Well it is currently 10:00p.m. here in California which means to me it is midnight back in Illinois. I am exhausted after a day full of traveling but super excited that I am finally in California! The first comment I have to make is I am extremely disappointed that they have discontinued the snack on the airplane. I was sitting in O’Hare waiting for my flight to board and pondering whether or not to buy a snack for the plane. Well of course I didn’t because they give you the granola bar and/or peanuts during the flight, right? Wrong! Despite the lack of a snack I had a great flight and landed in sunny California this afternoon. It was my very first time seeing palm trees and they didn’t let me down. I took lots of pictures. I checked into my hotel room and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. Everybody loves Raymond is a very good show by the way.
We just returned from a wonderful meal from The Catch, a restaurant a few blocks away. It was a great meal, but I was so tired I almost fell asleep in my food. I’m going to bed in a few minutes but let me first tell you what some of the plans are for tomorrow. At 7:30 a.m. I will be attending the FFA breakfast meeting/press conference. In the afternoon we will be going to the opening ceremony of the Commodity Classic Trade Show which includes a performance by Michael Martin Murphey. The day will be concluded with the DEKALB and ASGROW NCGA yield contest winner event. It should be a great day to start off the 2006 Commodity Classic. See you tomorrow!
US Wheat Tariff Comes Off
Canada Western Red Spring wheat can once again enter the United States, duty free. A U.S. tariff that stopped imports of Canada’s largest crop since 2003 has been fully dismantled, cementing a major NAFTA victory for western Canadian farmers. On February 24, the U.S. Customs notified all American ports of entry that imports of Canadian hard red spring wheat are no longer subject to any duties.
“After three long years, the American market is open to our wheat again,” said CWB board chair Ken Ritter, a farmer from Kindersley, Saskatchewan. “Our valued U.S. customers can once more access high-quality wheat from Canada.”
The CWB appealed the American tariff, imposed after the North Dakota Wheat Commission launched an anti-dumping, countervailing duty suit against Canadian wheat in 2002. The NAFTA panel ruled there was “no substantive evidence” to support the claims that led to the 14.2-per-cent tariff, halting Canadian exports to the U.S.
Had the tariff continued to halt Canadian wheat exports into the U.S., it could have cost tens of millions of dollars each year in lost sales opportunities for Prairie farmers, depending on market conditions and grade pattern. In the year before the tariff, the CWB sold about one million tonnes of CWRS into the U.S., worth about $250 million.
Trade harassment from American interest groups has been ongoing since free trade began between the U.S. and Canada in the early 1990s. This last case was the 14th unsuccessful attempt to stop Canadian wheat from entering the U.S. market.
California and I’m Not Dreaming
I’m here. It’s a gorgeous sunny afternoon in Anaheim. Time for the fun to begin.
Actually it’s almost time for the “CALIFORNIA DREAMIN” Pre-opening Reception. Then it’s supper at the Golden Vine Winery in Disneyland courtesy of Bayer CropScience. I have a feeling it’s going to be a late one but I’ll be collecting audio and pictures never fear.
AgWired coverage of Commodity Classic is being made posssible by our good friends at New Holland.
Lost and Lonely Farm Broadcaster
Sitting here in my Dallas/Ft. Worth airport office (gate a-34) I look up and see a lonely, lost farm broadcaster. He’s Dave Schumacher, KTRS, St. Louis and now he’s getting a blogging lesson on our way to Anaheim.
Dave is the only survivor of a station-wide personnel change. Rumors of his demise were very premature. At the station when they talk about him they say, “And then there was one.” Dave’s been there 10 years now. Before that Dave was at the former St. Louis Stockyards. He’s a talented auctioneer and obviously a farm broadcast “Survivor.”
We’re looking forward to what’s going to happen in Anaheim. Actually we’re not talking about corn and soybeans right now but the Cardinals, their new stadium and how to survive in today’s new media world.
More to come.
New Media is New to Me
Commodity Classic Student blogger Margy Fischer, sponsored by Monsanto
Hello! My name is Margy Fischer, I’m a senior at the University of Missouri – Columbia studying Agricultural Journalism, and I’ll be blogging on this site during the 2006 Commodity Classic thanks to a student fellowship with Monsanto. It was almost three weeks ago that I learned of this opportunity from Bill Allen and am very grateful for this trip.
Blogging is completely new to me. The closest I may have ever come to posting a blog would be the weekly e-mail updates I would send my friends this past summer while interning in Washington DC. If those e-mails can serve as any precedent, then my posts will be full of anecdotes and observations of my surroundings. But my lack of experience with “new media” could be interesting enough that you’ll want to stay tuned.
I am intrigued by the idea that blogs have the power to turn bystanders into sources and reporters. In my journalism classes we discuss the philosophies behind our journalistic principles and practices, and blogs have done an amazing job of throwing convention to the wind. This week in Anaheim I want to experience as much as I can and in turn present all of that to you.
It was beautiful here in Columbia today, so the weather in California will be hard pressed to beat a day like this. However, I hope that I am so busy attending events and meeting people that I won’t be able to leave the convention hall. Those are probably the reasons why I am very excited to be attending this year’s event. So a big thank you again to everyone who made this possible.
