Headlines:
House Passes Farm Bill, Will Senate Follow Next Week?
On its second try and on a two-vote margin, the Republican-controlled House passed its farm bill on Thursday that tweaks the ARC and PLC programs and expands the CRP by 5 million acres. House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway said he expects the Senate to pass its version next week, clearing the way to enact the 2018 farm bill before current law expires this fall. Conaway said his top priority is enactment of the farm bill on time – “that will alleviate the sense of anxiety” in farm country created by the slump in farm income and commodity prices over the past five years. “I knew it was going to be razor-thin,” said the Texas Republican after the 213-211 vote. All of the votes in favor of the bill came from the Republican majority. Twenty Republicans joined a solid block of Democrats in voting against the bill. A month ago, 30 Republicans voted against the bill, putting it into legislative limbo. The House voted, 233 to 190 – a party-line vote – to take a new look at the bill and then immediately passed it. The lightning rod issue for the farm bill has been Conaway’s proposal, backed by House leaders who advocate welfare reform, to require 7 million or more “work capable” adults ages 18 to 59 to work at least 20 hours a week or spend equal time in job training or workfare to qualify for food stamps. The bill also makes cousins, nieces, and nephews eligible for farm subsidies and removes payment limits on some types of corporate farms.
Dicamba Injury Is Back in 2018
Dicamba is once again injuring non-dicamba tolerant soybeans in 2018. As of June 15, university weed scientists estimate that approximately 383,000 acres of soybeans have been injured by dicamba so far, according to Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri Extension weeds specialist. That’s out of an estimated 89 million acres of soybeans planted, according to USDA. Last year, dicamba damaged an estimated 3.6 million acres out of 89.5 million acres. That concerns Bradley, particularly if Xtend technology adoption increases in 2018 and beyond. Monsanto estimated 2018 Xtend acres to double from 2017 to 50 million acres in 2018. Of the 15 state Departments of Agriculture that responded to this request for information, only 43 cases of alleged injury currently under investigation in soybean, says Bradley. However, the incidents and cases of off-target movement of dicamba to specialty crops, vegetables, ornamental species and trees seems to be more prevalent this year compared to last season. They constitute some 111 of the remaining cases under investigation.
Summary:
Bargain hunters were in control for the Soybean complex sending Bean futures up 16 cents to close the week after suffering a huge dip in the middle of week. Prices this week fell to the lowest in almost 10 years because of ongoing trade disputes between the US and China. End-users and speculative investors saw fit to step in and take advantage of low prices at the prospect of cheap supplies as they await further news from about the tariff front. Corn was unchanged and Wheat was a bit softer falling 4.75 cents.
Rains soaked portions of the US Corn Belt this week, soaking fields in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, and more storms are expected early next week ahead of a warm-up, meteorologists said Friday. The wet and warm outlook is generally viewed as favorable for US Corn and Soybean crops according to forecasters despite the flooding of areas.
