today on "u.s. farm report" a step backwards in trade as taiwan retoughens its stance on u.s. beef. moultrie producers has their own challenge as a major producer cries foul. the cotton industry may see a recovery after a tough couple

of years. >> "u.s. farm report" brought to you by chevy and their award- winning cars, trucks and overs. welcome to u-s rm report...i'm hello and wealth come to "u.s. farm report." i'm al pell in for john phipps. the start of a new year brings two challenges for american agriculture. disputes that are sure to have a significant and long-lasting impact on beef and moultrie producers nation-wide. we'll have more on that in a moment. later i'll sit down with our team of analysts to break down market action in this first week have the new year. let's get started first with the news and tricia sloma. thanks al. taiwan kicks off the new year by resuming a ban on what it calls high-risk beef imports from the u.s. among other items the ban includes imports of cow organs and minutessed beef. in october they seemed to

resolve their difference but they decided otherwise. reacting to the news they said this will undermine taiwan's credibility as a responsible trading partner and make it more challenge to go hammer out future agreements. taiwan plans to send a delegation to the u.s. to limit the reaction to this. as roger bernard explains this dispute has covered a number of years and multiple administrations. well the obama administration has taken a pretty pro-active stance, an aggressive stance, in criticizing the taiwan ease move. they issued a strong statement before the vote but apparently that held little impact as the vote went ahead as we now know. so the administration is going to be catching heat for this put the blame doesn't totally lie with this. the bush administration under george w. bush had from the time of the bse crisis at the end of 2003 until they left office to expand beef trade. they did but not to the degree

that they would have liked. in a separate dispute the russians are banning the import of moultrie. u.s. officials are crying foul noting the chlorine treatments have been used to destroy microbial problems with moultrie for over 25 years. they will meet late they are year to tackle the dispute. in a typical year the u.s. provides 1 sixth of russia's moultrie needs. the outlook appears to be improving for the nation's cotton industry. meeting this week at the annual belt wide conference in new orleans there was talk of increased plantings in 2010. economists with the cotton council say with prices improving and input prices holding steady cotton is in its most competitive position since 2006. in 2009 u.s. growers planted less cotton than they did just

three years ago. that's it for the headlines. now back to al for crop watch. crop watch is brought to you by syngentis agrisure 3000gt. hybrids. in crop watch lesser lang lang from march in michelin sent us some photos of his harvest. he is located in ottawa county. they installed tracks on his combine to get the corn out. they did about 800 acres with tracks this year and finished up on november 28th. in geary county, kansas, a wheat grower says he got his wheat in late. he says it is very small right now and they've had plenty of single digit temperatures to boot. he is not very optimistic about a big crop. from a grower in northwest, alabama, he says it is wet and has been wet since labor day. he guesses it will stop range in time for next year's

drought. now when we come back i'll sit down to talk markets with two mikes, mike florida and mike north. the discussion begins in just two minutes. please stay with us. john may not be here this weekend - but that doesn't roundup powermax herbicide, twice the power of last season. flores

pei scat a wave. round table guests this week mike flores from flores trading, this is the first full week of trades after the first of the year and every economist i talked to, or before, the first of the year, said that the index funds were going to make some readjustments and the markets were really gonna move after the first have the year. this first full week. did they move this week? >> not to the degree that everybody was hoping and i guess looking for under the christmas tree. >> well some thought the markets were going to move out,

and others said they were going to move out of oil, oil didn't go down that much. >> that's what p's when you try to guess the market and what the other people in the market are going to be doing. it's been fun to watch. actually as we went through the month of december and people continued to talk about all this new money going to be shifted around and added to the market and how it was going to create all this extra turbulence and all these added opportunities, ooh saw soybeans going with it and wheat climbing along too and lots of -- >> any what i call honest demand reasons for that to happen? >> thaw, no. in fact, you know, everything in the demand side was hush hush, it was perfectly quiet. there was all this talk about money coming in the market. >> the extra money. >> it is in fact the classic example of buy the rumor and sell the fact. so my advice to my clients has been, you know, if the fund community is going to lay money on the table. >> okay. >> and everybody wants to join

