 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Directions l American Farm Bureau l Farm Bureau Bank l Privacy Policy l Contact Us l Help l Site Map |
The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture
Welcome to the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
| Directions l American Farm Bureau l Farm Bureau Bank l Privacy Policy l Contact Us l Help l Site Map |
Welcome to the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
Welcome to the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture
Soybean Situation:
By NEIL MELANCON
Farm Bureau News Staff Writer
BATON ROUGE—There’s a lot of talk this year about the Louisiana soybean crop, but
what kind and how much of a crop is the million dollar question.
Or rather for many folks, the million-acre question.
Dr. David Lanclos, a soybean specialist with the LSU AgCenter,
feels fairly sure there won’t be enough seed to go around for
all the interest. That’s going to put a lot of eyes on the state
and the region as shortfalls in production were expected to
be made up in bean fields of the mid-South.
“I still can’t go on record as saying we’re going to have
500,000 acres of beans in 2008,” Lanclos said. “What I do
know is that if seed was not in short supply here in Louisiana,
our predicted or desired planting acres would be well over a
million acres. There is no question we would’ve been in
that 1.2 to 1.3 million acre range, simply based on the
commodity prices and the surge that we’ve had more
recently due to soybeans or specifically for soybeans.
“I really don’t think folks in other parts of the country have
really caught on to how short the mid-South is going to be,”
he continued. “Because we’ve seen all the media reports
saying that that’s where the 10 or 11 million acres was
expected to come from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas,
Missouri and parts of Texas as well. Those are the guys
who ultimately are going to be the hardest hit because of
the shortage.”
Lanclos said the shortage in seed is primarily due
to environmental factors.
“Late-season issues from companies who were growing the seed beans had at harvest
were primarily due to heat stress, as well as lack of rainfall during the late season,” he
said. “We’re having this reduced germ and reduced vigor because of that and when we
have a surge in demand as we have in 2008 and we have a very bad production year we
wind up with a situation that we’re in right now. So, were short. But how short is yet to be
determined.”
One saving grace right now, Lanclos said, is the shift to corn and milo, which also is
enjoying record-high prices right now.
“The good news is that we have corn in milo which has done very well on the boards as
well. And in many parts of this state or many parts of Louisiana producers have already
made the shift away from, you know, increasing soybean acres as they traditionally
planned for 2008. As opposed to remaining stable, dropping in situations or in some
situations picking up acres of corn in milo and even cotton in some very isolated situations
as well.
Lanclos did say there will be a good bit of seed available to producers, but it may come
from varieties that are unproven, a gamble many farmers are unwilling to take with such
high production costs.
“I think what were going to see is a situation where we have a lot of untested or unproven
varieties that are going to be pushed in Louisiana in 2008,” he said. “I think producers are
going to have the option to get a lot of seed but it may not be seed that they so desire.
And where producers normally plant say four or five known varieties, they’re going to be in
the situation where they are planting eight, nine or 10. Some of these being totally
unproven and could be in a situation where, if environmental conditions go south, they
may not be real happy with the yield.
“Unfortunately, due to some booking issues that they’ve gotten themselves into in some
situations, we just have to plant and everyone understands that,” Lanclos added. “So, we
have to be as smart as we possibly can from an agronomic production stand point to get
these beans in the ground effectively.”
One risk farmer will have to take this year is with increasingly higher production costs at
every level.
“You know everyone wants to talk about fertilizer costs for cotton, corn in milo, et cetera,
but it’s also chemicals. It’s seed. It’s everything and it just continues to go up,” Lanclos
said. “So, the farmer ultimately has to pay that price as he is the one accepting most risks
as well. Sometimes he reaps it and sometimes he doesn’t. But, you know, we’re all in this
boat together. And it’s a good time to be in the boat. I’ll put it to you that way.”
The one thing Lanclos was able to say definitively was that he has never seen such a
strong interest in being a grain farmer as now.
“Soybeans are the number one discussed commodity right now,” Lanclos said. “Of
course, the seed shortage is the second topic of conversation whenever anyone talks
about production agriculture right now, not only in Louisiana, but in the Mid-South as well.
We know input costs are continuing to go up as well, but still, it’s a good time to be in
production ag right now.”
By NEIL MELANCON
Farm Bureau News Staff Writer
BATON ROUGE—There’s a lot of talk this year about the Louisiana soybean crop, but
what kind and how much of a crop is the million dollar question.
Or rather for many folks, the million-acre question.
Dr. David Lanclos, a soybean specialist with the LSU AgCenter,
feels fairly sure there won’t be enough seed to go around for
all the interest. That’s going to put a lot of eyes on the state
and the region as shortfalls in production were expected to
be made up in bean fields of the mid-South.
“I still can’t go on record as saying we’re going to have
500,000 acres of beans in 2008,” Lanclos said. “What I do
know is that if seed was not in short supply here in Louisiana,
our predicted or desired planting acres would be well over a
million acres. There is no question we would’ve been in
that 1.2 to 1.3 million acre range, simply based on the
commodity prices and the surge that we’ve had more
recently due to soybeans or specifically for soybeans.
“I really don’t think folks in other parts of the country have
really caught on to how short the mid-South is going to be,”
he continued. “Because we’ve seen all the media reports
saying that that’s where the 10 or 11 million acres was
expected to come from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas,
Missouri and parts of Texas as well. Those are the guys
who ultimately are going to be the hardest hit because of
the shortage.”
Lanclos said the shortage in seed is primarily due
to environmental factors.
“Late-season issues from companies who were growing the seed beans had at harvest
were primarily due to heat stress, as well as lack of rainfall during the late season,” he
said. “We’re having this reduced germ and reduced vigor because of that and when we
have a surge in demand as we have in 2008 and we have a very bad production year we
wind up with a situation that we’re in right now. So, were short. But how short is yet to be
determined.”
One saving grace right now, Lanclos said, is the shift to corn and milo, which also is
enjoying record-high prices right now.
“The good news is that we have corn in milo which has done very well on the boards as
well. And in many parts of this state or many parts of Louisiana producers have already
made the shift away from, you know, increasing soybean acres as they traditionally
planned for 2008. As opposed to remaining stable, dropping in situations or in some
situations picking up acres of corn in milo and even cotton in some very isolated situations
as well.
Lanclos did say there will be a good bit of seed available to producers, but it may come
from varieties that are unproven, a gamble many farmers are unwilling to take with such
high production costs.
“I think what were going to see is a situation where we have a lot of untested or unproven
varieties that are going to be pushed in Louisiana in 2008,” he said. “I think producers are
going to have the option to get a lot of seed but it may not be seed that they so desire.
And where producers normally plant say four or five known varieties, they’re going to be in
the situation where they are planting eight, nine or 10. Some of these being totally
unproven and could be in a situation where, if environmental conditions go south, they
may not be real happy with the yield.
“Unfortunately, due to some booking issues that they’ve gotten themselves into in some
situations, we just have to plant and everyone understands that,” Lanclos added. “So, we
have to be as smart as we possibly can from an agronomic production stand point to get
these beans in the ground effectively.”
One risk farmer will have to take this year is with increasingly higher production costs at
every level.
“You know everyone wants to talk about fertilizer costs for cotton, corn in milo, et cetera,
but it’s also chemicals. It’s seed. It’s everything and it just continues to go up,” Lanclos
said. “So, the farmer ultimately has to pay that price as he is the one accepting most risks
as well. Sometimes he reaps it and sometimes he doesn’t. But, you know, we’re all in this
boat together. And it’s a good time to be in the boat. I’ll put it to you that way.”
The one thing Lanclos was able to say definitively was that he has never seen such a
strong interest in being a grain farmer as now.
“Soybeans are the number one discussed commodity right now,” Lanclos said. “Of
course, the seed shortage is the second topic of conversation whenever anyone talks
about production agriculture right now, not only in Louisiana, but in the Mid-South as well.
We know input costs are continuing to go up as well, but still, it’s a good time to be in
production ag right now.”
FB NEWS STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL DANNA
SHORT ON SEED. Soybean seeds are in
short supply right now, casting doubt on the
number of acres that will actually be planted
in 2008. Some farmers have already
booked soybeans but haven't secured the
seed they'll need to meet their production
goals.
short supply right now, casting doubt on the
number of acres that will actually be planted
in 2008. Some farmers have already
booked soybeans but haven't secured the
seed they'll need to meet their production
goals.
Is this a good time to be in production?
