News Update

News Update
Jan. 18, 2008

2007 Corn Crop a Record-Breaker, USDA reports

The 2007 U.S. corn crop was one for the record books, with 13.1 billion bushels (bu.) of production eclipsing the previous high, set in 2004, of 11.8 billion bu., according to the Crop Production 2007 Summary released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The 2007 production level was up 24% from 2006.

Driven by favorable prices, growing ethanol demand and strong export sales, farmers in nearly all states increased their corn acreage in 2007. Planted area, at 93.6 million acres, was up 19% from 2006 to the highest level since 1944, when farmers planted 95.5 million acres. The 86.5 million acres harvested for grain was the most since 1933, and up 22% from 2006. Those acres yielded an average of 151.1 bu. of corn, the second-highest yield on record after 2004’s 160.4 bu. per acre, and up 2 bu. from last year.

The shift to corn led U.S. farmers to plant and harvest 16% fewer soybean acres in 2007 than in 2006. A total of 63.6 million acres were planted, and 62.8 million were harvested. Soybean production, at 2.6 billion bu., was down 19% from the record high of 3.2 billion bu. in 2006, while the average yield per acre was at 41.2 bu., 1.5 bu. below last year.

The full Crop Production 2007 Summary is available online at www.nass.usda.gov. The report contains year-end acreage, yield and production estimates for grains and hay; oilseeds; cotton, tobacco and sugar; dry beans, peas and lentils; and potatoes and miscellaneous crops.

— Release provided by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

USGC Sends Algeria Its First Shipment of U.S. DDGS

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) successfully shipped two containers totaling 44 metric tons of distillers’ dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to Algeria.

The containers arrived this week in the Port of Algiers as part of the Council’s Quality Sample Program and represent the first-ever imports of U.S. DDGS by Algeria. The DDGS will be used in feeding trials scheduled to begin in February or March. The receiver was ECI Boudiab, the largest feed grain importing company in Algeria.

According to USGC, the Council has been in discussions with ECI Boudiab regarding the setup of DDGS feeding trials in Algeria for more than a year. Most recently, in October 2007 ECI Boudiab representatives attended the International Distillers’ Grains Conference hosted by the Council and BBI International in Schaumburg, Ill. The Council hopes to accomplish several objectives via its Quality Sample Program in the North African country.

“Firstly, we’d like to introduce DDGS to the Algerian market,” said Kurt Shultz, USGC director of Mediterranean and Africa. “Government officials are unfamiliar with corn coproducts such as DDGS or corn gluten feed (CGF). Currently the import duty on corn is 2.5% while the duty on DDGS is 30%. The Council will also use these trials to educate end users about DDGS and its use in poultry and ruminant feeds and work with the government to reduce the duty and open the doors for future imports,” he said.

The Council projects that Algeria could easily import 100-200 tons of DDGS annually, once the industry becomes comfortable with this product. The Council’s strategy in the North African region is to promote coproducts such as DDGS and CGF in addition to U.S. sorghum and corn. Shultz said that once importers become familiar with the use of these multiple feed ingredients in their rations, U.S. exporters will greatly benefit as the United States is the only country that can export multiple products such as corn, DDGS and sorghum in one vessel.

— Release provided by USGC.

New USDA Veterinary Diagnostic Fees to Begin Jan. 18

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today announced an adjustment to the user fees charged for veterinary diagnostic services. These user fees will be increased incrementally beginning Jan. 18, and continuing through fiscal year 2012 to reflect the rising cost of providing diagnostic services each year.

APHIS charges fees for its veterinary diagnostic services, or the laboratory work involved in identifying and diagnosing disease-causing organisms or chemical agents in animals. Specifically, APHIS will adjust user fees for the following services:

Laboratory tests, reagents and other veterinary diagnostic services performed at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories’ (NVSL) Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory;
Laboratory tests performed as part of isolation and identification testing at NVSL;
Laboratory tests performed as part of serology testing at NVSL;
Laboratory tests performed at the pathobiology laboratory at NVSL;
Diagnostic reagents produced at NVSL or other authorized sites; and
Other diagnostic services or materials provided at NVSL.

In addition to the role veterinary diagnostic services play in protecting American agriculture, they enhance livestock production, trade and research. The new schedule of fee increases will help ensure that the fees accurately reflect the cost of providing these important services.

A list of diagnostic services and the fees involved is available at www.aphis.usda.gov/.

— compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.