Friday November 5 Ag News

Farming After the Flood

Flooding events in 2011 and previous years have greatly impacted America's prime farmland. Floodwaters left sediment and debris, eroded large parts of producers' fields and, in many cases, left land devastated.

"Strategies to rebuild the soil, the foundation of all agricultural production, are essential to ensure that agricultural lands impacted by the floods are productive again," said Congressman Tom Latham (IA-4), co-chair of the Congressional Soils Caucus. "Sediment and debris removal and reconstruction of fields after erosion can be extremely costly. It is essential to have strategies and programs in place that assist producers in this regard."

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) sponsored a Congressional educational briefing, "Farming after the Flood", on October 26th. The briefing focused on the impacts, mitigation approaches, and costs related to farmland flooding. The three speakers providing information on these main aspects of flooding included:

-- Scott Olson, a farmer from Tekamah, Nebraska (NE), discussed the economic and environmental impacts that flooding has had on his family operated corn and soybean farm, as well as on other producers in Burt County, NE located near the Missouri River. Since May 28, Scott has documented the 2011 Missouri River Flood with over 3,000 aerial photographs. You can find photos of the flood at: www.leevalley.net.

-- John Wilson, an extension educator with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, discussed the common problems farmers encounter in post-flood recovery and presented a series of management options for addressing these challenges. John co-leads a team of extension staff from Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to reclaim agricultural land devastated by the 2011 Missouri River Flood. Archives of related webinar presentations are located at: http://flood.unl.edu/crops.

-- James Callan, a crop insurance consultant, provided insight into the Federal crop insurance program that is available to mitigate the negative economic impacts from flooding damage and crop yield losses. James served six years in USDA, from 2003 to 2009, in the capacity of Chief of External Affairs, Associate Administrator, and Acting Administrator of the Risk Management Agency, which collectively administer the multi-billion dollar Federal crop insurance program.

During the briefing, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (NE-1), a member of the Congressional Soils Caucus, stated, "Scott and John are acutely aware of the economic impacts of the flooding and I appreciate that they took the time to visit D.C. to share their experience with members and staff here." He continued, saying "We have spent considerable time with the communities up and down the Missouri River to serve as a conduit of information on the recovery of economic losses incurred from the flood. It seems like the local communities have been working with the State in the good spirit of cooperation that still runs strong in Nebraska."

Many agricultural fields will need to undergo a significant recovery process, including the removal of sediment from fields, if crop yields are to recover. In many cases, the soil is physically damaged; therefore gullies need to be filled and top soil replaced. 'Flooded soil syndrome', a condition which occurs when flooding results in fields devoid of plant roots and decreases soil microbial and fungal populations, is also a serious problem. One way to stimulate soil microbial and fungal activity is to plant cover crops. Cover crops protect the soil from erosion, improve the structure for soil, conserve below-ground moisture, and provide a habitat for soil biology. Federal conservation and insurance programs can help offset some of the costs of mitigating the impacts of flooding. As producers seek to offset their losses from the flood, support for these programs is foremost on their minds. Cooperative extension, education, and research have been fundamental for providing producers with information on how to deal with this unique and devastating situation.



Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center Dedication Nov. 18

The new Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis is now complete with dedication scheduled at 1 p.m. Nov. 18.

Construction began in October 2010 on one of the largest and most innovative building projects in NCTA's history, said Weldon Sleight, dean of the college in Curtis.  "This will not only increase our capacity to produce more students to return to their communities as farmers/ranchers and business owners, but also increase the quality of living and the learning atmosphere at NCTA," Sleight said.

For the last two years, four major projects have been completed at a cost of $15 million. The projects are the Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center, a large addition to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital part of the Dr. Walter Long Veterinary Hospital Addition, the Aggie Central Residence Hall and the Biomass Project designed to heat the campus with red cedar wood chips. In addition, the George and Carol Garlick Aggie West Residence Hall will be recognized.

The Nebraska ag industry, alumni and friends provided substantial financial support for these projects, Sleight said.

