A Singular Event

Someone may know what this is all about - I haven’t done any creative googling but can’t figure it out.

Yesterday, mid-morning, I heard a mild commotion to the south and observed probably 30 gray squirrels moving up and down a half-dozen trees. Occasionally they’d leap to the next tree and then continue the pattern of scampering up and down, up and down. It was like little furry rivers.

There was no fussing as you hear when there’s a predator around - they were actually fairly quiet about all this. They weren’t chasing each other. There didn’t seem to be any particularly young squirrels, so it didn’t seem like a family event.

The trees were a mix - sweetgum, water oak, elm, pine. I didn’t see them eating anything.

The gray squirrels have multiplied considerably in the last ten years here - for the first seven years we never saw a squirrel. I mentioned this increase last year, mainly because a neighbor had independently noted it.

Even so I’ve never seen more than two or three in one place at one time, and that usually been because they’ve been squabbling or mating or something. This was unprecedented to me.

Do You Have Money Flowing In From A Pipeline?

If you don’t have an underground pipeline crossing your farm, you probably know someone who does. And to meet US energy demands, construction of underground pipelines carrying natural gas and crude oil is increasing. Thousands of Cornbelt farmers and landowners are in negotiation with dozens of pipeline companies on easement issues and reparations for the damages related to pipeline construction. But once a landowner has negotiated the best deal possible, what are the resulting tax benefits and liabilities?

Most of the underground pipeline projects criss-crossing the US are under the oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which keeps track of projects, and must approve all aspects of the pipeline construction process. For a list of proposed nearby pipeline projects, consult FERC.

Agricultural Tax Law Specialist Gary Hoff at the University of Illinois says the negotiators for the pipelines will typically approach landowners to offer a financial package that includes several issues:
1) An easement to allow the company permanent access to its pipeline as it traverses your property. The easement may be on the order of 25 feet on either side of the pipeline, which gives the pipeline personnel access to repair or test the line and otherwise be on your property within that 50 foot span.
2) A work easement that may be wider than the permanent easement and wide enough to allow construction workers to operate and park vehicles, pile topsoil and subsoil, and temporarily lay pipe before it is placed into the trench for welding.
3) Crop damage within the work easement resulting from the construction, if growing crops were destroyed or damaged when the pipeline was laid.
4) Crop yield damage for several years within the construction zone where soil was disturbed.

Hoff says some of the payments are going to capital and some will be operational, and because of that they will be treated differently by the Internal Revenue Service.

Easement payments are treated by the IRS as a sale of land, and because the easement will be based on so many feet through your property by so many feet across, an acreage calculation will have to be made. Essentially, those acres are being sold for the price paid for the easement, and it could be a substantial number of dollars per acre. When you subtract your basis in the farmland from the price paid per acre by the pipeline company, the IRS requires the capital gain be reported from the sale of the easement. With the necessary adjustments for depreciation of improvements, Hoff says the capital gain would be reported on Form 4797, Sale of Business Property.

Sometimes an easement will reduce the value of the property; particularly if the farm were ripe for housing or commercial development and the pipeline easement interfered with the development. With the proper appraisal, the basis in the property could be reduced and that would change the capital gains tax liability.

Regarding other payments received from the pipeline company, Hoff says they should be itemized because they fall into different categories for tax liability:

1) Temporary easement: rental payments reportable as supplemental income on Schedule F.
2) Crop damage payments: crop income reportable as profit from farming on Schedule F.

In crop share leases, the crop damage payments would be split between operator and landowner and reported on Form 4835 Farm rental income for the landowner. In cash rent leases, crop damage and yield reduction payments would go to the operator and reported on Schedule F as profits from farming.

Summary:
Numerous farm operators and landowners throughout the Cornbelt may be impacted by the expansion of pipelines carrying energy commodities, as construction crews cut swaths through growing crops and disrupt strips of topsoil. Compensation is typically offered for both the purchase of easements, which is treated as a capital gains tax liability, as well as crop damages and yield losses which are reported on IRS Schedule F forms. Landowners and operators should carefully breakout the various payments from a pipeline company to ensure they are correctly addressed.

Camping: A Tool For Strong Family Relationships

Camping holds our family together. We do a lot of things as a family and it is usually involves going our separate ways. We come together to sleep, eat and shower and then we are off again. Through out these growing up years for the kids I have always maintained it was essential that we find some way in our busy lifestyle to reconnect and spend some quality time and about 5 years ago when the kids were in grade school we discovered camping.

It was actually an accident because I would never have chosen of my own accord to go without basic necessities at that time in my life but we were kinda forced into it by a family reunion. You see the matriarch in our family decided because of the cost of getting together for all her off spring and her offsprings offspring that we would make this family reunion a camping adventure.

An adventure was exactly what it was, the likes of which the world has never seen up to that point and will likely never see again. Try putting 27 independent people from 7 autonomous families in one camp ground when all the decisions have to be made by committee. Well I will not bore you with the details but lets just say that the majority of the 3 days we spent doing three things. One was eating, two was sleeping and the third thing was trying to decide what else we were going to do and they corralling the group together into vehicles to go do whatever it was we decided to do.

Here is the reason I think this all worked for our family and the reason I think it works in so many cases. It has to do with common experience and working our problems out together. When you go for a typical weekend away or a vacation we here in the US often will divide our time as a group between group time and individual time. In a camping situation there is no individual time. You / We are forced to be exposed to each other for the entire time the adventure is taking place. This strains any relationship and it will force a tension that will ultimately bond you together if it does not break you apart. As an aside this works assuming there is some sort of bond to start with. A new relationship or one that is weak may be destroyed if it does not have the seeds for greatness.

Assuming that it does, the relationship is often strengthened by the tension since like any muscle when it is worked it gets stronger. Back to the contrasting vacation where we are all staying in a hotel and separate rooms, we can always escape and can for the most part avoid the tension that forces us to deal with each other while camping.

After our family reunion and the resulting posturing, alliance building and politicking that happened for those three days we came out on the other side a stronger unit because we knew that no matter what happened we could work it out and we knew that we would all choose to love each other and support each other in spite of our differences.

And that is why camping has become this familys foray into relationship building disguised as a family get away or vacation. Cheap fun with a anterior motive.

About the Author

Copyright Detro Canaro 2008 Detro Canaro is a husband, a father, a writer, computer tech and webmaster of several websites that support he and his family. One of those websites is a Flashlight Store that features Inova Flashlights Fenix Flashlights and others.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

The Month of July

Today’s high is predicted to be 99 degF, with no rain in the forecast through the end of the week. Well, it’s summer, of course, but some things are ridiculous.

So with that in mind, here is the summary of the month of July, for the United States and Athens, Georgia. The weather will have been more interesting in its extremes elsewhere, especially in the west. Here, it was remarkably average.

From the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, this is a plot of mean temperature anomalies for the US. That’s the difference in the average temperature for this July above or below the average for July over many years, plotted in colors. The anomalies are in Fahrenheit.


The cooler than normal temperatures throughout the north central US continues from May. For much of the rest of the country there was a switch in cooler and warmer temperatures, compared to June. Really warm temperatures continued to spread throughout much of the western US, except in the extreme southwest where sharply contrasting cooler temperatures were experienced.

From the (click through to the monitoring maps from the left sidebar) National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, this is a plot of mean precipitation anomalies for the US over the month of July:


The US midsection continued its fifth month of normal to above average rainfall in July. There was some improvement in drought conditions in the southwest, including southern California, but much lower than normal rainfall otherwise persisted in central and northern California and worsened in Oregon and Washington. Much of the southeast finally received average and even slightly above average rainfall in July.

For Athens:

The above figures show that we had remarkably average temperatures rainfall during July. We had two fire calls, one 10-22’d just after I pulled out with the pumper, and the other in the wee hours of the morning of the 30th, a trailer fire.

Here is my plot of high temperatures for the month of July in Athens. As usual, the black dots are for the 17 years 1990-2006 (black dots), 2008 (green line), and 2007 (red line).


We certainly had some warm weather in July, especially during the end of the month. The high was 1.4 degF above normal, however the “average average” for the month was pretty much on target. (This means, of course, that our nights were cooler, by 2.6 degF, than normal. Now that’s interesting!) To underscore the extremes of June, July’s average high temps were cooler than June’s by 1.5 degF. However July 2008 was warmer than July of last year by 4 degF.

The average July high this year was 92.1 degF, compared to an average over 89 years since 1920 of 90.2 degF. We were more than one standard deviation above the mean high temperature on 5 days in July, compared to an average 5.4 days per July, and that’s insignificant.

I went into the rainfall situation here for the first half of the year last month and there won’t be too many dramatic changes from our experiences in July. And that’s because we actually got rain in July! The Athens report was for 3.95 inches compared to 4.41 inches, slightly below normal but an embarrassment of riches in comparison. Out here at Wolfskin we actually got 4.66 inches, considerably more than the Athens report would indicate.

Again, the green line shows our actual rainfall, the red shows the average accumulation expected. The black dots are rainfall over the last 19 years, the river of peach shows the standard deviation. We stayed right around the normal throughout the month, ending just slightly below it.



Interestingly, this year’s pattern of rain and heat is following nearly the same trend as last year. Then too we had a hot and dry June, followed by a cooler and wetter July. It was August 2007 that was the kicker, with its 105-107 degF highs for many days during the month. We’ll be sitting on pins and needles wondering if the repeat continues.

I’ll continue to link to this neat prognosticator in which you can get variously timed precipitation and temperature outlooks. Last month it promised us that we will have above average precipitation and below average temperatures for at least the first two weeks in July and in retrospect that was a pretty good prediction.

Geekstuff:
NOAA’s weekly ENSO update tells us that sea surface temperatures in the central and east equatorial Pacific have returned to ENSO-neutral regions, suggesting that we have now left La Niña, with enough time for the atmospheric conditions to have responded. NOAA expects that ENSO-neutral conditions will continue through fall 2008.

Finally, and to reiterate the link way above, NOAA has a neat State of the Climate product. By clicking on the year, such as 2007, you can get to monthly and even weekly reports and zero in on regional descriptions that are much nicer than my own.

Preparing a Deer Tolerant Hummingbird Garden

Plant the image of Bambi traipsing through a garden in the minds of most suburbanites and theyll coo with pleasure at the thought of Mother Nature gracing them with her presence. Mention deer to a gardener, however, and youll often get a decidedly different reaction.

As cute as they may be, deer hold a place right alongside moles, rabbits and grubs in the minds of those who invest hours in planting a beautiful garden. The word deer might as well be an acronym for Destructive Entity Eating Rabidly. If you plant it, they will come. If you plant it with the intent of luring something benign, theyll come even faster. What appeals to one critter often appeals to another which is the crux of the dilemma for those who wish to attract hummingbirds.

The good news is that there are solutions which will help you selectively lure one cute critter without the other. The only thing you have to decide is exactly how far away youd like Bambi to stay.

If youd be happy never to see a deer in your hummingbird garden again, the best insurance is a fence. Anything lower than 8 feet tall may act as a deterrent but wont guarantee a motivated deer wont hop over. Slat fences will certainly do the trick if you dont mind a very obvious boundary. Alternatively, polypropylene mesh fences blend into the background and cost substantially less.

Other options to deter deer include predator or even human urine deposited around the perimeter of your garden. The drawback to this method is the need for constant weekly reapplication. The bigger your garden, the less convenient this option becomes.

Some gardeners report that human hair contained in nylon stockings and strategically placed around the garden has been reported to deter deer. Likewise, heavily scented soaps either sliced in slivers or hung still in the box near plants you want to protect reportedly do a good job. Recommended brands include Irish Spring, Zest and Dial. Finally, dryer sheets such as Bounce smell unpleasant to deer. The concept derives from a deers desire to remain as unremarkable as possible to avoid attracting predators so they avoid getting close to heavy scents which may rub off and expose them.

If keeping deer entirely at bay isnt your objective, there are some methods that will still give you a chance at seeing them at the edges of your garden without having to sacrifice hummingbird attracting plants to their insatiable appetites. Using any of the scented methods above in moderation but only near plants you want to protect is one option.

Consider placing more desirable plants at the perimeter of your garden and keep your hummingbird flowers closer in to your home. Some plants for which deer have a high preference include, Indian Hawthorn, English Ivy, Hosta and Hydrangea.

Some sprays such as hot pepper applied to the leaves of plants you are trying to protect have also been shown to be effective. Remember, though, to avoid spraying the flowers on your hummingbird friendly plants or youll deter the very creature you are trying to attract.

