Friday January 6 Ag News

NE Corn Board to Meet

The Nebraska Corn Board will hold its next meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at the Holiday Inn-Downtown in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The Board will address regular board business.  The meeting is open to the public.  A copy of the agenda is available by writing the Nebraska Corn Board, PO Box 95107, Lincoln, NE  68509, or calling either 402/471-2676 or 800-NECORN1.   The Nebraska Corn Board is a self-help program, funded and managed by Nebraska corn farmers.  Producers invest in the program at a rate of ¼ of a cent per bushel of corn sold.  Nebraska corn checkoff funds are invested in programs of market development, research and education.



Informa Lowers US Corn, Soybean Estimate

Private analytical firm Informa Economics on Friday lowered its outlook for the U.S. corn crop and soy harvest, according to traders.  Informa, a closely watched crop forecaster, lowered its estimate for the corn harvest to 12.34 billion bushels from the 12.549 billion bushels forecast in November, traders said. The firm trimmed its yield estimate to 147.0 bushels an acre, they said.  Informa lowered its estimate for the soybean harvest to 3.08 billion bushels from 3.082 billion bushels in November, traders said. It pegged the average yield at 41.8 bushels an acre, unchanged from its previous projection.

In November, the USDA put the U.S. corn crop at 12.310 billion bushels using a yield of 146.7 bushels an acre, and soybean output at 3.046 billion using a yield of 41.3 bushels an acre.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release updated figures Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT).

Informa on Friday also cut its forecast for corn output in Argentina, the world's second-largest exporter of the grain, due to hot, dry weather.  Informa lowered its estimate for Argentina's corn crop to 24 million tons from its previous estimate of 27 million tons, traders said. The USDA last month projected the crop at 29 million tons.  Informa trimmed its estimate for Argentina's soybean crop to 51 million tons, below the USDA's December estimate of 52 million, traders said. Soybeans are planted after corn and haven't yet entered their critical growing period, as corn has.

Informa pegged soybean production in Brazil, the world's second-largest soybean exporter, at 72 million tons, down 1.6 million from its previous estimate and below the USDA's December estimate of 75 million, traders said. Traders had worried heat and dryness could creep north to southern Brazil from Argentina.



EIA releases monthly production data for October 2011

Energy Information Administration data shows an average of 906,000 b/d were produced by US ethanol plants in the month of October, 2011.  That was up 18,000 b/d from September.  Through October, ethanol production was averaging 901,000 b/d.  Stocks of ethanol in October stood at 18.1 million barrels, representing 19.7 days in reserve based upon RFA calculations of 841,000 b/d of domestic demand.  EIA also reported imports of ethanol totaling 21.3 million gallons and U.S. ethanol exports of 121.6 million gallons. 



Renewables Represent Growing Share of U.S. Energy Production

Data from the DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows renewable energy sources continue to grow rapidly while outpacing the growth rates of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

According to EIA data for the first nine months of 2011, renewable energy sources   including biomass, biofuels, geothermal, solar, water and wind   provided nearly 12 percent of domestic U.S. energy production, compared to just less than 11 percent for the same period in 2010 and 10.33 percent in 2009. By comparison, nuclear power provided 10.62 percent of the nation's energy production in the first three quarters of 2011, about 11 percent less than renewables.

Looking at electricity, transportation, and thermal, renewable energy output, including hydropower, grew by 14.44 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. Among the renewable energy sources, conventional hydropower provided 4.35 percent of domestic energy production during the first nine months of 2011, followed by biomass (3.15 percent), biofuels (2.57 percent), wind (1.45 percent), geothermal (0.29 percent) and solar (0.15 percent).

Meanwhile, renewable sources accounted for 9.35 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, including oil and other energy imports, during the first three quarters of 2011.

The EIA says renewable energy sources, including biomass, geothermal, solar, water and wind, provided 12.73 percent of net U.S. electrical generation, an increase of nearly 25 percent compared to the same nine-month period in 2010. By comparison, electrical generation from coal dropped by 4.2 percent while nuclear output declined by 2.8 percent. Natural gas electrical generation rose by 1.6 percent.

