Thursday March 22 Ag News

NE Ag-Biz Club Seeks Award Nominees

The Nebraska Agribusiness Club would like to announce that nomination forms for the Public Service to Agriculture and New Horizon awards are now available.  The Public Service to Agriculture award has been presented annually since 1967.  The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Nebraska agriculture and Nebraska agribusiness.  The New Horizon Award is an award that recognizes individuals 40 years of age and younger who are upcoming leaders in the agricultural industry.  Nominations for both awards are due by July 16, 2012.  The nomination forms and more information can be found at the Nebraska Agribusiness Club Website (nebraskaagribusinessclub.wordpress.com) or by e-mail at nebraskaagribusinessclub@gmail.com. 



Ratepayers can take a peek behind the Public Power curtain

During March, April and May the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is giving ratepayers a peek behind the curtain with several open houses across the state. Attendees can learn more about what goes on Behind the Outlet at NPPD.

“We applaud NPPD for holding these open houses and we’re doing everything we can to inform people about the meetings and encourage them to attend,” said Paul Mansoor, Energy Policy Advocate at the Center for Rural Affairs.

According to Mansoor, NPPD is considering spending $1.5 billion remodeling and refurbishing coal-fired power plants. And that decision, if arrived at, will drive investment away from renewable energy sources like wind generation. These open houses come after NPPD’s President went on record saying that wind cannot provide the energy that Nebraska needs at cheap prices.

“But we know that both he, and the NPPD board, are mistaken,” explained Mansoor. Investing in coal will cost Nebraskans in the long run. Renewable energy options, like wind, currently cost about the same as coal, and the price is coming down. Supporting wind energy in Nebraska would create thousands of jobs, and billions of dollars in economic development. It will also save ratepayers money in the long run.

“Perhaps where we differ from NPPD is that we believe rural Nebraskans are ready to be a leader in wind energy,” suggested Mansoor. “Our state is sixth nationally in terms of wind potential, yet a dismal 18th in wind capacity. Although the wind blows in Nebraska, we’re not harnessing it.”

“Moreover,” Mansoor explained, “the cost of renewable energy is continually coming down, but NPPD wants to invest $1.5 billion in old technology that will cost Nebraskans more in the long run. Why support a short-term solution like coal, when wind energy is cheaper, cleaner, and will create more good jobs?”

The Center for Rural Affairs encourages all supporters of low rates, good jobs, clean energy and plain common sense to attend and make sure your voice is heard loud and clear on Nebraska’s energy future.

When and Where:

Monday, March 26th, 2012
2:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Gering Civic Center
1050 M Street
Gering, NE

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
2:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Sandhills Convention Center
2102 S. Jeffers
North Platte, NE

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
2:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Holiday Inn
110 Second Avenue
Kearney, NE

Thursday, April 26th, 2012
2:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Cornhusker Marriot Hotel
333 S 13th Street
Lincoln, NE

Thursday, May 2nd, 2012
2:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Divots Conference Center
4200 W Norfolk Avenue
Norfolk, NE



Report Indicates Trends in Market Reaction to Crop Production Data

The release of U.S. Department of Agriculture reports on crop production plays an increasingly large role in the movement of volatile commodity markets according to its own data.  In a report released earlier this month through the department's National Agricultural Statistics Service titled "Price Reactions after USDA Crop Reports", the impact of data on corn prices has magnified since 2006, with monthly and annual production data releases, and particularly with quarterly grain stocks reports, now resulting in market price changes of ten or more cents in a majority of cases.

"When examined, the data clearly demonstrates a marked increase in commodities market volatility," said National Corn Growers Association Vice President of Production and Utilization Paul Bertels, an agricultural economist by training. "While many factors certainly impact cash markets on a given day, the correlation is too strong to ignore.  Evidence shows a trend toward significant, market reaction following the release of USDA production reports."

The report, which looked at the price impacts in cash markets following the release of the department's own monthly and annual crop production reports, detailed a changing trend in market reaction following this sort of data release.  From 1994 through 2006, the market price shifted by ten or more cents on only 18 percent of the days following report release.  From 2007 to present, the impact of data release has become significantly more dramatic with a ten or more cent price shift in 64 percent of these cases.

The report, which also measured the impact of the quarterly grain stocks report on prices, indicated a trend toward negative market shifts following report release.  Between 1994 and 2006, the market reacted by shifting up or down in a nearly equal number of instances.  Since 2007, the impact was almost two times as likely to be negative.



Increased Dairy Production Benefits Agriculture, Consumers, Ethanol Industry

Milk production in the United States continues to expand, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture milk production estimate released earlier this week.   With February 2012 milk production estimated to be eight percent higher than in that month last year, the industry is benefitting from both a one percent expansion in the dairy cow herd and, more importantly, a seven percent productivity increase, as measured by milk produced per cow.

"As an agricultural community, we certainly look at growth and gains across the industry favorably," said National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer. "This trend benefits corn farmers, like myself, directly also though as increased milk production often translates into increased demand for feed, including corn and ethanol coproduct distillers dried grains.  I see it as a win-win-win as consumers benefit from a larger milk supply, dairy and corn farmers benefit from increased production and the ethanol industry benefits from the increased demand for the high quality feed ingredients produced along with fuel."

During the current corn marketing year, the ProExporter Network estimates that the nation's dairy cattle will consume nearly 800 million bushels of corn.  If realized, this would account for approximately six percent of total corn usage.

The market for DDGs also continues to expand as demand from the dairy sector rises due to increasing awareness and understanding of their quality, affordability and other benefits.



USDA Cold Storage Highlights

Total red meat supplies in freezers were up 2 percent from the previous month and up 6 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 4 percent from the previous month but up 1 percent from last year. Frozen pork supplies were up 7 percent from the previous month and up 9 percent from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 15 percent from last month and up 21 percent from last year.

Total frozen poultry supplies on February 29, 2012 were up 5 percent from the previous month but down 6 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were down 1 percent from the previous month and down 16 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 18 percent from last month and up 21 percent from February 28, 2011. 

Total natural cheese stocks in refrigerated warehouses on February 29, 2012 were up 1 percent from the previous month but down 5 percent from February 28, 2011.  Butter stocks were up 21 percent from last month and up 48 percent from a year ago.

Total frozen fruit stocks were down 9 percent from last month but up 4 percent from a year ago.  Total frozen vegetable stocks were down 9 percent from last month but up slightly from a year ago.



February Egg Production Up 3 Percent

United States egg production totaled 7.24 billion during February 2012, up 3 percent from last year. Production included 6.25 billion table eggs, and 987 million hatching eggs, of which 914 million were broiler-type and 73 million were egg-type. The total number of layers during February 2012 averaged 338 million, down slightly from last year. February egg production per 100 layers was 2,140 eggs, up 4 percent from February 2011.
                                   
All layers in the United States on March 1, 2012 totaled 339 million, down slightly from last year. The 339 million layers consisted of 285 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 50.8 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs, and 3.10 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on March 1, 2012, averaged 74.0 eggs per 100 layers, up slightly from March 1, 2011.

Egg-Type Chicks Hatched Up 5 Percent
Egg-type chicks hatched during February 2012 totaled 39.3 million, up 5 percent from February 2011. Eggs in incubators totaled 39.3 million on March 1, 2012, down 2 percent from a year ago.

Domestic placements of egg-type pullet chicks for future hatchery supply flocks by leading breeders totaled 238 thousand during February 2012, down 2 percent from February 2011.

Broiler-Type Chicks Hatched Down 1 Percent
Broiler-type chicks hatched during February 2012 totaled 705 million, down 1 percent from February 2011. Eggs in incubators totaled 611 million on March 1, 2012, down 5 percent from a year earlier.

Leading breeders placed 7.03 million broiler-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during February 2012, down 1 percent from February 2011.



Updated 2011 Texas agricultural drought losses total $7.62 billion

Texas agricultural losses due to the 2011 drought reached a record $7.62 billion, making it the most costly drought in history, according to updated totals by Texas AgriLife Extension Service economists.

“2011 was the driest year on record and certainly an infamous year of distinction for the state’s farmers and ranchers,” said Dr. David Anderson, AgriLife Extension livestock economist. “The $7.62 billion mark for 2011 is more than $3.5 billion higher than the 2006 drought loss estimates, which previously was the costliest drought on record. The 2011 losses also represent about 43 percent of the average value of agricultural receipts over the last four years.”

“No one alive has seen single-year drought damage to this extent,” said Dr. Travis Miller, AgriLife Extension agronomist and a member of the Governor’s Drought Preparedness Council. “Texas farmers and ranchers are not strangers to drought, but the intensity of the drought, reflected in record high temperatures, record low precipitation, unprecedented winds coupled with duration – all came together to devastate production agriculture.”

“When you are one of the biggest agricultural producing states in the nation, a monumental drought causes enormous losses,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said. “While the pain and damage this drought has caused cannot be overstated, our state’s farmers and ranchers are determined in their commitment and fierce in their resolve. We will rebuild and continue delivering the safest, most reliable and most affordable food supply in the world.”

Miller said millions of acres of Texas crops never received enough rain to germinate the planting seed.

“Even irrigated farmers experienced huge losses as water supplies that they could deliver were not adequate to produce crops under these conditions with no rain,” he said. “The drought started in the fall of 2010, resulting in very little winter grazing. Many of our pastures and hay meadows never greened up after the winter.”

Diminishing water supplies and no local hay production dramatically increased the cost of maintaining livestock herds, resulting in massive culling and unprecedented runs at livestock sale rings beginning in June, Miller said.

“Hay was purchased as far away as Montana, dramatically driving up the cost of supplemental feed. While much of the state began to receive some relief from this drought in late fall or early winter, most of the large areas of the plains and West Texas have yet to receive any relief.”

Through August of 2011, AgriLife Extension economists previously reported $5.2 billion in drought losses. The following are updated drought losses for 2011 by commodity with previously reported loss estimates from August in parenthesis:
Livestock: $3.23 billion (up from $2.06 billion);
Lost hay production value: $750 million (no change);
Cotton: $2.2 billion (up from $1.8 billion);
Corn: $736 million (up from $409 million);
Wheat: $314 million (up from $243 million);
Sorghum: $385 million (up from $63 million);

The following are summaries by specific commodities:

Livestock – Losses due to the 2011 drought are estimated to be $3.23 billion. The estimate includes the previously reported $2.06 billion in August.

“Losses include the increased cost of feeding livestock due to the lack of pastures and ranges, and market losses,” Anderson said. “Market losses include the impact of fewer pounds sold per calf and the impact of relatively lower market prices due to the large number of cattle sold in a very short time period.”

Cotton – Texas cotton growers faced unprecedented impacts from drought in 2011, according to Dr. John Robinson, AgriLife Extension Service cotton marketing economist.

“In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected a relatively low average cotton yield of 636 pounds per harvested acre, which they subsequently revised down to 557 pounds per acre by December,” Robinson said. “In Texas, cotton growers saw a historically-high acreage abandonment of 55 percent of planted acres. Compared to five-year average yields and abandonment, 2011 represents a huge loss in potential production.

“Applied to USDA’s measure of 7.57 million planted cotton acres in Texas, and valued at USDA’s projected price of 91 cents per pound, this loss adds up to $2.2 billion (up from the August estimated loss of $1.8 billion). It is noteworthy that $1.8 billion is also the 10-year average total value of cotton lint and cottonseed production in Texas. Therefore, Texas cotton growers lost more market income in 2011 than they would normally make for an entire cotton crop.”

Grains and Hay – The drought of 2011 lowered grain production in Texas to about half of normal levels and is estimated to have cost wheat, corn, and sorghum grain farmers in Texas over $1.4 billion.

“Recent production revisions by the USDA lowered harvested acres and yields, and resulted in a doubling of the August loss estimate of $600 million,” said Dr. Mark Welch, AgriLife Extension Service grains marketing economist.

Wheat – Since August, USDA lowered the number of Texas wheat acres for harvest by another 100,000 acres. Texas wheat production in 2011 was 49.4 million bushels compared to a five-year average of 92.4 million, down 47 percent, according to Welch.

“Wheat yields were down from a five-year average of 30 bushels to 26 bushels per acre and abandonment is up,” he said. “The five-year average of wheat planted acres that are harvested for grain is 50 percent; 36 percent of planted acres were harvested in 2011. That reduced the number of wheat acres for harvest by over a million compared to normal years. The combination of yield losses and reduction in harvested acres put Texas wheat for grain losses at $314 million.”

Corn – Compared to the August estimates, Texas corn harvested acres have been reduced by more than 100,000 acres and yields cut from 112 bushels per acre to 93, Welch said. Texas corn production is now an estimated 136.7 million bushels compared to a five-year average of 255.4 million, down 46 percent.

“Harvested acres are down 23 percent due to higher abandonment rates, and yields are down 30 percent statewide,” Welch said. “The combination of yield losses and reduction in harvested acres put Texas corn for grain losses at $736 million.”

Sorghum – Since August, Texas grain sorghum harvested acres have been reduced by an additional 150,000 acres. Texas grain sorghum production is estimated at 56.4 million bushels compared to a five-year average of 119.5 million, down 60 percent.

