2012 Sorghum Program. Murphy-Brown s Next Step in Broad Strategy to Improve MB Grain Buying.

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1 2012 Sorghum Program Murphy-Brown s Next Step in Broad Strategy to Improve MB Grain Buying

2 2012 Sorghum Program Murphy-Brown s Next Step in Broad Strategy to Improve MB Grain Buying Dear Producer, In kicking off the 2012 Sorghum Purchasing Program, it is important to clarify two things: 1) Murphy-Brown is very excited about sorghum; 2) sorghum is not corn. Murphy-Brown s No. 1 goal in its efforts to increase grain production in the Carolinas and Virginia, is not to push acres to any specific crop, but rather to increase the total amount of grain produced on every acre of farmland in our draw area. Corn provides the best return for farmers on the land that consistently achieves good yields. If your land produces a profitable corn crop year after year, nothing we have found as an alternative grain crop will match the return it can provide per acre, but North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia trend line corn yields have been falling over the last several years. Add to this unique agronomic issues like Roundup-resistant pigweed, mycotoxins, and not to mention nematodes in soybeans, and it becomes clear there are some very specific roles sorghum can fill. Murphy-Brown is very excited about sorghum. We think that sorghum can significantly increase the number of calories produced per acre on a great number of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia farms. However, sorghum has a very specific role to play. Sorghum provides a better risk adjusted return on marginal farmland Sorghum is less susceptible to deer pressure Sorghum provides effective herbicide programs in fields where glyphosate resistant palmer amaranth is a problem Sorghum can be a better double-crop alternative behind wheat than alternatives such as soybeans Sorghum is a ghost crop that can be grown behind failed corn without affecting insurance payouts Sorghum can be a risk management tool as part of a portfolio approach to drought risk Sorghum works well as a rotation crop with peanuts and soybeans Sorghum can add a grass crop to diversify chemical programs and build organic matter in soil particularly on acres that have seen several years of bean-on-bean or broadleaf-on-broadleaf rotations Murphy-Brown s goal is for farmers to grow sorghum where it can: increase their year round average profitability per acre by normalizing their returns per acre, address specific agronomic issues, or reduce overall risk. Not only are we encouraging farmers to consider sorghum but we are proving our commitment in a real way by increasing the amount we are willing to pay for the crop. As a procurement team, we learned a great deal from last year s pilot program and have used those lessons to make a number of adjustments that we believe will encourage more sign ups for this year s program We bought sorghum at 88% of the price of corn for program participants and 85% of the price of corn for non-program participants. We wrote the sorghum program requirements thinking that some portion of the crop would come out of the field dry. We learned that even when left in the field well into December, very little of the crop will come out of the field dry. We planned on sorghum arriving during a tight delivery window to a select number of feed mills and elevators. We struggled to turn trucks around quickly at our feed mills and grain elevators. We will pay 95% of the harvest cash price of corn for sorghum our elevators. We will be reducing our moisture penalty to encourage farmers to harvest their crops earlier. This reduces the aflatoxin risks associated with grain left in the field for months after it had reached full maturity. Instead of the 2% per ½%, we will charge a drying fee of 6 cents per full point of moisture plus the normal moisture shrink. We understand that the variety of production programs involved (full season, double crop, ghost crop, etc) resulted in a wide delivery window making forecasting arrivals difficult. Thus, we are spreading out our delivery points and focusing on elevator receiving where wide spread, less regular deliveries can be better managed. We are evaluating our alfatoxin testing program. We our already committing not to test sorghum delivered over 19% moisture. Equally important are the targeted investments in our facilities that will improve both storage capacity and truck turnaround times. These first of these is already underway at our Rosemary feed mill.

3 According to calculations done by Murphy-Brown Agronomist Josh Gaddy, bushels gained as a result of reduced losses by harvesting sorghum between 18-22% moisture will more than pay for the cost of drying under this new discount schedule. To explain exactly how farmers will make more money per acre by delivering wet grain, Josh has included his charts and data to illustrate the potential per acre returns of harvesting grain in the 20% moisture range. At the end of the day, reducing field loss is as large a concern for us as it is for you because every bushel left in the field is a bushel we could not feed our hogs. Increasing sorghum production and rethinking our approach to grain drying are just a couple of areas where increased cooperation between our science and technology team, North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and the farm community will pay dividends for us all. Murphy-Brown is also making targeted investments into research on intensive wheat management practices, the costs and benefits of irrigation, better management of wastewater application, and any number of other projects that increase the total calories produced on North Carolina farmland. Hogs produced in the eastern U.S. have a shorter ride to get to consumers than hogs produced in the Midwest, but this freight advantage is largely lost as a result of the scarcity of locally produced feed grains. If this industry is to continue to thrive in the Southeast, a large part of our success will come from increasing the local availability of feed grains. For more information call us ( ) or visit our new farmer/customer website Sincerely, S. Taylor Spies Director of Ingredient Procurement Murphy-Brown, LLC 3

4 2012 Grain Sorghum Production Information Josh Gaddy, Agronomist, Murphy-Brown, LLC Ron Heiniger, Extension Specialist, North Carolina State University Variety Selection Hybrid selection is critical to the success of a grain sorghum crop. Most of the hybrids best suited for North Carolina are late hybrids. Late hybrids usually perform best when planted before the end of June. After July 1, producers should consider switching over to earlier hybrids so plants can reach maturity before a frost. Producers should select varieties based on maturity, disease tolerance, and yield. Currently, there is no official variety test for grain sorghum. Therefore, producers should work with their local retailer and seed representatives to make sound decisions about what hybrids will work best on their farm. Note on bird resistant varieties: Bird resistant varieties are no longer on the market. Seed companies no longer sell bird resistant varieties commercially due to their unsuitability in livestock rations. Planting Date The planting period for grain sorghum is very wide. Research in North Carolina has shown that high yields can be obtained from planting dates ranging from May 1 through July 1. Double cropped sorghum can be planted as late as July 10, but later dates result in a crop that will not mature until late fall and will increase the risk of an early fall frost damaging the crop. Optimum planting dates for most consistent yields fall from May 1 to June 20. Poor emergence and seedling growth may result if grain sorghum is planted before soil temperatures reach 65 F in the spring. Slow seedling growth may increase losses due to weed competition, diseases, insects, and herbicide damage. Population Seeding should be done in seeds/acre instead of pounds/acre. Sorghum seed varies greatly in the number of seeds per pound which will have a large impact on the number of seeds planted. In most cases, planting 100,000 seed/acre on sandy coastal plain soils is recommended if planting conditions are good to ideal. On better land, seeding rates should be increased to 120,000 seed/acre under good to ideal conditions. Under adverse planting conditions or when planting in late June to early July, increase seeding rates 15 to 20%. Row Spacing Grain sorghum can be planted on rows or drilled. On droughty soils, 30-inch rows work well due to the fact that water can be stored in the interrow area and is available during heading and flowering when the sorghum plant s need for water is the greatest. As planting dates get later, narrower rows tend to yield more than wide rows. Narrower rows canopy faster but do restrict a producers ability to come back in and make a layby herbicide application if needed. Also, narrow rows restrict a producer from using liquid nitrogen to complete nitrogen needs once the crop is established. Wide rows canopy slower but do allow a producer to come back in and post-direct a herbicide at layby if needed and also retain the option to use liquid nitrogen in the crop. Fertility Grain sorghum requires less nitrogen than corn, but has similar requirements for P and K. Producers should base P and K fertilizer needs on current soil test levels. If P and K indexes are below 60, then 4

5 fertilizer needs to be applied. In the absence of a soil test, apply lbs P2O5/acre and 50 to 70 lbs K2O/acre before planting. Optimum ph for grain sorghum on mineral soils is 6.0. Nitrogen rates for optimum sorghum yields range from 80 to 125 lbs of N per acre. Apply 25% of total nitrogen at planting and the remainder at sidedress. On most soils applying 100 lbs N/acre with most applied at sidedress gives excellent results. Nitrogen fertility is important for high sorghum yields. Nitrogen must be available from 12 inches to flowering for a good sorghum crop. Weed Control Weed problems in grain sorghum include perennial grasses such as Johnsongrass and bermudagrass, annual grasses such as crabgrass and goosegrass, and broadleaf weeds such as cocklebur, palmer amaranth, and sicklepod. Broadleaf weeds and many annual grasses are generally controlled by preemergence and early postemergence herbicide applications. Perennial grasses and some annual grasses are not well controlled by herbicides available for use in grain sorghum. It is important to always get safened seed with Concep or equivalent seed treatment so you can use pre-emergence herbicides without crop injury. Avoid fields where Johnsongrass has been a problem. Good seedbed preparation, planting when conditions allow quick emergence and growth of sorghum, and narrow rows can help prevent weeds. Keys to effective weed control in sorghum: 1. Start clean. 2. Use a good pre-emergence herbicide such as Bicep II Magnum at planting. 3. Achieve a good plant stand and promote early sorghum growth. 4. Follow up with post-emergence applications of atrazine plus 2,4-D amine or dicamba (Banvel or Clarity ) as needed. Sorghum should be treated with 2,4-D or dicamba after it is 4-6 inches tall but before it exceeds 12 inches tall. The North Carolina Ag Chemical Manual states that sorghum is more sensitive to 2,4-D or dicamba than corn. This is true if 2,4-D or dicamba is applied after sorghum is 12 inches tall. Before this stage, sorghum is actually more tolerant to these chemicals than corn. 5. If have severe grass or weed escapes, can apply Linex post-directed. Pests The two main pest problems in grain sorghum are birds and corn earworms. Bird damage can be avoided by planting large areas and avoiding planting small fields near heavily wooded areas. Bird problems should become less of an issue as more acres of sorghum are grown in North Carolina since birds will not be concentrated on just a few isolated fields. Corn earworms can be a significant problem in grain sorghum. Earworms attack the flowers and kernels of sorghum. Sorghum, particularly sorghum planted after June 1, should be scouted for corn earworms from flowering to maturity. Earworms can be easily controlled through the use of insecticides such as Warrior. However, if not checked regularly, significant damage can occur before the problem is recognized and treated. Diseases There are several diseases that can affect grain sorghum such as Fusarium head blight. Probably the most damaging disease is anthracnose. The most common way to manage this disease is through variety resistance. Unfortunately, there are only a few sorghum hybrids with good resistance to this disease. 5

6 Growers who are growing sorghum after corn or a previous sorghum crop should choose sorghum hybrids with good resistance to anthracnose. Compared to other grain crops, sorghum gives the largest yield response to a fungicide application particularly when disease is present. Quadris and Headline are labeled for use on grain sorghum and are usually sprayed at half bloom (R6) growth stage. Harvest Grain sorghum kernels are highly exposed to the elements of nature (like wheat). Consequently, it is highly susceptible to pre-harvest losses from birds, insects, molds, and unfavorable weather. Unlike wheat or corn, sorghum does not normally dry in the field to a moisture level that is suitable for direct marketing (14.0%) or safe storage (13.5% or lower) until after a killing frost or the application of a desiccant chemical. Consequently, artificial drying is usually required unless dry weather prevails for an extended period of time after the crop reaches physiological maturity. Sorghum should be harvested at 18-22% moisture and artificially dried down to 13.5%. Harvest losses often exceed economic levels when sorghum is harvested outside of this range. Grain sorghum typically requires more care at harvest than other crops. When harvested on time, a capable combine operator can harvest 95% of the total yield in a uniformly mature, standing crop. Research in other states has shown that growers save enough in reduced harvest losses when harvesting at 18-22% moisture to more than pay for the cost of artificial drying (Table 1). Risk of loss from tropical storms, birds, diseases, insects and low test weight are all compelling reasons to harvest grain sorghum early. Table 1. Effect of harvest timing on profitability of grain sorghum. Harvest Timing Early Late Selling Price $5.75 $5.75 Actual Dry Yield in field before harvest (bu/ac) Moisture at harvest 20.00% 14.00% Harvest yield (bu/ac) Harvest Field Loss (% of harvest yield lost) 5.00% 12.00% Amount Brought to Elevator (bu/ac) Drying Fee ($0.06/bu/pt moisture) $0.36 $ - Drying Shrink (1.15%/bu/pt moisture) (4.93) Net Bushels Farmer Revenue $ $ Advantage per Acre $2.46 6