in and throw theirs on the pile too start reaching into grab some. this is an opportunity for you to stick your hand in there and take advantage of some good prices. they have created this out of talk of money. grab it. take advantage of this thing. use it. and it's a great opportunity for producers to start taking money. >> i want to get mike flores' comments based on what you are saying here. reach in and grab some sounds good. >> i agree. i think there's going to be pressure ton markets for the next six weeks or so. the funds are long quite a bit, each day you get closer to the south american harvest, kind of like a ticking time bomb. there's going to be a lot of product coming so a lot of downside pressure over the next six weeks or so. so that doesn't preclude a positive outcome later in the year. we'll have to see. but if we get really bull issue it will probably be based on some kind of weather condition in the u.s. and it's hard to trade that now. i think they could test $9 for

beans and wheat 3.75 and corn $5.50 is. >> is he talking about real numbers in your judgment? >> yeah, very real. those are very well within the realm of possibility. and so you know, like i said, i have been advising clients to take advantage of what's here. i know that a lot of guys are still shaking the dust off the harvest and really just want the take a brett for the moment but the best opportunities for 2010 could be staring us in the face and if that's true what happens if you wake up in february and haven't done anything about it. >> i guess that was my question and you've already started answering that is what should'a producer do at this point in time? take advantage of some of those prices the way they are? if you're right and beans go to $9 or test $9, $10 makes a whole lot more sense, doesn't it and that's about what they are getting now? >> yeah. i mean cash sales, cash flow for people which this time of the year it can be tight, if cash sales are tight get some cash sales made.

get some bushels booked. from there start looking at some options. i like some puts, some food ones out there. you know, if you want to use futures, do that, but get some activity in place right now. >> take advantage of it. any other comments about that? >> yeah. i think that the near term it could be negative but the long- term you don't know yet, could be very bullish before the year is out, you don't know. it's not just fundamental to trade in the market right now, you can really get killed trading supply and demand. what if we go through this -- and i think what's going to happen with this inflation push we get, we're creating so much money in the u.s. by borrowing, you're going to have inflation at some point -- that may show up before the we're is over. so i think maybe probably this break we're going to get right now is going to be a buying opportunity. i don't want to buy it now. it's down the road a few weeks yet. >> a lot of people talking about what the dollar is doing and what the money is doing to affect the dollar is actually going to affect interest rates and everything else. maybe we'll need to get into that a little bit to find out

because farming just isn't all about growing the crop or livestock and it is about marketing it and then marketing at a profit is the real key. wouldn't you agree to that, whatever the product is? >> absolutely. we have been very strongly production focused but, more and more of the bottom line in production agriculture, is going to be about how you market that crop. and that's why these opportunities that are staring us in the face right now, which are profitable, need to be addressed. they need to be taken advantage of. absolutely no doubt about it. >> your voice underlined "are profitable at this point in time." >> inteed. we have had so many of these conversations already. nice returns on corn. nice returns on beans. nice returns on wheat. you know. everybody's cost of production is different. >> beginning to get a return even on dairy. >> exactly. exactly. there's good money to be malted. are you going to make a killing, no. but you're gonna make some money and that is what is important. >> okay. whenever we come back i want to talk about some of these other things, interest rates and

where they are gonna go and whatnot, and we'll return with more "u.s. farm report" in just a minute.

