Soybean acreage is expected to be down 8.4 million acres, and spring wheat acreage is projected to decline by 1.1 million acres. This expected surge caused corn prices to be very high during the winter, which led producers to increase acreage to meet the growing demand, he said. Corn for ethanol production is expected to surge by at least 65 percent for the 2007 corn crop compared to last year's crop, Hurt said. However, there will be a large inventory of unused 2006 crop beans that will...

Farmers who had been counting on a bountiful wheat crop now are wondering how much they'll be able to salvage. News video: Wheat crops damaged by Easterfreeze. Video 6News video: Wheat crops damaged by Easter freeze Farmers who had been counting on a bountiful wheat crop now are wondering how much they'll be able to salvage.

While this is good news for growers, it does not alleviate one of the biggest challenges in the farming sector todayn skyrocketing production costs, Tallman said. He also joined a number of other witnesses in encouraging Senators to take cost of production, rather than just commodity price, into serious consideration. Over the term of the 2002 Farm Bill, wheat growers, like many farmers, have seen some price increases for their commodities. NAWG supports a higher direct payment because it...

wheat industry has been working to assure consumers that American wheat and wheat products are safe, affordable and wholesome. Many of these areas produce wheat gluten as a byproduct of wheat starch. NAWG is also working hard to ensure that the safety net needed by growers is in place and works well, to help cushion the boom and bust cycles inherent in farming," Thaemert said. Wheat gluten is used mainly as an ingredient for improving the rising ability and textural qualities of bread and...

Jerry Kuehnlein said Michigan stands to gain as more auto fuel producers add ethanol to their petroleum-based gasoline and more ethanol production plants are built. Kuehnlein uses soy diesel in his tractors and trucks and would like to see the product marketed and expanded like ethanol. Many farmers have invested in ethanol plants such as the new one in Riga because of the abundance of corn, advancement of corn hybrids and new technology in ethanol production. Kuehnlein bought a larger...