UPI Farming Today

Indiana farmers hate genetic corn

Farmers in Indiana who don't think much of genetically modified types of corn are more willing to accept biotech soybeans.

Purdue University researchers found that Indiana farmers are only planting 13 percent of their acres with varieties of corn that resist herbicides or insects without additional pesticide use.

By comparison, Indiana farmers plan to plant more than 90 percent of their total soybean crop with genetically modified varieties.

Grain marketing specialist Corinne Alexander said many corn farmers are reluctant to plant genetic corn because they see no financial benefit from doing so.

"Indiana has very low European corn borer pressure, so the benefits of planting Bt corn are much lower here and don't justify the increase in cost," she said.

The seed needed to grow genetically modified corn is more expensive -- driving up the total cost of producing the crop by up to $8 per acre.

It also doesn't help supporters of genetically modified corn that there's a premium of about 10 cents per bushel for non-genetic corn for processing plants developing products for food-grade use or for export to Europe -- which refuses to accept many genetically modified crops.

Most of the genetic types of corn grown in the United States is grown farther west.

Farmers in South Dakota told the Agriculture Department they will plant up to 72 percent of their acres with genetically modified types of corn, with Nebraska ranking second with 55 percent.

Closer to Indiana, Illinois farmers plan to plant 29 percent of corn acres with genetic varieties, while Missouri farmers will plant 40 percent and Iowa farmers will plant 47 percent.

Indiana farmers expect to plant 5.7 million acres of corn and 5.6 million acres of soybeans -- including both conventional and genetically modified types -- this spring.

Those figures from the Agriculture Department would be a 6 percent boost for corn and 3 percent drop for soybeans compared with 2002.

Odorless meatpacking plant planned

Imagine a packing plant that looks like a 600,000-square foot office building, which eventually will employ 2,000 workers to kill 4 million hogs per year.

All that will happen without stockyards on site, and without the odors usually associated with packing plants.

That is what is being offered to three Minnesota communities, but without identifying the owners. The investors say some of their number already work in the packing industry, and don't want competitors to know what they are proposing.

Spokesmen for the investor group met recently with citizens of Albert Lea, Minn., and had scheduled two other exploratory meetings.

The plant wouldn't need stockyards, project spokesmen explained, because hogs needed for slaughter would be culled from regional farms.

It would be similar to the "just in time" delivery system used by manufacturing plants that truck in components daily to avoid operation of warehouses at the assembly plants.

Although the investors plan to build the plant beyond the cities they have in mind, they say nearby residents should not be worried about odors because the gases the plant develops will be trapped and used as a fuel.

Albert Lea is in southeast Minnesota, not far from Austin, home of Hormel's headquarters. The city has had a packing plant for many years, but it has seemed to be a marginal operation. Several major packing companies took over the plant over the years. The last operator was Farmland Foods, until the building burned down.

(by E.W. Kieckhefer)

Soybean group wants protection

The American Soybean Association wants greater measures put in place to protect 72 million acres of soybeans in the United States from Asian rust disease.

The group has worked with the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to organize meetings about the spread of the crop disease in South American nations.

Association Vice President Ron Heck said he believes that the federal government needs to increase inspection and quarantine procedures to protect the U.S. crop. "If determined necessary by pest risk analysis, they should implement a prohibition on whole soybean imports, and adequate inspection and processing procedures for soybean meal," Heck said.

Frito-Lay develops organic chips

Frito-Lay, the Texas-based manufacturer of corn chips and other snack foods, is developing an all-natural line of junk food.

The company said Thursday it plans to offer Organic blue corn Tortilla chips, Cheetos natural white cheese cheddar puffs and Lay's natural country barbecue potato chips.

Company officials insist the snack foods are made from organic ingredients, which has been certified by the Agriculture Department-accredited agency Oregon Tilth. Products will contain labels from both the federal government and the agency as to their all-natural status.

Grains mostly lower on CBOT

Grain futures were mostly lower at the close of activity Thursday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Soybean futures fell due to a bearish export sales report from the Agriculture Department.

Corn futures declined on favorable weather conditions that are boosting the size of the crop, and a lack of any new factors that would inspire prices to rise.

Wheat futures dropped despite word that Canada is reducing the size of its crop.

Oats futures were mixed.

The prices:

Soybeans: May 6.02 1/2 off 1/2, Jul 6.05 off 1/4, Aug 5.96 1/4 up 1/2, Nov 5.35 off 1 1/4.

Corn: May 2.37 1/4 off 1 1/2, Jul 2.36 1/2 off 2 1/4, Sep 2.35 1/2 off 2, Dec 2.35 1/2 off 2.

Wheat: May 2.92 3/4 off 1 1/2, Jul 2.90 1/2 off 2 1/2, Sep 2.94 1/4 off 2 1/4, Dec 3.05 1/4 off 1.

Oats: May 1.71 off 1/4, Jul 1.56 1/2 up 2 1/2, Sep 1.45 1/2 off 1/2, Dec 1.46 up 1 1/2.