All Wheat Production Down from 2011

All wheat production in Idaho is down 15 percent from 2011 to 98.0 million bushels, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The winter wheat yield, at 80.0 bushels per acre, is down 2.0 bushels per acre from last year. Winter wheat production totals 59.2 million bushels from 740,000 harvested acres, down 6 percent from last year’s 63.1 million bushels. The 2012 winter wheat production is estimated to be 77 percent white and 23 percent hard red. Spring wheat yield, at 76.0 bushels per acre, is down 8.0 bushels per acre from a year ago. Idaho’s spring wheat production totals 38.0 million bushels from 500,000 harvested acres, down 27 percent from 2011’s 52.1 million bushels. The spring wheat crop is estimated to be 50 percent white and 50 percent hard red. Yield for durum wheat is estimated to be 62.0 bushels per acre, down 7.0 bushels from last year. Durum wheat production in Idaho totals 806,000 bushels from 13,000 harvested acres, up 47,000 bushels from last year.

Nationally, all wheat production totaled 2.27 billion bushels in 2012, up 13 percent from 2011. Grain area totaled 49.0 million acres, up 7 percent from last year. The United States yield is 46.3 bushels per acre, up 2.6 bushels from the previous year and matches the record high from 2010. The levels of production and changes from last year by type are: winter wheat, 1.65 billion bushels, up 10 percent; other spring wheat, 542 million bushels, up 19 percent; and Durum wheat, 82.0 million bushels, up 62 percent.

Soil Health Workshop

Three Workshops Available. All run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Workshops are Free!

August 28- Idaho Falls – Bonneville County Extension Office, 2925 Rollandet Street, Jack Hamilton Building. Contact: Joyce at 208-522-5137 x 101

August 29 – Pocatello- Farm Bureau Office, 275 Tierra Visa Drive Contact: Andrea at 208-237-4628 x 101

August 30 – Magic Valley – Con Paulos Chevrolet, 251 East Frontage Road South, Jerome. Contact 208-733-5380X3

Learn how to farm in “nature’s image” by applying agro-ecology principles to your land

Topics:

• Demonstration of soil structure
• Changing the way we view soils
• Lunch on your own
• Cover Crops in Idaho
• Soil chemistry – the living soil

Speakers:

• Ray Archuleta, Soil Health Specialist/Agronomist, NRCS National Tech Center
• Dr. Rick Haney, Soil Scientists, USDA Agricultural Research Service
• Marlon Winter, State Agronomist Idaho NRCS

USDA Risk Management Agency Billing Date Changes

The Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Spokane Regional Office reminds Alaska and Pacific Northwest producers of the new billing date for Federal crop insurance premiums on most crops: August 15, 2012. Insured producers have until October 1st to pay their premiums without being charged interest for crops with an August 15 billing date. Interest will begin accruing until October 1 at a 1.25 percent per month.
Although premiums are payable as soon as the crop is planted, an insured producer is not billed until the premium billing date. If an indemnity (loss) payment, prevented or replanting payment is made, any premiums still owed can be deducted from those payments.

The 2012 billing date changes comply with the 2008 Farm Bill that changed the billing date for all crops originally billed after August 15.

Producers are encouraged to contact their crop insurance agent with questions.

Idaho All Wheat Acreage Down 13 Percent

Planted acres for all wheat in Idaho are estimated at 1.28 million acres, down 13 percent from 2011, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Acres to be harvested for all wheat are expected at 1.22 million acres, down from 1.40 million acres the previous year. Idaho’s spring wheat seedings, at 480,000 acres, are down 25 percent from the 640,000 acres planted in 2011. Harvested acreage is set at 460,000 acres, a decrease of 160,000 acres from last year. Winter wheat seedings of 780,000 acres decreased 5 percent from the previous year. Harvested acres are expected to total 740,000 acres, down 30,000 acres from 2011. Area planted to durum wheat is up 36 percent from last year at 15,000 acres, with 15,000 acres also expected to be harvested for grain.

Global Seed Company, University of Idaho Agree on Novel Wheat Pact

The Idaho State Board of Education approved an innovative agreement between the University of Idaho and Limagrain Cereal Seeds, one of the world’s largest seed companies, that expands graduate education in agriculture and wheat variety development opportunities.