Finally, choose deer-tolerant flowers which hummingbirds enjoy but deer only dine on when stressed by loss of habitat or starvation. There are a few varieties that still appeal to hummingbirds but which represent less of an invitation to a deers remarkably undiscerning palate listed below.

Perennials
Bee Balm
Cardinal Flower
Dahlia

Annuals
Flowering Tobacco

Vines
Cardinal Climber

Ultimately, remember that deer-tolerant is the same as water-resistant. It isnt a guarantee. When stressed, starving, desperate or diseased, deer can and will eat just about any non-poisonous plant to get by. If you want the ultimate protection against them, the answer to your prayers was mentioned early on. Invest in a fence.

About the Author

David writes for Hummingbirdfeedingguide.com, a blog devoted to feeding and attracting hummingbirds.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

Extension Update

Extension Update is a weekly summary of news from Extension, government, and other attributable sources, focused on marketing, farm management, and other issues that are of interest to Midwestern farm owners and operators.

Wheat production was higher this year, and that means more wheat is available as a livestock feed, which will dampen the demand for higher priced corn. That is the observation of Purdue economist Chris Hurt, who notes a 70% increase in soft red winter wheat in the Cornbelt. Since wheat has a feed value that is 10% greater than corn, and wheat is currently selling for 10-20¢ less than corn, livestock feeders are moving there. Hurt says that dynamic caused USDA to cut its old crop corn use by 100 mil. bu.

The soybean basis may improve says Hurt who recommends separating a forward contract into its two components. He says sell the futures or options with the help of a commodities advisor and broker. At that point, the basis remains unpriced, and he says the basis could improve 20-40¢ yet per bushel. Read more of Chris Hurt’s newsletter.

Flooded and washed out fields are not excuses for non-delivery of contracted grain say a trio of IL ag law specialists. Their interpretation of the law is that a farmer can always satisfy a contract obligation by purchasing grain and delivering it to the elevator, instead of the grain lost to a flood. It is called “breach of contract,” and their explanation is here.

Elevators can seek legal remedies, which the IL ag lawyers say includes the elevator buying grain to replace its commitments, then suing the farmer for the cost of the replacement grain, which could be at a premium to the original forward contract price.

To avoid a breach of contract, farmers are advised to contact an attorney and negotiate a settlement which might be at a lesser price than the cost of the replacement grain. An effort to discuss the problems and offer a settlement may help avoid other incidental costs such as attorney fees for the elevator. Elevators may also have a variety of options.

Diesel fuel prices certainly are not headed down anytime soon, says Kansas State economist Kevin Dhuyvetter. His projections of diesel fuel prices, based on NYMEX futures, indicate prices will be well above 2007 levels through the fall harvest season and into the spring. Read more.

If those diesel fuel costs prompt you to better manage your power equipment needs, NE Extension Specialist Tom Dorn has created a Fuel Cost Estimator, which allows you to calculate your per hour and per acre fuel costs for future projections. Find it here.

Cattle inventories continue to decline and that implies higher prices for cattle and less demand for feed grains. Purdue economist Chris Hurt says beef cow numbers have dropped about 1% during the year since calf prices are below the cost of production. Feedlot placements are down 9% and cattle on feed numbers are down 4% from last year.

Chris Hurt says cattle prices would be even lower, were it not for improvements in trade and the low value of the dollar. Jan. thru May saw exports rise 34% from last year. He says with the weakness of the dollar, USDA is likely to revise its forecasts for beef trade. Exports had been projected at 18% and imports are down twice as much as expected.

Beef prices will have strong fundamental support in the last two quarters of the year and Purdue’s Hurt anticipates record high prices. He says that means a $97 average in the third quarter and a $100 average in the fourth quarter. That is a $95 average for the year and Hurt expects to see new record high cattle prices in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Strong cattle prices are also seen by Missouri economist Ron Plain, who says, “Feeder cattle prices, even though they are down from the high, are still quite strong and cow-calf producers have not been stressed financially enough to reduce the cow herd at a rapid rate. If the cow herd is as large as we believe, the 2008 calf crop will likely be down only slightly from a year earlier and cattle slaughter will be close to a year earlier for the next 18 months. Therefore, the prices for live cattle in the futures market look high to us.”