The Journey Begins
Hello, My name is Mary Irelan and I am a student at the University of Illinois. I am currently a sophomore and I am majoring in Ag Communications. I would like to start off by thanking my sponsor, Monsanto, and specifically Tami Craig Schilling and Mica DeLong for allowing me to take part in this amazing experience. I would also like to thank Chuck Zimmerman for giving Margy and I the opportunity to blog for this website. I am extremely excited to participate in the Monsanto Future Ag Journalist Fellowship and I know I will learn a lot.
A little background on me: I am from a grain farm outside of Sparland, Illinois which is just north of Peoria. I live with my parents Dave and Jean and my sisters Elizabeth and Christine. I was extremely active in 4-H and FFA and even live at 4-H House at U of I.
I am currently packing my suitcase and getting more excited and, I must admit, nervous by the second. I have never been west of Nebraska so the prospect of visiting California is exciting in itself. This will be my first time attending Commodity Classic and I can’t wait to take it all in. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of people and learning about new technology about to be brought out into agriculture. The Lorrie Morgan Concert is going to be a plus as well. I’m eager to hear the major announcement Monsanto is making to the public and also one being made by FFA.
There is going to be lots to do and lots to see. I hope you continue to log on to read about Margy and I as we experience the 2006 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California.
Dont Expect CWB Changes Anytime Soon
It looks like Canada’s new Ag Minister is retreating from making changes to the Canadian Wheat Board, at least not quickly. In meeting with CWB officials, Manitoba’s Ag Minister Rosann Wowchuk, and reporters after the meeting, Strahl said, “What I said to the wheat board’s board of directors is the same thing that I’ve been saying publicly . . . that our campaign promise was to move toward dual marketing.”
Strahl also said his controversial plan to let western farmers market their wheat without going through the board won’t happen in the near future. “I don’t anticipate any quick changes to the Canadian Wheat Board, and certainly not without lots of consultation with both farmers and the wheat board.” Some producers feel they could get better prices on their own, and point out that Ontario wheat farmers don’t have to sell through the board. But others, including the National Farmers Union, say an experiment with a voluntary board in the 1930s hurt producers and led to lower prices.
Strahl will discuss the issue further at a meeting of federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers, set tentatively for March 20. I’m all for a dual market in Western Canada, but the thing that concerns me is that our American friends want to do away with the CWB too. That’s what doesn’t figure in my books. I’m thinking farmers have an advantage, but the Americans think they have a disadvantage. Go figure!
It Feels Like Spring Today
I sometimes get asked how you can find something to write about everyday, much less multiple times a day. I’ve been blogging over a year and haven’t run into that problem yet. There’s inspiration everywhere, like alongside the Missouri River today. Since it was so warm here in Missouri I took a break for some biking on the Katy Trail. All I had was my Treo phone camera.
I highly recommend taking a break and getting away from the computer. Great way to let the creative juices flow. Mine were doing that as I sat next to the Missouri River for a while in the sun. Expect to see the result of today’s meditation soon.
As I was riding along, heading to this spot on the river I passed a couple of farmers out in a field just wandering around. I’m sure they had a purpose. It’s such a nice day I think they’re just itching to get something done. A little further along I passed a guy with a Bobcat pushing around some dirt at the edge of one of his fields. The smell of freshly turned earth has got to be one of the best I know of!
Then there was this guy out spreading what I assume was fertilizer. He was moving fast which is partly why it’s not a good picture. I love my Treo but great camera it is not. I think he was hurrying to get done so he could get home and pack before flying out to Commodity Classic tomorrow.
Student Bloggers Sponsor Interview
Kicking off our coverage of Commodity Classic 2006 is an interview with Tami Craig Schilling, Monsanto Public Affairs Director, about their Future Ag Journalist Fellowship program which is sponsoring our student bloggers, Mary Irelan and Margy Fischer. Tami explains how the program came about, why they picked Mary and Margy and what the objectives of the program are. She said that if this works well it might be something they’ll do again. If so, AgWired is ready, willing and able to do our part to help.
You can listen to my interview with Tami here: 
Tami Craig Schilling Interview (10:42 MP3 File)
Mary and Margy should begin posting today, although we won’t be travelling to Classic until tomorrow.
Solid Manure Injection Testing
The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute in Humboldt, Saskatchewan hopes to field test a new and improved prototype solid manure injection system this spring.
Beginning with a prototype precision manure applicator that could distribute solid and semi solid manure on the soil surface, engineers at the PAMI have developed a flexible screw conveyer type single injection device that can deliver manure under the soil surface.
Project leader Dr. Hubert Landry says the next step is to fabricate a tool bar attachment that will connect the injection devices onto the existing prototype. “The components development and testing for the injection device itself was completed last fall,” said Landry. “Now, we need to integrate that injection system to our prototype land applicator.”
The researchers added a toolbar attachment at the back of the trailer type implement. That attachment is on a parallel linkage for depth control. “We’re looking at two rows of disc openers and have six of the injection devices that PAMI developed,” he said. “The toolbar attachment at the back of the machine will allow us to bring the manure from the existing distribution system to the disc openers using that injection device which is basically a flexible screw conveyer.”
Landry says fabrication of the components developed last fall will occur in the next two months, to be field-testing as soon as weather allows. He estimates the testing phase will take about two years and a finished prototype for manufacturing at that time.