"The Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center will be used a lot by the different ag industries in Nebraska that have supported it from the beginning," he said. Industry will use the center for meetings, conferences and educational purposes.  New specialty programs that will encourage and help the students to return to their hometowns and farms are the 100 Beef Cow Advantage Program, the 100 Acre Farm Advantage Program and the Business Builders Program.

For more information about NCTA, visit http://ncta.unl.edu/.



New grain facility in Custer County

The Andersons, an Ohio-based diversified Ag company, broke ground Friday on a new grain elevator facility near Anselmo. Regional Director Jim Cripe says it will be a 110-car shuttle loading site along the Burlington Northern Railroad. It will have a storage capacity for nearly 4 million bushels of corn and soybeans. Producers will be able to dump 24,000 to 30,000 bushels of grain per hour. Cripe says they plan to have 7 to 10 full-time employees and be open in time for the 2012 harvest.

Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy was among the dignitaries participating in the groundbreaking. He said "you can sense the excitement from not only from the Andersons' group but, also the citizens here in Custer County". Custer Economic Development Director Liz Babcock has been working with The Andersons since February. She said it was an ideal location for the elevator because of the amount of grain that is raised and exported out of Custer County. Custer County ranked first in the state in corn production in 2010 according to data from the Nebraska Corn Board.



CHS Expands Soybean Processing Business to Iowa

CHS Inc., St. Paul, a leading energy, grains and foods company, today announced it has acquired Creston Bean Processing, LLC, Creston, Iowa, from DeBruce Grain, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gavilon, LLC, Omaha, Neb. Gavilon is a leading commodity management firm serving the agriculture and energy industries.

Gavilon will act as a purchasing agent for area producers, and will continue to source the more than nine million bushels of soybeans the CHS plant crushes annually from growers and cooperatives in 10 southwestern Iowa counties. Soybean sales for delivery to the CHS Creston plant will be eligible for patronage and will help meet growing protein demand. The crude soybean oil from Creston will be shipped to the CHS Mankato, Minn., soybean refinery, where it will be further processed for human consumption.

CHS supplies baking and snack and other food ingredient markets and industrial customers with soybean oil, soy flour, textured vegetable proteins and soy-based analogs. "Soybeans grown in southern Iowa provide a higher protein component, desired by many of our domestic and international customers," said Tom Malecha, CHS vice president of protein sales, Mankato, Minn.

The acquisition is part of the company's ongoing growth and expansion plans. "Increasing our profile in food and food ingredient markets is one of the company's strategic aspirations," Malecha said. The Creston plant and its 32 employees will become part of CHS Oilseed Processing within the company's Ag Business division.



United States and Canadian Hog Inventory up 1 Percent

This publication is a result of a joint effort by Statistics Canada and NASS to release the total hogs, breeding, market hogs, sows farrowed, and pig crop for both countries within one publication. This information was requested by the United States hog industry to provide producers additional information about potential hog supplies. United States inventory numbers were previously released on September 28, 2011.

United States and Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs for September 2011 was 78.6 million head. This was up 1 percent from September 2010, but down slightly from September 2009. The breeding inventory, at 7.11 million head, was up 1 percent from last year and up slightly from last quarter. Market hog inventory, at 71.5 million head, was up 1 percent from last year and up 3 percent from last quarter. The pig crop, at 36.3 million head, was up 1 percent from 2010 and up 1 percent from 2009. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 3.60 million head, down 2 percent from last year and down 3 percent from 2009.

United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on September 1, 2011 was 66.6 million head. This was up 1 percent from September 1, 2010 but down slightly from September 1, 2009. The breeding inventory, at 5.81 million head, was up 1 percent from last year and up slightly from last quarter. Market hog inventory, at 60.8 million head, was up 1 percent from last year, and up 3 percent from last quarter. The pig crop, at 29.1 million head, was up 1 percent from 2010 and up 1 percent from 2009. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 2.90 million head, down 1 percent from 2010 and down 2 percent from 2009. 

Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs on October 1, 2011 was 12.0 million head. This was up 1 percent from October 1, 2010 and up slightly from October 1, 2009. The breeding inventory, at 1.31 million head, was up slightly from last year and up 1 percent from last quarter. Market hog inventory, at 10.7 million head, was up 1 percent from last year and last quarter. The pig crop, at 7.2 million head, was up 1 percent from 2010 but down 2 percent from 2009. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 699,000 head, down 2 percent from last year and down 5 percent from 2009.



Weak La Nina to Favor Brazil Soy, Corn

A weakened La Nina during the development of Brazil's 2011/12 (Oct/Sept) crops should have a limited impact on the country's soy and corn output, meteorologists said.

After an increase in planted area and in farmers' use of fertilizer, production could reach a record volume, they added.

"At least so far, farmers do not have anything alarming (to worry about related to La Nina)," said Ana Avila, director at Cepagri, a meteorological center linked to Universidade de Campinas, in Sao Paulo state.

Brazil is in the middle of soy and corn planting, and frequent, plentiful rains will still be necessary for at least the next two months for crops to grow properly.

La Nina, a phenomenon characterized by cooler ocean surface temperatures off Peru, affects weather. It tends to cause a later start of the rainy season in Brazil's center-west bread basket, as it did last season when rains started almost a month and a half later than normal.

"Unlike 2010/11, the main characteristic of the La Nina is that it will have a moderate intensity, it will be a 'lighter' version, and also shorter," said Somar meteorologist Marco Antonio dos Santos.

Last time, the La Nina anomaly lasted from June 2010 through the fall of 2011 (April-June). Now, it is expected to begin in the second half of spring (October-December) and last through fall.

"Problems will be minimal," Santos said of the latest La Nina. He said there will possibly be dry periods of 7 to 10 days in the southern portion of Brazil. It could also bring intense, isolated rains during the harvest period in the country's center-west and southeast regions.

But some governmental bodies and private analysts are being cautious about the next soy crop, despite an increase in planted area to around 25 million hectares, with farmers stimulated by high grain prices.

Crop supply agency Conab actually expects a drop in output, citing the return of La Nina. 

The agency will release a revised forecast on Wednesday.

Despite a stronger La Nina last season, Brazil harvested an unprecedented soy crop of more than 75 million tonnes, with record average yield of 3.1 tonnes per hectare.



U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to Convene 22nd Session of U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Chengdu, China

U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk will co-chair the 22nd session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan on November 20-21, in Chengdu, China. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will also take part in the discussions to address key agricultural trade concerns.

"The JCCT is an important opportunity to address and resolve key trade concerns with China," Bryson said. "Our goals are to help open markets to U.S. exports that will improve the lives of the Chinese people, and to work to level the playing field for American companies. Our year-long work on these and other issues on the JCCT agenda will help spur economic growth here at home by increasing exports to China, and help us meet our National Export Initiative goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014."

"The JCCT is a key venue for ensuring that our bilateral trade relationship moves in a positive direction to provide maximum benefits for American workers and businesses," Kirk said. "Through this year's JCCT, we are pressing China for concrete and measurable results on a number of significant issues including China's policies on intellectual property rights, investment and innovation, as well as a range of sector-specific industrial policies."

"Thanks to the productivity of America's farmers, ranchers and producers, our trading partners in China recognize the United States as a reliable supplier of the highest-quality food and agricultural products," Vilsack said. "Partnerships with a growing market like China are integral to the strength of the U.S. economy in the decades ahead. Under the Obama Administration, USDA has continued to expand markets for American goods abroad, worked aggressively to break down barriers to trade, and assisted U.S. businesses with the resources needed to reach consumers around the world."

Established in 1983, the JCCT is the main forum for addressing bilateral trade issues and promoting commercial opportunities between the United States and China. The JCCT holds plenary meetings on an annual basis, while a number of JCCT working groups meet throughout the year in areas such as intellectual property rights, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, information technology, tourism, environment, and statistics.