“This agreement is important to meet the needs of Idaho’s wheat growers and our ability to serve agriculture both in Idaho and in the Northwest,” said College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean John Hammel.

“We have had detailed discussions for more than a year with the Idaho Wheat Commission, Limagrain Cereal Seeds and others to make sure this agreement works for all parties,” said Donn Thill, Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station director in the college at Moscow.

Limagrain Cereal Seeds will contribute to research and education endowments for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to fund wheat-focused research and two $20,000 graduate-level assistantships annually.

The research endowments will help fund field studies by college faculty members focused on better ways to grow wheat on the Palouse surrounding Moscow, Thill noted.

A July 9 field day at the college’s Palouse Research, Extension and Education Center Parker Farm east of Moscow will offer wheat growers and the public a chance to explore the collaboration at the ground level with officials from the university, company and other groups. Hundreds of plots of Limagrain Cereal Seeds wheat varieties and breeding lines and those developed by the college will be on display.

“From the Limagrain Cereal Seeds standpoint, we’re really excited about the opportunity to partner with the University of Idaho and by extension with the Idaho Wheat commission,” said Jim Peterson, vice president for research for Limagrain Cereal Seeds at Fort Collins, Colo.

“We feel we bring some unique things to the table, a global germplasm base, some modern technologies and the opportunity to partner with the researchers and extension at the University of Idaho to really bring better information and better products to the growers of Idaho,” said Peterson.

He previously worked as Oregon State University’s wheat breeder and has strong ties to the University of Idaho, where his uncle Chuck Peterson, an agricultural engineer and biodiesel pioneer served as College of Engineering dean.

The Idaho Wheat Commission will participate in the collaboration in a formal advisory role. Cathy Wilson, the commission’s director of research collaboration, will serve as an ex-officio member of a joint university-company steering committee that will meet four times a year.

“My experience shows that where there is collaboration, there is opportunity,” Wilson said.

On Jan. 6 in Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s office, Peterson of Limagrain Cereal Seeds joined an Idaho Wheat Commission announcement of endowments that will total $2 million to support the university’s wheat research.

The agreement was previewed by the State Board of Education during its April meeting in Moscow.

The non-exclusive agreement between the university and Limagrain means the two will develop and market some wheat varieties together under the trade name Varsity Idaho. The company and university will continue to develop varieties independently, collaborate with other parties and market varieties separately.

The strength of the agreement, Thill said, is that it provides the university with a tie to the company’s vast collection of germplasm from throughout Europe and its scientific and marketing expertise.

Stripe Rust Update


Stripe Rust was confirmed in the Magic Valley with three fields of Brundage showing stripe rust infection south of the Kimberly exit off of Hwy 84. Upper leaves were infected, indicating the occurrence of a recent spring infection, not an overwintering event. All three fields were sprayed with a fungicide to control the infection.

Brad Brown, Extension Soil and Crop Management Specialist in Parma, has found stripe rust in spring wheat at the Parma research station. The infection was minor with less than 1% of plants infected and only one small stripe on any infected leaf. The wheat plants were past flowering and no control was warranted.

In Northern Idaho, Doug Finkelnburg provided the first report of stripe rust found Monday June 4 in Latah county on the Parker Farm, found at low levels in susceptible varieties. Forecasted weather for the upcoming week is for conditions conducive to the infection and spread of stripe rust all across the state. The weekend forecast is for a return to warmer than average conditions, which is not conducive to stripe rust development.

All other reports of stripe rust in southern and eastern Idaho have not been confirmed. There are several fields of winter wheat with yellowing of upper canopy leaves that have been attributed to root rot issues such as Rhizoctonia and Strawbreaker eyespot. This has been in heavily seeded, fertilized and irrigated fields where the lack of air movement and moist conditions have promoted anaerobic conditions at the base of the plant.

Extensive scouting by numerous people have not resulted in any additional stripe rust being found. Thanks to all those who have reported their findings!

Juliet Marshall Associate Professor of Agronomy and Cereals Cropping Systems at the University of Idaho, does not recommend fungicide application at this time, except for spring wheat varieties known to be very susceptible to stripe rust. If still practical, fungicides could be applied with herbicides. However, in general Marshall would not be putting on a separate fungicide application until stripe rust is confirmed in your area and you are growing a susceptible variety. The current threat has now moved to spring wheat. Winter wheat is at heading to flowering with very little to no visible disease.

