Friday October 28 Ag News

Nebraska Cattlemen Do Not Support Proposed Child Labor Regulations    

Early and extensive training of younger generations is vital to the future of the beef cattle industry. Nebraska Cattlemen understands this concept which is why they submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor opposing the proposed child labor regulations.

Nebraska Cattlemen opposes these regulations because rather than trying to find safety solutions; the U.S. Department of Labor has opted, by regulation, to effectively prohibit young workers from being employed in agriculture at all. No longer would a child under the age of 18 be able to work at a grain elevator or sale barn. A child under the age of 16 would not be able to drive any power operated machinery, work in a grain silo or herd livestock. “Without these types of experiences people become further disconnected with food production and its role in their daily lives,” states Chuck Folken, Nebraska Cattlemen President.

Perhaps most concerning to Nebraska Cattlemen is the erosion of the parental exemption which allows children to be employed at any age and perform any task if employed by their own parents. Under the proposed regulations a child will not qualify for this exemption if they are employed by a business entity that is not wholly owned by their parent(s). “Modern agriculture is taking advantage of the tax and liability benefits from organizing as a business entity,” says Folken; “just because it is now Brother & Brother, Inc. should not prevent their own children from being able to work for them.”

Nebraska Cattlemen also believes the proposed regulations do not recognize the dramatic improvements in agriculture machinery safety such as rollover guards and operator presence technology. The proposed regulations do not take into account the vast adoption of low stress handling techniques for livestock which increase safety, practices like those advocated in the Beef Quality Assurance program.



Waterhemp Population Shows Resistant to 2,4-D Herbicide

A waterhemp population from southeast Nebraska has been confirmed to be resistant to 2,4-D herbicide.  The resistant population is believed to be limited to a few fields, but weed scientists are concerned because this is the sixth weed treatment to which waterhemp has become resistant.  "This is the first weed that's had resistance to six modes of action in the United States," said Mark Bernards, until recently a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension weed specialist who's now at Western Illinois University.

UNL Extension received a report in 2009 of a warm-season grass field with a waterhemp population no longer controlled by 2,4-D. Extension specialists collected seed from the field in 2009 and 2010 and tested it, finding it was 10-fold more resistant to 2,4-D than other waterhemp populations.

Waterhemp is the predominant pigweed (Amaranthus) species in eastern and south central Nebraska fields and is problematic throughout much of the Corn Belt. It is well adapted to reduced tillage cropping systems that rely primarily on herbicides for weed control. Waterhemp has succeeded because it emerges from May through August, allowing late emerging plants to avoid herbicides.

In an article in UNL Extension's Crop Watch newsletter, Greg Kruger, UNL Extension cropping systems specialist, and Bernards noted there is concern about waterhemp populations that become resistant to three or more herbicide types. "When populations with multiple-herbicide resistance are then managed with the one or two remaining herbicide mechanisms-of-action that are still effective, the likelihood of the population evolving resistance to those herbicides is high," they wrote.

The herbicide use pattern in the field where the resistant population was collected  included an annual burndown application of atrazine, metolachlor, and 2,4-D followed by a postemergence application of 2,4-D. Research is underway at UNL to determine whether this waterhemp population has developed resistance to additional herbicide mechanisms-of-action.

The findings have broad implications, Bernards said.  "New technologies that confer resistance to 2,4-D and dicamba are being developed to provide additional herbicide options for postemergence weed control in soybean and cotton, but the development of 2,4-D resistant waterhemp in this field is a reminder and a caution that these new technologies, if used as the primary tool to manage weeds already resistant to other herbicides such as glyphosate, atrazine or ALS-inhibitors, will eventually result in new herbicide resistant populations evolving. This will limit the value of those technologies to farmers," he said.

To minimize the risk of developing herbicide-resistant weeds, they recommended:
-- rotating effective herbicide mechanisms of action,
-- tank-mixing multiple effective herbicides and
-- using effective doses.

Where possible, they added, it's best to use an integrated weed management plan that also includes non-chemical weed control options such as crop rotation and tillage. Farmers should carefully monitor fields for changes in susceptibility to the herbicides being used and contact a UNL Extension office when resistance is suspected. If multiple plants survive in a field, and that species is known to have developed resistance elsewhere to herbicides used in that field, it may be prudent to remove the survivors before they produce seed.



Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results

Omaha-based Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE) announced today its financial results for the third quarter of 2011. Net income attributable to Green Plains for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 was $12.4 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, compared to $7.4 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the same period in 2010. Revenues were $957.0 million for the third quarter of 2011 compared to $496.1 million during the same period in 2010.

"All of our business segments performed well, resulting in higher net income and earnings per share this quarter compared with the third quarter of 2010 and last quarter," said Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Non-ethanol operating income from the corn oil production, agribusiness, and marketing and distribution segments was $13.7 million in the third quarter, or 40% of total segment operating income. We set a goal to diversify our business model to provide our shareholders with more predictable and recurring income streams and this quarter continues the momentum we started earlier this year. We remain confident that we will reach our goal of $50 million of annual operating income from these segments. Corn oil production contributed a record $9.6 million in operating income and our agribusiness segment performed well as our Tennessee operations benefited from an excellent local soft wheat harvest."

"Our ethanol production margins were more robust than expected, due in large part to our strategy to secure physical corn supply to each of our plants while waiting to opportunistically lock margins. This approach, along with our continued focus on efficient plant operations, generated our highest level of quarterly operating income for the ethanol production segment this year," commented Becker. "We continue to expect our overall profitability to improve in the fourth quarter as a result of seasonal activity from the agribusiness segment. Ethanol production should also have a good finish for the year, although securing some of the early-harvested corn has been challenging as demonstrated by basis levels that are unprecedented for this time of the year."

"We are excited about the successful completion of the first round of poultry feed trials for algae strains produced by BioProcess Algae at our Shenandoah plant," stated Becker. "We continue to invest in algae production technology with a focus on reducing production costs and developing new markets for algae, including human nutrition, animal feed and biofuels."

Revenues for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2011 were $2.6 billion compared to $1.4 billion for the same period of 2010. Net income attributable to Green Plains for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2011 was $25.2 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, compared to net income of $31.6 million, or $1.05 per diluted share, for the same period of 2010.



Impact of Canal Expansion on U.S. Grain and Soybean Exports

The Panama Canal set a new record for total cargo volume – 322 million tons – in fiscal 2011, outstripping 2010’s volume by 7.1 percent and breaking the previous record, set in 2007, by 2.9 percent.

A transportation study by the United Soybean Board (USB) projects that the total volume of soybean and grain traffic through the canal will increase by 30 percent when the canal opens a third lane of locks in 2014. This new larger, shipping lane will expand the average area for barge transport from 70 to over 150 miles. And assuming the ports will dredge to ensure passage of larger ships, the expansion is expected to save about $.35 cents per bushel on transportation costs for elevators within range of the central Gulf of Mexico ports.

The canal’s increased capacity will also allow a Panama ship originating in southern Louisiana to load an additional 13,300 metric tons (524,000 bushels) of corn per trip, increasing each shipment’s value by about $3.4 million.  The USB analysis indicates the total volume of grain and soybeans transiting the Panama Canal will increase 30 percent (426 million bushels) by 2020/2021.



Advanced ethanol companies press Ag Committees on Farm Bill

In a letter to Senate and House ag leaders, the Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) urged the current farm bill discussion to include extensions and smart modifications to a number of important rural energy initiatives currently being administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Specifically, AEC Executive Director Brooke Coleman pressed lawmakers on three specific provisions:

• Extend the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Loan Guarantee program for biorefinery projects, but improve critical provisions of the program to more effectively facilitate participation by lending institutions.

• Support USDA’s efforts to build out ethanol refueling infrastructure via the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to allow ethanol to compete in the market based on price. This will facilitate market access that is critical to the ongoing development and deployment of advanced ethanol fuels.

• Reform the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) to increase cost effectiveness and better encourage and “de-risk” energy crop production for the advanced biofuel sector, including efforts to preserve the environmental benefits of land coming out of conservation programs by incenting sustainable energy crop production.

“The next generation of the U.S. ethanol industry is just beginning to break ground on first commercial projects across the country, and while the Energy Title currently accounts for less than 1 percent of total budgetary outlays for the 2008 Farm Bill, many of these programs will be critical to existing and future advanced ethanol development projects,” wrote Coleman.

