VIDEO: Wheat Harvest Down, Farmers Look for Alternatives

VIDEO: Wheat Harvest Reveals Mixed Crop

BATON ROUGE, La.-(LSU AgCenter)--Experts say heavy spring rains have taken a toll on this year's wheat crop with much of the damage not seen until harvest. Tobie Blanchard has that story.

A New Day for King Cotton: Biotech and Agribusiness Redefine Themselves

MEMPHIS-(Memphis Daily News)--If you’re in the right place at the right time during May, you might glimpse a motorcade cutting through mid-day traffic, followed by a green bus with a big papier-mache boll weevil on top. Nothing hints at Memphis’ agribusiness roots like that longtime foe of the cotton plant.

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VIDEO: Corn Acreage Declines in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La.-(LSU AgCenter)--Experts say even though most of Louisiana’s corn crop is planted, many acres that saw corn a couple of years ago will likely be planted with a different crop this year. Tobie Blanchard has details.

VIDEO: Mexican Rice Borer Threatens Mid-South Rice Crops

BEAUMONT, Texas-(LSU AgCenter)--Entomologists in Louisiana and Texas have crossed state lines to monitor the spread of the Mexican rice borer, a pest potentially threatening Mid-South rice. Tobie Blanchard has that story.

VIDEO: Producers Watching Salinity Levels in Rice Fields

BATON ROUGE, La.-(LSU AgCenter)--The rice industry in southwestern Louisiana was struggling to recover from Hurricane Rita when Hurricane Ike hit last year. LSU AgCenter correspondent Tobie Blanchard says high salt levels could leave some of the region's rice fields bare this year.

Bayer CropScience Announces 2009 Shared Risk Program For Cotton Growers

LUBBOCK, Texas-(AgWatch)--Bayer CropScience releases details of the 2009 Shared Risk Program, which gives growers the opportunity to decrease certain risks in planting a crop. The program encourages cotton growers to use Best Management Practices and shares with growers the cost of replanting Bayer CropScience cotton seed brands or losing their final cotton planting due to certain weather events.

Shared Risk Program replant coverage offers options to compensate for:

* Replanting FiberMax®, Stoneville® and AFD™ cotton seed

* Retreating cottonseed varieties originally treated with Aeris®
insecticide/nematicide seed treatment, Temik® insecticide/nematicide, Trilex® Advanced fungicide seed treatment or Gaucho® Grande seed-applied insecticide

Shared Risk Program crop loss coverage offers options to compensate for:

* LibertyLink® trait portion of FiberMax® cotton seed and Ignite® herbicide used with LibertyLink cotton

* Stance® plant regulator used on FiberMax®, Stoneville® or AFD™ cotton seed varieties

"Bayer CropScience is committed to the success of the cotton grower and is willing to share in the annual risks associated with producing a crop," said Jeff Brehmer, U.S. marketing manager, FiberMax and Stoneville cotton. "Last year, High Plains growers faced wind and blowing sand early in the season, and coastal growers faced hurricane damage before harvest. This year, growers face a drought in the Southwest. The Shared Risk Program is available as a resource to help growers when these situations arise."

Growers must submit claims to the seed dealer from whom the seed was purchased. For a crop loss situation, the dealer must contact their local Bayer CropScience sales representative within 10 days of the loss. The seed dealer must contact the local Bayer CropScience sales representative prior to replant.

For complete program details, contact your local Bayer CropScience sales representative, distributor, retailer or visit www.CottonExperts.com.