Wednesday December 28 Ag News

Environmental Lawsuits Could Have Major Impact in 2012

The National Corn Growers Association is currently involved in two major pieces of environmental litigation that will likely be decided in federal court in 2012. This could have major implications for future environmental regulations.

Earlier this year, NCGA joined with the American Farm Bureau Federation and other agricultural organizations to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency's Total Maximum Daily Load for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment in the Chesapeake Bay. The farm groups stated the Chesapeake Bay TMDL goes beyond the scope of Clean Water Act authority, that the science used by the Agency is flawed and that the regulatory process lacked transparency. The case has been filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania.

The outcome of this lawsuit could establish significant precedent for future water quality regulations throughout the country. Many corn growers are concerned that the Chesapeake Bay TMDL could be used as a blueprint for addressing nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment runoff in the Mississippi River Basin and other watersheds. In recent months, EPA has begun to publicly question its own confidence in the agency's water quality modeling, particularly for establishing localized nutrient allocations.

The second lawsuit involves pesticide registrations and their potential impact on endangered species. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a suit against EPA in 2011 alleging that the agency failed to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service on hundreds of pesticide registrations potentially affecting hundreds of species.

EPA has lost similar cases in recent years and federal judges have often established buffer zones and product restrictions until interagency consultations between EPA, FWS and NMFS could be conducted. NCGA and other agricultural organizations are interveners in the CBD case to ensure that growers have a seat at the table in any potential settlement negotiations.



Insurers Worry That 2012 Will Top Past Year's Weather Disasters

From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather.  While it is too early to predict what 2012 will be like, insurers and weather prediction agencies point to a clear trend: the world’s weather is becoming more extreme and more costly.

A La Niña event in the Pacific Ocean is expected to last well into 2012. The phenomenon is a cooling of waters in the central Pacific and has a global impact on weather.  Forecasters expect it to bring above-average rains to northern and eastern Australia and more cyclones than normal during the Australian November-April storm season. La Niña events also tend to strengthen the Atlantic hurricane season.

Colorado State University researchers expect an above-average hurricane season if conditions that bring warmer than usual tropical water temperatures in the Atlantic continue and there are no major El Nino events.  Winter across Europe and the United States is also expected to be milder, forecasters say.



Dry Outlook for S. Brazil, Argentina

Brazil's southernmost soy state Rio Grande do Sul will have little rain in the next fortnight, forecaster Somar said on Wednesday, putting the newly sown crop there at greater peril of losses while Argentina's soy regions also remain dry.  The No.3 soy state in Brazil, the world's No.2 soy producer, sows its crop later than many others, a factor that may still help it dodge disaster even if rains keep away for a while longer.

"There is some rain coming (to Rio Grande do Sul) but it is not the kind of rain that would resolve the problem," Somar meteorologist Celso Oliveira said.  "The pattern of rain and drought will continue for at least two weeks," Oliveira said, referring to erratic weather caused by the La Nina anomaly over the Pacific bringing abundant rain to key soy regions further north while leaving the far south bereft of moisture.

In Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul, whose crop is more advanced than Rio Grande do Sul, Somar data showed rain would pick up in the next few days, bringing some relief to an area that has had less than half the usual rain for December so far this month.  "Brazil is in a complicated situation. (The rain) is badly distributed, raining too much or not arriving at all in places," Oliveira said.

The No.1 Brazilian soy-producer state, Mato Grosso, has seen more adequate weather and will need a certain amount of dryness to ensure machinery can enter the fields to begin harvesting due to start within days.

There is still no forecast for rain in any key soy areas in neighboring Argentina, the world's No.3 soy grower and biggest exporter of many soy-derived products.



Crop Scout Cuts S. America Crop Size
Widely followed crop scout Michael Cordonnier has cut his estimates for South American corn and soybean production for 2011/12 and indicated further reductions may be necessary.  "Certainly this is an ominous forecast and if it verifies it would cause more harm to the crops and begin to stress soybeans when they're flowering and setting pods," Cordonnier said.

Cordonnier said he cut his outlook for Brazilian corn production to 60 million tonnes from his previous forecast for 63 million and reduced Argentine corn production to 27 million tonnes from his previous outlook for 28.0 million.

"Corn production is cut more than soybeans. It has been dry when corn is pollinating in Brazil's Rio Grande do sul and west Parana," Cordonnier said.

Cordonnier trimmed his forecast for Brazilian soybean production to 74.0 million tonnes from his previous outlook for 75.0 million and pegged Aregentina's soy output at 53.0 million compared with 53.5 million previously.

The U.S. Department of Agrculture (USDA) in early December pegged Brazilian corn output at 61.0 million tonnes and Argentine corn output at 29.0 million.  USDA's current forecast for Brazilian soy for 2011/12 is 75.0 million tonnes and for Argentina 52.0 million.



Branstad, Reynolds Announce IRS Rule for Flooded Homeowners

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has approved the Branstad/Reynolds Administration's request for a temporary waiver of income restrictions on federal housing tax credit properties throughout the state to assist Iowans who may have been displaced by the Missouri River flooding last summer. The Iowa Finance Authority administers the federal housing tax credit program in Iowa and a listing of properties is available at: www.IowaFinanceAuthority.gov/EmergencyHousing.

"The IRS approval of our request for affordable housing relief means that hundreds of Iowans who may have been displaced by the Missouri River flooding, but may not have been income-qualified to live at a federal housing tax property now have that option," said Branstad. "Lieutenant Governor Reynolds and I are committed to providing flood-impacted Iowans with the essential tools they need to successfully rebuild a safe, decent and affordable place to call home."

"Having adequate housing is at the core of strong families and vibrant communities. By allowing Iowans who have been displaced by the floods access to hundreds of affordable housing properties throughout the state, we're arming them with a tool that will be vital in their rebuilding process," said Lt. Governor Reynolds.

Eligible Iowans must have resided in one of the five counties that were designated for Individual Assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during the period of May 25, 2011, to August 1, 2011. These counties include: Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona and Pottawattamie counties.

More than 1,200 Iowans have registered for FEMA Individual Assistance as of December 19, 2011.



Mountain Lion Shot in Monona County

An adult male mountain lion was shot and killed right before Christmas by local law enforcement officers in the Monona County city of Blencoe.

The Blencoe police chief and a Monona County Sheriff's Deputy responded to a citizen's call regarding the mountain lion around midnight on Friday. After finding the lion in a tree in the northwest part of town, the officers shot the lion.

The lion will be analyzed to determine its age, what it has been feeding on as well as DNA tests to try and determine its place of origin. The lion will eventually be mounted and used as a display somewhere in Monona County.

Iowa law does not provide wildlife protection to mountain lions.

Mountain lion sightings have been documented periodically in Iowa and DNR biologists believe that most of the lions seen here are likely young males that have been pushed from their native areas by older, dominant males. The lion likely came from a state west of Iowa.

Generally a mountain lion will sense human presence before humans know they are in the area and the mountain lions will quickly vacate the area.

Sightings of a mountain lion can be reported to local law enforcement or to DNR conservation officers.



Iowa Chicken and Egg Numbers Up

Egg production in Iowa for November 2011 was 1.19 billion eggs, up 2 percent from October 2010, according to the Chickens and Eggs report released by USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.  The total number of layers on hand during November 2011 was 52.3 million, up from 51.7 million layers in November 2010.  Eggs per 100 layers for the month of November was 2,241 eggs, up from 2,210 eggs the previous year.

USDA:  November Egg Production Up 1 Percent
United States egg production totaled 7.61 billion during November 2011, up 1 percent from last year. Production included 6.62 billion table eggs, and 999 million hatching eggs, of which 932 million were broiler-type and 67 million were egg-type. The total number of layers during November 2011 averaged 338 million, down slightly from last year. November egg production per 100 layers was 2,253 eggs, up 1 percent from November 2010.
                                   