“The 1.6 million acres planted in the Spring of 2011 was the fewest in Texas’ history,” Welch said. “Then the drought further lowered yields and raised abandonment rates. The combination of yield losses and reduction in harvested acres put Texas grain sorghum losses at $385 million.”

Hay – The value of hay production lost due to the drought is estimated to be $750 million. The lack of rain throughout the year led to the lack of hay to harvest.

“Corn stalks, grain sorghum, and wheat stubble from either failed grain crops or post-harvest residue is often baled during drought years, as was commonly done in 2011,” Anderson said. “The quality of these feeds is often very low, and its value is commensurate with its quality. Although, in years like this even the lowest quality feeds are used along with other supplemental feeds.”

Timber -The historic drought took a severe toll on trees across the state. The commercial timber forested area of East Texas was among the hardest hit, said Burl Carraway, Texas Forest Service department head for sustainable forestry. An estimated $558 million of standing merchantable trees (diameter of 5 inches or larger) on forestland in East Texas have succumbed to the drought.

“The loss is roughly twice the stumpage value of annual timber harvest in Texas over the past three years,” Carraway said. “The drought also has a devastating impact on seedlings and saplings, which are normally more susceptible to severe drought of this scale. Economic loss to these pre-merchantable timber stands is estimated to be an additional $111 million.”

Taking the impacts to merchantable and pre-merchantable trees into account, the direct economic loss of East Texas Forest from the recent drought is estimated to be around $669 million measured in stumpage values (sale value of standing trees), Carraway said.

Editor’s note: The following is a list of economic drought losses from 1998 through 2011, as compiled by AgriLife Extension economists:
* 2011– $7.62 billion
* 2009 – $3.6 billion
* 2008 – $1.4 billion
* 2006 – $4.1 billion
* 2002 – $316 million
* 2000 – $1.1 billion
* 1999 – $223 million
* 1998 – $2.4 billion

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples today issued the following statement in response to the news that Texas agricultural losses attributed to the historical 2011 drought reached a record $7.62 billion. The updated total makes the 2011 drought the most costly drought in history, according to Texas AgriLife Extension Service economists.

“When you are one of the biggest agricultural producing states in the nation, a monumental drought causes enormous losses,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said. “While the pain and damage caused by this drought cannot be overstated, our state’s farmers and ranchers are determined in their commitment and fierce in their resolve. We will rebuild and continue delivering the safest, most reliable and most affordable food supply in the world.”



Corn Refiners Ask Court to Dismiss Processed Sugar Claims

A group of corn refiners asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to dismiss claims brought by the processed sugar industry based on statements made by the Corn Refiners Association, the companies' trade association. An earlier version of these same claims was already dismissed by the court in October 2011.

CRA president, Audrae Erickson, said the processed sugar industry's attempt to hold the individual companies liable for CRA's statements is "unprecedented." Erickson added that the CRA is attempting to inform consumers about an important public health issue and that it is wrong for the processed sugar industry to attempt to stifle this educational campaign.

"The Court was obviously well prepared and asked excellent questions of both sides," Erickson said, after a hearing on the companies' motion. "We look forward to the Court's ruling."

The processed sugar industry has also brought claims against the CRA, and those claims will proceed to the discovery phase, Erickson said. "We will vigorously defend those claims, which we believe are completely without merit," Erickson said.

The case is pending in a Los Angeles federal court.



Study: DDGs Safe for Pigs, Even with Sulfur Content

University of Illinois research reports that swine producers can feed distiller's dried grain with solubles (DDGS) to their pigs without concern for sulfur content.

"When you buy DDGS, you don't have to be concerned about the level of sulfur it contains because there doesn't appear to be any impact on pig performance," said U of I animal sciences professor Hans Stein.

According to the researcher, DDGS, a co-product of the ethanol industry, is used as a feed ingredient in diets fed to swine.

To maintain a stable pH in fermentation vats, ethanol producers use sulfuric acid, which results in a sulfur content in the DDGS that varies according to how much sulfuric acid was used. Until now, the effect of low levels of sulfur in the diet on growth performance in pigs fed DDGS had not been determined, he said.

"Sulfur is toxic to cattle. If there is 0.4 percent sulfur in the diet, cattle start getting sick," Stein said. "Because there hasn't been any work on sulfur toxicity with swine, we wanted to determine how sulfur affects palatability and performance in pigs."