Conventional hydropower accounted for 8.21 percent of net electrical generation during the first nine months of 2011 - an increase of 29.6 percent compared to 2010. Non-hydro renewables accounted for 4.52 percent of net electrical generation (wind - 2.73 percent, biomass - 1.34 percent, geothermal - 0.4 percent, and solar - 0.05 percent). Compared to the first three quarters of 2010, solar-generated electricity expanded in 2011 by 46.5 percent; wind by 27.1 percent; geothermal by 9.4 percent; and biomass by 1.3 percent.

"Notwithstanding the recession of the past three years, renewable energy sources have experienced explosive rates of growth that other industries can only envy,” said Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign, which analyzed the EIA data. “The investments in sustainable energy made by the federal government as well as state and private funders have paid off handsomely, underscoring the short-sightedness of emerging proposals to cut back on or discontinue such support."



Johnson New Deputy Secretary for Iowa Ag

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey Thursday announced that Jay Johnson has been hired as the new deputy secretary for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Johnson previously served as director of the USDA Packer and Stockyards Administration's Midwest Regional Office.

As deputy secretary Johnson will assist in management responsibilities for the department, focused on the areas of personnel and budget. He will also support the Department's efforts to continue to improve accessibility to Iowans and as a result will travel and represent the department at meetings in Des Moines and around the state.

"I'm excited to have Jay onboard and I know he will do a great job," Northey said. "He is a natural fit for this role and will provide important management expertise and leadership to the Department as we continue our mission is to ensure consumer protection, support food safety and animal health, and promote the responsible use of our natural resources."

"I greatly appreciate Secretary Northey giving me this opportunity and I look forward to working with him and all the employees at the department to promote Iowa agriculture and serve the people of Iowa," said Johnson.

Johnson has worked for USDA Packers and Stockyards Administration for the past 28 years. For the past 13 years he has been the director of the agency's Midwestern Regional Office that is based in Des Moines. This office is responsible for all Packers and Stockyards functions in 12 states in the upper Midwest and all hog issues on a national basis.

Before that he worked for 13 years at USDA in Washington, D.C in a variety of positions, but culminating in his final position as director of the Packer and Poultry Division.

Johnson was raised in rural northern Illinois and graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in Agricultural Business. He and his wife Cindy live in rural Warren County and have three children. They currently raise and show club lambs and show performance quarter horses.



Swine Industry Asked to Participate in Feed Efficiency Survey

Kansas State University swine nutritionists are teaming up with their Iowa State University counterparts in asking swine producers, industry consultants and advisors to the pork industry to participate in an online survey about swine feed efficiency. The survey answers will help guide research direction and educational programs to improve feed efficiency and lower feed costs.

The survey, which can be found at Feed Efficiency of Swine (https://online.ksu.edu/Survey/take/takeSurvey.do?offeringid=187217), aims to identify gaps in current industry knowledge to help researchers better prepare educational materials and plan on-farm commercial research over the next four years, as part of an Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) USDA grant, said Joel DeRouchey, livestock specialist with K-State Research and Extension.

The survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete. No responses will be individually identified – all responses will be summarized together, DeRouchey said. Survey participants are not required to give contact information, although if they choose to do so, the research team will provide feed efficiency project updates, including research results and publications as they become available.

“Names and contact information of individuals completing the survey will be collected separately from their survey responses and will not be associated in any way with submitted answers,” he said. “Respondents’ names and contact information will remain confidential and will not be used for any other purpose other than to provide them with the latest feed efficiency research updates.”

The deadline to take the survey is Feb. 20, 2012. Questions can be directed to DeRouchey at jderouch@ksu.edu or 785-532-2280.



New Mexico Scientists Develop Drought-Tolerant Alfalfa

With much of the Southwest struggling with drought, many ranchers and dairy farmers are having difficulty finding enough hay for their livestock and making tough choices: pay up to twice as much as last year and ship it in from hundreds of miles away or do without and sell off some of their herd.

Farmers, ranchers and scientists say a perfect storm has turned hay into gold this year. The drought reduced forage on the range and led to an increase in demand for hay, including alfalfa and other grass mixes. At the same time, the drought and lower water allotments for agriculture reduced the supply and prices skyrocketed. Farmers as far as North Dakota and Minnesota have been feeling the effects.

