The USA Rice Federation has announced that Marvin Lehrer returned on April 1, 2007 to work for USA Rice after nearly a two-year absence. Lehrer will be responsible for the Caribbean, including Cuba, and will also do some limited trade servicing in the Mexican market.

Jois Alaby, previously responsible for Cuba with his other regional responsibilities, is now focusing entirely on Central America, the Andean region and Brazil. Countries that have increased new opportunities to the U.S. rice industry with pending free trade agreements include Peru, Colombia and Panama.

Fungicide’s aerial application rate reduced
Quilt fungicide can now be applied with a minimum of two gallons of water per acre (GPA) water volume for aerial applications, and the re-entry interval (REI) is now only 12 hours, giving growers and retailers a convenient option for control of foliar diseases in rice, corn, cereals, wheat and grasses.

The new spray-water volume, reduced from a minimum of five GPA, helps increase efficiency for aerial applicators. A lower spray-water volume reduces the volume carried on the plane, increasing the number of acres covered while providing the same level of broad-spectrum disease control. The REI was reduced from 24 hours to 12 hours, allowing for greater application and crop production flexibility.

Automatic boom control system
Raven Industries has released the SmartBoom automatic boom control system. This system offers automatic boom valve section control, which turns boom sections on or off, reducing costly spraying errors such as skips and overlaps.

The SmartBoom system is similar to the existing AccuBoom system, but it is a completely self-contained system, eliminating the need to use an Envizio Plus or Viper to control the system.

The SmartBoom system can control up to seven boom sections at a time and is compatible with the Raven SCS series controllers (SCS 440, 450, 460 and 660). In addition, the SmartBoom system will work with any GPS receiver that has a minimum update rate of four Hz.

The SmartBoom is available for $1,995 from authorized Raven distributors and dealers. Visit http://www.ravenprecision.com.

Manage stress on the farm
Stress is a normal part of life for farmers, says Russ Kennedy, Ph.D. and health specialist/assistant professor with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Many a farmer has suffered sleepless nights worrying about pests, market prices, uncertain weather or repaying a six-figure crop loan.

Kennedy offers several ways to reduce unwanted stress or manage it:

• Be realistic. If you feel overwhelmed, learn to say NO!
• Shed the “superman/superwoman” urge. No one is perfect, so don’t expect perfection from
  yourself or others.
• Meditate. Just 10 to 20 minutes of quiet reflection may bring relief from stress.
• Visualize. Use your imagination, and picture in your mind how you can manage a stressful
  situation successfully.
• Take one thing at a time. This is how you can cope with feeling overwhelmed.
• Exercise. Regular exercise is a popular way to relieve stress.
• Hobbies. Take a break from your worries by doing something you enjoy.
• Healthy life style. Good nutrition makes a difference. Limit intake of caffeine and alcohol,
   get adequate rest, exercise, and balance work and play.
• Share your feelings. A conversation with a friend lets you know that you are not the only one
  having a bad day, coping with low prices or production problems.
• Give in occasionally! Learn when to rethink your position or strategy.
• Go easy with criticism. Don’t expect too much of yourself or others.

Grain bagging storage option
The idea of bagging your crop is not a new concept – livestock producers have been successfully bagging forages for years. In some areas Mid-South row crop producers, particularly where grain bins are few and far between, are taking a closer look at grain bagging as a viable option for grain storage at harvest.

At a Lake City, Ark., field day, farmers as well as grain merchants from around the region watched as factory representatives from Akron, Mainero and IpesaSilo – Argentine agri-logistics companies – demonstrated their grain bagging system.

The UV-protectant IpesaSilo grain bag is specially designed for grain storage. The shipping weight of one bag is about 265 pounds. It is 200 feet long, nine feet in diameter and has a capacity of 8,000 bushels of corn or 8,200 bushels of wheat.

“The farmer’s first math is, ‘How much is a bin – how much is a bag?’” says Alberto Mindiondo of IpesaSilo – the company that manufactures the special bag. “That’s good math, but really the money’s not there. The money is in logistics – harvesting when you can harvest and not waiting for trucks.

“You can freight that grain after harvest at a much lower rate,” Mindiondo adds. “The grain bag system helps you do that.”

For more information, contact Delta Grain Bag, the Ark.-based distributor for Grain Bag Storage Systems, at (870) 926-6238 or visit www.deltagrainbag.com.

New grain drills offered
Frontier Equipment announces the addition of the new BD1307 No-Till Drill and the BD11 Series Grain Drills.

“The new drills will complement the extensive line-up of John Deere seeding equipment,” says Mike Horrell, marketing manager, Frontier Equipment.

“These economical drills will be offered exclusively by John Deere dealers and are designed to meet the needs of conventional and no-till producers.”

The BD1307 No-Till Drill is an all-purpose seven-foot drill that is adjustable for conventional, minimum and no-till applications. With the tractor hydraulic controls, the operator can adjust the opener down pressure from 135- to 300-lbs. of pressure, depending on soil conditions in the field.

The BD11 Series Grain Drills, the BD1108, BD1110 and BD1113 are available in eight-, 10- and 13-foot sizes, respectively. They are conventional drills capable of seeding cereal grains, legumes and forage crops.

“These drills will be manufactured with the John Deere brand in the traditional green and yellow colors,” says Horrell.

“They have been designed with staggered dual disk furrow openers on various spacings to match an operator’s desired residue flow,” he adds.

These new drills can be ordered from your local John Deere dealer now for delivery in August 2007.

Visit www.BuyFrontier.com or contact your local John Deere dealer.