Agri News, MN
04-17-07
Midwest news and notes
Hog producers don't get the message
Hog producers don't appear to have realized the changed message about
ethanol-influenced corn prices, says Chris Hurt, Purdue University Extension
marketing specialist.
"Feed prices are much higher, and the quickest way for hog prices to move
higher is to cut production,'' he said. "Instead, hog producers continue to expand.
Maybe it's because they have yet to witness the local ethanol plant using much of
the corn they used to feed, but as a group they haven't gotten the message yet.''
Pork production will continue to increase by about 2 percent this year, Hurt said.
It would be the eighth consecutive year of increased production.
One good year and some lean ones
Higher corn prices in the last six months raises questions about land rent
increases, says Dan Martens, Extension educator based in Foley, Minn.
Landowners should keep in mind that the good years have to cover the lean
years, so when crop producers enjoy a good year, they probably can't pay away
all their gain in the form of higher rent. If the crop producer does better, it makes
sense to share that with the land owner, because the owner's cost of living is
going up.
Production costs are going up, too, and livestock producers are paying more for
feed.
Corn acres shift to outside Corn Belt
While corn acreage will increase in the Corn Belt, a higher percentage of corn
acres are projected to be grown outside the Corn Belt, says Gary Schnitkey, a
University of Illinois Extension farm financial management specialist.
"This shift in production could cause a small drag on national corn yield,
however, weather and other factors likely will be more important in determining
2007 yields,'' he said..
"In general, share of acreage is shifting to the Delta states, Missouri and North
Dakota,'' he said. These regional shifts could reduce overall average yields.
Study looks at feeding glycerin to pigs
Researchers from Iowa State University and the USDA Agricultural Research
Service are studying using a biodiesel byproduct in swine and poultry feed.
The byproduct is crude glycerin. Research leader Brian Kerr said that nursery
and finishing pigs in the study were fed rations that contained 5 percent, 10
percent and 15 percent glycerin.
"These studies showed the glycerin is readily used by pigs and has an energy
value similar to corn,'' Kerr said.
In a related growth study, 5 percent and 10 percent glycerin was fed to pigs from
weaning to market weight. Results showed equal growth performance between
the glycerin-supplemented diet and a more conventional corn-soybean diet.
Total corn, bean costs increases in Illinois
Total cost to produce corn in Illinois last year increased 6.5 percent from 2005,
according to a study done by the Illinois Extension Service. The same study
found that per-acre production costs for soybeans increased $24.
"The total of all economic costs per bushel in the different sections of the state
ranged from $2.74 to $3.11 for corn and from $6.94 to $7.30 for soybeans,'' said
Dale Lattz, U of I Extension farm management specialist.
Variations in costs were related to weather, yields, and land quality.