In a recent study, Stein's research team compared a low-sulfur (0.3% sulfur) DDGS diet with a high-sulfur (0.9% sulfur) DDGS diet. The same DDGS was used in both groups. The researchers compared palatability and growth performance of the pigs fed the low-sulfur and high-sulfur diets.

"We conducted four experiments: two with weanling pigs and two with growing-finishing pigs," said Stein. "In both weanling pigs and growing-finishing pigs, there was absolutely no difference between the two. The levels of sulfur we used in our experiments had no impact on palatability or pig growth performance."

Stein said that the results of this research would be useful to producers interested in incorporating DDGS into swine diets, but further research is needed to determine whether excess sulfur from a high-sulfur DDGS diet is deposited into swine tissues.

This research was published in the Journal of Animal Science. Researchers included Hans Stein of the U of I, Beob Kim of Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, and Yan Zhang of the National Corn to Ethanol Research Center in Edwardsville, Ill. Funding was provided by the National Pork Board, Des Moines, Iowa.



CGM/CGF Win ‘Non-Hazardous’ Recommendation in Key International Forum

This week, a key working group of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recommended approval of a U.S. proposal that corn gluten feed (CGF) and corn gluten meal (CGM) be reclassified as ‘seedcake – non-hazardous’ in the official code of the IMO. The reclassification will eliminate a requirement that these cargoes be loaded on vessels with specialized fire suppression equipment.

The proposal was based on the results of tests organized by the U.S. Grains Council in cooperation with a number of U.S. producers, marketers and shippers of CGF and CGM.

“For corn gluten to be loaded with these specifications, it would have significantly raised the cost of exporting U.S. CGF and CGM,” said Erick Erickson, USGC director of programs and planning. “This would reduce the attractiveness of these products to feed manufacturers.”

In 2010, the U.S. Grains Council organized an industry group to address this problem. With samples donated by various shoppers, the Council arranged for combustibility testing at several U.S. labs. Based on the outcome of those tests, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a letter of exemption in December 2010, allowing CGF and CGM to be loaded in U.S. ports as ‘low fire risk’ cargoes.

“The exemption letter only extends to the limits of U.S. Coast Guard jurisdiction and is not binding on non-U.S. ship owners and arrival ports,” Erickson said. “The IMO task force action this week sets into motion a process that will officially re-classify CGF and CGM in the IMO code over a period of three years. In the meantime, the U.S. Coast Guard exemption letter and public knowledge of the IMO decision will facilitate the continued competitiveness of U.S. CGF and CGM in export markets.”

Next Steps
The recommendation of the Editorial and Technical Group will be presented to the Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) Subcommittee in September 2012. That subcommittee is expected to accept the recommendation, which then must be ratified by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in May 2013. Following MSC approval the new classification will be published in the 2014 edition of the IMSBC code and will be ‘voluntary’ beginning January 2014. The new classification will become mandatory on January 1, 2015.



Argentine Truck Strike Enters Third Day

Argentina's truckers strike continues to impede supplies flowing to the key Rosario hub.  And with the action dragging into its third day, there is no solution in sight. Indeed, talks broke down between the grains truckers and the government Thursday and roadblocks may be the next step.

The good news is that, while the corn and soybean harvest has started, the bulk of the crop has yet to descend to the port and the strike is yet to cause major grain shipping delays. Nonetheless, exporters are keen to get the dispute over minimum transport fees settled and have asked for the government to reconvene talks.

Argentina will have less grain to export this year, the latest Agriculture Ministry estimates confirmed Thursday.  The Ministry refined its soybean crop number to 44 million metric tons (mmt) from 43.5 mmt to 45 mmt last month. Output will fall from 49 mmt in 2010-11 following a brutal drought across the Pampas in December and January.

Corn output was forecast at 21.2 mmt, refined from 21.2 mmt to 23 mmt estimated in February. Production was expected to hit 29 mmt before the drought but now won't even reach the 23 mmt collected last year.



USDA Trade Mission to Create Opportunities for U.S. Agriculture in China

Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse will lead nearly 40 American businesses on a U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission to China March 23-28. U.S. agricultural exports to China have grown more than 80 percent in the past three years. The USDA trade mission aims to help American businesses strike new deals, strengthen business ties, expand their markets, and support jobs for Americans.

"This is the largest USDA trade mission to date," said Scuse. "China and the United States share a special relationship, and we embrace this opportunity to demonstrate that our U.S. farmers, ranchers, and producers are reliable suppliers of the highest-quality food and agricultural products. At the same time, USDA and our federal partners will continue to aggressively work to expand export opportunities and reduce barriers to trade."

