JOHN BERRY Agriculture Marketing Agent Penn State Extension Lehigh County USDA Reports The March 31 Intended Plant ing Report from the USDA sug gests an all out effort at increased agricultural crops production in the United States for 1998. Grow ers intend to plant 80.8 million acres of com. This is an increase of 1% over the 1997 season. The expected com acreage is down in most of the major crop production states as growers switch to soy beans. Pennsylvania growers will be planting 50,000 less acres of com this year with 1,500,000 acres intended for com production during the 1998 growing year. Winter wheat acreage is down Technology That Yields. These varieties put you first in beans 9844 IS 34 RELATIVE MATURITY ■■ MID GROUP 111 A popular variety with the Roundup Ready 1 gene. 9344 offers exciting yield levels to growers wanting to use this method of weed control. This attractive variety features strong emergence and excellent standability. Even though 9344 does not contain specific Phytophthora genetic resistance, it does maintain very good Phytophthora field tolerance. O 98881 ||S7S2 38 RELATIVE MATURITY , LATE GROUP 111 A new sulfonylurea herbicide resistant (STS 2 ) variety with superb yield potential. The STS herbicide tolerance allows the grower yet another method for weed control. Count on exceptional standabil ity from this moderately tall plant. Wide canopy width. Outstanding brown stem rot tolerance. 9896 m\ 39 RELATIVE MATURITY JUBM LATE GROUP 111 A widely adapted variety with the Roundup Ready gene. Superior yield levels. Excellent standability and field emergence. This is a very attractive vari ety with excellent shattering resistance. 94891 HR 40 RELATIVE MATURITY ■■ EARLY GROUP IV Superb yield potential and the Roundup Ready gene. Resistant to soybean cyst nematode Races 3 and 14. Good Phy tophthora field tolerance. Well suited for no-till. Excellent standability and shattering resistance. 1 Roundup Rudy it a rtgiitirad trademark of Monsanto Company 2 RagMarad tradamark of E I du Pont da Namourt 4 Co i brand rartadra arv pratocM or praMkM appllad for under lyProtacdonAct Unautfiamri pwpapMon n prohMUd sn/s MoctPior PVP impum l from last year, generally. The catch for this region is increased acreage of soft red winter wheat has been planted. 20,000 addi tional acres in PA, DE and MD were planted to wheat last fall. Soybean plantings are ex pected to come in at 72 million acres. This would be an all time record for acres planted to beans in the United States. Pennsylvania farmers intend to plant 380,000 acres in soybeans this spring. This is up from 370,000 in 1997 and 290,000 in 1996. Acres of harvested hay contin ues to decline in the Common wealth. This years hay acres is expected to be 98% of last years total. Even with a steady decline, hay still dominates Pennsylvania agriculture with 1,830,000 acres planted. Pm First Dungs first Choose first for genetic _ YIELD POTENTIAL. ' ■ No other traits create yield; they only protect it. ■ Pioneer Hi-Bred’s varieties give you the potential to maximize yield. Choose for PEST RESISTANCE. ■ Pests can reduce potential yield by 15 percent or more. ■ Pioneer delivers soybeans with needed pest resistance and agronomic traits. The World As An Oyster 45% of the recent growth in agricultural exports can be attrib uted to the Asian markets. Plant ing of corn, beans and wheat in the US has increased by 19 mil lion acres in the past 3 years in an effort to meet the demand for ex ported grain, meat and poultry products. 28% of the com and 54% of the beans grown in the US are exported, in one form or another. A record Argentina com crop added to Chinas com exports will offer stiff competition for US com exports this year. A continu ing Asian economic crisis puts the US in the position of over production. Over production trans lates to lower prices. The dire El Nino predictions did not materialize. Australia, South Africa and South America produced crops at average or above yields. El Nino did impact the edible oils market. The soy oil price being a single bright spot for agricultural crops producers. If we believe history, an El Nino that is slow to dissipate results in a drought in the Mid West. Recently the Canadian Wheat Board announced it expects wheat and barley prices to weaken through the '9B-99 crop year. They state this is due to a 20% Straight talk about soybean selection and how it impacts your income Choose a variety backed by PROPRIETARY RESEARCH and by people with SOYBEAN EXPERTISE. ■ High seed purity and quality standards. ■ First-rate beans, first-rate service. increase in world wheat invento- ries, Livestock production in Japan and Korea will be sharply reduced because of the currency devalua tion. The devaluation effectively made their imported feed grains 30% more expensive over a 9 month period. Beef, pork and milk will be the most effected. Poultry is expected to gain from the con sumer shifting from the more costly animal proteins. Comparisons Hogs slaughtered in the US during the first three months of 1997 = 19,000,000. Hogs slaugh tered in the first three months of 1998 = 22,000,000. Ham price from the processor during 1997 = $63 per cwt., during 1998 = $52 per cwt. Rain in Bri&il has slowed the movement of soybean meal out of the South American ports. There is a 40 day wait to get ships loaded out. The resulting South American exporting season exten sion could run into our early bean market. This could combine with decreased export demand to limit any weather scare rallies in the 1998-1999 bean market. What Could Be Ahead What does all this early spring /3g\ PIONEER. lyyj BRAND SOYBEAN SEED PIONEER HI-BRED INTERNATIONAL, INC. Putting you first In bams. • SM TM Trademarks and modes marks raglstarsd or appllad for of Pionsar Hi Irad Intamatknal Inc On Molnas lA. US A. All purchases art subject to tha terms of labetlng and purchase documents 01007 PHII Lanctttw Farming, Saturday, April 4,1998-A23 information mean to a fanner in Pennsylvania? A crop grower can expect little suppon for prices of soybeans and wheat. Com does show some evidence of solid sup port near the $2.60 DEC level on the CBOT. This could indicate a tight year for crop farmers. A tight year for crop farmers usually means lower feed prices for animal agriculture. At this point, all of this data is speculation. The value of these numbers lies in indicating possi ble outcomes as this year pro gresses. These possible outcomes have individual farm impacts that can be altered through marketing efforts. If your outlook is less than optimistic, maybe a portion of the 1998 crop should be for ward priced on any rallies that oc cur? Now is an excellent time to get talk with your grain merchan diser and lender. Planning for the future results in the ability to re spond to opportunities and chal lenges more effectively. The one power that can alter the course of agricultural prices more quickly than government is the weather. The world population expansion continues to drive de mand for food. Weather events Proper MATURITY is an absolute key ■ Unadapted varieties cost you yield. ■ If warranted, use herbicide-resistant ■ Pioneer offers more than 20 herbicide " H' www pioneer com (Turn to Pago A 44) ■ Pioneer lineup features a wide range of maturities. Determine your optimum WEED MANAGEMENT program soybean seed resistant varieties m PIONEER
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