round table guest this week mike flores, flores trading, mike north, first capital ag. let's talk about where we can go with interest rates. mike, i know i talked to you, flores, privately about this, you're concerned about the dollar being low but you don't think it's going to stay there forever. >> well we've got an increase in interest rates happening right now but interest rates move markets more than any other factor. interest rates in the u.s. are going up and they are going to go up a lot because the borrowing needs of the u.s. are just tremendous. it's an ongoing process. there is a tremendous amount of need for capital. and, as interest rates go higher, that raises the dollar. >> let me ask you a question here because i think there's some -- the public generally thinks that because it's going

money coming in and helping bailout and provide the banks money and what not that interest rates aren't gonna go up but stay low so people can buy houses. >> the government is trying to keep the short-term interest rates low. that's something they can manage. they can't manage the long-term rates, that's more of a market force, and that's where all the interest rate increases are coming from. so it's going to be a very dynamic moving event. you know, it's interesting, when golden to its all-time high of $7.50 in 1991 interest rates at that point were 17%. >> yeah, i remember that. >> that's what we're getting ready for. significant amounts of inflation coming and we're gonna have, you know, significantly higher pricese a cross the spectrum. >> whenever we start talking about that people out there are saying "i can understand what mike flores is talking about and if it's really true when is it going to happen?" >> it's already started. >> it's started and going to be

a process. you're nodding your head? >> yeah, absolutely. the creep is already coming into the market. you're seeing it in the market as it sticks its head up here and there. but you know, the thing about it is that as more and more of this paper money moves away from buying trhs reiss and finds other vehicles out there where it can stick paper money and create a better return you are going to see that explode. and you know, nobody knows exactly when that's gonna happen, but at some point it's gonna happen. >> yes. >> because mike is exactly right. you can't let inflation get crazy because if they want to recover the economy they can't let inflation get out ahead of us. i talked to a fellow the other day, six-figure investments, he said "that's why people are going to commodities, they are putting their money there because there is no interest places they can put the money to get interest so that is what is affecting indirectly the commodities.

fluctuations with these commodities. >> that's what happened when we had crude at 150. you go through the embassies and flows, we crashed the market in late '08, early '09, brought it back. now we're in kind of one of those phases where we could maybe give you a mini crash again. but that's going to be a buying opportunity. agriculture is going to be significantly higher over time. i'm just not so sure about the next 60 days or so. what should'a producer do. everything this knowledge and we can start seeing some of these things do, what should an agriculture businessman, producer, farmer, do in order to be in position to take advantage of this. >> i sayer on the side of taking gains on old crop. there is enough uncertainty in the marketplace where you're going to be mad if the beans drop to 7. you know. so maybe take a little bit off the table. you can speculate on some, but you know, manage your money a little bit. take something off the table. >> i agree. i like it in some full crops

but i'm not hesitant to sell some new crop here too. because the thing that we, you know, in this conversation we have about the interest rates and the dollar and everything else there's somewhat warring trends, people want to buy  commodities which could help bring the prices up. but at the same time as you drive the dollar up and make us less competitive in the world market you send a message back to the markets that we need to take the markets down. and when you have this, these warring trends taking place, your profitability is on the line as that price moves. why not have something under scoring the profitable levels in this market. you know. we talked earlier about maybe seeing corn go back to $3.75, what's wrong withholding some 3.70 puts in case it goes there or lower. those are all possibilities, you can spend 25 cents right now on a 3.70 put that takes you all the way to harvest. >> so what you are saying in summary, 6 benchev you are

saying take advantage of the opportunity, it's there now, so you can protect yourself from something disaster in the future. >> exactly. take action now, don't wait for later. >> we'll be back with more "u.s. farm report" in just a moment.

. welcome back to "u.s. farm report." we're definitely seeing some of the coldest air of the season this weekend into the southeast. plains states, you're starting to warm up a little bit as the ridge builds in the west and as we head through time, as we head through this week, we'll see a little bit more of a zonal flow. now there will be some rips in this zone so that will warm things autopsy little bit but we'll also see a pretty good storm system developing into the week and end tooth weekend, that can bring it behind it, but it is disconnected from the arctic so we're not talking

