Monday September 10 Ag News

UNMC to offer free lung disease screenings at Husker Harvest Days Sept. 11-13

Health care professionals from the University of Nebraska Medical Center will provide free lung disease screenings at Husker Harvest Days, Sept. 11-13 in Grand Island in the Nebraska Farmer’s Hospitality Tent. Lung function tests and free testing for a hereditary cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), called alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency, will be available.

Screenings will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. On Wednesday, Sept. 12, attendees can undergo a special screening for emphysema, which typically costs patients hundreds of dollars. Test results will be shared immediately and attendees will be referred to their physicians for follow-up.

The alpha 1 screening is available for those with a family history of COPD, abnormal pulmonary function tests and/or a prior diagnosis of COPD. The test normally costs about $100. If the deficiency is caught early, patients can take lifesaving medications.

Alpha 1 deficiency is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. COPD can cause coughing that produces large amounts of mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and other symptoms.

This year, Diane Angell, also will be at the booth to talk about alpha 1 deficiency.  Angell has the deficiency and is a national advocate for those who have the disease.

Those who stop by the tent also will receive free respirator masks to those who do lung function test (breathing test) that can minimize exposure to potentially hazardous materials. Results will be shared immediately and will be referred to their physicians for follow-up.



Extension to Offer Nitrate Testing of Forages at Husker Harvest Days

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension will offer nitrate testing of cattle forages at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island Sept. 11-13.

The free rapid testing will be available at the university's "big red" building on the south side of the showground at Lot 321.

"If you are concerned that drought has damaged crops or other forages and want to know if the nitrate level is too high to feed, UNL extension can address these concerns," said Matt Luebbe, assistant professor of animal science.

To have forage tested, drop off samples that match what cattle will be fed or will graze. "We can test the samples while you enjoy other exhibits," Luebbe said.

"With the rapid test, we can usually determine if high nitrate levels exist within 1-2 minutes. After that we can quantify the amount of nitrates within an hour if the preliminary test is positive," he said. "If we determine your feedstuffs are high in nitrates, there will be UNL beef extension personnel available to help you tailor a feeding program that fits your needs and resources available."

Although the tests are not as comprehensive as those done by commercial labs, Luebbe said, results will help cattlemen decide how to feed these forages, or if additional commercial tests are necessary.



Renewable Fuels Month Proclamation at Husker Harvest Days

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman will declare September Renewable Fuels Month at Husker Harvest Days this week.  The ceremony will take place in front of the Ag Commodities Building on Husker Harvest Days Main Street on Wednesday September 12th, at 10:40am.  Governor Heineman will make a few remarks, as will farmer-directors of Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Soybean Board.

“Governor Heineman declaring September as Renewable Fuels Months shows his support on the importance of agriculture and renewable fuels in Nebraska,” said Tim Scheer, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board and farmer from St. Paul.  “There are many benefits to using renewable fuels in rural economies, Nebraska, and across the country.  Renewable fuels provides jobs, increases tax revenue and helps keeps rural communities alive.”



Drought Struggles Continue
Senator Mike Johanns

During my August travels, Nebraskans brought up many pressing issues. However, no concern was greater than this summer’s drought and its effect on our ag producers, our food supply and a large portion of Nebraska’s economy.

The most recent reminder of the devastating effects has been the wild fires of north central and northwestern Nebraska. Massive fires blazed in the Niobrara region last month, and before we could catch our breath the dry conditions ignited again. The three recent panhandle fires, which began when lightning struck the dry, moisture-deprived terrain, resulted in the evacuation of several communities, threatening hundreds of homes and damaging dozens of buildings.

I held a number of drought roundtables during the August work period to hear firsthand the challenges facing farmers, ranchers, first responders and others who are bearing the brunt of these natural disasters. As agricultural production is such a large part of Nebraska’s economy, we must ensure those affected have a strong risk management program.  That’s what crop insurance provides. Unfortunately, several other drought mitigation programs expired last year because authors of the 2008 farm bill only funded these programs for four instead of five years.  This budgeting gimmick was short sighted and now our producers are left shouldering the burden.

