Daily Grain Review - 'Wed, Jul 18, 2012

The statistics on this page are collected from various USDA reports and assembled here for easy reference and viewing. Data is updated as soon as possible after it is published. Frequency of the data and update times are listed with each chart.  Click here to read the full report.

US corn production drops 7 percent on continued drought

Release Date: July 18, 2012

U.S. corn production estimates have dropped another 6.9 percent since the U.S. Department of Agriculture's most recent predictions, to 12.077 billion bushels — the smallest in five years — due to theworst drought the Midwest has seen since 1956, according to analysts. Estimated yield has lowered another 6 percent, to 137.2 bushels per acre, down from the USDA's forecast of 146 bushels.  Click here to read the full story.

Southern drought update, USDA Map

Primary and Contiguous counties designated under drought fast track across the southern region in red. For additional USDA drought information click here.

Pest alert! Kudzu bug found in Mississippi

In case you haven’t heard, the kudzu bug, a serious pest of soybeans in recent years in Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Florida, Alabama and recently in TN, has been found in Vicksburg, MS.  That’s too close for comfort for us in Arkansas and the rest of the Mississippi Delta.  Click here to read about the Kudzu bug.

Arkansas Drought Resources site provides easy-to-find production information

LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has launched a site with easy-to-find information for Arkansas farmers, ranchers and homeowners coping with drought.
To read more, click here.

Three drought conferences set for SW Ark ranches

“Our cattle producers are really being hit hard by this year’s drought,” said Jerry Clemons, Clark County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “We want them to have the tools they need to make solid decisions during this very stressful time.” To read more, click here.

Be Diligent: Help Minimize Strobilurin Fungicide-Resistant Pathogens in Rice

For many years now, strobilurin fungicides have been used to manage sheath blight disease of rice and they have been the backbone for managing fungal diseases of rice in Arkansas and other Southern rice producing states. However, troubling news came in the summer of 2011 from Louisiana where failure of the fungicide to control sheath blight was confirmed in a few fields.    This is a wake-up call for all of us as to how we use these fungicides and why we should consider integrated management more than ever.  Click here to read the full story.