another arctic blast any time this week. let's take a look at things though. we'll have some cold fronts coming southward, but again this is more going to be pacific air, not the arctic air, so cold instead of frigid. so even though it's called a cold front it is actually a little warmer of what's in front of it because the frigid air is still over the northeast as we head over the rockies. also very cold this time of year in the southeast, cold for any time of the year in the southeast. by wednesday we'll sierra dominating the northeast. a system, kind of a weak system moving along the gulf of mexico, some rain, maybe some snow on the northern fringes again of alabama, northern mississippi, milder air coming in the morrisonn plains at that time so it will start to be replaced by colder air, that is going to be bottled up. the real cold stuff comes to the north. the stationery front could cause some snow showers, great lakes, system coming in out west, that one that comes in out west early in the week really starts to ripple through the southland, going to be a

widespread rainmaker for texas, the gulf coast area, maybe a little snow on the northern fringes of that, kansas, northern oklahoma. this is going to be a big rain maker as it moves off to the east and eventually that might cut up the appalachians as we head toward next week end. we'll check the longer range forecast coming up on our next half hour.

>> john may not be here this weekend but that doesn't mean he doesn't have something to say. he injuries us now from his farm in central illinois. >> this is an example of what i call a house less farmstead. there are dozens of them in my neighborhood alone. i can remember from riding the school bus where many of them were. and while some of them are now just simply bear dirt many of them go through this intermediate stage where they keep a pretty good farm

building or grain bin or barn even after the house has fallen into disrepair or been demolished. there is something difficult about giving up a property that still has some use in it. even though having machinery scattered around the country in different places all by it out here in the middle of nowhere may or may not be a good idea. when you see these, you're driving along through especially the midwest, there is something sad about them and it does indicate something. there are fewer people now involved in agriculture so we need fewer places for people to live in the country. and we need fewer farmsteads. while this can be viewed as a sad thing that we don't have as many people in farming i tend to look at it the other way. we have freed up people from some pretty arduous labor to go on to other careers and other hopes and dreams. and we are now able to do with a handful of people what it took us literally an enormous proportion of our population to do just a couple of generations

ago. i'm not sure whether this should make me happy or sad. but i do take pride in the fact that so few of us are able to produce so much for so many. in modern agriculture. thank you john. as always, we want to hear from you. you can send your comments to info@usfarmreport.com. or leave us a voice mail by calling 800-792-4329. now coming up in our next half hour, tips for a safe and productive ice fishing expedition. stay with us. the second half of "u.s. farm report" is coming right up. y on us farm report... arctic cold creates fun for so

today on "u.s. farm report" arctic cold creates fun for some but challenges for others. classic cars meet fuel of the future. a ranch measurement as only baxter black can explain. "u.s. farm report" brought to you by chevy and their award- winning cars, trucks, and crossovers. farm report...i'm al pell in for john hello. and welcome to "u.s. farm report." i'm al pell in for john phipps. holidays are over. if it's back to work across the country this week unless of course you got snowed in. bad weather or not the business of agriculture carries on and, for those who love the outdoors, freezing temperatures and plenty of snow can actually be a good thing. let's get started with a the

headlines. here is tricia sloma. thanks al. the last several years have been challenging for the nation's cotton growers, in fact plantings in 2009 were nearly half of what they were just three years ago. and it's that backdrop that the industry gathered in new orleans for the annual belt wide cotton conferences and over all the outlook for 2010 appears to be on the upswing. improved prices and stable input prices could lead to more cotton going in the ground this spring. the competition is out there and i think one of the things we look at, though, is obviously the competition is still there from corn and soybeans. we know the impact that has had on cotton plantings over the last several years as we have seen cotton plantings in the u.s. fall by 45% across the belt. now having said all of that, as we look at where futures markets are for those 2010 harvest-type contracts, cotton is more come death philadelphia flyer than it has been any time since probably 2006. so i think the economics are

more favorable for cotton plantings as we get into 2010. >> since the recession began adam says the cotton market has been a mirror image of the dollar index. he says the supply and demand of money is more important than the supply and demand of cotton. florida is altering truck restrictions in an effort to help growers transport some of their harvest ready crops to processing sites. governor charlie cyst ordered that highway restrictions on trucks, weight, length, and width bees eased. freezing temperatures over several nights reached as far south as fort myers. much of the nation's fresh produce in the winter comes from that part of the state. the executive order remains in effect until january 18th. as snowfalls across much of the country lakes and river back waters are settling into a

good freeze, now is the time for some ice fishing. joe wilkinson has more in this report provided by the iowa department of natural resources. as soon as that ice gets thick enough anglers are pushing to get out on it. you should have at least 2" of clear fresh ice if you're alone, 4" or more in a group. it's that early ice that most anglers wait for in the season. >> it's a little bit thinner,y gut more sun penetration, that beans there is a little more oxygen, the fish are still a little more active coming out of the fall pattern going into the winter. not soily share gic. >> you want to go carefully poke agriculture few holes on your way out to make sure it is thick enough. croppies and blue gills in most ponds and lakes, perch, yellow bass, maybe a wall eye or two on the big waters. with water temperatures hovering close to the freezing mark go small and go slow with your presentation.

tear drop jiggs maybe tipped with a little wax worm, and any more above the water line, electronics are just about standard for any anglers. >> flashes are real god to see what depth fish are at. now we have the under water cameras that allow you to find fish. i prefer them to find structures so you know you're in the right area. >> even though you went to all the trouble of drilling holes and setting up an ice shack or heater, you probably shouldn't stay long if the fish aren't biting. move until you find them and then move again. joe wilkinson reporting. when it comes to safety the experts at ice fishing canada offer these parameters. when fishing alone ice should be 10 sent meters thick, 18 centimeters for groups. 23 you'rer you're taking a vehicle out they recommend a minimum of 28 centimeters. that's it for news. time now for the national forecast from meteorologist mike hoffman.

boy, very cold air just continues across the eastern parts of the country. many records have been broken over the past few days from the southeast back across the plains states. you're gonna start to warm up in the plains though because yao ming notice the ridge building in the west and that's gonna kind of ripple east a little bit. jet stream goes pretty far south into the southeast so still very cold down your way. a few flurries in the far northern parts have the plains states in the western great lakes. the very weak system there. a system coming out west is going to start coming eastward. we'll see a little system along the gulf of mexico by the middle of the week, rain in that area and into florida as well. the ridge pops in the plains states pushing milder air that way and that's gonna kind of flood the eastern states as we head through the latter parts of next week as well. this is a pretty good storm system coming in out west, already this trough out here is going to be this trough by

friday and this is gonna be a huge rainmaker i believe for the southern plains states, gulf of mexico area over into florida. northern jet though kind of keeping the really cold stuff bottled up in canada the way it looks, so unlike the last couple of weeks, i don't see any arctic air coming our way during this week across the lower 48. next week temperatures, in fact we're we're going to go above normal from the great lakes and the northern plains into the northwest. still probably cold because it's january but above normal could be 2 or 3 degrees warmer than normal. below normal from the central rockies throughout most of the southeast as you can see so it's still going to be on the chilly side there. above normal precipitation next week, for the eastern third of the country, below normal central plains states the way it looks, above normal out west as another system or two come in next week. then the 30-day outlook for temperatures, we're kind of going to keep the blow normal areas for the south eastern great lakes, most of the southeast including texas above normal for the northwest.

precipitation still above normal. this winter has been so far for most of the south land, below normal plains into the northwest. al? >> thanks mike. before head to go break we would like you to meet with winner of our honda atf. lv give away. marvin bogs of butlerville, indians, was kind enough to send in a picture with them standing next to their brand new honda rancher. he tells us he has already put the machine to work on his property. our congratulations once again to marvin bogs, a lucky viewer from butlerville, indiana. now when we come back we're off to oakland's to meet two mechanics who have come up with one come car. "spirit of the heartland" is next. find out why gregg wall looks to dekalb to give him twice the confidence of other seed brands. visit agweb.com/dekalb

they may lock really cool but those classic cars and hotrods made before unleaded gas came along can be really temperamental. along with terrible mileage you had to add octane to every tank and with that in mind two guys restored an old car but with one major difference and you

