Monroe County Agriculture: July 4 cookout cost up
Ag Outlook: The all-important June 30 USDA Grain Stocks report said that planted corn acreage (89.92 million acres) was down about 2.4 million acres from last year’s record high planted acres, resulting in the fewest corn acres planted of the past three years. Soybean acres were the most of the past four years, at 88.33 million acres, with Michigan soybean acreage projected to increase slightly to 2.25 million acres. Last year Monroe County had 56,000 acres of corn, with a record county average yield of 193.6 bushels per acre and 10.155 million bushels and 82,500 acres of soybeans, with a county average yield of 51.8 bushels per acre, and 4.258 million bushels, as reported by the USDA Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service. It is doubtful at this time that the U.S. will get overall trendline yields this year due to weather and some supply chain issues. Acres increased for barley, sunflowers and sugar beets. Last year Monroe County harvested about 19,700 acres of soft red winter wheat, with a county average yield of 82.2 bushels per acre and 1.751 million bushels.
Weather: Eric Snodgrass of Nutrien Ag Solutions says La Niňa is still strong in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean. He thinks that for the next two weeks and even through July we likely will have an above normal chance of precipitation in Michigan and most of the eastern cornbelt. However, DTN’s forecast for July, August and September is hot and dry, but that is for most of the western cornbelt (west of the Mississippi River).
Corn: Western bean cutworm (WBC) moth flights are being monitored with pheromone trapping in Michigan and throughout the Midwest. Peak moth activity is expected by mid-July. Farmers are reminded that WBC larvae are no longer susceptible to most of the Bt traits in corn hybrids (including those in SmartStax hybrids) and therefore scouting, followed by timely insecticide sprays may be necessary. Only Bt hybrids expressing the Vip3a toxin will offer reliable control of this pest. There is a Great Lakes and Maritimes Pest Monitoring Network including Michigan, Ohio, New York, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. This site monitors for European corn borer (ECB), fall armyworm (FAW), true armyworm and western bean cutworm (WBC) across the region that provides an interactive real-time map and trap data dashboard and summarizes the trap results by pest. Anyone can simply google Great Lakes and Maritimes Pest Monitoring Network to access the data.
Wheat: Where does Monroe County’s wheat go? Some goes to Chelsea Milling Company in Chelsea for various Jiffy Mix products, some goes to The Andersons or ADM at the Port of Toledo, Maumee or Ottawa Lake for export, and some goes to the Nabisco Flour Mill near the I-280 bridge in Toledo where they process wheat into flour that is sent to 12 bakeries in the eastern U.S. for cookies, crackers and other products. Wheat originated in the Middle East and is the second most common grain eaten in the world, sometimes even for three meals a day.
MCCC Student Ag Farm: No rain for the past three weeks means that the newly installed drip irrigation for strawberries, tomatoes and other crops is efficiently using, and not wasting water. One of the many upcoming jobs is seeding a variety of cover crops in advance of the August 25 farmer field day.
The July 4, 2022 Cookout Cost is projected to be 17 percent higher than a year ago, with consumers paying an average of $69.68 for ten people, based upon a new American Farm Bureau Federation marketbasket survey. The cost of meat, including chicken, as well as potato salad, lemonade, pork & beans, hamburger buns and cookies also increased in price. Good news is that the average retail price for strawberries, sliced cheese, potato chips dropped in price from a year ago. According to the USDA, farmers currently receive about 8 percent of every food dollar spent by consumers.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County Agriculture: July 4 cookout cost up