7 Sorghum-Conventional Tillage-NC 2012 Estimated costs and returns per acre, Gross Receipts Unit Qty Price or cost/ unit Total/acre sorghum bu $5.75 $ gov t payments -- Your Farm 2. Total Receipts $ Costs seed thousand $ $13.33 fertilizer ( ) lbs $0.29 $58.50 nitrogen (30%UAN) gal $2.06 $57.62 lime (prorated) ton 0.33 $50.00 $16.50 herbicides Preemergence 1.00 $15.00 $15.00 Postemergence 1.00 $5.94 $5.94 insecticide 1.00 $2.54 $2.54 land prep acre 1.00 $12.00 $12.00 planting acre 1.00 $10.00 $10.00 spraying acre 3.00 $5.00 $15.00 harvest acre 1.00 $35.00 $35.00 hauling bu 1.00 $0.16 $11.20 drying bu 1.00 $0.30 $ Total Costs $ Net Return $

8 Murphy-Brown 2012 Sorghum Yield Contest Contract at least 5,000 bushels of sorghum with Murphy-Brown to be eligible. Participants will be judged by NCDA regional agronomist and ag extension. Prizes will be rewarded based on yields, with the grand prize being a John Deere Gator. When completing your registration form, please check the box stating you are interested in entering the contest. More details on the yield contest will be posted soon. Good luck! 8

9 Murphy-Brown 2012 Field Days Upcoming farmer field days: Early Summer 2012 Early Fall 2012 Listen to latest production findings from research partners Production Q&A with NCDA regional agronomists and ag extension Discuss marketing programs with Murphy-Brown staff Meal provided with formal and informal discussions with ag professionals Contact David Hill for more information at (910) or 9

10 Murphy-Brown Grain Sorghum Purchasing Program Registration Form Name: Farm location (county): Phone number: Planned number of bushels to contract: Intended delivery location: (check all that apply) SGC Elevator, Bentonville SGC Elevator, LaGrange SGC Elevator, Bladenboro Murphy-Brown Feed Mill, Laurinburg SGC Elevator, Clinton SGC Elevator, Mount Olive Murphy-Brown Elevator, Nichols Murphy-Brown Feed Mill, Waverly, VA Yes, I am interested in entering the Murphy-Brown Sorghum Yield Contest. By completing and mailing this registration form, you are notifying Murphy-Brown that you are interested in growing sorghum in You will receive a phone call to discuss your particular situation before signing the official contract, which Murphy-Brown will mail. This is an interest form. It is not a contract. Entry into the program requires a signed procurement contract committing to deliver a set number of bushels to a specific delivery point. Bushels need not be priced at time of commitment. Pricing can be locked in anytime during CBOT trading hours prior to December 1, 2012 at 95% of the harvest price of corn at the selected delivery points. Please mail this completed registration form to: David Hull PO Box 728 Laurinburg, NC davidhull@murphybrownllc.com 10

11 MB Grain Sorghum 2012 Scale of Discounts Effective 1/1/12 Base Grade - #2 Sorghum Test Weight Moisture Total Damage Heat Damage BCFM 55.0 lb/bu 14.0% 5.0% 0.5% 2.5% Discounts Test Weight 55.0 & Higher Below 52.0 subject to rejection Moisture 6 drying charge per bushel per 1% moisture from 14% up to 26%. Moisture above 26% drying charge will be 2% for every 1/2% moisture above 14%. 1.15% shrink discount per 1% moisture shrink from 14%. No aflatoxin testing for 19% moisture or greater. No aflatoxin rejects at grain elevators.* Damage 1 per bushel for each 1% or fraction thereof over 5.0%. 2 per bushel or fraction thereof over 10%. All grain over 15% subject to rejection. Heat Damage 1 per bushel for each.1% from.6% to 1.0%. Subject to rejection over 1%. Broken Kernels 1 per bushel for each 1% or fraction thereof over 2.5%. & Foreign Material Subject to rejection in excess of 8% foreign material All bird resistant grain sorghum will be rejected *Within the bounds of Federal Crop Regulations Discounts subject to change without notice

12 Mid Atlantic Grain Sorghum Production Guide Brought to you by the United Sorghum Checkoff Program Get your copy today! This comprehensive field guide provides you with production information specific to North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia on: Planting Fertilizing Pest Control Weed Control Diseases Harvesting and more! Call (877) toll free, or download a digital copy at The United Sorghum Checkoff Program is a producer-funded organization dedicated to the improvement of the sorghum industry through research, promotion and information. For more information about the Sorghum Checkoff visit sorhgumcheckoff.com.