
following explanations seem
most logical:
-Farmers are cutting
down on high fertilizer costs
by switching to soybeans,
which require less nitrogen
fertilizer than does com;
-Delmarva farmers can
be more flexible with
cropping plans than Midwest
farmers because the lighter
soils on the Delmarva
peninsula require waiting
until spring before broad
casting nitrogen fertilizer
for com
-Double-cropping permits
Delmarva farmers to grow
both small grain and
soybeans on the same land in
a single year. This cuts down
production costs for each
crop. And the late-planted
soybeans seem to yield as
well, on the average, as
early-planted soybeans
grown on a single-crop basis.
Improved varieties of
soybeans have played a big
part in the success of double
cropping.
Meanwhile, rising costs of
production for corn, wheat
and soybeans make it dif
ficult to produce these crops
at a profit on a single-crop
basis, Crothers points out.
The outlook doesn’t seem
likely to change during the
current crop year.
Cash soybean prices have
improved slightly since
April 1, Crothers noted, but
com prices have remained
virtually unchanged. So
there has been little reason
for Delmarva fanners to
lose their relative en
thusiasm for soybeans smce
they indicated their April 1
planting intentions.
The Maryland specialist
notes, however, that cash
prices for soybeans this
spring have been running
about $1.50 per bushel less
than a year ago. Com prices
■ \ »]
LI
are virtually unchanged
from 1979 spring levels. So,
many Delmarva farmers
may still be remembering
last year’s favorable ratio
for soybean prices relative
to com prices.
Finally, the Delmarva
peninsula is steadily
evolving into one of the
major soybean-producing
areas in the nation. Records
of the Maryland Crop
Reporting Service show that
Delmarva soybean acreage
has increased every year for
more than a decade.
In 1969, there were 390.9
thousand acres of soybeans
harvested on the Delmarva
peninsula. By 1979, this
figure had increased to 664
thousand. This year’s
acreage will probably be
nearly double that of 1969.