Additionally, members of the AEC expressed interest in working with lawmakers to modify the Repowering Assistance program to help existing biorefining operations deploy advanced ethanol technologies and feedstock utilization.  Many emerging advanced ethanol technologies will provide value to existing ethanol production facilities by diversifying feedstocks and improving efficiencies as well as creating new opportunities as stand alone facilities.

“We are aware that the funding available for the new Farm Bill will be reduced significantly,” wrote Coleman.  “That said, we look forward to thinking creatively with you about comprehensive solutions that cut cost but continue to provide meaningful value to an emerging advanced ethanol industry.”



DDGS Sales Summary

Thirty-eight countries around the world have purchased U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as of August this year, and January-to-August totals show sales on the increase in 28 of those countries, reports the U.S. Grains Council.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding China’s DDGS antidumping case, Chinese imports totaled almost 805,000 metric tons, making China the number two DDGS market for the period. Nearly 1.3 million tons in purchases, a 16 percent increase, moved Mexico into the number one position.

Filling out the top 10 purchasers are Canada (520,000 tons), Vietnam (307,000 tons), Japan (215,000 tons), South Korea (193,000 tons), Indonesia (172,000 tons), Thailand (152,000 tons), Israel (146,000 tons), and Ireland (140,000 tons).

Five countries posted triple-digit increases in DDGS sales during the eight months: United Kingdom, Spain, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Jordan and the increased sales to Spain and the U.K. helped the U.S. more than double its DDGS exports to the European Union (from 190,000 tons to 410,000 tons).



Ritchie Industries Earns IFBF Entrepreneur of Month Award

A Conrad company focused on providing fresh water for livestock has earned the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation's (IFBF) Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur of the Month award.

Ritchie Industries started in Oskaloosa in 1921 when Thomas Ritchie patented his first watering device. He connected underground running water to automatic float-controlled watering equipment. The water was heated with a kerosene lamp, saving farmers time and labor.

As the countryside grew, the business worked with the local rural electric cooperative as it installed electricity to area farms. Even though technology and farming practices have changed, the need for waterers remains strong for livestock farmers. The company was purchased and moved to Conrad in 1943. Today, the company focuses on providing equipment to the beef cattle, dairy and equine industries; selling to customers all over the United States and Canada.

While the company's reach is wide, it remains committed to its 65 employees and local community.

"They (Ritchie Industries) made the investment to stay and grow and be a part of our community and county," said Brian Feldpausch, Grundy County Farm Bureau president, who nominated the company for the award. "They also support ag education in our schools and donate to the library. They're a mainstay and add support for future growth (here)."



Producers Invited to ISU Beef Nutrition Research Showcase

People who attend Iowa State University (ISU) football games and who also are interested in beef research have a unique opportunity awaiting them on the date of the final home ISU football game on Nov. 18. ISU's Iowa Beef Center and beef nutrition faculty and staff are planning the "Beef Nutrition Research Pre-game Showcase" beginning that morning.

ISU Extension and Outreach beef program specialist Joe Sellers said organizers hope that having the showcase the same day as the night football game will enable more people to attend and learn about the research being done at ISU.

"The research showcase is just that -- a look at the wide variety of research happening at Iowa State," he said. "The event will run from about 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., giving everyone plenty of time to attend pre-game activities before the 8 p.m. kickoff."

The showcase begins and ends at the Beef Nutrition farm, and will be held rain or shine. The farm is located at 3405 North Dakota Ave., approximately 4 miles north of the Highway 30/South Dakota Avenue interchange on the southwest corner of Ames.

"The showcase starts with registration at the farm from 10:30 to 11 a.m. and then we'll divide into smaller groups for an on-farm tour with several stops," Sellers said. "About noon, bus transportation will be provided to Kildee Hall on campus for lunch and more presentations. Following the final session, buses will return people to the farm."

Before the morning tour begins, attendees can watch a demonstration of a Teagle Tomahawk 8080WB bale shredder and talk with farm manager Jim Dahlquist. Staff and faculty will provide information on a number of topics, including feed efficiency in beef cattle, an overview of grazing research at the farm, and dealing with high sulfur diets.

