2013 US Planted Acreage estimate (Million Acres)

                                                           Ave Trade      Trade

                            2012         USDA     Estimate        Range

Corn                    97.16          97.3         97.25      95.70 – 98.50

Soybeans             77.20          77.1         78.39      77.00 – 79.70

All Wheat            55.74          56.4         56.44      55.60 – 57.30

Winter                 41.32          41.9         41.82      41.20 – 43.00

Other Spring       12.29           12.7         12.46      11.91 – 13.80

Durum                   2.12            1.8            2.12       1.95 – 2.32

All Cotton            12.32           10.0          10.08       9.00 – 11.00

Mar. 1, 2013, Grain & Soybean Stocks Estimates (Million Bushels)

                                                            Ave Trade        Trade

Crop           Mar. 1, 2012     USDA      Estimate          Range

Corn                  6,023           5,399         5,013       4,885 – 5,248

Soybeans           1,374              999            935          905 – 984

Wheat               1,199           1,234          1,184       1,107 – 1,238

After the USDA March 1 stocks numbers the market has turned

Sharply Lower.

16 of last 26 years June soybean acres have increased from March.

9 years they declined.

21 of 26 years the final soybean acres declined from June.

12 of the last 26 years June corn acres have increased from March.

8 of the last 9 years June corn acres have increased from March.

11 years June corn acres declined from March.

9 years the final corn acres increased from June. 17 years final

declined from June.

http://ht.ly/jqBXd

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Senate panel wants to give farmers a tax break for donating produce to food banks.

A Senate Ways and Means subcommittee approved the measure Thursday. It now moves to the full committee for review.

The bill would give an incentive for small farmers to donate produce by providing a 15 percent state income tax break on the market value of donations worth under $5,000. The measure also would create a $2 million budget for the Iowa Food Bank Association to purchase and transport commodities to its agencies in Iowa's 99 counties.

Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed a similar budget request last year.

Cory Berkenes, state director of the IFBA, says the federal government used to purchase commodities but their organization now incurs more of the cost.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship today certified the results from the Iowa sheep assessment referendum that was held February 25 to March 15 of all eligible Iowa sheep producers.  The assessment will stay at $.10 per head after a simple majority of producers that voted did not support raising the assessment to $.25 per head.

The second question on the referendum which would have allowed the Iowa Sheep and Wool Promotion Board, beginning in 2016, to change the assessment rate by $.05 every three years, was also defeated.

Any producer who is actively engaged within this state in the business of producing or marketing sheep or wool and who receives income from the production of sheep or wool was eligible to participate in the referendum.

In addition to the current assessment of $.10 per head on each sheep sold by a producer, there is also an assessment of $.02 per pound of wool sold by a producer which was not impacted by the referendum.  The Iowa Sheep and Wool promotion board is governed by Iowa Code Chapter 182, which was initially passed in 1985 and was updated last year to allow for the referendum to increase the assessment rate.

In accordance with Iowa Code, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship was responsible for holding the referendum election and all costs incurred by the Department will be reimbursed by the Iowa Sheep Industry Association.

http://www.iabeef.org/bestburgercontest.aspx