Soybean aphid populations are increasing and moving into fields across the Cornbelt. Entomologists in MN, SD, and IA all reported numbers at or above the 250 aphid per plant threshold for consideration of treatment. Higher temperatures will slow aphid multiplication. Specialists tell farmers to sample at least 20 plants per field. The bug experts say the 250 threshold should still be used despite increased soybean values.

Will lady beetles show up in great enough numbers to control the aphids? That is an unanswered question, but natural enemies such as predator insects, rain, hail, and disease all slow the rate of population increase say MN Extension Specialists. Doubling of the population usually takes 4-5 days, but can take as few as 2-3 days if temperature conditions are cool enough, if predators are few, and on-going immigration.

Western bean cutworm populations are increasing and moving across the Cornbelt, also. IL entomologist Kevin Steffey says the pest has not established itself as a threat to corn production in all areas, but the numbers being captured in traps are causing him to reconsider his perceptions. He says not only the numbers have to be significant, but farmers have to identify ear damage, and that it was caused by the bean cutworms.

Scouting for western bean cutworms should be underway. Evidence of the pest is egg masses and small larvae on the upper leaves. Once the larvae hatch and work their way into the open end of the ear, then any effort at control with insecticides will not work. The economic threshold for treatment is 8% of the plants infested with eggs and larvae. Pictures of adults and eggs are here.

If your corn has pollinated then Japanese beetles will not be a threat, but that is not the case in soybeans. Japanese beetles will defoliate soybean leaves, and with high futures prices, it will be cost effective to treat them. The threshold is active defoliation of 10-15% of leaves at the R3 growth stage, which is the beginning pod stage.

Reports are mixed about the prevalence of corn rootworms. Entomologists say the number of adults around the Midwest have been fairly low, indicating widespread mortality earlier in the year. But in some IL Extension test plots, where corn root balls were dug, washed, and analyzed larvae were sufficient to inflict serious injury in some areas. Farmers are urged to do the same to evaluate the results of their rootworm control.

New insecticides are coming onto the market for 2008 use in field crops:
1) Leverage 2.7 controls soybean aphids, Japanese beetles and bean leaf beetles in soybeans, but has a minimum of 45 day interval between spraying and harvest.
2) Hero is labeled for both corn and beans and controls corn rootworm adults, Japanese beetles, and two-spotted spider mites. It has a 21 day pre-harvest interval.
3) Cobalt can be applied to alfalfa, corn, and beans for a control of a variety of insects and two spotted spider mites. It has a pre-harvest interval of 30 days for soybeans.

Wheat growers will face late planting in the fall, if their acreage is following corn and soybeans which were planted late and will mature late. IL Specialist Emerson Nafziger says interest in wheat should remain high this fall with the help of high prices. He says seed should be in good supply, given the cool spring and good yields from the 2008 crop.

Corn planting dates dictate GDD requirements according to IN and OH research. For each day past May 1, about 6.5 fewer GDD were required from planting to maturity. That means a 2,700 GDD hybrid only needs 2,500 if planted at the end of May, about 2,400 if planted by June 15, and about 2,300 if planted by the end of June. Read more.

Cooler air penetrating the Cornbelt beginning in late August has a lot to do with corn reaching maturity says IL Specialist Emerson Nafziger. And he says the likelihood of frost increases at that point. Early frost occurs 1 year in 10 at the point where GDD accumulations have slowed to 10-12 per day. He says a 50% chance of frost occurs when GDD accumulations reach only 7-8 per day, which are about two weeks apart.

Fast facts about corn will give you a reputation and add life to coffee shop discussions:
1) Corn tassels produce between 2 million and 25 million pollen grains.
2) Pollen grains are 80% water when shed and die when water content decreases to 40%.
3) Up to 1000 ovules form per ear but we normally harvest 400 to 600 kernels per ear.
4) As silks emerge, they grown as much as 1.5 inches per day.
5) Unusually long silks are a symptom that the ear was not pollinated.
6) Silks fall off fertilized ovules and remain attached to unfertilized ovules.
7) 85% of grain yield is from kernel numbers per acre and 15% from kernel weight.