can't find it unless you look under the hood. galen cull investor of affiliate kfor tv in kansas city has this story. >> it acts like it is ready to go. >> it's a tradition as old as the automobile. a meetings of shade tree mechanics. >> that's the speed control. >> underneath the hood of an old car. in this case a 36 chevy sedan. >> the rear-view mirrors are off a motorcycle. it's a johnny cash car. a bit of everything on it. >> reporter: but look past the fenders and mirrors. >> you notice how clean it burns? no regular exhaust. >> reporter: they put something underneath the hood you wouldn't 6 won't see in any other 36 car. >> it's a 10" electric motor, coupled directly to the transmission, no clutch, direct drive. >> oh, yes, i love it. >> reporter: dennis owns the car as well as these other two restored beauties. both of them run on gas and but contain their own innovations.

>> underneath the hood i got a coffee pot right here, that's the overflow tank to the radiator. >> reporter: he put in a fork lift mother and some batteries. true to shade tree tradition nothing too space age. >> rated anywhere from 20 to 50 electric horsepower. >> reporter: he dubbed it the dc cruiser. its range is about 20 miles. so every day he takes it out for some short errands. >> get out here where there is no traffic. >> reporter: he and steve are still working on the body but the mother is working fine. >> it turned out a lot better than we expected. it's been a fun toy. >> reporter: the 50 on the hood refers the brooks horsepower. the mac ornament just holds down the jet ski part that covers the front part of the hood there. it's a special car. there's not another one like it anywhere. and that's just the way these two like it. in oklahoma city, oklahoma, galen cull investor reporting

for the "u.s. farm report." >> the dc cruiser is street legal with a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour and the batteries can be fully recharged in a couple of hours. when we come back, just how much is a cow full? baxter black has a helpful definition.

baxter black on "u.s. farm report" is brought to you by the beef checkoff. if you have questions about how your beef checkoff is invested, who makes those decisions and what's the return, you'll find all the answers and so much more on mybeefcheckoff.com. we're off to arizona now to get our weekly dose of baxter black. he offers a rather detailed explanation of what a cow full can add up to. >> grandpa tommy's dad used to say "a cow full is a substantial quantity." well according to my research a rue men on a mature cow can hold up to 300 pounds and by anybody's standards that is quite a bit. say you have a cow full of pocket change you would almost need a cow to keep it in. a cow full of wet laundry would

take a fork lift to get knit the dryer. say you had a cow full of manure. well i guess a lot of us do. under the cow full system 15 scoopfuls would equal a cow full. two boatfuls would make a scoop full. two hatfuls would make a boot full. half a hat fully california a cap full. 6 canfuls, as in beer cans, makes a cap full, and one can fully qualls 40 them believe fulls, 20 tier droops in a them believe full. us that the does age would read four tearful for body weight intramuscular for penicillin. bizarre you say? if a cow full was a measure for volume perhaps the distance between two poles would make the, 660 post holes for section line, 3 hands to a foot, four feet to a coyote length and two coyote lengths to a post home. decibels of loudness would be

described in more under standable terms from chicken peck to pig squeal for every day sounds. loud noises would be categorized as sprawl wreck, big wreck and heck of a wreck. so did you hear aboutor getting bucked off? must have sailed five coyote lengths, hit the side of a bin with a moose ball game al and two carfuls of pellets dropped on him. smashed him flatter than a rabbit's ear. they got him to it and removed a post hole of intestine. he is doin' okay but he has lost about 6 hatfuls. he has been a sheep guess takings recovering. dock says it's shock but i figure it just scared the pea work order and a half out of him. well, i got to go. i've got an appointment in 4 1/2 shakes of a lamb's tail. this is baxter black from out there. the impact a visiting dog can next week baxter tells us

about the impact a visiting dog can have on his ranch. until then you can read his work online at baxterblack.com. tales and our try church up next, "tractor tales" and our "country church salute." we hope you'll stay with us. >> miss any of today's show? head to usfarmreport.com to watch the program online. "u.s. farm report," the spirit of the countryside.

"tractor tales" this week takes us to texas. to catch up with clarence lee, a man who says he is a fourth cousin to general roberty lee. he is also a collector who introduces us to the nellie bell. [ sound of a siren." >> this is a 1939 ford and the serial number is 930 so it was made within the first three weeks of production. did all the work myself and

restored it and it's mine to keep. you'd have to steal it to get it from me. i've drove another tractor for a friend of mine on a parade, i said i enjoyed that, she says "why don't you get you one," two weeks time i had found this. that's what got me into it. i usually use it for carrying old folks at the nursing home, parades and having a little eh ride. i have been doing that about since i've had the tractor, about five or six years. i purchased that in april of 2001 and they was having a parade in parish catches, they candidate me if i could get it ready to go, i said "i don't know." so i had sleep apnea, i didn't sleep, so when i couldn't sleep i would go out to my shop and work on this thing. i got it from april the 15th to july 3rd, taking all the hood and everything all off and straightened it out, got it

ready, painted on july 3rd, made that parade on july 4th. >> you say this is one of your favorites? >> well, i suppose so, this one has so many bells and whistles on it. i use it more than i do anything else. this tractor became known as this tractor became known as the ford tractor with the ferguson system because it was equipped with ferguson hawks. they hydraulics. they sold for $535 back in 1939. our first "country church salute" goes to the holy name parish in cedar lake indiana. with roots back to 1831 german immigrants settled in what is now northwest indiana. after block a number of devastating fires the current billing was 1940. holy name parish celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009.

now we head just down the road to lowell, indiana, to salute zion united church of christ. another con agree foundation celebrating 150 years of service. 2 families started a church back in 1849 and, today, it has members from 13 different towns in both indiana and illinois. its original pump was to stand watch over the prairie. and now members say the church is small enough to know you but big enough to serve you. as always, we'd like to learn about your home church as well. salutes can be sent to the address on the screen and please stay with us. the mailbag is next.

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the uso until every one comes home. closed captioning brought to you by optimum brand innovations from pioneer hybrid. science with service delivering success. time now for our weekly look inside the farm report mail bag. for that, we turn time now for our weekly look inside the farm report mailbag and for that we turn things over to john phipps. >> derek england had a suggestion to address the problems corn farmers had with getting in the 2009 harvest. i can't help but think of how the farmers of a mere generation or two ago would have dealt with these dilemmas. i can't believe that no nobody has talked about it.

a switch back to harvesting ear corn would provide free drying with no associated fuel consumption. economical storage options and a huge supply of corncobs as a byproduct. perhaps the grain and cellulosic ethanol could even be produced together in one process. derek hue triggered some pretty dusty memories with this idea. it does seem like the old way of handling corn on the ear has some advantages but that's when our yields were pretty exciting when they reached a total of 100 bushels an acre. to get some idea of how much storage that would need i took down and old corn crib, 40 feet by 80 feet. it would hold 820,000 bushels. our current farm production is about 200,000 bushels. that was also one of the last cribs standing in our area. in addition, i don't know of many manufacturers still making ear corn equipment. such as pickers, hickers and shell letters. so switching back looks unfeesible to me.

but you are right about one thing. the old system would have been ideal for cellulosic ethanol. the cobs and the shucks were accumulated ready for disposal. all in all i think i'll still with combines, bins and augusters and hope for normal weather. >> please let us know what you think. please free fell free to contract us directly, or call and leave australia voice mail. for john and mike i'm al pell, thank you for watching "u.s. farm report." we hope you join us again next week and we'll see you then.

♪ it's tough out here.

the days are long. the nights get lonely. but we have a job to do. we have responsibilities. we have a commitment to our country to our families our wives and husbands our children our grandchildren and to each other. the uso is a bond that we share to help us stay close here at home and far away. the uso is always there because we need them they need us and we need you. [male announcer] this is how america supports our troops. the uso depends on the generosity of the american people, people just like you. to find out more about how you can help visit our website at uso dot org. the uso until every one comes home.