Time for Soil Testing

With corn harvest wrapping up, producers are now looking to winter wheat. It’s been encouraged for years to have a soil test at least once a year, and in some cases more than one if land is to be double-cropped. Chief of NCDA’s agronomic Division Kent Messick says this is the beginning of the busy time of year for soil testing:

“We are expecting another big year as far as the number of samples. Commodity prices are high so we fully expect there will be great interest in maximizing yield and utilization of resources.”
 

The Agronomic Lab in Raleigh will test any soil sample, farmer or not, for free with emailed results. If results are mailed, there is a small fee. Contact your local Extension agent for details on how to go about it.
 

Fed to the Rescue…Again
 

The Federal Reserve says it'll buy up mortgage bonds and keep interest rates at record lows, hoping to make it cheaper for consumers and businesses to borrow and spend money, and make it more affordable to buy a home. Dan Greenhaus, is the chief global strategist with BPIG, in New York:

“Not only did the FED launch another asset purchase program, but it was unending and potentially unlimited. It was not tied to any economic outcome which gives them a bit of flexibility.”

Beef Products Inc. Sues ABC over “Pink Slime”
 

Beef Products Inc. filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against ABC News for its coverage of a meat product that critics have dubbed “pink slime,” alleging that the network misled consumers to believe the product is unhealthy and unsafe.
The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 “false and misleading and defamatory” statements about the product officially known as lean, finely textured beef, said Dan Webb, BPI’s Chicago-based attorney. The reports cited in the lawsuit include 11 that aired on television and 14 that appeared online in March. Webb said the reports had “an enormous impact” on the company, forcing it to close three of its four U.S. plants and lay off more than 650 workers.

ABC News, owned by The Walt Disney Co., denied BPI’s claims.
 
 

Overseas Customers Shouldn't Worry About U.S. Supply
 

In its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report – USDA reduced its soybean supplies forecast for 2012-2013 due to lower forecast production and beginning stocks. Soybean production is projected at 2.634-billion bushels – down 58-million due to lower yields in the Midwest. United Soybean Board Chairwoman Vanessa Kummer says the supply situation will work itself out.

Pork Exports Slightly Lower in July, Beef Exports Hold Steady in Value

U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Philip Seng says the pork and beef sectors are facing serious economic challenges – with tight beef supplies pushing prices higher and strong international demand supporting higher beef cutout values – and on the pork side – increased U.S. production being offset by larger exports. In July – pork exports were down nearly three-percent from last year – the smallest volume since October 2010. Pork export value also was down less than three-percent to 467.4-million dollars. Still – year-to-date exports are four-percent above last year’s record pace in volume and 11-percent higher in value.
 

Saturday Marks the End of the “Summer Blend” Gasoline
 

More 15-percent ethanol could become available after this weekend. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says Saturday – September 15th – marks the expiration date for the EPA’s summer volatility restriction for gasoline…

“This means that blend stocks for e-15 are going to be more readily available. For a lot of refiners and marketers that have expressed interest in this new product, they will now have the blend stock appropriate for use.”