North Carolina Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler says that in Friday’s Prospective Plantings Report, intended peanut acres in the state soared:
“One thing that is up, is that we’re going to plant about 100,000 more peanuts than we did last year, and that’s about a 22 percent increase, and this is going to put us at the most peanut acreage we’ve had in the state since 2008.”
Soybean, corn and sweet potato acres are also projected to increase, while tobacco acres are projected to decrease. Troxler says that after last year’s planted tobacco acres, fewer acres may actually help in the long run:
“This is going to bring us more back in line with demand at about 150,000 acres. But, this is about a 10,000 acre drop from last year, and we’ll see how this turns out.”
AFBF Economist Reports Views on Plantings Intension Report
American Farm Bureau Federation economist John Anderson says the USDA Planting Intensions report, placing corn acreage of 95.9 million acres, really blew pre-report expectations out of the roof. That number was much higher than grain industry analysts had expected. And as unexpectedly high as the corn number was, Anderson said the soybean planting estimate was far lower than analysts had expected, coming in at 73.9 million acres.
 Ham - at the Heart of the Easter Table
Ham is an Easter standard. The Pork Checkoff works with the consumer media during this holiday season to help carry that message. Pamela Johnson directs the consumer communications plan for the Pork Checkoff and sees the holiday as an opportunity to tell pork’s story…
“We’d like to be known as the resource for all things pork, and hope that they know they can give us a call and if it’s anything from how to carve a ham, or how to pick the right ham for Easter, let them know that they can give us a call, and we’ve got that information on line or by talking to us.”
At the Pork Be Inspired Facebook page - there is a special online holiday contest. Until Friday - consumers have a chance to win free pork products
click here to visit their Facebook page.
Death Tax Repeal has Support
The Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act has 35 co-sponsors. This legislation would permanently abolish the federal estate tax, better known by ranchers, farmers, and family business owners across America as the “death tax.” The tax is currently set at a 35 percent tax rate with a 5-million dollar exemption. In 2013, the estate tax rate is scheduled to increase to 55 percent with a one-million dollar exemption.
Report Suggests Commercial Fishermen be More Selective
Marine scientists are calling on the commercial fishing industry to cut down on the amount of so-called "forage fish" they are harvesting... Those fish -- including menhaden, herring and sardines -- serve as food for bigger fish like Tuna. Scientists say forage fish are an important part of the ecosystem -- and must be allowed to thrive.
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