The Senate-passed farm bill extends these programs for five years and provides assistance for 2012 losses. The House Agriculture Committee’s bill would prescribe similar assistance.  Now that Congress is back in session, we’ve seen a renewed push from the agriculture sector to get to work on the farm bill. I echo their sentiment. As a member of the Senate Ag Committee, I was proud of the work we conducted to produce a smart, fiscally-responsible farm bill, which passed the Senate with support from both sides of the aisle. Once the House passes its version of the farm bill, we can begin work on a compromise bill that maintains support for farm risk management programs without adding to the deficit. My hope is that the House will take swift action.  In the meantime, I continue to encourage those affected and in need of assistance to contact their local United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) office. Many farmers who live in USDA disaster designated counties may be eligible for low-interest Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans.

I was pleased to support Governor Heineman’s many requests for Federal assistance in dealing with the drought, and thankfully, USDA responded swiftly.  I continue to encourage the USDA to think creatively and look for new ideas and solutions. I also remind the agency and this Administration that efforts to impose new burdensome regulations are a bad idea, particularly at a time when producers are facing so many drought-related challenges. We must ensure our farmers and ranchers have the tools to continue providing fuel, food and fiber to our growing population.



Determining When To Rotate Alfalfa
Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension Forage Specialist

This year's drought may cause you to consider whether it's time to rotate your alfalfa, especially from dryland fields.

The most obvious indicator is when it gets is when the stand gets too thin. Older, dryland fields should have 25 or more shoots coming from two or more plants per square foot. Irrigated fields need 40 shoots from three or more plants. If your stand is thinner than these guidelines, look for somewhere to start a new field next spring.

Another indicator is  weed density. Are your fields getting weedier each year? Are many of the problems perennial plants like bluegrass, dock, or dandelions? If so, your alfalfa stand may lack the vigor or density needed to compete. A new field should be considered.

A third factor to consider may be especially important this year. Just because your stand is thick and weeds aren’t a problem doesn’t mean you should keep the field another year.

This is especially true for many dryland fields following drought. Once dryland fields exhaust all available subsoil moisture, yields drop even though stands may remain thick. In these fields, yield is limited to only what annual rainfall can support. Many dryland fields now have reached this stage. Rotating to a new field can provide a fresh source of deep subsoil moisture.

It will also provide the crop following alfalfa with some free nitrogen as well as a rotation-based yield boost. Rotating alfalfa through your fields just a little more frequently will give you this boost more often.



Presidential Forum on Agriculture in Des Moines Sept. 12

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), and Farm Foundation, NFP today announced a Presidential Forum on Agriculture to be 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012, at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, 100 Locust Street, Des Moines.

Nebraska Senator and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns will represent the Romney campaign and former Iowa Lt. Governor and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge will represent the Obama campaign.

"It is a challenging time in agriculture and it is exciting to see the presidential campaigns engage directly on these important issues with leaders from across the country," said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, who is the current NASDA President. "This forum will highlight the impact agriculture has on nearly every aspect of our economy. I encourage voters to tune in and learn more about where each candidate stands on important issues affecting agriculture."

"As a non-advocacy organization, Farm Foundation has an important role in providing this opportunity for voters to learn more about the platforms of the respective candidates," says Neil Conklin, President of Farm Foundation, NFP. "This Forum is an important opportunity to focus on the candidates' attention to the enormous challenges facing the global food system, agricultural and rural communities."

The forum will include opening comments from Johanns and Judge, questions from the moderator and questions from the audience.

Mike Pearson, host of IPTV's Market to Market, will moderator the forum. The weekly Market to Market, which airs on PBS stations across the nation, covers the $100+ billion business of food and the issues affecting the 56 million citizens of rural America.

The forum is open to invited guests only. The forum will be streamed live online at www.iptv.org and will air on IPTV on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1:00 p.m. following Market to Market. It will also air at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19 on IPTV WORLD.

Questions can be submitted by viewers watching online via twitter using the hashtag #AgForum.

The forum will immediately precede the opening of the 2012 NASDA Annual Meeting taking place in Des Moines Sept. 12 to 17.



No-Till Could Help Maintain Crop Yields Despite Climate Change

Central Great Plains farmers could use no-till production to offset wheat, corn, and millet yield losses from hotter temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide, according to studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Research leader Laj Ahuja and others at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Agricultural Systems Research Unit at Fort Collins, Colo., superimposed climate projections onto 15 to 17 years of field data to see how future crop yields might be affected. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this work supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change.

