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Bloomberg.com reported that Florida’s orange yields are surprisingly good this year due to favorable weather conditions.

Here’s what the article posted October 12th had to say:

Florida’s orange crop will be 4.8 percent larger than last season, exceeding estimates by analysts, as favorable weather aided crops, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The state, the world’s second-biggest orange grower, will produce 147 million boxes in the harvest that is just getting under way, up from a 140.3 million in the previous season, the USDA said today in its first estimate for the new crop. The average forecast of seven analysts and traders in a Bloomberg News survey was 144.5 million boxes. A box weighs 90 pounds, or 41 kilograms.

“We’ve had good rain over the summer and a large bloom in the spring, so this is pretty close to what we expected,” Michael W. Sparks, the chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual in Lakeland, Florida, said in a statement.

The group is the state’s largest organization of citrus growers. Brazil is the leading orange producer.

Orange juice for November delivery rose 1.2 percent to $1.634 a pound at 1:29 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Before today, the commodity tumbled 20 percent from a four-year high of $2.0265 on July 19.

Florida’s yields will average 1.6 gallons per box, up from 1.59 gallons a year earlier, the USDA said. The state’s harvest runs into July.

“The weather has been good for the crop,” Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp. in Medford, Oregon, said in a telephone interview before the report. “They got plenty of rain, which helped the fruit size, and overall yields will be better.”

To view the article in its entirety, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-12/florida-s-orange-crop-may-rise-4-8-as-favorable-weather-bolsters-yields.html.

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This week new trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia, and Panama were finalized, which will lead to “an additional $2.3 billion in trade activity, supporting nearly 20,000 American jobs,” according to a USDA blog post by Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary. Each of the three new opportunities is unique, yet each is beneficial to American farmers and ranchers.

The USDA says, “One in twelve American jobs is connected to agriculture,” and with the trade agreements in place, many of those jobs are more secure than ever.  The article goes on to mention, “This year and next, U.S. agricultural exports are on track to reach a new high of $137 billion, with a record trade surplus…And farm exports support more than 1 million jobs here at home”–strong numbers despite the economic issues the country is facing.

Specific benefits of the trade agreements reported by Mr. Vilsack:

SOUTH KOREA:

• Sixty percent of the items that we currently trade to Korea will be duty free immediately, including corn and soybeans for crush. Other commodities – such as meat, poultry and dairy – will see tariffs and duties reduced over a period of time, creating tremendous opportunity for us to grow our export opportunities. In fact, economic output is estimated to grow more under the Korea agreement than from our country’s last nine trade agreements combined.

COLOMBIA:

• On day one of implementation of the Colombia agreement, U.S. exporters will receive duty-free treatment on products accounting for almost 70 percent of current trade. When implementation is complete, we expect it to increase our agricultural exports by 44 percent – an additional $370 million per year. The Colombia agreement is comprehensive, covering all agricultural products.

PANAMA:

• In Panama, U.S. agricultural exports have been on the rise, growing to over $450 million in 2010. Our agreement with Panama will continue this progress – with an additional $46 million in annual sales upon full implementation. The Panama agreement is also comprehensive.

To view the article in its entirety, visit http://blogs.usda.gov/2011/10/13/new-trade-agreements-a-boon-for-american-agriculture/.

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A headline published by Farm Industry News sums up the situation with seed corn–“Corn Seed Production May Drop 20% in 2012.” The article begins with this statement:

“The challenging growing season of 2011 did more than impact corn yields. All indications are that seed corn supplies for 2012 will be affected as well, and companies are developing contingency strategies to meet what is expected to be another banner year for corn sales.”

The article quotes representatives from four seed companies who all said that production in South America will be key to producing enough seed corn to satisfy consumer needs in 2012 due to tough weather conditions in the Midwest this year. Charlie Foresman of Monsanto said, “Because seed corn is an inbred, it is more susceptible to stresses,” meaning that the tough hand that Mother Nature dealt this year may have had a serious impact on production. However, seed producers take necessary precautions to mitigate risks. Spreading out production geographically is just part of the strategy for overcoming challenging growing conditions in a particular area.

This year purchasing early has been as important as ever to ensure that the hybrid the grower needs is still available. Because the supply is uncertain, it is important for farmers to make their buying decisions in plenty of time for seed companies to make the appropriate preparations, including turning around seed from South America in time for planting in the spring.