Thursday February 9 Ag News

Nebraska LEAD XXX Travels to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England

Twenty eight Nebraska LEAD XXX Fellows recently returned from the 2012 International Study/Travel Seminar to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.  "Our international study is designed to provide firsthand appreciation and understanding of our international community and the potential for people of all nations to work together," said Terry Hejny, Nebraska LEAD Program Director and group leader.

During the Jan. 10-25 seminar, LEAD Fellows attended briefings at the U.S. embassies in Dublin, Ireland and London and met with American business, agricultural trade and commodity groups. Additionally, LEAD Fellows were able to observe agricultural production with visits to farms, along with briefings at agricultural colleges and research centers.

"The people-to-people encounters provided the members of Nebraska LEAD Group XXX an opportunity to view characteristics, conditions and trends of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and determine relationships to issues and situations in our country," Hejny said. "Through this experience participants develop techniques in identifying comparisons and contrasts of the countries we recently studied in areas such as politics, economics, religion, culture and history as well as technology, trade, food, art and philosophy."

LEAD XXX Fellows that participated in alphabetical order are: Jamie Bauman, Lincoln; Doug Beck, Grant; Kris Beckler, Seward; Tami Campbell, Grand Island; Helen Cool, Gothenburg; Mary Eisenzimmer, Big Springs; Jennifer Engle, Fairmont; Daren Englund, Holdrege; Helen A. Feller, Wisner; Kevin R. Gutshall, Falls City; Loren Haselhorst, Randolph; David Hogsett, Lamar; Adam Howard, Nebraska City; Ryan Koinzan, Neligh; Jeff Kraft, Beatrice; Rebecca Kreikemeier, Bellwood; Janita R. Kube, Crofton; Chandler Mazour, Gothenburg; Darci McGee, Nelson; Deb Neidig, Madison; Scott Nelson, Newman Grove; Jason Perdue, Waco; Phil Ramsel, Grand Island; Aaron Raymond, Lincoln; Marvion Reichert, Elm Creek; Kelli Shaner, Ft. Calhoun; Matt Stockton, North Platte; and Connie Wichman, Pender.

The Nebraska LEAD Program includes men and women, currently active in production agriculture and agribusiness and is a two-year leadership development program under the direction of the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council, in cooperation with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

For more information, or to request an application for Nebraska LEAD 32, contact the Nebraska LEAD Program, 318 Biochemistry Hall, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0763, telephone 402-472-6810 or email Shana at sgerdes2@unl.edu. The application deadline is June 15.



Iowa Delegation Urges Wind Production Tax Credit Extension

The entire Iowa Congressional delegation has written a letter urging a short-term extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy. The lawmakers wrote to the leadership of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House as well as the conference committee on the payroll tax cut extension.

"Our state and the whole nation have benefited tremendously from the economic development, new manufacturing jobs, and increased domestic energy supply that wind energy has provided. And the PTC has been a major factor behind this success," wrote the lawmakers.

"We must provide some certainty to allow this industry to keep growing. If the PTC is not extended immediately, our communities back home stand to lose thousands of jobs, manufacturing, infrastructure and private investment," they concluded.



Iowa Learning Farms' Webinar on Sustainable Bioenergy

The Iowa Learning Farms' (ILF) February webinar, to be held Feb. 15 at 11:30 a.m., will feature Chad Hart, an economist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The webinar is part of a series, hosted by ILF, held on the third Wednesday of each month through Adobe Connect. All that is needed to participate is a computer with Internet access.

Hart, an assistant professor of economics, is the grain markets specialist for ISU Extension and Outreach and works on grain marketing and related issues. He has been focusing on biofuels as this industry has developed. Hart's webinar is titled "Sustainable Production and Distribution of Bioenergy for the Central USA." The presentation will review the multi-state CenUSA Bioenergy project that is investigating a regional system for producing fuels derived from high biomass producing perennials using pyrolysis and biochar.

To connect to the webinar, go to https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/. Hart will be able to answer questions from webinar "attendees" via the Adobe Connect chat box. The ILF website homepage contains links for archived webinars from previous months at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/Webinars/.

Iowa Learning Farms is a partnership between the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the US EPA (section 319); in cooperation with Conservation Districts of Iowa and the Iowa Farm Bureau.



