Robinson pointed out that although the agriculture commodities are worth more than $2 billion this year, that doesn't show the true worth of agriculture in Merced County. And to top that, more and more acres of the yellow and orange tubers are being planted in the sandy soil of northern Merced County. More than 1,700 acres were added to production this year, making sweet potatoes the sixth-most-valuable commodity in the county, with a value of $111. Because of the rains, bees couldn't get...

The northern portion of the Corn Belt remained dry through the week with cool temperatures lingering and stretching into the southern Corn Belt where precipitation aided crop maturation. Crop development of cotton in Tennessee and Virginia gained speed as the percent setting bolls advanced more than 30 points during the week in both States. Cotton: Cotton squaring advanced to 84 percent, 4 points behind last year and the 5-year average. Winter Wheat: Growers had reaped 81 percent of their...

Their experiments in switching from cotton to corn have not gone well and cotton price has strengthened recently. Considering that historically about 91 percent of acreage planted is harvested, a national average yield of 150 bushels per acre would result in about 12. The bidding war for acres will keep prices for soybeans, corn, and other commodity crops that compete for the same land relatively high through this marketing year. That level of carryover would be 10 percent of usage and is...

The Philippines is now the 14th leading propagator of agricultural biotechnology products, a big jump considering the initial resistance to genetically-modified (GM) crops and the spirited debate launched against biotechnology. Another factor that has influenced farmers to shift to GM crops is the resistance to diseases and pests of these crops and their minimal use of costly, imported pesticides and other agricultural inputs. Peczon said farmers eventually believed scientific tests and...

Recent cotton price rises have also been enough to raise prospects, with Mr Duddy estimating that lint and seed prices had managed to put cotton's gross margin ahead of other crops in his suite of options. However, Mr Duddy said he was geared up for planting and would still race into a significant area of cotton if the water situation allowed. Floods needed for Goondi cotton planting By BRAD PFEFFER Monday, 30 July 2007 Cotton planting is still over two months away, but growers across the...

A lag in rainfall Friday was caused by west winds heating the atmosphere and stifling storm development on the backside of a low pressure front that moved inland, Hampshire said. He has harvested about half his sorghum crop, he said, and consistent wet weather has damaged the rest. The biggest worry is the ground staying too wet to operate machinery in fields, and plants are about 10 days from defoliation, he said. They'll have to wait until their harvest grades are determined this fall....