Scientists at New Mexico State University are trying to help by using genetic analysis and traditional plant breeding practices to come up with more drought-tolerant varieties of alfalfa. The research is important because two-thirds of hay produced in the U.S. is grown in drought-prone areas of the Great Plains or the western U.S., said Ian Ray, the professor who runs NMSU's alfalfa breeding and genetics program.

Hay is the fourth most valuable crop grown in the United States with sales generating more than $7.5 billion. It's essential to everything from the billion-dollar dairy and beef industries to the wool market and even horse racing.

NMSU has been working on developing tougher alfalfa plants for more than three decades. Ray and his team, with

help from the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Oklahoma, have identified a series of DNA markers on alfalfa chromosomes that they believe play a key role in producing more alfalfa with less water.

It took several years to map the alfalfa genome and identify the markers that influence development of the plant's shoots and roots during drought. Then a couple of years of breeding were needed to incorporate those characteristics into alfalfa cultivars typically grown by farmers in New Mexico.

The work is more precise than classical plant breeding because the scientists were able to introduce only the drought tolerance characteristics they were after.

"DNA markers just help us do a much better job of uncovering, tracking and selecting for natural genetic variation for drought tolerance," Ray said.

The team just wrapped up its harvest of the first test crops grown with less water and the results are promising. All the plants had smaller yields because of the lack of water, but those with drought-tolerant DNA markers produced 9 percent to 15 percent more than those without the markers.

One of the most promising cultivars being tested has a leafy canopy. More leaves means more nutritional value, Ray said.

"If what we're seeing is real, and it can be demonstrated that we see a yield advantage in multiple environments, then we've got a high forage quality population with enhanced drought resistance. That's the best of both worlds," he said.

Other universities, the federal government and large corporations like Monsanto Co. have been trying to develop alfalfa varieties that can withstand cold weather, salt-laden irrigation water and various insects and disease. But experts say the NMSU team is at the cutting edge when it comes to research on drought tolerance.



CWT Export Assistance Sets New Performance Benchmark in 2011

In 2011, Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) helped member cooperatives make 280 export sales totaling 92.4 million pounds of cheese, a new benchmark for the Export Assistance program. That total was nearly 20 million pounds higher than exports achieved in 2010, when CWT assisted with 241 export sales totaling 73.9 million pounds of cheese.

CWT continued to play a significant role in exports of American-type cheese in general, and Cheddar cheese specifically. While data for all of 2011 is not yet final, initial analysis indicates that the volume of CWT-assisted Cheddar cheese export shipments in the first ten months of 2011 – 69.7 million pounds – accounted for 76% of Cheddar cheese loaf exports, 79% of American-type cheese exports in loaf form, and 19% of the total cheese exported in all forms.

Dairy product sales assisted by CWT and shipped in 2011 have added an average of 22 cents per hundredweight on all milk marketed. That is an increase in producer revenue of $120 million, according to an analysis by Dr. Scott Brown, University of Missouri and FAPRI.

Asian countries accounted for 35% of the total pounds sold, with Japan taking 84% of the sales volume. The Middle East was close behind, representing 32% of the total tonnage, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 50% of the pounds sold in that region.



FDA Milk Sampling Program Begins

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) milk residue survey project is now underway. The FDA residue survey involves the collection of a total of nearly 2,000 universal milk samples at central milk testing laboratories: 900 milk samples from dairy producers with a cull dairy cow tissue residue violation, and another 900 random milk samples. FDA will have the samples blinded at the central laboratories, and then shipped to the Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH) at Illinois Institute of Technology.

The milk samples will then be shipped to FDA laboratories for analysis. The milk samples will be tested for about 30 different antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory residues which may include the following: Ampicillin, Cephapirin, Cloxacillin, Penicillin G, Erythromycin, Tylosin, Ciprofloxacin, Sarafloxacin, Chlortetracycline, Oxytetracycline, Tetracycline, Doxycycline, Sulfachloropyridazine, Sulfadiazine, Sulfamerazine, Sulfadimethoxine,Sulfamethazine, Sulfaquinoxaline, Sulfathiazole, Tripelennamine,Thiabendazole, Pirlimycin, Flunixin, Bacitracin, Virginiamycin, Tilmicosin, Neomycin, Gentamicin, Florfenicol, Chloramphenicol and Tulathromycin.

