With global demand for wheat up to more than 25 billion bushels, proper disease management in wheat and cereals is more important than ever and that was a hot topic at the 2009 Commodity Classic in Texas this week.
BASF hosted a panel at the conference to examine how today’s technology can help manage disease in wheat and cereals to meet the growing global demand for grain. The panel featured analyst Arlan Suderman of Farm Futures Daily, who set the stage by summarizing the global view for wheat production and demand, noting that production did exceed demand last year for the first time in several years, but demand also increased, so stocks remain tight.
“Rebuilding stocks is difficult due to wide yield variability caused by weather and disease,” Suderman said. “Greater yield stability and productivity will be essential for meeting the world’s food and feed needs over the next five years.”
Listen to Suderman’s comments here:
cc09-basf-suderman.mp3
Download Suderman’s comments with this link – Arlen Suderman
After Suderman’s comments, BASF technical experts on plant disease, Drs. Gary Fellows and Gary Schmitz, talked about how BASF products can help increase global production of wheat and other cereal grains by controlling the most aggressive diseases that affect those crops.
“Preventing disease right from the beginning is important to get seedlings off to a healthy start,” Dr. Schmitz said. “As the plant matures, disease pressure increases, so it’s critical to continue protecting the plant throughout its lifecycle.”
BASF’s product portfolio for wheat includes Charter® and Stamina™ fungicide seed treatments, Headline®, TwinLine™ and Caramba™ fungicides.
2009 Commodity Classic photo album
BASF at Commodity Classic photo album.
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You could go to school and learn about precision land management in the New Holland booth at this year’s Commodity Classic. Mike Harvey was teaching when I stopped by. He says the mobile teaching trailer provides a place for growers to see their monitors and even operate a simulator.
BASF, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced this year’s scholarship winners for both organizations at the 2009 Commodity Classic. The scholarships are awarded to tomorrow’s agricultural leaders pursuing a degree in an industry-related field. 
Adam also presented the 2009-2010 Secure Optimal Yield (SOY) Scholarship, managed by the ASA and sponsored by BASF, to Brent Larson, a high-school senior from Canby, Minnesota, who plans to major in agronomy and minor in agricultural economics and agricultural marketing at South Dakota State University. 
This afternoon I finally got to meet the 
Growing up on a cattle ranch was tough at times, but looking back now, I realize that it gave me a sense of responsibility and a hard work ethic that transfers into the other things I do in life. More importantly, living on a farm gave me a passion for this industry that would be hard to walk away from. I don’t think there is a better place to be than agriculture, and I’m excited to start my career working for America’s food producers.
I will be graduating from South Dakota State University in May, and hopefully, I will be ranching with my parents and working as a freelance writer once I hit the “real world.” When I’m not outside helping with cattle chores, I hope to get a lot of writing and photography work done. As I embark on my career as an agricultural journalist, I have decided I need to invest in a few pieces of equipment. On my wish list (based solely on need, of course…) is a new laptop computer, an audio recorder, a wide angle lens for my Canon and video editing software. 
Here’s an example of how the stimulus is stimulating. I’m betting there will be other groups formed to help spend that money. I’m not saying this is a bad thing necessarily. Someone sure needs to provide advice to the government officials who are going to be making spending decisions.
As the world population explodes, producing food, feed, fuel, and fiber in a sustainable manner throughout the world will be paramount to success. “We’re adding three China’s in our children’s lifetime,” said Marty Matlock, Director of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Sustainability at the University of Arkansas. “Today, the U.S. is top of its game globally.”
“This tool will hope us demonstrate how the U.S. measures up when talking about sustainability,” said Doug Goehring, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in North Dakota. “This tool helps a grower re-affirm how sustainable he is. The feedback is vitally important.”
Our opening general session has just ended and once again we got a chance to hear from the Presidents of the commodity groups involved in Classic. This year there are four. Pictured (l-r) are Moderator, Mark Mayfield, NSP Chairman Toby Bostwick, NAWG President, David Cleavinger, NCGA President, Bob Dickey and ASA President, Johnny Dodson.