All layers in the United States on December 1, 2011 totaled 338 million, down 1 percent from last year. The 338 million layers consisted of 286 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 50.1 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs, and 2.78 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on December 1, 2011, averaged 75.4 eggs per 100 layers, up 1 percent from December 1, 2010.

Egg-Type Chicks Hatched Down 3 Percent
Egg-type chicks hatched during November 2011 totaled 37.5 million, down 3 percent from November 2010. Eggs in incubators totaled 40.1 million on December 1, 2011, up 6 percent from a year ago.

Domestic placements of egg-type pullet chicks for future hatchery supply flocks by leading breeders totaled 218 thousand during November 2011, down 17 percent from November 2010.

Broiler-Type Chicks Hatched Down 5 Percent
Broiler-type chicks hatched during November 2011 totaled 704 million, down 5 percent from November 2010. Eggs in incubators totaled 609 million on December 1, 2011, down 5 percent from a year earlier.

Leading breeders placed 6.89 million broiler-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during November 2011, down 9 percent from November 2010.



Urea Prices Head Back to Earth

As has been the case the past three weeks, declining fertilizer prices are continuing, according to retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the third week of December. While commodity prices have rebounded recently, fertilizer prices have continued to decline during this time. 

Seven of the eight major fertilizers had lower prices compared to the third week of November. Urea featured a 9% decline in price compared to last month. The fertilizer now has an average price of $573 per ton.  The remaining six fertilizers with lower prices compared to a month earlier had relatively small decreases in price. DAP had an average price of $690/ton, MAP $729/ton, potash $658/ton, anhydrous $805/ton, UAN28 $394/ton (its first drop below $400/ton since the fourth week of August 2011) and UAN32 $448/ton.

The remaining fertilizer, 10-34-0, showed a slight increase in price compared to the third week of November. The starter fertilizer had an average price of $830/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.62/lb.N, anhydrous $0.49/lb.N, UAN28 $0.70/lb.N and UAN32 $0.70/lb.N.

Even with recent price relief, latecomers will be paying significantly more than they did a year ago. Six of the eight major fertilizers show double-digit increases in price compared to one year earlier. Leading the way higher is 10-34-0. The starter fertilizer has skyrocketed early this year before retreating some in recent months. It is now 40% higher compared to the third week of December 2010.  Urea has jumped 20%, potash 17%, UAN32 15%, UAN28 14% higher and anhydrous 12% higher compared to year earlier.  The two phosphorus fertilizers continue to bring up the rear. MAP is 6% more expensive while DAP is 4% higher compared to December of 2010.



EPA Releases Final '12 RFS Volumes

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday released the long-awaited 2012 Renewable Fuels Standard volume requirements after a nearly one-month delay from its deadline.

The RFS targets were established by the Energy Independence and Security Act signed into law in December 2007, with volume requirements for the upcoming compliance year due by Nov. 30. Last week, an EPA spokeswoman said the delay was caused by an internal review of the rule.

The total RFS volume requirement for 2012 is 15.2 billion gallons, or 9.23%, of the projected demand for petroleum-based fuels next year. Of that total, 1.0 billion gallons, or 0.91%, of the RFS mandate must be satisfied with biomass-based diesel. Advanced biofuels constitute 2.0 billion gallons, or 1.21%, of the total, with cellulosic biofuels accounting for 8.65 million gallons, or 0.006%, of the 2012 RFS mandate.

Overall, the RFS will require refiners to blend more than 1.25 billion gallons of renewable fuels over the amount mandated for 2011. EPA also noted that during the spring the agency proposed a volume requirement of 1.28 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel for 2013 even though the RFS specifies a 1.0 billion gallon minimum volume requirement for that category for 2013 and beyond. However, EISA enables the EPA to increase the volume requirement after consideration of a variety of environmental, market and energy-related factors. EPA said it would continue to evaluate comments from stakeholders on the proposed biomass-based diesel volume for 2013 and will take final action next year.

The RFS target steadily increases to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year. Based on the standard, each refiner and importer must determine the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel.