Chainsaw or scalpel?
Although you are tempted to start your chain saw and begin trimming operational costs, good management would be better served if trimmed with a surgical scalpel. The Farmgate has recently suggested new approaches to calculating your nitrogen needs, but what about fuel costs? They will be your other headache this winter. Let’s take a look at fuel requirements, machinery costs, and ways of saving dollars per acre on your fuel bill.Posted by Stu Ellis on 11/15 at 11:59 AM | (0) Comments | Permalink
Extension Update
·Finally, USDA’s estimate for the 2005 corn crop surpassed the 11 bil. bu. mark and was projected Thursday at 11.032 bil. bu. That is the second largest. Ending stocks next Aug. were placed at 2.310 bil. bu. Corn demand was increased to 10.835 bil. bu. Ethanol usage was raised 75 mil. bu., while exports and feed/residual were left unchanged from Oct.Posted by Stu Ellis on 11/11 at 05:10 PM | (0) Comments | Permalink
Good? Bad? Middle of the Road?
As of October 21, 2005, the US ethanol industry had 91 plants operation in more than 20 states. Production capacity totaled about 4.1 bil. gallons per year. Another 21 plants in additional capacity under construction, which would produce 1.2 billion gallons of ethanol. The aggressive expansion is being fueled by $2.20 per gal. ethanol. But just this week, companies and investor groups have announced intentions to build 3 more plants. 1) Cargill says it will build a 110 million gallon per year plant at Blair, NE. 2) Midwest ethanol production is breaking ground for the Missouri Ethanol, LLC plant in Laddonia, Mo. Missouri Ethanol will produce 45 million gallons of the fuel annually and will consume over 17 million bushels of corn. 3) Plans for Bootheel Agri-Energy were announced on Tuesday at Cape Girardeau, Mo., where the coal-fired ethanol plant could produce 100 million gallons of ethanol a year. Farmers know the benefits, but are there any negatives to all of this?Posted by Stu Ellis on 11/11 at 01:10 AM | (1) Comments | Permalink
Another helping please
Have you noticed that grocery carts are getting larger? When you go to the food store, the carts are no longer the small chrome wire models that could hold about 3 stacked cases of soft drinks. Today’s grocery carts are mini versions of the sport utility vehicles that dominate the parking lot at the grocery store. Is that because we buy so much food, that large grocery carts are needed, and subsequently, large vehicles are needed to haul it home?Posted by Stu Ellis on 11/09 at 05:22 PM | (0) Comments | Permalink
Where is farm policy headed?
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has climbed onto a stool 22 times now, and listened to 68 hours of farmers and other agribusiness folks speak out on what they would like to see in the next Farm Bill. When the USDA listening sessions are complete there will have been one in each of 48 states. But will those thousands of comments mold the next farm bill, or will it be the result of forces beyond the farmgate?Posted by Stu Ellis on 11/08 at 11:12 PM | (0) Comments | Permalink