USDA to Host First U.S.-China Agricultural Symposium

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that government and industry leaders from the United States and China will gather in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, Feb. 16, for the first U.S.-China Agricultural Symposium. Vilsack traveled to China for the second time as Agriculture Secretary in November to continue to strengthen bilateral trade relations and support the American brand of agriculture throughout the Asia Pacific region. During the visit, Vilsack and Chinese officials developed the U.S.-China Agriculture Symposium as a key forum to expand their discussions into 2012 and beyond.

"I'm honored to welcome China's Vice President Xi Jinping and Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu to the United States, where we may continue our in-depth dialogue on issues of mutual concern," said Vilsack. "Thanks to the productivity of American farmers, ranchers and producers, consumers in China recognize the United States as a reliable supplier of high-quality food and agricultural products. Strengthening our partnership with China's growing market is integral to the strength of the U.S. economy in the decades ahead."

In 2011, China moved into the top spot as the number one market for U.S. agricultural goods, purchasing $20 billion in U.S. agricultural exports. The value of U.S. farm exports to China supported more than 160,000 American jobs in 2011, on and off the farm across a variety of sectors.

Chinese officials will also visit Washington, D.C., and California as part of their trip. The symposium will focus on current and future cooperation between the two nations in areas including food safety, food security and sustainable agriculture. The event will take place at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines.

"China and the United States have an opportunity and responsibility to work together to help increase the availability and use of sustainably produced food for a rapidly growing world population," added Vilsack.



NCGA Notes Refuge Compliance Report Reflects New Bt Corn Requirements Implemented to Improve Refuge Compliance

As planting for the 2012 season approaches, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) notes that newly revamped on-farm refuge assessments are part of the enhanced Compliance Assurance Program (CAP) implemented last year, which is designed to improve compliance with Insect Resistance Management (IRM) requirements. Corn growers found to be out of compliance with refuge requirements will be checked more frequently by the Bt corn registrants and have a higher probability of losing access to Bt corn if compliance is not established and maintained. 

The Agricultural Biotechnology Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC), a consortium of Bt corn registrants, submits an annual CAP report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describing industry-coordinated compliance assurance efforts for Bt traits. The year’s report is the first following the implementation of the enhanced CAP.

“To implement the CAP, technology providers made some major changes to their procedures last year as directed by EPA,” said Mike Smith, ABSTC IRM subcommittee co-chairman. “One of the changes was the selection process for on-farm assessments. In past years, we’ve randomly selected those participants, but in 2011 we used a more targeted approach and conducted assessments based on purchase history, and, as anticipated, using this methodology resulted in the identification of more non-compliant growers than in years past. Changes were also made to the grower survey and included more Bt corn products with differing refuge requirements.”

The survey results include compliance with refuge requirements for corn borer traits and rootworm traits, either alone or in stacked Bt corn products, regardless of refuge size differences.
Highlights of the report include:
-    The CAP for all Bt corn products with structured refuge requirements continues to be effective.  In 2011, the majority of growers surveyed planted the required refuge size on their farms and the majority of growers surveyed planted a refuge within the required distance for all of their Bt corn fields. Furthermore, the survey indicates that the vast majority of all Bt corn fields have an associated refuge.
-    The majority of growers found out of compliance in 2010 were found to be complying with the IRM requirements during the 2011 growing season. This result is consistent with previous years and confirms that the CAP’s phase compliance approach in which non-compliant growers were provided additional educational materials and re-assessed in 2011 is working.
-    As in previous years, adherence to refuge requirements in the cotton growing region was lower than in the Corn Belt. Factors contributing to lower adherence in the cotton region include larger required refuge size, smaller field sizes, more diverse cropping systems, and greater complexity of operations. The cotton region will receive increased focus for on-farm assessments in 2012. Education programs continue to highlight the specific refuge requirements in the cotton region and, in tandem with the on-farm assessment program, growers have the opportunity to correct individual instances of non-compliance for future growing seasons.
-    As anticipated, targeted on-farm assessments identified more than three times as many corn growers who were out of compliance than in years past. Each member company independently reviewed available sales data for its Bt corn customers and assessments were conducted with growers who, according to the sales records, may have purchased little or no refuge seed. All non-compliant growers will undergo a second on-farm assessment to help ensure compliance in 2012.

“The objective of the on-farm assessment program is to identify individual non-compliant growers and bring them back into compliance through a phased approach,” said Joanne Carden, ABSTC IRM subcommittee co-chairwoman. “The new approach to conducting IRM on-farm assessments has resulted in more non-compliant growers being identified, demonstrating that the enhanced CAP is working as planned.”