Assistant professor of animal science Stephanie Hansen said several students also will be part of the event.

"Four graduate students and two undergrads will present current information about the research projects they're working on, ranging from testing for sulfur concentration of ethanol coproducts to using calcium oxide treated stover in feedlot cattle diets," she said. "They're excited to share what they've learned and how results could benefit producers."

Thanks to sponsorship from Elanco Animal Health and Titan Machinery, the entire Beef Nutrition Research Pre-game Showcase is free. However, it's important to preregister to assure adequate transportation, materials and meal counts for attendees. Please preregister by emailing beefcenter@iastate.edu or calling 515-294-2333 with the name and address of each attendee no later than Nov. 11.



Expanding Trade One Handshake at a Time
Sam Brownback, Governor, State of Kansas

Business is often built on relationships rather than contracts. Many deals have been made on a handshake. Realistically, in today’s world, you still need the contract to complete the deal. However, building a strong relationship and a great deal of trust must come before that contract is even a possibility.

I recently returned from a great trip to Russia and Kazakhstan with Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman and ranchers from Kansas, Colorado and Montana. While there, we toured ranches and spoke with producers and government leaders about what we can do to open up their countries to more agricultural trade from Kansas and the rest of the United States.

My goal for this trip was to begin developing these relationships. By laying the foundations for trade, we allow American farmers, ranchers and agribusiness do what they do best –– produce the superior livestock, beef and other agriculture products that other countries demand.

This trip focused on livestock genetics. Russia and Kazakhstan are oil-producing countries looking to build their agriculture sectors. Both countries have what we would consider to be small cow herds. In the last few years, they have been buying live, registered cattle as seed stock to rebuild their herds.

Russia and Kazakhstan are looking around the world for genetics, but they want the best. There’s no doubt in my mind the best livestock genetics in the world reside in the United States. This is a great opportunity for American ranches to take advantage of the multi-generation investment they have made in developing superior genetics in their cattle.

In 2007, live animal exports from the U.S. to Russia were $150,000. Since then, trips like the one I just returned from have focused on increasing U.S. livestock genetic exports to Russia. Live animal exports in the 10 months available for fiscal year 2011 are a record $21 million.

In our visits with people in Russia and Kazakhstan, we encouraged them to consider expanding from live, purebred cattle to also consider U.S. commercial genetics, embryos and semen. Cattle are just the first step. Russia and Kazakhstan also need our animal health and ranch management expertise to succeed in the beef business. On our trip, we also discussed a need for farm equipment and feed ingredients.

The world population is growing at a tremendous rate, and more people than ever are entering the middle class. With this, there will be greater demand for quality beef. Russia’s meat and poultry demand is expected to increase by approximately 14 percent in the next few years. We need to take advantage of this growing demand, both as American ranchers looking to do business and agriculturists looking to feed a growing world population.

I’m pleased that both Russia and Kazakhstan have asked us to develop memorandums of understanding, solidifying their positive trade relationships with Kansas. My hope is the relationships we are building and the groundwork we’re laying today will go beyond creating beneficial trade opportunities in the short term and set Kansas and the United States up at the forefront of these efforts to feed the world.



South Korea to Miss Trade Pact Deadline

South Korea's ruling party on Friday rejected opposition demands for changes to a free trade deal with the United States but said it would not use its parliamentary majority to push through the pact before the self-imposed deadline of end-October.

The conservative Grand National Party had said it would try to pass the trade bill this week, adding pressure on the main opposition Democratic Party to accept what had been its initiative, negotiated and signed when it was in power in 2007.

"We have done all we conscientiously could to try to listen to the Democratic Party's demands," GNP chairman of the parliamentary trade committee, Nam Kyung-pil said. "But a renegotiation is just not possible."

The Democratic Party has demanded a renegotiation with the United States to fix what it said was an imbalance in national interests. The two sides reworked the deal last year to address U.S. automakers' concerns that the original pact would not help open the South Korean market quickly enough.

The ruling GNP has a comfortable parliamentary majority to pass bills but has been unwilling to risk political damage by pushing the trade bill through ahead of a general parliamentary and presidential elections next year.