Also joining Scuse on the mission are leaders from six state departments of agriculture, including Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, Oklahoma Agriculture Secretary Jim Reese and representatives from North Carolina, Illinois, Kansas and South Dakota. In Shanghai, the delegation will be joined by Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Darci Vetter and Ambassador Islam Siddiqui, who is the chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

During stops in Chengdu and Shanghai, participants will meet with dozens of Chinese producers, importers, buyers, distributors and investors. The mission also coincides with the Food Ingredients China (FIC) trade show where Scuse will cut the ribbon to open the show's USA Pavilion.

Chinese demand for bulk commodities like soybeans and cotton is high, while demand for high-value U.S. products like meat and processed foods continues to grow. Bilateral trade between the United States and China in fiscal year 2011 reached an all-time high of $32.1 billion. U.S. exports to China were $22.8 billion and exports from China to the United States were $9.3 billion. Today, USDA's largest overseas presence is in China. With seven offices in five cities, USDA is well-positioned to support American agriculture and agribusinesses.

The Obama Administration, with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack's leadership, has aggressively worked to expand export opportunities and reduce barriers to trade, helping to push agricultural exports to record levels in 2011 and beyond. U.S. agriculture is currently experiencing one of its best periods in history thanks to the productivity and resourcefulness of our producers. Today, net farm income is at near record levels while debt has been cut in half since the 1980s. Overall, American agriculture supports 1 in 12 jobs in the United States and provides American consumers with 83 percent of the food we consume, while maintaining affordability and choice. Strong agricultural exports contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs, boost economic growth and support President Obama's National Export Initiative goal of doubling all U.S. exports by the end of 2014.

A list of companies participating in the China trade mission follows. For more information, visit http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/ATM/China2012/default.asp.

U.S. Companies Participating in the USDA Trade Mission, March 2012
Company - Location - Market
1. AgWorld International Illinois Breeding Stock, Livestock, Veterinary Equipment
2. Airfresh Seafood Washington Seafood
3. The Biltmore Company North Carolina Wine, Tourism
4. C.I.B. Minnesota Barley, Biotechnology
5. CK International, Ltd. Iowa Pork and Pork Products, Produce
6. Case New Holland Delaware Equipment
7. China Iowa Group Iowa Animal Feed, Consumer and Industrial Goods
8. Cranberry Marketing Massachusetts Cranberries
9. Dantzler Florida Forestry Products
10. Des Moines Area CC Iowa Education
11. Diamond V Iowa Animal Feed
12. Dodge City Beef Kansas Beef
13. Duck Pond Cellars Oregon Wine
14. Faegre B.D. Consultig Iowa Legal Consulting
15. Far West Fruit Co. Oregon Fruits and Vegetables
16. Garuda International California Food Ingredients
17. Glacier Treasures New York Wine
18. Herr's Foods Inc. Pennsylvania Snack Foods
19. KH International Georgia Dried Fruits and Nuts
20. Kerns and Associates Iowa Agricultural Risk Management
21. Land 'O Lakes Purina Washington Dairy, Feed and Processed Products
22. North Food Group Texas Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Grocery Products, Produce
23. OSI Group Hong Kong Commercial Food Sourcing
24. Pacific Ag Commodities California Grains, Inputs, Ingredients, Oil, Dairy, Grocery Products
25. PS International Ltd. North Carolina Meat, Poultry, Edible Oils, Flour, Sugar, Other Commodities
26. Sage Hill Northwest Washington Feed Products
27. SIG International Iowa Iowa Pork
28. Spring Lake Winery New York Wine
29. Stine Seed Company Iowa Seeds
30. Sun-Maid Growers CA California Dried Fruit
31. Syngenta, LLC Wisconsin Biotechnology, Seeds
32. Taylor Brothers Farms California Prunes, Cherries, Pomegranate Products
33. Ten Square Int. Iowa Import/Export
34. U.S.-China Ag Center Iowa Non-Profit
35. U.S. Grains Council Washington, D.C. USDA Cooperator Group Representing Corn, Barley, Grain Sorghum, Agribusiness
36. Valley Pride Sales, Inc. Washington Potatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spirits
37. Valley Proteins, Inc. Virginia Recycled Animal Fats and Proteins
38. Vermeer Corporation Iowa Equipment
39. World Wood Wholesale North Carolina Wood