The field data was collected at the ARS Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, Colo. The projections included an increase in equivalent atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels from 380 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in 2005 to 550 ppmv in 2050. The projections also included a 5-degree Fahrenheit increase in summer temperatures in Colorado from 2005 to 2050. The ARS scientists used these projections to calculate a linear increase of CO2 and temperature from 2050 to 2100.

Ahuja's team used the Root Zone Water Quality Model (version 2) for crop rotations of wheat-fallow, wheat-corn-fallow, and wheat-corn-millet to see how yields might be affected in the future. They simulated different combinations of three climate change projections: rising CO2 levels, rising temperatures, and a shift in precipitation from late spring and summer to fall and winter. They ran the model with the projected climate for each of the 15 to 17 years of field crop data for each cropping system.

When the researchers used all three climate factors to generate yield projections from 2005 to 2100, the yield estimates for the three cropping systems dropped over time. Declines in corn and millet yields were more significant than declines in wheat yields.

Ahuja also simulated earlier planting dates and no-till management to see if either change reduced yield losses, but only the no-till option helped. In the wheat-fallow rotation with no tillage, wheat yields were higher than with conventional tillage through 2075. But by 2100, when summer temperatures had increased by 8 degrees F, even the no-till yield advantage was lost.

The results from this work were published in "Climatic Change" in 2012.



ASA Launches Soy Action Center to Connect Farmers with Capitol Hill

As Congress returns from recess this week, the American Soybean Association (ASA) announces the launch of the Soy Action Center, a grassroots communications portal through which ASA’s 21,000 farmer members can connect with their members of Congress, administration and federal agency officials, and state and local offices.

“The Soy Action Center will be a very valuable tool for our members moving forward,” said ASA President Steve Wellman, a soybean farmer from Syracuse, Neb. “While the farm bill takes center stage right now, there is always a need for simple and straightforward communication between farmers and their representatives in Congress, in the administration, and in their state and local governments. The Soy Action Center enables farmers to keep those lines of communication open, and underscore to their elected officials why informed policy decisions are so important on the farm.”

Through the web-based system, available at www.SoyGrowers.com or by clicking here, farmers can enter their address or zip code to be connected with members of Congress and state and local officials representing their communities. Farmers can also connect with opinion editors at local and national media outlets, research important pieces of legislation, follow local and national elections, check congressional schedules, and learn more about the legislative process through online tutorials.

“Many times, the legislative process can be intimidating, or seem like a large time commitment,” added Wellman. “But the Soy Action Center makes the process simple and user friendly. It is important to remember that these men and women work for us, and it is our responsibility to educate them on farm issues and how the decisions they make affect soybean farmers.”

This week and next, ASA members will use the Soy Action Center to encourage the House to pass its version farm bill as the Sept. 30 deadline draws closer.



Jack in the Box to Eliminate Gestation-Sow Stalls

San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc., has joined the growing list of restaurants, grocery store chains and institutional food suppliers in eliminating gestation-sow stalls from the company’s supply chain. The company will expect compliance by its pork suppliers by the end of 2022.

The company operates more than 2,200 restaurants in 20 states and runs the franchises Qdoba Mexican Grill, with more than 600 restaurants in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

"We informed our pork suppliers of our goal to source all pork from supply systems in which pregnant sows are cared for in a group housing environment instead of gestation stalls," the company stated. "We have begun discussing with our suppliers how they will complete such a transition by the end of 2022."

The report also discusses the company's viewpoint on a variety of other animal welfare issues, including hens raised for egg production.

The restaurant company joins a growing list of suppliers asking its pork supply chain to eliminate gestation stalls from their production facilities. Other companies include McDonald's, Denny's, Burger King, Wendy's, Campbell, Kroger, Safeway and Sysco.

In response to the companies requesting elimination of gestation stall production systems the U.S. pork industry has pointed out that each gestation housing system has advantages and disadvantages. The National Pork Board maintains the position, similar to the positions taken by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, that there are numerous ways, including sow gestation stalls, to provide proper care for sows.

Each sow housing system, including gestation stalls, open pens, free-access stalls and pastures, has welfare advantages and disadvantages that must be considered by an individual farmer, according to a NPB statement.



CWT Assists with 3.7 Million Pounds of Cheese and Butter Export Sales

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 11 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Darigold and United Dairymen of Arizona to sell 3.337 million pounds (1,514 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, and 385,809 pounds (175 metric tons) of butter, to customers in Asia and the Middle East. The product will be delivered September 2012 through February 2013.

In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling 82.4 million pounds, butter totaling 57.1 million pounds, and anhydrous milk fat totaling 123,459 pounds, to 34 countries on four continents. On a butterfat basis, the milk equivalent of these exports is 2.008 billion pounds, or the same as the annual milk production of 95,600 cows.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively impacts producer milk prices in the short-term by reducing inventories that overhang the market and depress cheese and butter prices. In the long-term, CWT’s Export Assistance program helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the farm milk that produces them.

CWT will pay export bonuses to the bidders only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.



Rural TV, iHigh.com, Alltech build digital distribution system for National FFA Organization

The National FFA Organization, Rural TV, iHigh.com and Alltech have joined together to enable FFA to deliver educational materials and programs to middle- and high-school students across the U.S. through TV and Internet broadcasts.

FFA programming can now be accessed 24 hours a day by visiting iHigh.com/FFA. Programming includes state FFA convention sessions, National FFA Convention & Expo sessions, coverage of the 2012 FFA Alumni Development Conference and local FFA events.

“The new digital distribution options will allow more students, FFA members, teachers and FFA alumni to participate in major activities, such as state and national FFA conventions. FFA members who can’t attend those events will be able to share and benefit from educational and motivational presentations at the events,” said Dwight Armstrong, chief executive officer of the National FFA Organization. “Rural TV, Alltech and iHigh understand the value of helping FFA build an educational pipeline for future workers and innovators in agriculture while also building leaders that strengthen local communities.”

The digital delivery system will provide a compelling window into the world of FFA, agricultural education and agriculture by sharing activities and accomplishments of FFA members with parents, community leaders, consumers, business and industry and the general public. It will make the FFA story available to a global audience; anyone with an Internet connection will have intimate access to FFA educational programs and opportunities for students.

In addition to playing a key role in the Internet streaming, RFD-TV has long provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the annual National FFA Convention & Expo on its broadcast channels. The 2012 National FFA Convention & Expo runs Oct. 24-27 in Indianapolis.

“We are all committed to help FFA grow so that the organization can achieve greater opportunities and reach more students,” said Patrick Gottsch, founder and president of Rural Media Group, creator of Rural TV. “It’s exciting to see this entire team focused on the same goal of helping young people succeed.”

“The potential impact of this agreement is creating a lot of excitement,” said Billy Frey, senior vice president of agricultural content at iHigh.com. “Alltech and iHigh have been able to work with 12 states to broadcast their state FFA conventions online utilizing this technology, and more chapters are signing up daily.”



Rocking Ethanol Pays Off

As the entry deadline nears for the National Corn Growers Association's Ethanol Rocks video contest, FFA Advisor Alaina Holdgrafer has what it takes to help Mediapolis, Iowa, high school students give their take on the advantages of corn ethanol. She is now the proud owner of an NCGA backpack filled with goodies, including a Sony HandyCam, and a lot of information about ethanol, which she won recently at the Farm Progress Show.

"Promoting the Ethanol Rocks video contest at Farm Progress was a great way for NCGA to interest high school and college students in taking part in supporting America's leading source of domestic renewable fuel," said Chad Willis, chairman of NCGA's Ethanol Committee. "The drawing for the video camera, literature on the benefits of ethanol, along with presentations by the Iowa Corn Growers Association, turned Iowa Corn's booth into the one-stop-shop for information on corn grower contributions to our economy."

Ms. Holdgrafer was delighted to learn of her windfall. Now that the tools to do so are available, she said she is confident that her students will want to take part in the contest. A graduate of Iowa State in Animal Science and Agricultural Education, Holdgrafer is starting her fourth year as an FFA advisor.

The deadline for the Ethanol Rocks Video Contest is 5 p.m. CDT, Monday, October 15. NCGA is looking for short videos (2 minutes or less) from active high school and college students that highlight the benefits of ethanol fuel blends to the U.S. environment and economy. One first-place contest winner will receive $1,500 and one $500 second place award will be given - each at two levels, for high school and college.