Purdue Ag Roundup
Purdue Ag Roundup
The 4-H/Japanese Exchange Program is open to families with young people between the ages of 9 and 18. Families need not be involved in 4-H to host a Japanese delegate. The home stay lasts from mid-July to mid-August, during which time the host family is expected to treat the delegate as a member of the family, according to Amy Nachman, Purdue University 4-H Youth international program coordinator.
"The Japanese kids want to experience a slice of American life," Nachman said. "The American host families should proceed with life as normal."
Traveling with the youths, such as on short sightseeing or camping trips, is allowed but not required. She said the Japanese youths have health insurance and spending money. Host families provide room and board.
All delegates have studied English, but fluency varies. Host families aren't expected to know Japanese. According to Nachman, an orientation and materials are provided before the home stay to explain about cultural differences and how to handle communication problems that could arise. Guidance and support also are available throughout the program, if needed.
Delegates are matched with host families that have a child of the same gender and approximately the same age, Nachman said. Special interests also are taken into consideration.
"The 4-H/Japanese Exchange Program is a collaborative partnership with 4-H and two educational institutions in Japan," Nachman said. "It's national and has been in Indiana since 1980.
"Host families can really make a difference in young people's lives by preparing them for a global society. It starts with one-on-one contact -- a friendship."
Applications are due by April 30. For more information or to request an application, call toll free at (888) EXT-INFO and ask to be transferred to Amy Nachman, Department of 4-H Youth.
CONTACT: Amy Nachman, (765) 494-8437/8439; e-mail, an@four-h.purdue.edu
The 4.6 million acre increase in soybeans revealed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's March 31 Planting Intentions Report was far sharper than anyone had expected, Hurt said.
The flexibility reflected by the increase also extends to future adjustments. "Midwestern producers will have to rethink the crops they will plant before the planters roll," he said. "As price relationships shift for new crop corn and soybeans, producers still have enough time to take a hard look at their crop mix for this season."
According to Hurt, the additional acres come from redirected wheat acreage. Wheat seedings are expected to be down by 6.5 million acres across the country. This included 1 million fewer acres in the Eastern Corn Belt, and 3.5 million fewer acres across the Western Corn Belt and the Plains States. Many of these acres are headed to soybeans, Hurt said.
Farmers in only two major soybean states intend to reduce soybean acres: Ohio and Indiana, down 200,000 acres each. Those decreases about offset increases in other states in the Eastern Corn Belt. The huge increase in acreage is in the Western Corn Belt, where soybean acreage is up nearly 3.5 million acres, mostly from reduced wheat acreage, but to a lesser extent from fewer corn acres in Iowa and Minnesota. Hurt said the Indiana and Ohio intentions reflect a more typical crop mix for the states. Soybean acres were higher than normal last year because of delayed planting and a wet spring.
Corn acreage is expected to rise modestly, by nearly 2 million acres. Most of this increase is expected to come in the Eastern Corn Belt where the last two wet springs have kept farmers from planting the amount of corn they would like to. In Indiana, corn acreage is expected to rise by 300,000 acres; in Ohio, it will expand by a whopping 900,000, he said.
While U.S. corn acreage is somewhat higher, total feedgrain acreage will be about unchanged from 1996 plantings. Sorghum acreage was very high last year because of the failed wheat acres on the Southern Plains. However, this year's sorghum plantings are expected to be down 2.3 million acres, which will tend to offset the increase in corn acres, Hurt said.
Old-crop stocks for beans and corn were tighter than expected in a corrected USDA report. Soybeans, at 1.056 billion bushels, were about 34 million bushels lower than expected. This means the USDA may yet tighten the carryover estimate for the 1996 crop to a slim 110 million to 120 million bushels at its monthly update April 11, which would represent about 5 percent of use, or about 18 days of supplies remaining on Aug. 31, Hurt said.
Corn stocks were about 80 million bushels smaller than expected. The smaller stocks likely will be reflected in the USDA increasing feed use, and reducing carryover stocks in the April balance sheet update. Carryover could be reduced to below 900 million bushels, which would be under 10 percent of a year's use, or about 36 days, Hurt said.
Old-crop corn and soybean prices can move higher, but how much will depend on the South American soybean crop now moving to market and actual U.S. planting this season, Hurt said.
"Soybeans futures could quickly move to the $9 level, and we could see $11 highs if adverse weather becomes a factor this spring or summer," Hurt said. "Corn prices will move somewhat in sympathy with beans, but corn carryovers are expected to be sufficient with enough acres to keep supplies reasonable for 1997-1998."
CONTACT: Hurt, (765) 494-4273; e-mail, Chris_Hurt@acn.purdue.edu
Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
