C42—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 11,1981
Oil discovery may
MEXICO, D F Discovery of
vast petroleum and natural gas
supplies has helped transform
Mexico mto one of the top markets
for U.S agricultural exports
Mexico had traditionally ex
ported more farm products to the
U.S than it bought, usually
ranking as our number two sup
plier after Brazil In 1972, U S
agricultural sales to Mexico
totaled only $lBO million, while
Mexican farmers sold us $590
million worth of their products
Sales to Mexico reached a record
$2 billion last year, making it our
third largest customer for farm
products, according to USDA
economist Donna Roberts
Meanwhile, the U.S imported $1 2
billion of Mexican farm goods, so
the U S. netted about $BOO million
after agricultural trade books
were balanced.
This year, Roberts says U 6
farm sales should equal last yeai s
record-perhaps a bit higher. Last
December, the U.S and Mexico
signed a 1-year agreement
providing for Mexican purchases
of six to eight million tons of U S
grains, oilseeds, and vegetable
oils, worth about $2 billion.
Three factors are primarily
responsible for the dramatic
turnaround in the trade balance in
recent years
Ouackgrass— ——
D Rhizomes should be
chopped up so that no
more than four nodes
remain on a stem.
Several diskmgs may be
required in heavy
quackgrass sod Fall
plowing, if soil erosion is
not a problem, may be
necessary to winter kill
(Continued from Page C 35)
to using atrazme is its
long persistence in the
soil at high con-,
centrations. By
using lower rates the
second and third years,
levels of atrazme in the
soil can be reduced
enough so that small
grains, beans and
forage legumes can be
seeded m the fourth
year of the rotation
However, a measure
of quackgrass control is
sacrificed when rates
are reduced.
Growers wishing to
rotate portions of their
crops as a market hedge
will require a chemical
treatment that controls
quackgrass in corn tne
first year and still
degrades sufficiently to
allow rotating to an
alternate crop the
following year
Eradicane is a good
herbicide to use for this
purpose Not only does it
suppress quackgrass
but it leaves planting
options open for
growers Its flexibility
allows growers to
choose among four
application methods for
quackgrass control,
while benefiting from
the herbicide’s wide
spectrum control of
general weed problems
Rates of up to seven
and one-third pints of
Eradicane per acre can
be incorporated
preplant for control of
moderate infestations
or suppression of heavy
infestations
Or, for growers ac
customed to the split
application method of
quackgrass control, it
can be preceded by a
preplow application of
atrazme m the fall or
spring.
To get acceptable
quackgrass control with
atrazme or Eradicane,
however, thorough soil
preparation is
necessary before ap
nlvimr thp hprhipiHp
Unfavorable weather has
hampered Mexican farm
production In 1979 di ought and
early frost damaged crops and
increased import needs
Mexico's population growth rate
is one of the world’s highest
averaging more than 3 2 percent
annually over the last decade-to
total nearly 70 million people
Agricultural output hasn’t kept
pace with the rising demand for
food
Mexico’s oil discoveries have
translated into more money to
upgra<i< diets Oil levenues have
surged from $3 8 billion in 19/y to
an estimated $ll2 billion last year
With this groundwork, the 1980
sales explosion more than doubled
1979’s $972 million in US
agricultural exports to Mexico
Leading the increase were sales of
feed grains and soy beans needed to
feed livestock Demand for meat is
growing fast among Mexico’s
rising middle class
In the 1979-80 marketing year,
shipments of U S corn mcreased
nearly sixfold to almost four
million metric tons of 628,400 tons
in 1978-79 Roberts looks for U S
corn sales to approach four million
tons again this year
Sorghum also registered big
sales gams Shipments of U.S
sorghum increased from 1 4
million tons m 1978/79 to 2 2 million
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boost U.S. exports to Mexico
tons in 1979/80 In 1980-81, sorghum
sales are expected to total about
2 0 million tons
Although wheat sales dropped
slightly from 11 million tons in
1978/79 to 1.0 million tons in 1979-
80, they are expected to return to
1 1 million ions in 1980-81
Soybean volume rose from
575,000 tons in 1978/79 to 788,000 in
1979/80-a hefty 3b percent increase
Sales in 1980-81 are expected to top
1.2 million tons, as livestock ex
pansion continues
Although these prospects
suggest that it will remain a top
market, the Mexican government
unveiled a plan early last year to
grow more of its own food The new
program, known as SAM (Sistema
Alimentano Mexicano, or the
Mexican Food System) is designed
to upgrade the diets of un
dernourished Mexicans through
improved domestic production
SAM, which is funded through oil
revenues, aims for self-sufficiency
in corn and bean production by
1982 and other basic foods by 1985
But Hobeits points out that the
Mexican government will tace
some difficult tradeoffs in im
plementing SAM For example, if
acreage devoted to corns-Mexico’s
principal food gram-is mcreased, it
some ot the rhizomes in
areas where long, wet
springs are common
Herbicides such as
Roundup give consistent
quackgrass control
when applied as
postemergence treat
ments in corn. Fall
applications are the
most practical because
quackgrass does not
reach treatable height
until mid-May, while
corn should be planted
in early May.
Always refer to
herbicide labels for
specific application
instructions
will probably come at the expense
of sorghum-Mexico’s principal
teed gram-due to limited land
suitable for expansion As a result,
sorghum imports would have to
rise
Also, the overall price tag for
subsidizing inputs, production, and
consumption will be enormous.
Estimates for 1980 alone are.about
$2 billion for production and $1 5
billion for consumption
Rood is contends Inal legai
aiess ot SAM’s piogiess
lactois will probably Keep 'mpoit
levels high, including wealhei,
glowing consumei demand, and
me difficulties ot bunging laige
acieages ot new land into
pioduclion
On the overall goals of SAM, she
estimates that, granted perfect
growing conditions, Mexico may
achieve food grain self-sufficiency
by 1982, but feed grains will still
need to be imported in tact,
Roberts expects the current
volume ot U.S. agricultural sales
to Mexico to hold for the next
several years while the value rises
with inflation
On the other side of the coin,
coffee and fresh vegetables are the
principal agricultural products
I I Now 1 April 30,1981
Sa\el ««»
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purchased by the U.S. from
Mexico Coffee by far the major
sales item, accounted for nearly
one-third of Mexican farm sales to
the U.S last year
However, vegetable imports geg
more attention from farmers here
because they often compete with
U.S. products. The volume of 1 U S.
imports of Mexican vegetables has
more than doubled since 1970.
During winter months, Mexico
provides nearly half of the fresh
vegetables available to the U.S
consumer
Competition with U S -grown
vegetables has triggered the
tomato war’; Florida farmers
chai ge that Mexicans are trying to
corner the vegetable market by
flooding the U.S with produce
(tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants,
squash, and green peppers at less
than-market value
Last spring, the U.S Commerce
Department ruled that Mexican
produce had not been sold at unfair
prices. The decision was based
primarily on a comparison bet
ween Mexican prices charged to
Canada and to the United States.
This decision has been appealed by
the Florida growers and is
currently under judicial review
on
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