Last year's JCCT was held in Washington, D.C., and during the meetings China agreed, among other issues, to improve intellectual property rights enforcement, to revise its indigenous innovation policies and to accelerate its accession to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.

China was the largest supplier of U.S. goods imports in 2010 and was the third-largest market for U.S. exports in 2010 (after Canada and Mexico). U.S. goods exports to China were $92 billion in 2010, up 468 percent since 2000. Trade in services with China (exports and imports) totaled $31 billion in 2010; services exports were $21 billion and services imports were $10 billion.



Huelskamp Calls for New Farm Bill Title to Address Overregulation

Congressman Tim Huelskamp, a fifth-generation farmer, announced this morning that he will introduce legislation to add a Regulatory Title to the “Farm Bill.” The Freeing Agriculture to Reap More (FARM) Act will prevent and prohibit job-killing overregulation of agriculture.

“We need to free up America’s farmers and ranchers so they can do their jobs,” Congressman Huelskamp said. “The economic impact of overregulation is so devastating that Congress must target it in the next Farm Bill. Overregulation negatively impacts all agriculture, so it is time Congress address the costs bureaucrats impose through excessive rules, red tape, and requirements.”

“At the 70 in-person town hall meetings I have hosted across the First District of Kansas – one of the largest agriculture districts in the country – time and again I have heard the same concern from farmers: Washington will be the death of them. They are not looking for more handouts from Washington, but rather need Washington to let them operate in the safe and responsible, yet productive, ways they have done for generations. The FARM Act allows our family farms to continue the family tradition without fear of expensive and unnecessary overregulation.”

The FARM Act will perform the following functions:
·         Prohibit regulation of emissions of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
·         Clarify and expand current exemptions for farmers from federal commercial drivers license requirements.
·         Prohibit regulation of farm dust.
·         Permit the continued operation of sweep augers in grain bins.
·         Allow farmers to haul adequate diesel fuel to the field to complete the job for the day.
·         Prohibit the EPA from redefining the terms “navigable waters” and “waters of the United States” so as to impose additional regulations on water.
·         Prohibit the creation of a livestock emissions tax.
·         Increase the threshold for inspection and reporting requirements for animal dealers
·         Prohibit funding for the White House Rural Council.
·         Delay derivatives regulations of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act until a cumulative analysis can be performed.
·         Amend regulations on farm transport that affect transportation of commodities and supplies by and for agricultural purposes.
·         Prohibit the Department of Labor from imposing proposed burdensome regulations relating to youth farm employment.



BASF Joins Farmers Alliance to Enhance Trust in Agriculture

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) announced that BASF is participating in USFRA as a member of its Industry Partners Council (IPC). BASF joins a national farmer- and rancher-led effort to enhance public trust in today's agriculture.

"USFRA is proud to have partners like BASF supporting our mission to enhance consumer trust in the U.S. food production system, maintain and enhance the freedom of U.S. farmers and ranchers to operate in a responsible manner, and strengthen collaboration within the food production, processing and distribution systems," said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau and Chairman of USFRA. "It is critical that the entire agriculture industry unite to build public trust in the U.S. food system."

As a member of the IPC, BASF supports the mission, goals and objectives of USFRA. IPC members have the opportunity to participate in USFRA committees/task forces and the annual meeting, and support USFRA educational activities.

"BASF is proud to join with the farmers and ranchers of America in this important effort to enhance public trust in today's agriculture," said Nevin McDougall, Senior Vice President of BASF Crop Protection, North America. "It is more important than ever that U.S. consumers feel absolutely confident in whatever food choice they wish to make."

USFRA's members represent nearly all aspects of U.S. agriculture uniting with one voice. The Alliance focuses on enhancing consumer trust in today's food production through education and communication with consumer influencers and thought leaders. An important Alliance goal is to lead the conversation about the industry's commitment to continuous improvement and the importance of today's agriculture.