Carden added that the ABSTC is pleased with the outcomes from the phased compliance approach. “The goal of these enhancements is to help growers understand the importance of following refuge requirements, provide clarity on how to meet the minimum refuge requirement for each product and ultimately improve compliance,” she said.

IRM Refuge Calculator Helps Growers Develop Plans for Refuge Compliance
 “Since the introduction of biotech traits, the vast majority of corn growers have followed refuge requirements to help protect the efficacy of this important technology,” said Chad Blindauer, Chairman of the National Corn Growers Association Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team. “All growers must follow these requirements to help preserve the long-term value of this technology. We encourage growers to work with their seed dealers and trait developers to understand the enhanced requirements under the CAP and improve refuge compliance.”

To assist farmers in developing an IRM plan and a refuge strategy for their farms, Blindauer said NCGA has established a number of resources, including recently launching an updated IRM calculator to clarify refuge system options and show growers how to execute the requirements properly.  The IRM calculator was developed in collaboration with ABSTC companies to ensure it reflects all Bt products available in the industry.  Farmers can access the IRM calculator via computer or a smart phone by simply logging on to www.irmcalculator.com.



Brazil's Govt Takes Soy View Below 70 MMT; USDA Drops Estimate 2 MMT

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry estimated the 2011-12 soybean crop would come in below 70 million metric tons early Thursday, marking the first time any local forecaster has done so.  Based on a field survey carried out in the second half of January, the ministry's CONAB crop research team pegged output at 69.2 mmt, down 2.5 mmt on its January estimate and 6 mmt lower than last year's crop.  The main culprit is the dry weather conditions in the south of the country, CONAB predictably said.

The government forecasts have been lower than anybody else's all year. While most were predicting 74 mmt to 75 mmt in November, CONAB saw a 71 mmt crop. The difference is mainly based on CONAB's more conservative projections from crop yield potential and a controversial opinion that soybean area has dropped in Parana.  Currently, private forecasts sit in the range of 70 mmt to 73.5 mmt.

In its February World Ag Supply and Demand Report Thursday, USDA lowered its estimate of 2011/12 Brazilian soybean production to 72 mmt from 74 mmt.



AGCO Reports Fourth Quarter Results

AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE:AGCO), a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, reported net sales of $2.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 16.1% compared to net sales of $2.2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2010. Reported and adjusted net income for the fourth quarter of 2011 were $2.90 per share and $1.44 per share, respectively. Adjusted net income excludes a tax gain and transaction expenses associated with the acquisition of GSI Holdings Corp. (“GSI”). These results compare to reported net income of $0.87 per share and adjusted net income, excluding restructuring and other infrequent items, of $0.88 per share for the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding unfavorable currency translation impacts of 2.1%, net sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 increased 18.3% compared to the same period in 2010.

Net sales for the full year of 2011 were approximately $8.8 billion, an increase of approximately 27.2% compared to the full year of 2010. For the full year of 2011, reported net income was $5.95 per share and adjusted net income, excluding restructuring and other infrequent income and the one-time GSI acquisition items discussed above, was $4.48 per share. These results compare to reported net income of $2.29 per share and adjusted net income, excluding restructuring and other infrequent expenses, of $2.32 per share for the full year of 2010. Excluding the favorable impact of currency translation of 5.0%, net sales for the full year of 2011 increased 22.2% compared to 2010.

“We finished 2011 on a strong note, setting sales and earnings records for both the fourth quarter and full year,” stated Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Attractive farm economics supported robust global demand for agricultural equipment and produced sales growth for AGCO of over 27% for 2011 compared to the full year of 2010. During 2011, AGCO made significant investments in new products and in building our business in developing markets. Our sales growth and cost reduction initiatives funded these strategic investments while delivering margin expansion. AGCO’s adjusted operating margin reached 7.0% for 2011, an increase of over 220 basis points compared to 2010. In addition, AGCO generated significant cash flow in 2011 supporting our growth-oriented strategic initiatives in 2012.”

“As we move into 2012, we remain optimistic about AGCO’s ability to take advantage of the positive long-term demand drivers for our industry. Organic growth, margin improvement, and cash flow generation will continue to be our primary focus. AGCO’s cost reduction initiatives are aimed at lowering material and labor costs through purchasing actions and factory productivity. We will continue to invest in new products including upgraded harvesting, high horsepower tractor and sprayer offerings and to devote significant resources to enhance our presence in the CIS region, China and Africa. Our plans in 2012 also include investing in our production facilities to enable our growth and improve our productivity.”

AGCO completed the acquisition of GSI on November 30, 2011 for $932.2 million, net of cash acquired. GSI is a leading global manufacturer of grain storage and protein production systems. The transaction was financed through $300 million of 5.875% senior notes and a new credit facility. AGCO’s fourth quarter reported results include a tax gain for a reversal of a valuation allowance against AGCO’s net deferred tax assets associated with the acquisition accounting for GSI of approximately $149.3 million as well as one-time acquisition expenses. The tax gain and acquisition expenses were excluded from the Company’s adjusted results.

AGCO’s fourth quarter sales increase was the result of increased volumes as well as acquisition and currency impacts. On a segment reporting basis, market recovery in 2011 across Western Europe resulted in AGCO’s Europe/Africa/Middle East (EAME) region reporting a sales increase of 15.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, excluding unfavorable currency translation impacts. Growth in the professional farming segment and the benefit of new product introductions produced sales improvement in the North American region of 30.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, excluding unfavorable currency translation impacts. Sales in AGCO’s South American region were up 8.0% in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, excluding unfavorable currency translation impacts.

Income from operations during the fourth quarter of 2011 increased over 30% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 due to higher sales and improved gross margins. Higher gross margins resulted from increased production levels in Europe and North America as well as pricing benefits, partially offset by higher material costs. Investments in new product development and tier 4 emission compliance resulted in increased engineering expenses in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year. Income from operations for the full year of 2011 increased approximately $286.1 million compared to the same period in 2010 also due to an increase in sales and margin improvement.



GPRE to Cut Ethanol Production

The U.S. ethanol industry is rapidly scaling back production in response to a supply glut that has weighed heavily on producers' profit margins, the head of the nation's fourth-largest ethanol producer said Thursday.

Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (GPRE) is among the companies cutting back, having scaled back production by 30% at two of its nine plants, CEO Todd Becker said.

Becker said he is starting to hear of widespread moves to cut production, and that the industry has more discipline than many people realize, and can cut back more quickly than other industries that rely on corn.

Ethanol producers say that very strong margins in the fourth quarter of 2011 prompted plants to ramp up output. That increase was ill-timed, as it was met by surprisingly weak gasoline demand and declining ethanol exports to Brazil.

Ethanol stocks of 21,063 barrels are up 23.4% in the past two months, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Exports should remain an important part of the market, Becker said. He projected ethanol exports this year of 500 million gallons, versus 1 billion gallons in just the first 11 months of 2011.

Green Plains's strategy contrasts with Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), which said last week it sees little benefit to scaling back production and would continue to "run hard" at its plants. ADM announced the closure of a small ethanol plant last week, but cited the location of the North Dakota plant and its small scale, rather than market conditions.

For the fourth quarter, Omaha, Neb.-based Green Plains reported earnings of $13.3 million, or 36 cents per share, down from $16.4 million, or 44 cents, the prior year.

Green Plains's revenue of $922.8 million was up from $757 million the prior year.

The company has spent the past couple of years trying to diversify to protect against ethanol industry downturns. It has begun extracting corn oil during its ethanol production to provide a new revenue stream, and has added five million bushels of grain storage over the past year, bringing its total capacity to 39.1 million bushels.



'Jay Leno' Tractor Sale Raises $500,000 for Military Families

Taking the wheel of his New Holland Boomer compact tractor for the last time, Jay Leno drove the tractor nicknamed the "Lil Tug" onto the auction block at the 41st Annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction this weekend, and in a matter of minutes, raised over a half million dollars to support veterans and their families.

The 'Lil Tug is no ordinary tractor. Not only did it work in Jay Leno's Garage for nearly five years, pulling and positioning Leno's array of collector vehicles, it also bore the signature of George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States of America and a staunch supporter of America's military and their families.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women who have sacrificed to serve our country," says New Holland Vice President Abe Hughes, "and we're honored to play a part in this effort to support veterans and their families."

All of the winning bid of $535,000 will benefit the Fisher House Foundation, which constructs comfort homes to provide free temporary housing to the families of service members receiving medical care at V.A. and military hospitals around the world.