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Little hope for a farm bill in ’24
– North Dakota Grain Growers Association Executive Director Kayla Pulvermacher said the farm bill dominated the discussion when the Midwest Council on Agriculture spent time on Capitol Hill. Pulvermacher, who is an MCA member, does not expect a farm bill to pass soon. “At this point, getting one before the election is pretty iffy. For anybody that’s running for re-election, getting a farm bill would be great, but for any challengers, no farm bill is probably the best. We’ll probably be looking at one in early 2025.”
– Soybean acres in North Dakota are expected to increase dramatically, up more than 11 percent from last year. For corn, planted acreage is down more than six percent. North Dakota remains the largest spring wheat-producing state at 5.3 million acres, but that’s down 4.5 percent from 2023. Canola acreage is forecast to be record high this year at 2.37 million acres. North Dakota is the leading canola-producing state, but planting intentions are down seven percent this year. That would still be the second- highest planted area on record. Barley acreage is forecast to decline 32 percent. As expected, the intended dry edible bean acreage will be up this year, an increase of 17 percent. North Dakota farmers intend to plant 440,000 acres, down a whopping 23 percent from last year. That represents the third-lowest planted area in a half-century.
Spring fertilizer outlook
– StoneX Vice President of Fertilizer Josh Linville is reporting industry challenges in getting product to where it will be needed this spring, especially for phosphate and UAN. A huge fall run for phosphate emptied the pipeline, and there has been very little time to refill. Production issues and an early start to spring are the issues for UAN. Linville said potash, phosphate and anhydrous ammonia markets are expected to slow down as soon as planting starts.
Spring and summer grain storage reminders – NDSU Extension Agricultural Engineer Ken Hellevang says it’s important to pay attention to moisture levels of stored grain as temperatures rise. Allowable storage time started to accumulate last fall just after harvest. Hellevang says grain quality will start to decline as that time runs out. Higher temperatures and higher moisture often mean a shorter time grains can be stored. “It may not mean that we have a totally spoiled bin of grain, but there will be some mold growth and some deterioration that starts on the day we harvest it.”