In today’s evening edition, read the latest data from the USDA Crop Progress Report, outcomes of the 2019 USDA agencies relocation, and the spread of avian influenza.
Crop Progress
The USDA released its fourth Crop Progress report. As of Sunday, the report pegged corn planted at 7%, compared with 15% for the previous five-year average. Two percent has emerged compared to 3% for the previous five-year average.
As of Sunday, the report pegged soybeans planted at 3%, compared with 5% for the previous five-year average.
Watch the video below for additional stats.
The XtremeAg team checks in this week with an update from Matt Miles, Kevin Matthews, and Kelly Garrett.
“It only took one month and three days, but the soybeans we planted on March 21 are finally out of the ground,” says Iowa farmer Kelly Garrett. “We’ve had some tough weather over the last month, and it will be interesting to see if the stress mitigation products that we applied will make a difference with these beans.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture
In 2019, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the government would save $300 million over 15 years by moving two research agencies to Kansas City from the District of Columbia.
However, congressional auditors now say USDA’s selection process was flawed and disregarded estimates that up to 75% of employees would quit rather than move.
“We found that USDA overlooked key evidence, e.g., it didn’t factor in potential costs related to the attrition of staff or the disruption of agencies’ activities due to the relocation,” said the Government Accountability Office. “As a result, USDA cannot be sure it made the best choice to meet its objectives.”
Avian Influenza
Editor Madelyn Ostendorf covers the newly-reported cases of avian influenza in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.
To date, more than 31.66 million reported birds have been affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza. Anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard to the large commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds, says the USDA.