Additional information and pictures are available on the Cereals Extension website for southern and southeast Idaho: http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/scseidaho/disease/disease_index.htm.

Educational Seminar Offered to Wheat Growers

A web-based grower education seminar (webinar) on World Wheat Supply, Demand, and Prices hosted by the Idaho Wheat Commissions will held Thursday, April 26 at 8:00 a.m. MDT, 7:00 a.m. PDT.

Vince Peterson, Vice President of Overseas Operations for U.S. Wheat Associates will discuss global factors behind this year’s exports, review world stock supplies and give his perspective on world plantings, production and prices. The webinar will be approximately one hour.  Participation is simple and free!  Log onto the website at http://connect.cals.uidaho.edu/wheat (requires Adobe Flash Player which is installed on most computers) and enter your name as a participant.

Peterson is an active leader in the grain industry, having served on the board of directors of both the Portland Merchants Exchange and the Pacific Grain Export Association. He speaks internationally on the world wheat market and has presented expert witness testimony before Congress and served on a CFTC investigative subcommittee. Before joining USW, Peterson gained a dozen years of practical trade and commercial experience through working as an export grain merchandiser with Garnac Grain and as a domestic grain procurement manager and merchandiser with General Mills.

Peterson earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial administration and economics from Iowa State University.

Stripe Rust Webinar Tomorrow -- Wednesday, April 4

The Idaho Wheat Commission will be presenting a web-based grower education seminar (webinar) on Stripe Rust on Wednesday, April 4 at 7:30 a.m. MDT. The webinar will be approximately one hour. Participation is free! Log onto the website at http://connect.cals.uidaho.edu/wheat (requires Adobe Flash Player which is installed on most computers) and enter your name as a participant. Guest presenter Juliet Marshall, Associate Professor of Agronomy and Cereals Cropping Systems at the University of Idaho, Department of Plant, Soils and Entomological Sciences will look at the stripe rust epidemic in 2011 and how the disease reduced yields and increased production costs in both winter and spring wheat. Marshall will review the life cycle of the disease, the unusual environmental conditions that allowed the epidemic to develop, and examine the potential for a repeat performance in the upcoming year. We will look at various control recommendations, including the selection of resistant varieties, fungicide applications, and various production practices that can reduce the infection and spread in the upcoming cropping season.

Falling Numbers Webinar Tomorrow

On Thursday, March 15, 7:30 a.m. MDT, 6:30 a.m. PDT, Juliet Marshall, Associate Professor of Agronomy and Cereals Cropping Systems at the University of Idaho, Department of Plant, Soils and Entomological Sciences will address Falling Numbers, in a one-hour webinar. She will specifically look at questions surrounding the 2011 crop. Participation is simple and free! Log onto the website at http://connect.cals.uidaho.edu/wheat (requires Adobe Flash Player which is installed on most computers) and enter your name as a participant.Wheat quality last harvest was called into question with some varieties showing low values in the falling numbers test. In this webinar, Marshall will explore the potential causes and the methods producers may be able to use to reduce the discounts associated with the expression of low falling numbers.

Webinars Offered to Wheat Growers

A web-based grower education seminar (webinar) on healthy soils, sponsored by the Idaho, Oregon and Washington Wheat Commissions will held Tuesday, March 13 at 8 a.m. MST, 7 a.m. PST.

Ray Archuleta, a conservation agronomist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, will address how healthy soils save money. The webinar will be approximately one hour. Participation is simple and free! Log onto the website at http://connect.cals.uidaho.edu/wheat (requires Adobe Flash Player which is installed on most computers) and enter your name as a participant.

Archuleta believes that farming for the 21st century requires producers to follow nature’s template and that doing so will allow soils on the ranch or farm to function better. Healthy functioning soils managed as an ecosystem filtrate water and cycle nutrients and organic material more efficiently. This webinar will teach principles on how to improve soil function so landowners can save money on petroleum based inputs.

On Thursday, March 15, 7:30 a.m. MST, 6:30 a.m. PST, Juliet Marshall, Associate Professor of Agronomy and Cereals Cropping Systems at the University of Idaho, Department of Plant, Soils and Entomological Sciences will address falling numbers, specifically looking at questions around the 2011 crop. .

