*-C«n SHunh,, JMniaiy 2S, 1997 Co/ .„ JJft Jfo l nternet Com Worries Over? H. LOUIS MOORE Penn State Economist The November crop report released by USDA Nov. 12 raised the com crop estimate again. The current estimate places the crop at 9.27 billion bushels, up 3 percent from October’s estimate and 25 per cent higher than last year’s poor crop. At mid-year there were fears that slow crop development, early frost possibilities, and harvest woes might keep the crop as low as 8 billion bush els. There was no early frost, and most of the crop is in stor age. As a bonus, most areas har vested much higher yields per acre than anticipated. At 9.27 billion bushes, the 1996 har vest was the third largest on record. The soybean crop, at 2.4 billion bushels, is the sec ond latest on record. Despite the lowest ever car ryover of com on hand this past September, prices have fallen sharply in response to the news of a large harvest. Prices are currently about 40 percent be low the high recorded in August. USDA estimates that the amount of com on hand next Sept. 1 will exceed 1 bil lion bushels. This is thought to be a sufficient cushion in case we would have a crop failure in 1997. Everyone has been closely watching the supply side of the market this fall and has forgot ten the demand side. USDA believes that exports of grains will not be as large as a year ago, and predicts that only a modest increase in domestic uses will take place. It seems that low prices will actually spur exports. Livestock and poultry producers have been looking at current com and meat prices as “cheap.” This means more hogs, chickens, and beef cattle will be fed in the months ahead. This extra demand in addition to the ethanol plants coming back in to production, means that prices will be increasing in the new year. Maximizer™ Hybrid Corn Sets a New Standard of Performance. Call 1-800-776-7929 for More Information Always read and follow the Maximizer '' hybrid torn Growers Use Guide for hybrid seed corn with KnockOul 1 " built in corn borer control Maximizer 1 " hybrid corn and KnockOul'* built in corn borer control are trademarks of Ciba Geigy Corporation ® 1196 Ciba Ocigy Corporation ST. LOUIS, Mo. Need to know the number of acres U.S. fanners planted to com? How about listening to crop condi tions from corn growers around the country? Want to know the difference between wet milling and dry milling? Detailed information about the nation’s top agricultural crop is now available on the In ternet. The National Com Grow ers Association (NCGA) re cently launched a com speci fic web site to serve the growing number of people seeking information from the Internet. The site can be reached at http://www.ncga. com 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “We want to use the Internet to provide valuable informa tion about com and our organi zation to members, the media, •f-%- - T % ■*> ■ *£*<<&* ■» Delivers Better Standability Delivers Knock Out™ Built-in Corn Borer Control ~ Ji* Delivers Consistency the entire agricultural industry, and the general public,’’ said Wallie Hardie, president of the NCGA. “The Internet provides a very efficient method for reaching large groups of peo ple. Oiir site is easy to use and provides useful information to a wide variety of people all over the globe.” The com grower’s web site consists of 11 categories, in cluding such things as “The World of Com On-line,” an on line version of the organiza tion’s popular booklet packet with com statistics and facts; the “Com FAQtory,” a com pilation of frequently asked questions about com; and a U.S. map which automatically sends visitors to information about the organization’s affili ated state associations, com boards and promotion coun cils. •<$ <■»*< > y JS v V n % Its “News of the Day” sec tion, updated every other day, features a “News for Com Growers” section, the latest NCGA news releases, and a real time audio report that can be assessed with die click of a computer mouse. A “Members Only” section allows all NCGA members easy access to the biweekly “Com Commentary” newslet ter as well as legislative alerts from the NCGA office in Washington, D.C. Computer users or soon-to be users can contact the NCGA at (314) 275-9915 for addition al information. On-line users can send questions via e-mail to cominfo @ nega.com and technical questions can be ad dressed by sending e-mail to webmaster @ nega.com. ■: &c > V vA v> Sv "s > •f » ( Huffman,, Mmomizer V Hybrid Corn Seeds
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers