Hay was at the top of the list in acres harvested at more than 1.2 million acres, followed by soybeans, grain corn, winter wheat and cotton. The 17,000 acres of peanuts planted in 2006 were the crop s lowest-planted acreage on record in part because of the peanut quota system s demise. The biggest surprise revealed by the directory, however, might be the rise of the tomato in the commonwealth s agricultural pecking order. After tomatoes and soybeans, grain corn, tobacco and hay round out...

Early estimates for next year s corn and soybean plantings have begun to flow in, even as the harvest of this year s corn and soybean crops continues. While soybeans may pick up some of that slack acreage, there are concerns that demand may outpace supply, given the growth in the global market for biodiesel, a cleaner burning fuel made from vegetable oils. The USDA currently projects soybean inventories at the end of the crop year will stand at 215 million bushels, down from 573 million...

The software has been developed over two years, by accumulating data from commercialized industry low linolenic soybean products, such as Vistive(TM) soybeans. Low-linolenic soybeans provide soybean processors an opportunity to supply a modified soybean oil to help meet the demand for trans-fat free vegetable oil among food companies and restaurants. The new calibration assures that soybean processors receive only soybean grain meeting the linolenic acid level specifications that, when...

Freese said while he was able to get all of his soybeans harvested before the rains began, he still has about 150 acres of corn remaining in the field. Graff said while the rain has given him an opportunity to catch up on his photography business, which he does along with farming, he is still anxious about the state of the nearly 200 acres of corn and 500 acres of soybeans that still need to be picked. Steve Freese, who farms corn and soybeans approximately one mile northwest of Plymouth,...

Frank Lautenberg wants to replace subsidies for commodity crops such as soybeans with a crop-loss insurance program for all farmers. Post Comment Sunday, October 28, 2007 By RAJU CHEBIUM Gannett News Service WASHINGTON As the Senate prepares to debate a $288 billion farm bill, a New Jersey lawmaker has offered an alternative measure aimed at increasing federal help to Garden State growers and saving taxpayers $20 billion over the next five years. Post Comment Sunday, October 28, 2007 By...

Good grain Local farmers fare well despite high costs, drought Robert Warner The Enquirer MARENGO TOWNSHIP A steady stream of trucks pulls up on the scales outside the long window in the office at Dale Hoffman & Sons Elevator east of Marshall on a hot Monday afternoon. Good grain Local farmers fare well despite high costs, drought Robert Warner The Enquirer MARENGO TOWNSHIP A steady stream of trucks pulls up on the scales outside the long window in the office at Dale Hoffman & Sons...

Soybean varieties with AYT technology are expected to yield up to 12 percent more than today's top-yielding soybean varieties. In other words, they looked at their existing varieties and found sub-lines that were higher yielding than the original elite varieties on the market today. How it works Pioneer has kept a complete collection of their soybean varieties from the 1950s until today. The presence of one or more of these gene markers in a chromosome indicates the presence of a gene that...

Although some can offer convincing arguments that global demand growth is outstripping our ability to produce some commodities, the short answer to the question is we have not entered a new era of permanently higher commodity prices and prices will fall, but probably not to previous levels because production costs have risen. Although some can offer convincing arguments that global demand growth is outstripping our ability to produce some commodities, the short answer to the question is we...

A PROMINENT United Nations activist against famine has demanded a five-year moratorium on biofuels as a new report showed Australia could use its sugar to become a major global provider of ethanol. However, Australia was falling behind most of the big players in the global ethanol market in terms of industry maturity and production. These included the emergence of second-generation technologies, the development of the hybrid automobile market, and what key energy-consuming nations such as...