Wheat quality last harvest was called into question with some varieties showing low values in the falling numbers test. In this webinar, Marshall will explore the potential causes and the methods producers may be able to use to reduce the discounts associated with the expression of low falling numbers.

Low Falling Number Webinar

Wednesday, February 29 at 7:30 AM (MST)

The Idaho Wheat Commission will be presenting a web-based grower education seminar (webinar) on low falling number 7:30 AM (MST). The webinar will be approximately one hour. Participation is simple and free! Log onto the website at http://connect.cals.uidaho.edu/wheat (requires Adobe Flash Player which is installed on most computers) and enter your name as a participant.

Wednesday, February 29 – “Unraveling the Falling Numbers Questions of 2011” Guest presenter Juliet Marshall, Associate Professor of Agronomy and Cereals Cropping Systems at the University of Idaho, Department of Plant, Soils and Entomological Sciences.
Wheat quality in the 2011 harvest was called into question with some varieties showing low values in the falling numbers test. In this webinar, we will explore the potential causes and the methods we may be able to use to reduce the dockage associated with the expression of low falling numbers.

For those who cannot view the webinar in real time, it will be recorded and available at: http://www.idahowheat.org/.

Controlling Wire Worms in Cereal Grain Production.

The webinar presented by Mr. Esser focuses on how to improve grain yield and profitability under wireworm pressure and reduce wireworm populations in the soil.
Esser discusses his research on a series of large-scale on-farm tests (OFT) which were initiated in 2008 examining varied rates of Cruiser insecticide and a series of OFT examining a very high labeled rate of Gaucho insecticide to reduce wireworm populations in the soil. A series of small plot insecticide treatments have also been initiated examining multiple products with potential for control.

Controlling Wire Worms in Cereal Grain Production.

Direct Seed Workshop slated for March 8 in Idaho Falls

The South Idaho Direct Seed Workshop will be hosted by the Idaho Wheat Commission (IWC) on Thursday, March 8 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 700 Lindsay Blvd, Idaho Falls.

Registration will begin at 9:00 am. The workshop will run from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm.

One of the featured speakers this year will be Richard Smiley, professor of plant pathology at Oregon State University. Dr. Smiley focuses his research on methods to control root diseases of wheat and barley caused by soilborne plant-pathogenic fungi and plant-parasitic nematodes.

“Dick Smiley is one of the leading voices on methods to control root diseases,” says IWC chairman Gordon Gallup, who has been direct seeding for many years. “We can all benefit from hearing about soil health,” says Gallup. “You never know where you’ll find the next idea that will increase profits.”

Presentations will address a variety of timely topics. Earl Creech, PhD, Extension Agronomist, Utah State University will cover chemical fallow. Kate Painter, PhD, Ag Economics and Rural Sociology, University of Idaho will discuss her research on the economics of direct seeding. Additional topics covered will include available government programs. A yearly favorite is local growers sharing their experiences in direct seeding.

The Workshop provides a great opportunity to network and hear what others are doing. Advanced registration is recommended. Registration fee is $10, payable at the door (cash or check only). Lunch is provided.

To register or for more information contact Tereasa Waterman at ts@idahowheat.org, or call the Wheat Commission office at (208) 334.2353.

Idaho’s Agricultural Research Enhanced through Multi-Million Dollar Endowments from Idaho Wheat Commission and Limagrain Cereal Seeds

The Idaho Wheat Commission today announced a plan to create two faculty research endowments with $2 million to the University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to support Idaho’s 4,500 wheat growers and their $766 million-per-year harvest.

In addition, Limagrain Cereal Seeds has agreed to collaborate with the college on breeding new wheat varieties for Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. Both Limagrain and the college will contribute germplasm, technology, and expertise to more rapidly develop varieties with improved productivity and tolerance to diseases and stress. To support this effort, Limagrain is also funding a significant endowment for cropping systems research and graduate training at the university.

“These partnerships clearly demonstrate the power of collaboration and the value that a land-grant institution like the University of Idaho can bring to our state’s economy,” said M. Duane Nellis, president of the University of Idaho. “We deeply appreciate the confidence that both the Idaho Wheat Commission and Limagrain Cereal Seeds have placed in our university.”
Limagrain Cereal Seeds and the university will share grain germplasm, which will “greatly increase varietal options for Idaho and Pacific Northwest wheat growers,” said Dean John Hammel of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

“This public-private partnership is a win for all of us and especially for Idaho and the Pacific Northwest wheat industry,” said Hammel. “Today’s economic realities make it increasingly important for industries benefiting from our research to increase their support. The endowments our partners are establishing today are ensuring the future as they will provide ongoing and perpetual research funding. We applaud both the Idaho Wheat Commission and Limagrain Cereal Seeds for stepping up as willing partners.”