Guidelines for Deer Stands

Nearly all deer hunters are now hunting from tree stands. If you are a novice deer hunter, or if you are an experienced hunter but have yet to use this method, you should think about using a tree stand. Staying out of the deer’s range of view, keeping your scent hidden from the deer, and increasing the range of your view are just some of the benefits for using a tree stand. You do need to take certain precautions, however, to make a point of protecting yourself.

There are many types of stands and almost all are safe to use. Some of these include ladder-type stands, climbing stands, and lock-on stands. You can also nail boards to a tree. No matter what type of stand you are using, acknowledge that accidents can happen. If a stand seems unsafe to you, do not use it. If you are toying with using a new tree stand and you are far from your home or from people in general, wait. You would be not able to notify anyone if you were injured. Do not take using a tree stand lightly.

It is helpful to become familiar with some of the ways by which hunters injure themselves on or around tree stands. Accidents happen when hunters doze off. It happens a great deal more than you would imagine. Hunters also get injured when they fall while climbing in or out of a tree stand. You cannot ward off things like excess moisture on your boot, or an exceptionally damp step. The third way by which hunters suffer injury using tree stands is having a part of equipment break. Nothing is 100% dependable. The best way to avoid a dangerous injury from these unfortunate events is to wear a safety harness.

Many hunters know the danger of not using a safety harness, but they still use tree stands without one. Your safety harness will only serve you if you wear it. It is not good sufficient to put on the harness after you have settled into your stand. In fact, climbing into or out of your stand is when you are most probable to be hurt, so you need to be wearing it before you begin ascending your tree stand. It only takes a bit to secure and is well worth the hassle. A fall with a safety harness has minimal damage compared to one without a safety harness. The safety harness could mean the difference between a few bruises and a premature death.

There are a few other steps you need to consider while preparing to use a tree stand for the first time. Tree steps and tie-on ladders are two favorite methods used by hunters. Some also use threaded steel steps for climbing. If you are looking to cut down costs, go with the steel steps. They are more affordable than the ladders. Test the steel step to make sure that it is strong, steady, and secure. Use threaded steel steps that will amply support your weight. If the threaded steps bend, hunters slip and injure themselves. Use a drill to make pilot holes for the steps. Some hunters favor using climbing stands instead of threaded steps, but they are cost more and limit you to certain trees.

Consider using a tree stand as you hunt. It is an competent way to catch your prey off-guard. Both your body and your scent are above the deer’s vicinity. It also allows for a fuller view as you analyze the landscape. Tree stands do cause accidents, though. Take all of the essential steps to prevent any major injuries. Use a safety harness to reduce the distance of your fall. Be sure that the steps you use to climb the tree are safe. Following these guidelines for using a tree stand assures a safe and enjoyable hunting experience.

Daylilies: A Gorgeous and Low Maintenance Flower to Brighten Any Garden

My mother always had a flowerbed or two in front of our house and she would spend a morning every now and again weeding, watering, and generally taking care of her flowers. Yet she never got more adventuresome with her flower choices than petunias, pansies and an occasional geranium. I asked her once why her flower horizon was so narrow when there are so many gorgeous flowers available to experiment with planting and growing. She shrugged and said most flowers looked too high maintenance for her.

A common misconception is that if flowers look particularly elegant or exotic, it means they are finicky and difficult to care for. Hemerocallis, or daylilies are a perfect example of flowers that are both delicate looking and hardy at the same time, requiring very little care to thrive in nearly all conditions.

Daylilies come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes, and are easy to grow. The perennials are not true bulbs, but grow from clump-forming tuberous roots. Although daylilies prefer well drained soil with plenty of organic material and lots of direct sunlight, they will tolerate much less favorable conditions such as extremely damp to dry sandy soil. If planted in heavy shade, hemerocallis usually respond by producing more foliage and fewer flowers.

Daylilies are perfect for a varied garden because the different varieties range in height from 8 inches to 5 feet, and flower size can be as small as 2 inches or as large as 8 inches. The spectrum of colors and shapes also adds distinction and variety to your flowerbed. Unlike some more fastidious flowers, hemerocallis usually bloom the same year they are planted, though they take three to four years to reach mature size, and can live for a very long time if given even moderate care.