Pressure has been on the South Korean government of President Lee Myung-bak to get the pact ratified by parliament after the U.S. Congress approved it two weeks ago and President Barack Obama signed it with two other U.S. trade deals.

The deal was the biggest U.S. trade pact since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect in 1994.

Some studies said the deal could boost $67 billion two-way trade between the allies by as much as a quarter. Despite charges that it gives the U.S. auto industry a major inroad into the South Korean market, Korean car makers stand to gain with a swift and greater access to the United States.

U.S. farmers are expected to be big winners under the agreement, with more than $1.8 billion a year in increased exports to South Korea.

The bill faces tough resistance by South Korean farmers who back a politically powerful lobby. They say government assurances of protecting their livelihood fall far short.



Is Agriculture Giving Enough?
Tim Lust, CEO, National Sorghum Producers

Powerful numbers, powerful industry:
·         $370 billion in products in 2011;
·         $284 billion spent to produce those goods;
·         delivering the building blocks for almost every bite of food you take;
·         creating the fibers of at least one item of clothing you’re wearing right now;
·         supporting some 21 million jobs in the U.S.

Agriculture is a bright spot in an otherwise dreary economy. While the rest of the nation struggles to stay in the black, agriculture’s net grew by more than 17 percent last year. This is a good mark for an industry that is absolutely necessary, whether profitable or not, since it provides a reliable food supply for the world.

Now, the agriculture policies which have historically supported this industry, have been well under budget, and have contributed more than $15 billion in directed budget savings since 2006, are offering $23 billion more in cuts to aid the crucial work of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Is it enough?

Critics of farm policy argue that agriculture is a very healthy industry that does not deserve government support while the rest of the country suffers. But one must really understand the risks inherent to the very necessary business of growing food, fiber and fuel before tossing agriculture policy to the wolves. As with everything, there are two sides to the story.

Farmers shoulder extraordinary risk every year to produce a crop under scenarios that would make any small business owner quake in her shoes.

A farmer controls neither input costs nor market prices. Input costs are determined largely upon the oil market because common inputs are inexorably linked to petroleum for their production and slow to respond to changes in that market. Commodity markets are volatile and cyclical, wildly swinging from day to day, and even more dramatically over the six months between planting and harvest. When the farmer does harvest his crop, he may be forced to take that day’s market price regardless of the likelihood it will be higher tomorrow. Furthermore, in a long-term period of depressed prices, the farmer has no recourse but to sell his crop low, even if input costs that year were at historic highs. Every decision is a gamble.

Between planting and harvest, the farmer has no control over that most critical variable, weather. From March to November, every cloud could bring nourishing rain or devastating hail. A string of sunny days could either bake the ground to a crust too hard for seedlings to break through, or at just the right time, facilitate the healthy development of a panicle of sorghum. A cool spell just before harvest could reduce grain quality – and price – by more than half. A farmer watches the weather forecast with the same hope and apprehension of a Rangers fan watching the World Series, but the stakes are much higher.

Because farmers take on such massive input costs – hundreds of dollars for each bag of seed, thousands for fertilizer and a half-million for one piece of harvest equipment – they depend each year on operating loans from local lenders. Just like when you purchase a home, the banker requires income assurance.

Farmers provide that in a variety of ways. One of them is insurance, another has historically been direct production flexibility payments. The matrix of farm programs encompassed in the farm bill provide a farmer with certainty that the loan he takes out for this year’s crop won’t be the reason he loses his business to the bank if a July thunderstorm decimates his cotton.

Without a level of economic security provided by farm policy, one bad year can destroy a farmer’s business, and along with it, the goods he contributes back to the physical and economic wellbeing of this country. With a rapidly aging population of only 210,000 full time farmers providing 80 percent of the nation’s agricultural output, every business counts. When an American farmer goes out of business, the thin green line separating the U.S. from importing its food the same way we import our oil, grows ever thinner.

The risk of relying on other nations for food security is too great. America’s farm policy is being refined right now to do more with less – more than 20 percent less. Despite zealous criticism, this one economic bright spot in the U.S. economy does warrant the continued support of the people of the United States. Through the most efficient, effective means possible, even as it sacrifices more than its fair share for deficit reduction, agriculture policy is worth sustaining.