Developing new wheat varieties is not easy. It takes a dozen years to develop and test best new grain varieties.

“Future yield increases in wheat will be driven by research, said Gordon Gallup of Ririe, chairman of the Idaho Wheat Commission, which represents Idaho’s wheat growers. “Private breeders like Limagrain Cereal Seeds bringing new technology and new germplasm into the mix is going to give our public programs a significant boost. New technology will lead to greater yields and better profitability for wheat growers in Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.

“Wheat growers of Idaho are very aware of how important research is to our bottom line,” Gallup said. “If wheat is to remain competitive in our state and region, growers of Idaho must look to public/private partnerships, as well as requiring increased efficiencies in our public research programs.”

“These past few years we have seen severe cuts to our state universities’ budgets. Although cuts were necessary to balance budgets, those reductions have caused an erosion of our ability to fund research that is necessary to keep agriculture healthy,” Gallup added.

“Idaho’s wheat growers are hopeful that the State of Idaho will continue to invest in agriculture,” Gallup said. “We encourage other agricultural related industries to join in this effort to keep our land grant universities’ research programs healthy and productive.”

Donn Thill, director of the university’s Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station that oversees the institution’s statewide agricultural research, believes that, “by strategically combining our wheat germplasm with Limagrain Cereal Seeds’, new wheat varieties will be created for our growers that yield more wheat per acre, that are easier on the environment, more disease resistant, and more nutritious than what we could do working alone.”

Jim Peterson, vice president for research at Limagrain Cereal Seeds, sees this as “an exciting opportunity to build on the complementary strengths of the University of Idaho and LCS wheat programs.

“The university’s cropping systems research will help growers to better manage and capture value from new varieties that come out of the collaborative breeding effort,” Peterson said. The collaboration also brings a new international dimension to wheat research in Idaho and the Northwest. Limagrain Cereal Seeds is a new joint venture between the France-based Limagrain Group, the largest cereal seed company in Europe, and Arcadia Biosciences, a biotechnology company based in Davis, Calif.

This year, the Idaho Wheat Commission endowments will fund a wheat breeding and a wheat agronomist professorship, each located at the university’s Aberdeen Research and Extension Center. “Some of this endowment will enhance salaries of faculty already conducting research, an effort to stay competitive, to keep these professionals in Idaho,” Thill said.

Limagrain Cereal Seeds’ support for graduate training also is timely.
“Nationally, we’re facing shortages of experienced people in agriculture with these skills,” Thill said. “An important part of our job is training the next generation of crop scientists. These endowments will help us.”

As part of its commitment to the Idaho grain industry, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is reallocating resources and faculty positions to strengthen statewide cereal research and extension, areas hard hit during the severe economic downturn of the past several years.
These strategic and collaborative partnerships will enable the college to fill two cropping positions in the coming year, one each in Moscow and Aberdeen, along with a plant nutrition position. “These positions will provide important agronomic support to newly developed cereals and other crops,” Hammel said.

The small-grain cereal cropping system agronomist in Moscow will focus on northern Idaho’s dryland production systems including small grain cereals, peas, lentils, and oilseed with a value of $150 million annually to northern Idaho.

The plant nutritionist will focus on optimizing fertilizer use and placement in winter wheat to ensure environmental protection and sustainable crop production in both conventional and direct seed farming systems.

To further improve adaptation of new wheat varieties in northern Idaho, an area-wide extension educator position, located in Nez Perce County, will be filled to support cereal agronomic and yield test sites in northern Idaho.

In Aberdeen, “the cropping systems agronomist will provide much needed research and extension information in best management practices for wheat, barley, and crops grown with them in rotation,” added Hammel. Additionally at Aberdeen, a research entomology position will be refilled to develop extension and research programs in insect management for crops including small-grain cereals and potatoes.

The university’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences operates research and extension facilities throughout Idaho to serve the state’s people and agriculture as part of its mission as a land-grant institution.