USDA says that cattle on feed up from last year

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) January Cattle on Feed Report, which indicates that the number of cattle on feed had increased from last year by three percent. Traders were expecting a slightly larger number. University of Missouri-Columbia Agricultural Economist Ron Plain says that the big difference was in marketings.

"USDA said marketings were down only 1.9 percent during December," Plain said. "The trade was expecting a three percent drop in marketing, so those extra marketing pulled down the total number of cattle on feed relative to what traders were expecting." Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers.  To get your copy of  'PPLAPP' click here.

Reducing hay to save waste in cattle feed

Recent research has shown that around 43 percent of hay is lost during feeding times when cattle are fed around a large round hay bale. One theory is to feed them smaller amounts more often. A suggestion by a University of Missouri Extension specialist Tim Schnakenberg "producers can minimise losses by following good management practices and rethinking the method by which they feed their stock". Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers.

How and when to apply Nitrogen to your cornfields

A recent report from Purdue University in the Department of Agronomy suggest that there are some critical periods in every crop to do the side-dressing. Peter Scharf University of Missouri agronomist said "that the last few years have had an higher than average precipitation which has caused concern for the health of the soil."

A full scale experiment on a 13 acre field was carried out by Purdue University, has shown that the issues regarding the whether forced late application of Nitrogen does impact the profit and yield. However their results show that late application of Nitrogen can be offset. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

US$6.6 million study could lead to better corn plants

University of Missouri researcher has received a US$6.6 million (UK£4.117 million) grant from the National Science Foundation to lead a research team to study the genes that control the movement of carbohydrates in corn. This research could lead to increased yield, more drought resistant plants, larger plants and easier production of biofuels.

“When corn produces carbohydrates in the leaves, it transports sucrose, a type of sugar, to other parts of the plant, including the ears and roots,” said David Braun, an associate professor in the Division of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Science and a member of the MU Interdisciplinary Plant Group. “By understanding how the movement of carbohydrates is regulated, we may be able to engineer plants that better meet the needs of farmers and consumers.” Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine from Perendale Publishers.

Residual herbicide use with herbicide-tolerant corn

If you have been growing corn and soybean  or advising growers for several decades, it’s possible to remember how the ease of controlling weeds has switched back and forth between the two crops. There have been periods when control is easier in corn than soybeans (early days of atrazine) and then those when the reverse has been true (early days of Roundup Ready  soybeans).

The development of glyphosate resistance issues has resulted in a trend where currently several weeds are more effectively and/or less expensively controlled in corn than in soybeans. Or as Dickens might have said if he was a weed scientist: “It was the best of times in corn, it was the worst of times in soybeans.”

This is certainly not true for all growers, since some still have great success in Roundup Ready soybeans. We do believe, however, that for several tougher weeds that have developed glyphosate resistance – giant and common ragweed, marestail and waterhemp – it’s essential to get effective control in corn to reduce the population that has to be managed in soybeans.

A number of growers have commented during winter meetings that there was way too much giant ragweed in corn at harvest this year, and we made the same observations. Problems with weather and crop development can contribute to this, but other possible causes that are affected directly by grower decision-making include: Read more...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine from Perendale Publishers.