Illinois AgriNews_041720

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YOUR SOURCE FOR INSEASON SEED NEEDS. AGRONOMY, PRODUCTS AND SUPPORT.

April 17, 2020

Impact of COVID -19 on farming

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Grain usage slows

NICHOLAS CONSERVATORY & GARDENS

USDA economist reviews changes By Tom C. Doran

Supply, demand report in line with trade expectations

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The impacts of the pandemic on agriculture were addressed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief economist in an April 2 webinar hosted by University of Illinois farmdoc. Robert Johansson reviewed the fast-moving changes that have taken place since the agency’s A g r icu lt u ra l Outlook Forum in February. At that time, debt was reaching historic levels, but i nter est rates remained low keeping the Johansson interest re payment capacity slightly better than in 2019. The debt-to-asset ratio increased slightly, but still was at a relative low level, below 15%, and below the levels of the 1980s. “Even in February we knew about the coronavirus. We started to look at how infections in Hubei, China, were starting to ramp up through the month of January and into February, and at that time we did know that there was a fairly significant impact at first on the Shanghai Composite Index, but that the S&P 500 had continued to shrug off the coronavirus potential for global spread,” Johansson said. “Now we’re looking at private sector forecasts for the U.S. gross domestic product growth with significant declines across board. Now there are significant expectations that the second quarter of U.S. GDP will be reduced by as much as 25%. “We saw jobless claims (April 2) jump to over 6 million individuals, by far a record over the previous week of over 3 million. The S&P Index is still relatively high compared to historic levels, but it has obviously taken a big hit.” Johansson noted how food and agricultural products are being impacted in the supply chain. See IMPACT, Page A4

SEE SECTION B

INSIDE

USDA projects hike in grain ending stocks A3 How to create a community garden B6 Drivers urged to share the road with farmers C4 AgriTrucker C4 Auction Calendar B1 Business C7 Classifieds C2 Farms For Sale C1

From The Pastures B3 Lawn & Garden B6 Livestock B4 Opinion C6 Weather A6

Vol. 43 No. 8

CONTACT AGRINEWS: 800-426-9438

By Tom C. Doran

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

MINNEAPOLIS — In the days leading up to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s world agricultural supply and demand estimates report, commodity traders expected increases in ending grain stocks and that’s what happened on April 9. Ami Heesch, CHS Hedging market analyst, delivered the report’s details from her perspective in a Minneapolis Grain Exchange-hosted teleconference.

Vanilla beans are the fruit of a tropical orchid that requires pollination by hand.

AGRINEWS PHOTOS/JEANNINE OTTO

SIGHTS, SCENTS Rare tropical plants at home in Rockford AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Choosing hemp seeds for the 2020 growing season is an important aspect of growing the crop. “Even if they’re from outside of the state, seed sellers need to have an Indiana seed permit license to sell seed in Indiana with the intended destination and the amount of material transported,” said Marguerite Bolt, hemp specialist for

See USAGE, Page A5

Recommendations for planting in 2020 By Tom C. Doran

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

good to be true, it probably is, so be wary, do your homework and look into companies.” In 2019, Indiana growers registered to plant 5,300 acres of hemp, 4,000 acres were planted and a little over 3,000 acres were harvested, Bolt said. “It was a really wet year so that was a definite issue,” Bolt said. “And some growers wanted to do research so they had no intention of entering it into the marketplace.

CHATSWORTH, Ill. — Juneplanted corn is not at the top of anyone’s wish list, but there were some lessons learned from last year’s experiences. Robert Clark, Stone Seed technical agronomist, looked back at 2019 and gave recommendations for the 2020 growing season at a recent Agronomy Day at the Central Illinois C o n n e c t i o n Clark Center. As last year’s planting season was stretched later and later, farmers were frequently asking Clark about switching corn maturities. “When do I do it? Will it reach black layer? What will my moisture be? They are all really good questions. I don’t know if anyone had the perfect answer, but there are some really good resources out there that can be referenced,” Clark said. Purdue University research found that seven growing degree days are lost from the corn’s lifecycle each day it is planted after May 1. “We challenged that a little bit last year, and I think realistically where we ended up was somewhere between zero and seven (growing degrees days per day), probably halfway,” he said.

See HEMP, Page A3

See LESSONS, Page A3

Koi earn their keep by eating algae in the conservatory’s winding pond. Only a few ever mention one additional product that includes allspice. “We had one student who said deodorant. I was surprised he got that because they really do use allspice in Old Spice deodorant. It has antibacterial properties to it, so that’s how it evolved into being used in deodorants and products like that,” Toohill said. The conservatory is a newer structure. It was completed in 2011 after being commissioned in 2009 as a part of the Rockford Park District’s centennial celebration. Three local brothers, Bill, Dan and Ab Nicholas, donated

over $2 million toward the conservatory in honor of their parents, William and Ruby Nicholas. They envisioned a place where the community could gather. The conservatory has lived up to that expectation. “I always tell people the best time to visit is in January and February, when you are just so over the cold and you need a little bit of green. We have people who will come in and sit and read the newspaper or read a book, just spend some time in here among the plants,” Toohill said. See SIGHTS, Page A2

Planting a seed for hemp research By Martha Blum

What did the report tell us about South American soybean production? “Argentina soybean production was lowered from 54 million metric tons to 52 million.

Lessons learned

By Jeannine Otto

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Of the many plants one expects to find growing on the banks of the Rock River in northern Illinois, the allspice tree is not among them, nor is the rare orchid that produces the vanilla bean. Those two well-known spices are just a taste of the tropics in the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, located on the grounds of Sinnissippi Park, along the Rock River in Rockford. That allspice tree is one of the first sights — and scents — that will greet visitors when the doors to the 1,100-square-foot conservatory re-open when Illinois’ stay-at-home order is lifted. “The allspice tree is one of our favorites to show off because the whole tree smells like allspice. We pass the leaves around and ask ‘what does this smell like?’ and kids will say gingerbread or applesauce,” said Lyndi Toohill, operations manager for the conservatory.

Which of the crop balance sheets featured the biggest surprise? “The average trade estimate for soybean ending stocks was 430 million bushels. In the 2019-2020 balance sheet, crush was up 20 million bushels, exports were down 50 million and residual was down 24 million bushels. “Total use was down 56 million bushels, raising our ending stocks by 55 million to 480 million bushels. That was above our trade range of 385 million to 475 million bushels.”

Purdue Extension. “It is common to see false certificates of analysis, they are common across the country,” Bolt said during a Novel CBD Production webinar, hosted by Purdue University, University of Illinois Extension, University of WisconsinMadison Extension and Michigan State University Extension. “One way to vet any company that you are purchasing from is to call a third-party lab,” Bolt said. “If it sounds too


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