Daylilies will bloom from late spring until autumn and many varieties have more than one flowering period. Because of the entangled clump-root system of daylilies, they provide excellent ground covers on slopes and are recommended for erosion control.
Daylilies are also particularly effective for blending in structures with the natural terrain. They have a naturalizing effect to blend fences, decks, steps, statues, driveways or shrubbery with the surrounding landscape.

The planting process itself is probably the most rigorous phase of caring for your Hemerocallis. To ensure that they take root properly you should water plants thoroughly after planting, and deep soak them every three or four days until established. If you ordered the plants rather than purchasing them in a garden store they may have become dried out during shipment from a supplier. If this happens, soak well for at least 15 minutes before planting. Although daylilies are drought-tolerant once established, consistent watering while budding and flowering will produce better-quality flowers.

For absolute best results daylily gardens should be mulched well with peat or compost in spring. Waiting until the plant is established to fertilize will encourage initial root growth. Add manure or other organic fertilizer in the early spring just as signs of new growth appear, and again in midsummer.

Very few pests and diseases are enough to harm the resilient hemerocallis, slugs and snails being the major exceptions. Daylilies are not bothered by lily beetle or any other problems of bulbous lilies. Root-knot nematodes could also pose a problem if you are planting on former cropland especially soybean and tobacco land.

About the Author

Perennial Place http://www.perennialplace.com/carries a wide variety of gorgeous daylilies to make your garden beautiful. Art Gibb is a freelance writer.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

Has The Grain Market Caught A Bad Case Of Volatility?

You would think that anyone who spent a half million dollars to buy a seat on the Chicago Board of Trade would assume that a seat belt was included. Anyone who has marketed grain in the past year probably wishes they had one, also. Seat belts are mandatory in motor vehicles, and may soon be necessary in grain marketing. There is nothing worse than to hurtle through buy-stop signs on a plummeting futures contract. With that in mind, let’s look at volatility in the commodities markets.

If you think that grain markets have hit the accelerator pedal, you may be correct. They have risen farther and faster than in many years, and within a short period of time. In just the past two years most grain commodity prices have at least doubled, and in the case of corn and beans, tripled in values. But with the higher prices, come other challenges. It is like mountain climbing and the higher the mountain, the farther the fall.

Ohio State University economists Carl Zulauf and Matt Roberts explored grain market volatility for corn, wheat and soybeans. The looked at various period from 1989 to 2007, and used two different statistical yardsticks to measure the volatility.
1) One yardstick was the coefficient of variation of monthly US cash prices, and measured historical cash price variability.
2) The second yardstick is the average of daily implied volatilities for the new crop futures contract over the course of a year. Zulauf and Roberts say this is a measure of the market’s expectation of price variability during the year.

Their findings and calculations indicate a rather slow upward trend from 1989 to 2003 for all three commodities, regardless of the yardstick. However, substantial changes occurred the past several years. Corn market volatility jumped from about 25% to nearly 35%. Soybean market volatility jumped from about 20% to nearly 35%. Wheat market volatility jumped to more than 40% from its prior points in the 20% range.

Zulauf and Roberts also computed the change in volatility between the periods of 1989 to 1991 and 2003 to 2006. While the historical corn variability was only 1%, its implied volatility—what the futures market expects—was 41%. Both beans and wheat recorded historical variability in the low 30% range and implied volatility above 40%.

Then the economists looked at the change from the three year period of 2003 to 2006 with 2007. They say while the increase in price variability in 2007 is larger, the increase prior to 2007 is also substantial. Their findings indicated:
1) Price variability has increased during the 2007 crop year, but,
2) This increase is part of a longer term trend of higher price variability.

The average crop year price volatility increased 32% in the period beginning in 1989 and ending in 2003. However it increased 50% between the 3 year period beginning in 2003 with 2007.
Zulauf and Roberts say the volatility increase suggests long term structural changes are responsible for the change, such as declining world stocks and increasing world demand. And if so, that means volatility could be higher in the future. The impact would be greater costs for managing risk, such as more costly crop insurance premiums, higher option premiums, and greater margins for hedging commodities. And if a farmer has to pay those costs, prices must increase, and that puts more pressure on processors and higher food prices.

Summary:
Grain market volatility has increased over the past 20 years, no matter how you measure it. Such volatility also seems to be increasing at a greater rate, and that means the structure of agriculture will be impacted, specifically, the management of risk and the cost of commodity trading. Farmers bearing those burdens will eventually see processors and the consumer sharing in that additional cost.

