Crops
Drought May Push Pecans to $11 lb - The average retail price for a pound of pecans may increase to $11 this year due to drought reducing yields in many Southern states. Pecans are the only major tree nut native to the U.S., which produces about 80 percent of the world's crop. The harvest season begins in the fall in Georgia and Florida and ends in February in New Mexico. Georgia is usually the biggest pecan producer. Other top states include Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. North Carolina is a top 10 pecan producing states with most production located east of I-95. Production in Texas, which has had a record drought, dropped the most, from 70 million pounds last year to an estimated 40 million pounds this year. The entire U.S. crop is expected to be less than 252 million pounds this year, roughly 14 percent smaller than last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Pecans are "alternate-bearing" trees, with good crops tending to be followed by smaller crops. This year should have been a high production year.
USDA Reduces Crop Reports - Funding reductions have caused a reduction in the frequency of potato stocks reports and fruit and vegetable crop estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA's Agricultural Statistics Board said funding reductions in fiscal year 2011, and the prospect of additional restrictions in fiscal year 2012, forced it to eliminate or reduce reports. USDA stated the potato stocks report is scheduled to change from a monthly report to a quarterly report. Fruit and vegetable in-season forecasts and estimates are being reduced from monthly and quarterly to an annual report. USDA also stated it will reduce the frequency of commodity coverage in the agency's chemical use reports and will also eliminate reports on nursery production, bees and honey, and hops production, among others.
Act Now for Extra Cotton Analysis - The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is conducting additional tests, at no extra charge beyond the $7 per sample fee, on all cotton tissue samples submitted this year. Cotton samples will also include a measurement for petiole phosphorus and potassium. The window of opportunity to collect and submit tissue samples, get results and adjust fertilization is narrow, so farmers are advised to act now. Details of the cotton tissue sampling protocol are available online at www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/uyrplant.htm Contact: NCDA&CS Agronomic Services, (919) 733-2655.
Alert for Soybean Producers—Kudzu Bug - The kudzu bug has been found and identified in Union County by a Wingate University student performing a biology study. This soybean pest has also been confirmed in Buncombe and Polk counties, according to North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Last year, South Carolina experienced an explosion in the infestation area of the state starting from the southwestern part to almost a complete statewide distribution. While the kudzu bug, which is also known as the bean plataspid, does feed on kudzu and many varieties of legumes, its primary agronomic plant host is soybean. So far, the kudzu bug has been relatively easy to kill with insecticides, except with neonicotinoids, but it will often reinvade. A preliminary economic threshold, based on Georgia data, is one bug per sweep with large nymphs present, or three bugs per plant with large nymphs present. Farmers who find this pest in their fields are asked to contact either the Union County Extension office at (704) 283- 3738, or the Stanly County Extension office at (704) 983-3987.
Burley Cooperative Gets New Leader — Daniel Green has been appointed chief executive officer of Burley Stabilization Corporation (BSC). Green had been chief financial officer of the corporation for several years. He replaces Charlie Finch, who recently retired after leading the relocation of the BSC's main office from its longtime location in Knoxville, Tn., to Springfield, Tn. Finch will stay on for a time as a consultant to BSC, which serves farmers in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.
Pecan grower website facilitates buying/selling - Pecan growers, pecan shellers or pecan lovers now have a free outlet to list or find pecans or pecan-related equipment or services for sale. The N.C. Pecan Growers Association has created a section on its website at www.ncpecans.org where people can list pecans for sale as well as pecan cracking and shelling services and equipment. The addition came in response to numerous questions directed each year to the organization.