THE LAND — APRIL 1/APRIL 8, 2022
www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
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U.S. milk prices keep heading higher, but they need to This column was written for the marketA small gain in February’s All Milk ing week ending April 1. price could not offset sharply higher corn, soybean, and hay prices and The world sits on pins and needles over reversed five consecutive gains in the the war in Ukraine while hopes were USDA’s milk feed price ratio, though it dashed this week after Moscow hinted it was still above February 2021. would cut military operations near the Ukrainian capital after negotiators met in The USDA’s latest Ag Prices report Turkey. There was little evidence that shows the ratio at 2.07, down from 2.18 occurred and, in fact, Russian President in January, and compares to 1.80 in Feb. MIELKE MARKET Putin announced that exports of natural 2021. The index is based on the current WEEKLY gas would be halted April 1 unless buyers milk price in relationship to feed prices By Lee Mielke paid in rubles. for a ration consisting of 51 percent corn, 8 percent soybeans and 41 percent Meanwhile, President Biden alfalfa hay. In other words, one announced the largest release ever pound of milk would purchase 2.07 of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum pounds of dairy feed of that blend. Reserve, providing 1 million barrels per day starting in May and lasting for six months in an effort to The U.S. All Milk Price averaged $24.70 per cwt., soften high gas prices. up just 50 cents from January, but was $7.60 above Feb. 2021. U.S. farm milk prices keep heading higher, but they need to. The U.S. Department of Agriculture The national average corn price shot up to $6.10 announced the March Federal order Class III per bushel, up 53 cents from January, after gaining benchmark price at $22.45 per hundredweight, up a dime in January, and $1.35 per bushel above Feb. $1.54 from February, $6.30 above March 2021, and 2021. the highest Class III since Nov. 2020. The three Soybeans averaged $14.80 per bushel, up $1.90 month average stands at $21.25, up from $15.98 at from January, following a 40 cent jump in January, this time a year ago and $16.77 in 2020. and are $2.10 per bushel above Feb. 2021. Class III futures portend another $1.36 rise in Alfalfa hay averaged $214 per ton, up $3 from April to $23.81; May, $24.84; June, $24.66; July, January and $43 above a year ago. $24.38; August, $24.10; and September was at Looking at the cow side of the ledger; the $23.84. February cull price for beef and dairy combined The March Class IV price is a record high $24.82, averaged $77.90 per cwt., up $6.30 from January, up 82 cents from February, the previous high, and is $12.30 above Feb. 2021, and $6.30 above the 2011 a whopping $10.64 above a year ago. The three base average. month Class IV average is at $23.97, up from Dairy economist Bill Brooks, of Stoneheart $13.71 a year ago and $15.91 in 2020. Consulting in Dearborn, Mo., does not see any Dairy
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Margin Coverage payment for the remainder of 2022. In the week ending Mar. 19, 64,100 dairy cows were sent to slaughter, down 900 from the previous week, but 1,800 head or 2.9% above a year ago. n The last week of March was a bit shy on USDA reports we regularly monitor but we did get Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks data. There was added interest considering the higher input costs, primarily fertilizer, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The higher fertilizer-demanding corn acreage was estimated at 89.5 million acres, down 3.87 million acres or 4 percent from last year and 2.5 million below the trade estimate, according to StoneX Dairy Group. Soybean acreage was estimated at a record 91.0 million acres, up 4 percent from a year ago, with acreage up or unchanged in 24 of the 29 estimating States. Cotton acreage was estimated at 12.2 million acres, up 9 percent. StoneX stated in its March 29 “Early Morning Update,” “Normally when we model our producer margin we have looked at the gross difference between feed costs and milk price. Given the recent increase of non-feed inputs impacting farmer margins recently, we have taken a dive into the net margin that producers may be experiencing in order to provide a clearer perspective.” “We have been expecting that the high Class III and IV prices should be able to offset the increases in input values. However, given the continued growth in feed, energy and labor costs, that may no longer be the case. The decline in Class III and IV See MIELKE, pg. 8
EPA approves 2022 Minnesota-specific dicamba restrictions ST. PAUL — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given approval to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s state-specific use restrictions for three dicamba herbicide products during the 2022 growing season in Minnesota. The restrictions are aimed at curbing off-site movement of the products. The affected dicamba formulations are Engenia by BASF; Tavium by Syngenta; and XtendiMax by Bayer. These are the only three dicamba products labeled for use on dicamba-tolerant soybeans. Because of a high number of alleged drift complaints in the 2021 growing season, the MDA is registering the three products for use in Minnesota in 2022 with the following additional restrictions: Date cutoff — No application shall be made south of Interstate 94 after June 12, 2022. North of Interstate 94, use is prohibited after June 30, 2022. Temperature cutoff state-wide — No applica-
tion shall be made if the air temperature of the field at the time of application is over 85 F or if the National Weather Service’s forecasted high temperature for the nearest available location for the day exceeds 85 degrees. Forecasted temperature must be recorded at the start of the application. The product label with these EPA-approved Minnesota-specific restrictions will be available on the product manufacturer’s website (Bayer, BASF, or Syngenta). Check the company’s website to download the restrictions prior to application of any of these three dicamba products. The restrictions will also be promoted through the mandatory dicamba-specific training required for anyone applying one of the approved products. Compliance with these Minnesotaspecific restrictions and other restrictions listed on the product label is mandatory. Other federal requirements for the products which appear on the 2022 labels include:
Requiring an approved pH-buffering agent, also known as a volatility reducing agent, be tank mixed with dicamba products prior to all applications Requiring a downwind buffer of 240 feet and 310 feet in areas where listed endangered species are located. In addition to the cutoff date, Xtendimax and Tavium have crop growth stage cutoffs. In Minnesota, Engenia, Tavium, and XtendiMax formulations of dicamba are approved for use on dicamba-tolerant soybeans only and are restricted use pesticides. The dicamba products are only for retail sale to and use by certified applicators. Pesticide product registrations are renewed on an annual basis in Minnesota. This article was submitted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. v
