Senator Harkin Prods USDA On Soybean Rust Plan

Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has formally requested Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns for a detailed account of USDA’s plans and efforts to combat Asian soybean rust. In a letter to Johanns, Harkin says, “I respectfully request a report detailing what programs USDA has or will have in place to deal with soybean rust by the time the soybean crop is planted this spring, the level of funds being dedicated to soybean rust education, monitoring and other preparations, and the availability of adequate funds to USDA for a full, effective response in case of a soybean rust emergency.”

In his letter, Harkin points out that in past, USDA provided emergency funds to control crop diseases and to assist farmers sustaining losses from crop diseases. For example, he says, in 1996 and 1997, Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds were used to compensate farmers whose wheat crops were destroyed because of karnal bunt infections. USDA also is authorized to use CCC funds for actions to help prevent serious financial losses due to crop diseases such as soybean rust. “Because the availability of adequate funds is a crucial component of contingency plans USDA may have for soybean rust, I would like to work with USDA to ensure these funds are available for education and surveillance purposes,” Harkin said.

John Deere Will Use Biodiesel In Its Machines

John Deere announced this week that it plans to use B2, a blend of two percent biodiesel fuel, as the preferred fill in diesel propelled machines made in the United States. “This is a big step forward in confirming our commitment for the use of biodiesel fuel,” says Don Borgman, manager market planning and customer integration, John Deere Ag Marketing Center. “Our manufacturing plants in the U.S. will use B2 biodiesel for fueling tractors, combines, self-propelled sprayers, and other diesel powered machines.”

Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel produced from domestic renewable resources, like soybean oil. B2 fuel is a blend of 2% biodiesel with 98% percent petroleum diesel. “Working with the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) we are promoting the use of B2 fuel because it is readily available and meets the high quality fuel standards that we have set for our engines, and it is a positive step toward adoption of renewable fuels,” says Borgman. “If B2 were used in all diesel engines in the U.S., the United States could displace the equivalent of about 1 billion gallons of foreign oil per year. That could, in turn, translate to some very significant increases in the demand for crops from which biodiesel is made, like soybeans and other natural fats and oils grown right here in the United States.”

Grain Shipments Off To Slow Start In 2005

For the first three weeks of 2005 grain there were 68,113 carloadings among the U.S. Class I carriers, which is 28% less than last year’s volume. Some of the sluggishness is due to weather delays. However, much of decrease is associated with plentiful supplies of grain from last fall’s record harvests of corn and soybeans that led to record grain stocks across many portions of the U.S. and is cutting into domestic movements. One bright spot for rail is export movements to the Pacific Northwest where crop exports to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have a considerable cost advantage over the Center Gulf.

Soybean-Based Additive May Help Lower Cholesterol In Some Foods

The Associated Press reports that scientists may have found a way to make potato, corn and other chips lower your cholesterol. Researchers at Brandeis University are frying chips in oil spiked with an ingredient from plants called phytosterol, which can soak up cholesterol without harming the taste. Phytosterols, which can be extracted from plants such as soybeans, have long been used as a cholesterol-lowering additive in some margarines, and the American Heart Association and National Cholesterol Education Program recommend their use in food to help reduce cholesterol.

Work On 2007 Farm Bill To Begin

The House Agriculture Committee will begin preliminary work on a new farm bill this year, although the new blueprint for U.S. agriculture policy likely will not be completed until early 2007, according to Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.). Dow Jones Newswires reports that Goodlatte told reporters his committee will begin the process by holding hearings later this year in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, with the goal of discovering what is wrong with the 2002 farm bill, “as well as looking for innovative new ideas.”

Brazil Moves Forward On Biodiesel Initiative

Brazil is moving forward with a biodiesel program that is expected to create new demand for vegetable oils equivalent to around 2 million tonnes in the next few years. Although the Brazilian government has billed the program as a way to help poor north and northeast family castor bean and palm farms, oil industry analysts say that only the soybean industry could produce the amounts of vegetable oil that would be needed once biodiesel became mandatory in the fuel supply.

“There is a great opportunity to serve a social good in helping poorer communities, but there is also great potential for the soy industry,” said Carlo Lovatelli, president of Brazil’s Vegetable Oils Industry Association. “But it is absolutely crucial that biodiesel be mandatory for this to work,” he added.

Soy Complex Prices Lower Despite Strong Export Sales

The soy complex closed lower on February 3 despite stronger-than-expected soybean export sales. The export pace out of South America is expected to pick up considerably. Argentina has committed a second cargo of beans for delivery to China and nearly all of Brazil’s exports are scheduled to go to the EU-25 with none currently on the books for China. At the same time export competition is ramping up, farmer selling in the United States seems to be increasing as farmers may be moving soybeans that put under government loan last fall before prices drop further, as expected. Record U.S. soybean supplies and a record South American crop contribute to the current bearish outlook. March bean futures closed down $1.19 finishing at $184.45; May was $0.73 lower, closing at $185.28 and July lost $0.92 ending at $166.12. March meal was down $1.65, closing at $166.12; May was $1.21 lower, finishing at $167.00 and July decreased $1.43 to finish at $169.86. March oil closed $1.76 lower to finish at $415.79; May decreased $1.10, closing at $42.66; and July lost $0.22, ending at $424.83.