Weather rant

So the weather has been super crazy! First its cold adn dreary and then it becomes totally beautiful! Then it gets cold and windy again but its totally crazy that it got wonderful again and we all were hoping for the shorts and t-shirts to be able to be kept out. Unfortunatly the weather has gotten cold once again and the long sleeve shirts have made an appearence once again. So whats the point Mr. Weather?? Can the weather just stay nice and warm or will it be one of those years where the weather is going to be totally crazy? What do you guys think???

Soybean market to shoot higher

Mike McGinnis03/26/2012 @ 8:34am

A stronger overnight trade along with a lot of bullish news items, the CME Group soybean market is set up for a sharply higher trade Monday.

The Early Calls for the commodities on Monday, March 26, 2012, are mostly higher.

Corn is seen opening 1-2 cents higher, soybeans 10-12 cents higher and wheat steady-to-higher.

In overnight trading, the July corn futures contract traded 1/2 of a cent higher at $6.45 per bushel. July soybean futures traded 12 cents higher at $13.83 3/4 per bushel, and July wheat traded steady at $6.64 1/2. For July soybean meal futures, the contract traded $3.50 per short ton higher at $377.40. July soybean oil futures traded $0.31 higher at $55.60.

The outside markets are mostly favorable for Monday's grain trade. The real factors driving the calls will be the higher soybean overnight markets.

Here are just a few supportive soybean news items from the Dow Jones Newswire Monday:

--Brazil's AgRural agency drops its Brazil 2011-12 soybean production estimate by 1.9% to 66.68 mmt.

--China 2011-12 soybean imports will be between 55-58.0 mmt, above 52.0 last year, Cofco Corp., a China state grain trader says.

--Oil World estimates global soybean output to fall by 22-23.0 mmt this year.

--China corn deficit to reach 17.0 mmt per year by 2020.

--Soybean prices are projected to go over $14 soon.

Possible Break in Feed Costs for Cattle Farmers

After years of rising corn and feed prices, livestock producers might get a reprieve if the upcoming USDA report corroborates what many expect: more corn planted this spring.

While fed cattle prices have been increasing, cattle feeders have been challenged with negative breakevens the last few years with not only higher feed costs, but higher feeder cattle prices. With the opportunity to lock in corn at between $5 and $6, that could help reduce breakevens. But volatility means that farmers and feeders will have to watch the market and take opportunities to lock in feed prices when available.
"The market is highly anticipating corn acreage will be adequate to build carryover for 2012-13, giving livestock producers opportunities to make more affordable feed purchases," says Pro Farmer's Julianne Johnston. "Of course the key is weather. Without a major weather threat, livestock producers will benefit from a larger corn acreage base in the coming year, but a weather threat would maintain a high level of price volatility."
The weather outlook shows warmer weather is here to stay, but the key is rainfall. While the overall outlook shows normal moisture conditions over much of the corn belt, there will be pockets of dry areas. That will be something to watch in the coming months. Rain or shine, though, this Friday's planting report will impact the market.
"The reports will influence corn and grain prices in both the near term and over the next year," says Darrel L. Good, Extension economist at the University of Illinois. "Those prices will influence the profitability of cattle currently being fed and may influence decisions about heifer retention and the timing of the re-building of the cow herd."
If cattle feeders begin showing positive returns, then those signals will trickle down to cow-calf producers to ramp up calf production to meet the demand of feedyards and packers in a time of shorter supplies.

~Kim Watson Beef Today Editor

Paige

Well guys, I was trying to figure out what to write about today and I came across something rather remarkable. While in high school of course you make tons of friends but none were as close as my horse judging friends. We spent so much time together trying to improve our skills and win at state. One person that I became rather close to is Paige Ruder. She is an amazing girl and very good with horses. She loves to ride and show and is very active in FFA and other school activities.

Honestly once you graduate high school and go on to college, you tend to loose touch of friends especailly when they are still in high school. Well we keep in touch by means of facebook and once in a while we will text. While playing on facebook I came across something kind of disturbing that happened to her. Now she can't remember what happened exactly but officials have decided that she might have been hit by a car while she was riding her horse Blu on the road.

Us riders tend to like to ride on or near the road just because then people yield better and can see us. Also it is a little easier on the horse rather than gravel. So anyways, she was knocked unconsious and her horse was pretty beat up. She was found by Mr. Edleman and was taken to the hospital. Luckily her guardian angel was flying with her that day and she only suffers from a skull fraction and a few other minor injuries. Both her and Blu will make full recoveries. All I have is to say is maybe there are guardian angels flying around watching over us and miracles do happen! Get well soon Paige!!!

Spring Break

Hey guys hows your week going? Spring break has been totally awsome. The weather has been great, got the first trail ride of the season done and learned that an older horse still has some get up and go. So anyways, got just a short little thing for y'all today to just get your minds turning. Got to love facebook for these wonderful little posters. This is so the basic needs of a typical country girl! Just kidding guys. What are your favorite posters???

Thank you Farmers

This just made me think on how wonderful our farmers are and how much they really do for us! Thank you farmers!!

Who's your farmer???

What do you really think of when you hear the name “Farmer”? Do you think of someone who raises things like crops and animals? Do you think of the old couple wearing bibs and are covered in mud? What is the first thing that really comes to your mind?

What people do not realize is that farmers play a major part in our lives whether we eat meat or just vegetables. A farmer is a huge supplier of all types of food. First of all did you know that one typical farmer can feed over 3000 people? Well a typical farmer does. With the land that they use they help supply enough food for those people or for many animals.

A farmer is not seasonal like most people assume. There are so many things that they have to do while crops are growing or in between harvesting and planting. The ground needs worked, the equipment needs attention for any malfunctions that may have occurred. They need to be able to keep up with the new technology and products out in agriculture worlds and that takes time and research. There are plenty of things a farmer will do on the supposed “down time”.

These farmers invest their time and money to help support a growing world with crops to feed the people and animals and animals to help feed the people as well. I would love to hear your stories of a farmer you care about or has impacted some aspect of your life. Post a picture on my Facebook page or just write a comment! Have fun with it!! So here is the cheesy question…. “Who’s your farmer?”

How to preserve cut flowers

Women love flowers, especially when they are given as a gift from that special someone. Here is some great ways to help cut flowers live longer in a vase so you have a longer time to look at their beauty. Flowers need food just like everything else and there is a cheap way to make flower food out of things from your kitchen.

Flower food

·         Teaspoon of sugar added to a pint of water to give the plant energy

·          To control pH, add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar will help the levels

·         A teaspoon of bleach will help reduce bacteria

How to extend the life of cut flowers

·         Once the flowers are received a person needs to cut the stems at an angle with a sharp utensil. This will help the stems absorb more water and nutrients. It will also help the stems be more open at the end.

·         Remove any leaves or flowers near the bottom of the stems or that will be close to the water.

·         Add flower food to the water.

·         The flowers should be put in indirect sunlight and away from anything that might dehydrate the flowers after the flowers have been fed.

Some things that people might not know, is that once a flower or leaf begins to wilt it will affect the rest of the plant. The plant will naturally try to save the leaf and nutrients will still be sent to the dying part of the plant. If you remove the wilted flower or leaf, it may lengthen the life of your plant due to the nutrients being supplied elsewhere for the plant.

Every few days, the stem of the plant should be trimmed to encourage water flow into the plant. By cutting it the xylem and phloem will be able to take in water and send the hydration and nutrients to the sections of the plant faster. When you cut the stem of the flower, the water should also be changed and more food should be added