The National Milk Producers Federation anticipates that the sampling and laboratory analysis will take about one year. As a reminder, the NMPF Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual is available on the National Dairy FARM Program website... http://www.nationaldairyfarm.com/sites/default/files/2012%20Residue%20Manual_VIEW.pdf. 



Make 2012 the Year for Permanent Estate Tax Relief
Kent Bacus, NCBA Manager of Legislative Affairs

If you’re like me, you enjoy watching the History Channel and Discovery Channel. I enjoy learning about other cultures and civilizations and listening to experts discuss how mankind has advanced throughout the years and make predictions on what the future will hold. Lately, a theme has revolved around what will happen on Dec. 21, 2012. Many ancient cultures have predicted that some major, perhaps apocalyptic, event will happen on that day. Perhaps the ancient Mayans were a few days off. For the beef industry, our real concern is what will happen after Dec. 31, 2012.

One of the most important issues facing family farmers and ranchers and small business owners nationwide is the future of the estate tax, more commonly referred to as the death tax. The death tax is one of the leading causes of the breakup of multi-generation family farms and ranches. At the time of the death, farming and ranching families are forced to sell off land, farm equipment, parts of the operation or the entire ranch to pay off tax liabilities on assets that have likely been taxed two or three times over the course of a lifetime. This outdated tax is not a tax on the wealthy. The wealthy can afford accountants and estate planners to help them evade the tax. The death tax hurts family-owned farms and ranches hardest.

Unfortunately, this is not a new issue for farmers and ranchers. As you may recall, at the end of 2010, Congress and the White House agreed to a two year tax package that included temporary estate tax relief. For now, estates worth more than $5 million per individual or $10 million per couple are taxed at a 35 percent rate. The two-year estate tax package also reinstated stepped-up basis, indexes the estate tax exemption for inflation and contains a spousal transfer of any unused estate tax exemption amount. The tax package also included a two-year extension of 2001 and 2003 income tax rates for all income levels, set the capital gains tax rate at 15 percent for two years and included a two year patch for the alternative minimum tax. All of these issues must be addressed by the end of 2012.

As Congress begins the second session of the 112th Congress, it’s time, once again, to turn our attention to providing permanent relief from the death tax. If Congress fails to act by the end of this year, the estate tax will revert to a staggering $1 million exemption with a 55 percent tax rate. Increasing production costs, rising property values and an uncertain tax code make it difficult to form a business plan, much less plan for the future of your estate. We cannot afford for the estate tax to continue being a political football that is punted year after year. We need permanency in the tax code.

As the oldest and largest national organization representing cattlemen, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) will work tirelessly seeking full and permanent estate tax relief. Members of Congress have already begun working on this issue. In fact, Congressman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) introduced the Death Tax Permanency Repeal Act and has support on his legislation from more than 190 bipartisan members of Congress. NCBA is a staunch supporter of Congressman Brady’s legislation. If a full repeal is not achievable, NCBA supports making the 2010 estate tax package permanent.

While there has been some discussion of movement toward comprehensive tax reform in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, it is difficult to predict what Congress and the White House will do this year. One thing is certain, however, Congress and the White House need to hear from you about why we need permanency in the estate tax. They need to know that the estate tax is not a political football. They need to understand that there are no political points to be earned by punting this issue to a later day or by kneeling on the ball to run out the clock. Join us as we continue to fight for permanent estate tax relief.

As we begin 2012, many of us are striving to keep those New Year’s resolutions we announced to our friends and families as an attempt to improve ourselves physically, intellectually or financially. For the sake of all Americans, let us hope that one of the resolutions of Congress and the White House is providing permanent estate tax relief in 2012.



Growers Build on Trade, Biotech Successes in the New Year

The National Corn Growers Association's Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team was created in 2010 by the unification of two existing action teams.  Seeing that trade issues facing the corn industry most often involved a biotechnology component, leadership saw it prudent to create a single group to explore these issues and develop an in-depth understanding of the nuanced areas of overlap involved.

In 2012, the team, along with state and national staff assistance, will face many important issues  as they advocate for cooperation across the biotechnology value chain, provide innovative, cutting-edge tools to help farmers act as responsible stewards of biotechnology products, and support trade agreements that benefit U.S. agriculture and the national economy.

