May 18, 2012

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North & South Dakota May 1 crop production

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

North Dakota

Winter wheat producers reported they expect to harvest 34.6 million bushels from the 2012 North Dakota winter wheat crop. This is up 149 percent from last year and 96 percent above the 2010 level.  Yield for this year’s crop is forecast at 48 bushels per harvested acre, up 11 bushels from last year. A  total of 720,000 acres of winter wheat are expected to be harvested, up from 375,000 last year and  320,000 in 2010. Farmers in the state seeded 750,000 acres of winter wheat last fall. This is up  88 percent from the previous year and 127 percent above the acres planted for the 2010 crop year.

Hay stocks on North Dakota farms totaled 1.7 million tons on May 1, up 36 percent from last year and 30 percent above the 2010 level. Disappearance for the period December 2011 through April 2012 was 4.4 million tons, compared to 4.1 million tons a year earlier.

South Dakota

The South Dakota May 1, 2012 winter wheat production forecast is 57.20 million bushels, down 14 percent from last year’s production of 66.78 million bushels, according to the South Dakota office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The winter wheat yield for 2012 is forecast at 44.0 bushels per acre, up 2 bushels from last year, but harvested acreage is estimated at 1,300,000 acres, down 290,000 acres from 2011. Planted acreage, at 1,350,000 acres, is down 18 percent (300,000 acres) from last year.

May 1, 2012 on-farm hay stocks, at 2.40 million tons, are up 30 percent from May 2011. Hay disappearance from December 1, 2011 to May 1, 2012 was 6.00 million tons, unchanged from last year.

United States

Total U.S. winter wheat production is forecast at 1.69 billion bushels, up 13 percent from 2011. The  area expected to be harvested for grain or seed totals 35.6 million acres, up 10 percent from last year.  Based on May 1 conditions, the United States yield is forecast at 47.6 bushels per acre, up 1.4 bushels  from last year.

All hay stored on farms May 1, 2012, totaled 21.4 million tons, down 4 percent from a year ago.  Disappearance from December 1, 2011 – May 1, 2012 totaled 69.3 million tons, compared with  79.9 million tons for the same period a year ago. This is the smallest disappearance since 1985.

Source: USDA NASS ND & SD Field Offices

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Filed Under: Crops, News, Regional News

Dalrymple & Stenehjem press Corps for permanent & free access to Missouri River

May 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Governor Jack Dalrymple and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem announced yesterday that the Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to begin issuing temporary, no-cost permits for water usage along North Dakota’s Missouri River.  Dalrymple and Stenehjem spoke with Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and Craig Schmauder, Deputy General Counsel for the Army, who said the Corps plans to begin issuing water permits.

“Today’s action by the Corps is only the first step in the state’s efforts to regain its rights to the natural flows to the Missouri River,” Dalrymple said yesterday. “Water users with pending permits will now have access to the river. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army has assured us they will begin issuing permits without any further unnecessary delay.”

In May 2010, the Corps began blocking access to the Missouri River and has refused to act on requests to issue water permits.

Darcy told Dalrymple and Stenehjem that water users in North Dakota will not be charged a water fee while the Corps develops a proposed national surplus water policy.  About 100,000 acre feet of water will be available in Lake Sakakawea, which is expected to meet the state’s short-term needs. During the next 18 months, the Corps will conduct studies and provide a public comment period in an effort to develop a national surplus water policy that is expected to impose water fees.

Dalrymple told Darcy that North Dakota should be exempted from any one-size-fits-all policy that fails to take into account the Missouri River’s unique circumstances, including its sustained, year-round flows through Lake Sakakawea.  North Dakota citizens gave up about 550,000 acres of prime farmland and resources for construction of the reservoir and any move by the Corps to charge the citizens of North Dakota for their own water is unacceptable, he said.

Stenehjem said the Missouri River is the rightful property of the state of North Dakota and should be readily available without cost. “We will vigorously defend our legal right to the natural flows of the Missouri River which were guaranteed to us at statehood,” he said.

Source: Office of Governor Dalrymple

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Filed Under: News, Regional News

North Dakota Junior Beef Expo set for June 23-24

May 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Entry forms for the 18th Annual North Dakota Junior Beef Expo (NDJBE) are now available. The NDJBE, the state’s multi-breed junior beef field day, is scheduled for June 23-24 at the Upper Missouri Valley Fairgrounds in Williston, N.D. The show, which is organized by the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, is open to youth ages 21 years old and younger who are members of 4-H, FFA or a junior breed association.

“The Junior Beef Expo will be filled with activities to appeal to anyone who is interested in the beef industry,” said Ryan Jarratt, a NDJBE co-chairman. “Highlights, of course, are the heifer, steer and cow-calf shows and showmanship contest, but you will find plenty of things to do even if you don’t have an animal to bring along, such as participating in the Ag Olympics, a photography contest, coloring activity, pizza party, noon picnic and more.”

Special awards will be presented over the weekend, including the Hardest Worker Award and a NDJBE Scholarship.

NDJBE entry forms and information are available online or by calling (701) 223-2522.

Heifer and cow-calf pair entries are $20 each and steer entries are $30 per head. The entry deadline is June 1. All exhibitors will receive a NDJBE t-shirt and two meal tickets.

Source: North Dakota Stockmen’s Association

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Filed Under: Livestock, News, Regional News
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