The Ultimate Guide to Extending the Life of Fresh Flowers

Cut flowers make us feel good. They make us all feel special, both those that give the flowers and those that receive them. They help us communicate with others in a special way. They help us say things like "I love you," "thank you," "get well," "Im sorry" and "youre special." More than any other gift, fresh flowers can help express emotions. Even the finest artificial bouquet just isnt the same.

The problem is that fresh flowers dont last. But treating them properly can extend the vase-life.

Remember that cut flowers have been removed from their life support system, both the roots, their source of water, and the leaves of the plant, their source of food.

Whats the best way to preserve fresh flowers It sounds like a simple question. Yet if you go online to search for a simple answer, youll find dozens of answers, few of them simple. How do we sort all this information out and get to the truth about preserving fresh flowers

How to Extend the Vase-Life of Fresh Flowers
Research says that to preserve a long vase-life, flowers, youll
1 need to minimize stresses like temperature and microorganisms
2 need to supply sufficient water, and
3 need to supply sufficient sugars or carbohydrates

The first step is to treat fresh flowers well from the moment you receive them. Keep them cool and keep them in water. At the first opportunity draw a sink full of water, place the stems under the water and cut them back 1/2" to 1" at an angle. Use a very sharp knife not serrated or scissors. The angled cut serves several purposes. First it exposes more surface area, second, an angled cut makes it easier to stick the stem into florist foam. The purpose of cutting the stems is to eliminate any air bubbles in the stems. Air bubbles can block the uptake of water. Leave the flowers in the water to rehydrate.

In the meantime thoroughly clean the vase with a 10 bleach solution.

The next question is what solution to put in the vase to keep the flowers fresh as long as possible Suggested homemade preservative solutions range from aspirin, copper pennies, sugar, bleach, lemon juice, corn syrup, non-diet lemon-lime soda, vodka, and Listerine to rock salt. There is a grain of truth behind many, but not all, of the homegrown ingredients.

Research Says...
Research says acidic water works best for flowers. Why There are two reasons. First, flowers take up acidic water quicker, and second, acidic water slows the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms that can clog the stems. In the home brew solutions, the aspirin, or lemon juice, or lemon-lime soda supposedly provides acidity. But how much acidity is needed for how much water Research says that a pH of about 3.5 is about right. The research also says aspirin doesnt help.

Research says that flowers need carbohydrates in the form of sugars. In the homemade solutions, the sugar, corn syrup or lemon-lime soda provides the sugars the cut flowers need. The problem is that different cut flowers need different amounts of sugar. Some need very little, some really like it sweet

To slow the growth of microorganisms, some mixtures call for bleach, vodka, Listerine, or a penny to kill the microorganisms that can clog flower stems. According to the research, pennies arent any help.

If youd like to make your own fresh flower preservative solution, the University of Massachusetts offers two different formulas. Id recommend them over unproven formulas written by who knows who.

Magic Formulas You Can Trust
1 Add 1 can non-diet lemon-lime soda to 3 cans of water along with 1/4 teaspoon of household bleach.
2 Add 2 tablespoons of fresh lime or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of bleach to 1 quart of water.

The Other Alternative
If youre not into the "Jerry Baker" do-it-yourself type formulas, use the packets of floral preservative that typically comes with fresh flowers. Most commercial preservatives contain the basic components of the life support system needed by the plant.

Whichever formula you decide on, mix it up and warm it to 100 - 110 degrees. Remove the flowers from the sink of water and place them directly into the vase of warm water. Then place the vase and flowers into a cool location for an hour or two.

Keep the flowers out of direct sun and as cool as possible. Change the preservative solution every other day. If there is enough stem on the flowers, snip 1/2 inch off when you change the water.

There you have it, the latest and greatest scientific techniques for extending the life of your fresh flowers. Pay no attention to what those other Websites say. You know better now.

About the Author

Charles Osborne is the owner of A-Bow-K Florist and Gifts, a leading Tampa florist. A-Bow-K is family owned and operated, and has been delivering flowers to Tampa and the surrounding communities for 25 successful years. Visit our website at http://www.a-bow-kflorist.com.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

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