"We made major progress in 2011 when the U.S. ratified free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama, launched an updated version of our online IRM refuge calculator and opened a dialogue with groups from across the value chain on biotechnology and trade, but it is essential that we continue to build on our progress in each of these areas," said South Dakota corn farmer Chad Blindauer, who chairs the team. "We challenge ourselves at each meeting to find innovative opportunities to further open markets to U.S. corn and help cutting-edge technology reach the farmers who desire it."

In 2012, the team will improve upon the already available IRM refuge calculator both through ongoing updates and the launch of a new learning module this spring.

"Our team is excited about the IRM learning module, which will incorporate video and interactive elements," Blindauer said.  "As farmers, we all strive to act as good stewards of our land and to use biotechnology products in a responsible manner that maintains their effectiveness.  The module serves as an educational tool for growers looking for information on refuge requirements and their function, and also benefits the vast majority of growers already effectively following refuge requirements who want to reaffirm their existing understanding."

As farmers continue to produce a bountiful crop, the importance of maintaining and developing new markets abroad grows.  The team supports movement in the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, which would result in an Asia-Pacific multilateral trade agreement.

"We have come a long way in breaking down barriers which impeded the growth of U.S. corn exports, but there is still much work to be done," said Blindauer. "With new agreements in place that open growing markets for farmers, we must focus on the next generation of trade agreements that will further this mission."

In addition to Blindauer, team members include Vice Chair Jim Zimmerman of Wisconsin, Corn Board Liaison Bob Bowman of Iowa, Daniel Ebelhar of Kentucky, Chris Edgington of Iowa, Robert Gordon of Texas, Joel Grams of Nebraska, David Howell of Indiana, Donna Jeschke of Illinois, Scott Miller of Michigan, Gary Schmalshof of Illinois, David Ward of Minnesota, U.S Grains Council Representative of Missouri, and Jared Coppess of the Indiana Corn Growers Association.



$10,000 AND $25,000 GRANTS AVAILABLE TO RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS THROUGH AMERICA’S FARMERS GROW RURAL EDUCATION

Statistics show that the United States ranks only 25th in math scores and 21st in science compared to 30 industrialized nations. These facts show that education is strongly in need of support. To help, Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is launching America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education℠ to aid rural school districts by providing $10,000 and $25,000 grants in 1,245 counties across 39 states.

“We believe our rural communities are the heart of America,” said Deborah Patterson, Monsanto Fund president. “We want to help strengthen local communities and education systems, especially in the areas of science and/or math. A strong science and math education helps build a foundation for many careers in agriculture, but also will help our students to be more competitive with those in larger cities and other nations.”

America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education gives farmers the opportunity to nominate a public school district in their rural community to compete for a grant. Nominated school district administrators can then submit an application for either a $10,000 or $25,000 grant to support a science and/or math educational program by April 30, 2012. School districts that apply for a $10,000 grant will compete against other school districts that are located in the USDA-appointed Crop Reporting District (CRD); except that CRDs with fewer than five eligible school districts will compete against each other for a single grant. A school district that applies for a $25,000 grant will compete against schools that are located in its state or designated region.

The Monsanto Fund will award 199 grants this year. There will be 177 $10,000 grants and 22 grants of $25,000 awarded. Visit growruraleducation.com to see a complete list of eligible states and regions. Overall, the Monsanto Fund will donate more than $2.3 million to school districts in 39 states through this program.

Grants will be awarded based on merit, need and community support. The America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Advisory Council will select the winning grant application. This group is made up of 26 farmer leaders from across the country, who are passionate about both farming and rural education. The council members are actively engaged in their local communities through various leadership positions, such as a member of the local School Board, an active Farm Bureau leader or a member of an educational organization or committee within various organizations. The council is responsible for reviewing the top grant applications to select the winning school. These individuals are passionate about both agriculture and education, which is essential when choosing the best grant.  

The program started with a successful pilot in Illinois and Minnesota, in which farmers were given the opportunity to nominate a public school district in 165 eligible counties in those two states. The Monsanto Fund awarded more than $266,000 to local schools in 16 CRDs through the pilot.

The America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program is part of a broad commitment by Monsanto Fund to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society by helping them grow their youth. Visit www.growruraleducation.com for additional information and to view a complete list of winning school districts.