Crop Insurance Premiums Due Jan. 31

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USDA’s Risk Management Agency is reminding farmers that crop insurance premiums are due January 31. Accrual of interest had been deferred for the 2019 crop year. If it’s not paid by then, the interest will attach on February 1, calculated from the date of the premium billing notice. The extended interest deferral built on other steps taken by USDA to support farmers and ranchers impacted by flooding and other disasters. As of January 13, RMA has paid roughly $8.1 billion in overall claims for the 2019 crop year.

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Dry Bean Scene

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The 45th Annual Bean Day is Friday, January 17 at the Holiday Inn in Fargo, North Dakota. The trade show and registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the program gets underway at 10:15 a.m. Get the full details the Dry Bean Scene, made possible by the Northarvest Bean Growers Association. View the full agenda here.

Complete Dry Bean Grower Surveys

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The 2019 Dry Bean Grower Survey of Production, Pest Problems and Pesticide Use has been mailed. The survey is a cooperative effort between the Northarvest Bean Growers Association and the NDSU Extension Service and made possible through a grant from Northarvest.

Results from this survey are important and provide dry bean growers and invested stakeholders with information about grower practices in North Dakota and Minnesota. It also helps identify research and pesticide registration priorities. Survey responses are kept completely anonymous. View the 2018 survey results.

Bean Day is January 17

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The 45th Annual Bean Day is Friday, January 17 at the Holiday Inn in Fargo, North Dakota. The Bean Day trade show and registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the program gets underway at 10:15 a.m. Featured this year are presentations on breeding, disease management, trade, market supply and demand and more. A Pre-Bean Day Reception will take place from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, January 16. There is no fee to attend and is an opportunity to socialize with exhibitors and fellow bean growers. View the full schedule.

Goehring Meets with Perdue, Wheeler

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In a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring outlined concern with the surveys conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service. “I filled mine out recently and I noticed that when I got to the area under corn, I still had almost 1,000 acres standing and there was no box for me to record unharvested acres. It was a box that had me identify what I intend to harvest and my potential production; that is assuming a lot when we don’t know what the losses could be.” Read more.

RMA to Defer Interest on Crop Insurance Premiums

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To help farmers hurt by the extreme weather, USDA’s Risk Management Agency will defer the accrual of interest on 2019 crop insurance premiums until the end of January. USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey made that announcement at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. The Agriculture Department had previously announced a deferral until November 20 from the established September 30 deadline. Northey, who spent time last week in Minnesota and North Dakota, said the extension is needed due to the very delayed harvest.

Dry Bean Scene

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The biennial meeting of the Bean Improvement Cooperative took place in Fargo, North Dakota November 4 and 5. Disease resistance and nutrition were two talking points among researchers, organizations and other in attendance. Get the details in the Dry Bean Scene on the Red River Farm Network made possible, in part, by the Northarvest Bean Growers Association.

BIC Meeting Brings a Worldwide Presence to Fargo, ND

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Over 150 researchers, organizations and bean industry professionals representing 12 countries gathered in Fargo, North Dakota for the Bean Improvement Cooperative biennial meeting. North Dakota State University plant pathologist Julie Pasche says the last time this meeting was held in Fargo was 2001. “There are both different challenges and the same challenges in bean production across the world. We learn from those challenges,” says Pasche.

Phil Mikals, a dry bean research geneticist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, is the current BIC president. Miklas says disease resistance is a top talking point “A lot of these diseases are world wide. For diseases that are a problem in the U.S., the expertise may be in South Africa or somewhere else.” Another area is nutrition. “In the last ten years, bean have shown to have health benefits beyond just fiber and folate.”

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Federal Reserve Cuts Benchmark Interest Rate

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The Federal Reserve has cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percent. This is the third interest rate deduction this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also indicated interest rates will likely stay at current levels unless the economy takes a sharp downturn.

AgCountry Farm Credit Services is also reducing interest rates on variable rate loans starting December 1. According to AgCountry President and CEO Marc Knisely, this move will help better position farmers during the current economic challenges. The decision comes following the announcement by the Federal Reserve.

TransFARMation: Faith and Farming

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With low commodity markets and continued harvest delays, farm stress is a reality. In the latest TransFARMation podcast, Bishop Bill Tesch of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has an acronym he commonly shares: ACE – Ask, Care, Escort. “Ask the question, offer care and escort or help them get to the services they need.” If you or someone you know is wrestling with a challenge that’s more powerful than yourself, a list of resources is available on this page.