Brazil’s Recent Frost Seen as Less Damaging for Wheat Crop
Reuters – 08/05/2019
Frosts on the weekend were less intense and widespread than at the beginning of last month in Brazil’s number 1 wheat producer Paraná state, signaling that August will probably see less damage to crops, the state’s rural economy department Deral said on Monday. “At first sight, the frost was less of a problem than the July 6 frost. It was not as cold,” said Deral wheat specialist Carlos Hugo Godinho. Frosts a month ago cut the Parana wheat harvest outlook by more than 15 percent, down to 2.7 million tonnes, according to Deral. Parana usually accounts for half of the wheat harvest in Brazil, a country that depends largely on imports of wheat. The losses in the state could increase imports, previously estimated at 7 million tonnes this year. While the cold weather becomes less intense, Godinho said farmers are now more worried about the lack of rain, especially in northern Parana, where it has not rained for weeks in some areas.
China Halts Purchase of U.S. Farm Products
Reuters– 08/05/2019
China has halted its purchases of U.S. agricultural products and will not rule out levying import tariffs on American farm imports purchased after Aug. 3, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said early on Tuesday. The moves by China represent the latest escalation in its trade row with the United States that has unnerved global markets and investors. “Related Chinese companies have suspended purchases of U.S. agricultural products,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement posted shortly after midnight in Beijing on Tuesday. The Chinese Commerce Ministry did not disclose the value of U.S. agricultural imports that may be subjected to new import tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up tensions between the two countries last week when he vowed to impose a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from Sept 1, a decision China’s Commerce Ministry said was a “serious violation” of the consensus struck by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Osaka in June.
AgriLife ‘Top Picks’ Offered as Wheat Producers Gear Up for New Wheat Crop
Texas Wheat – 08/05/2019
Planted wheat acres were down in 2018-2019 in the Texas Panhandle, but it was still a learning year, according to experts with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Research. It offered a mixed bag of conditions with record wheat yields, waterlogged fields resulting in reduced yields and shriveled, low test weight grain and many fields were either hailed out or severely damaged by hail. “Because it was an extreme production season for wheat farmers and across our variety trials, it was a very good year to evaluate wheat varieties,” said Dr. Jourdan Bell, AgriLife Extension agronomist, Amarillo. Each year Bell and Dr. Calvin Trostle, AgriLife Extension agronomist, Lubbock, join with Dr. Jackie Rudd, AgriLife Research wheat breeder, Amarillo, to provide wheat producers across the High Plains their “Top Picks” list for varieties with the highest potential before planting time. The summaries are derived from wheat variety trials coordinated by the Texas A&M AgriLife wheat improvement program in Amarillo, with funding provided by variety trial entry fees as well as the Texas Wheat Producers Board…Continuing a long-time tradition, ongoing Picks criteria include a minimum of three years of irrigated or dryland data in Texas A&M AgriLife regional variety trials across numerous annual locations. “A Pick variety can be described as: Varieties that we would choose to include and emphasize on our farm for wheat grain production given the three-year performance and variety characteristics,” Trostle said.
Nebraska Wheat Crop Progress Report
Nebraska Wheat Board – 08/05/2019
Nebraska’s Northern Panhandle region continues to deal with weather hindering harvest, as evidenced by another ½ inch of rain in the area last night. Farmers are slowly getting through the fields and estimates are that harvest is only one-third completed in the area. Test weights are suffering from the long, wet harvest season, dropping this week to a 59 pound average. Protein levels are still averaging 10.5 through most of the region, with the exception of higher protein levels in some northern parts of the Northern Panhandle region, which are coming in at 12. Producers in the southern panhandle are also dealing with rainy conditions, which is continuing to slow down harvest momentum. Because of varying weather conditions, harvest reports throughout the area are also varied.
WAWG, PNWA React to ECONorthwest Report
Washington Ag Network – 08/05/2019
ECONorthwest recently conducted a study at the request of Vulcan Incorporated that stated while expensive, removing the Columbia and Snake river dams to assist migrating salmon would be worth the investment in the long run. Both Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse reacted swiftly to the report, calling the study a slap in the face of eastern Washington Ag. Northwest wheat farmers and towboat companies rejected a new report, “Lower Snake River Dams: Economic Tradeoffs of Removal,” authored by ECONorthwest and funded by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc., for banking on uncertain and unproven “benefits” of dam removal, while threatening the livelihood of the Northwest’s internationally renowned wheat-growing region. The report argues in favor of breaching the four federal Snake River dams to trade away the vital economic benefits of the Snake River waterway for questionable economic benefits of “non-use” and additional recreation, if the dams were removed…“The Snake River is the economic engine of Idaho,” said Blaine Jacobson, Executive Director of the Idaho Wheat Commission. “Wheat is our leading agricultural export and those dollars ripple throughout our state’s economy, creating $27 billion in sales (21 percent of total economic output), more than 126,000 jobs (14 percent of state employment) and more than $10 billion of state GDP (16 percent of GDP). The study from ECONorthwest massively understates these economic impacts.”
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates