Wednesday April 24 Ag News

Farmers, Ranchers Urged to Help Fix Oil Spill Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency’s inability to provide clear and concise direction and answers to farmers and ranchers on the agency’s broad and unnecessary rule regarding oil spills has Nebraska Farm Bureau urging farmers and ranchers across the state to help be part of a solution to fix the faulty EPA regulation.

“Not only is EPA’s oil spill rule not needed, the agency has developed a rule that doesn’t fit agriculture and because of that they have struggled to answer questions about the rule. We’ve heard from members who have contacted EPA directly and received conflicting answers to their SPCC questions. That in and of itself has been a source of frustration for many farmers and ranchers attempting to identify whether they are even obligated to meet the rules requirements,” said Steve Nelson, Nebraska Farm Bureau president.

Farm Bureau has been involved in discussions with EPA since 2009 to try and clarify the obligations of farmers and ranchers under the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Rule with minimal success. The main requirement under the SPCC rule requires farms and other facilities to develop, maintain and implement oil spill prevention plans. The rule was first established in the 1970’s as a way to control spills from oil refineries. EPA claims farmers and ranchers have never been exempt from the 30 year-old SPCC Rule, yet the agency didn’t establish farm-specific SPCC Rules until 2009 and did so despite the fact there is no history of oil spill issues on farms and ranches.

In 2011, EPA provided a two-year compliance delay for SPCC implementation, but only for farms and ranches established after Aug. 2002. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the current rule, Congress passed a provision as part of the 2013 Continuing Resolution, which prevented EPA from enforcing SPCC rules on farms and ranches until the end of Sept. 2013. EPA maintains the SPCC compliance deadline for farms and ranches is May 10, 2013.

Farm Bureau is encouraging farmers and ranchers to help fix the rule by contacting members of the Nebraska Congressional Delegation and urging them to take action on the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act (FUELS Act), which among other provisions related to SPCC, would change the starting point from where SPCC regulations and requirements would take effect. Under the current SPCC Rule, any farm or ranch with above-ground oil storage capacity of 1,320 gallons would need to have a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) plan in place if there is a reasonable expectation a spill would reach waters of the U.S. The FUELS Act would raise the initial threshold of compliance from 1,320 gallons to 10,000 gallons which would prevent many Nebraska farm and ranch families from having to meet the regulations. The FUELS Act has been introduced in both the House of Representatives (H.R. 311) as well as the Senate (S. 496) and garnered support from members of Nebraska’s delegation.

“The SPCC rule is a prime example of big brother government and an agency that has lost its way. Farmers and ranchers are willing to comply with rules and regulations that solve real problems. Having farm families spend their time and thousands of dollars complying with regulations that do little to protect the environment is a waste of farmers and taxpayers’ time and money,” said Nelson.



ACRE or DCP? UNL Webinar Examines Features and Future of Each

In January Congress extended the 2008 Farm Bill to cover agricultural production in 2013. This extension requires producers to reselect which FSA farm program they will enroll in: the traditional DCP program or the newer ACRE program. To help producers with this decision, UNL extension agricultural economists will be hosting a webinar on how each program has performed and how it is expected to perform for 2013.

The webinar will be hosted on two dates, April 29 and May 3, from 10:30 a.m. to noon CT. Both webinar sessions will present the same information.

Producers will be able to re-educate themselves on the functional workings of the ACRE and DCP programs, as well as get expert analysis on how these programs might extend risk management protection in the near future. Ag economists will demonstrate the updated Nebraska ACRE Model Excel® program available at agecon.unl.edu/farmbill.

Scheduled speakers include
·         Brad Lubben, UNL extension public policy specialist, and
·         Tim Lemmons, UNL extension educator.

Webinar Access
The public is invited to access the live webinar at http://connect.unl.edu/farmbillmeeting or at one of the viewing sites where discussion will be facilitated. The webinar will be recorded and made available later on CropWatch.unl.edu.

Download Sites
·         Blair — Washington County Extension Office, 597 Grant Street, May 3 only
·         Concord — UNL Haskell Ag Lab, 57905 866 Road, May 3 only
·         Fairbury — Jefferson County Extension Office, 517 F St., April 29 and May 3
·         Imperial — Chase County Extension Office, 135 West 5th St., April 29 and May 3
·         Lincoln — Lancaster County Extension Office, 444 Cherrycreek Road, April 29 and May 3
·         Ord — Valley County Extension Office, 801 S St., Suite 1 (Fairgrounds), April 29 and May 3
·         Tekamah — Burt County Courthouse, 111 N. 13th St., May 3 only
·         West Point — Cuming County Extension Office, Cuming County Courthouse, April 29 only

Registration for this event is not required. For questions, please contact Tim Lemmons at 402-370-4061.



Nebraska Pork Producers Bring Chef Competition to Pinot, Pigs & Poets

The Nebraska Pork Producers Association is excited about expanding their continued sponsorship of this year’s Pinot, Pigs & Poets event at Happy Hollow Club on June 6, 2013 at 6 p.m. The philanthropic event will feature premium Pinot Noir wines, cutting-edge pork dishes and entertainment provided by slam poets from the Nebraska Writers Collective.

The Nebraska Pork Producers Association has been a sponsor of Pinot, Pigs & Poets since the event’s inception in 2010. In 2013, they are enhancing their sponsorship by involving the Taste of Elegance competition. The top chef will win a trip to the 2014 Pork Summit at the Greystone Campus of the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California.

Restaurants participating in Pinot, Pigs & Poets this year include The Boiler Room, The Grey Plume, Happy Hollow Club, j. coco restaurant, Le Voltaire, Lot 2 Restaurant & Wine Bar, Mahogany Prime Steakhouse, M’s Pub, Ryan’s Bistro, Stokes Grill & Bar, and Sullivan’s Steakhouse.

All proceeds from Pinot, Pigs & Poets support the Completely KIDS organization and their weekend and after-school food programs for Omaha children in need at local schools and shelters. Completely KIDS serves over 2,000 children in its after-school programs and provides over 30,000 meals a year. Last year Pinot, Pigs & Poets raised over $140,000 for these programs.

“The Nebraska Pork Producers Association is enthused about merging our Taste of Elegance culinary competition with Completely KIDS and the Pinot, Pigs & Poets event,” said Shane Meyer, President of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association. “We have hosted Taste of Elegance for many years under the same format and are looking forward to the unique twist Pinot, Pigs & Poets brings to the table. Pork producers and farmers devote their lives every day to food production and feeding the world; it’s what we live to do. Marrying the goal to promote our product with an opportunity to feed hungry children is a slam dunk for our organization.”

For more information regarding this event, visit pinotandpigs.org. To find out more about Completely KIDS and their programs and services, visit completelykids.org.



2013 Iowa Swine Day to feature nationally recognized speakers

Iowa State University, the Iowa Pork Industry Center and the Iowa Pork Producers Association are working together to produce Iowa Swine Day 2013, an industry-focused event designed specifically for the pork industry.

Scheduled for June 27 on the Iowa State University campus, the morning plenary session features nationally and internationally recognized speakers addressing key topics of current interest.

Dr. Sarah Probst Miller of AgCreate Solutions will present “Employee Engagement and Productivity.” She will be followed by Dr. Nick Gabler discussing “The Impact of Disease on Grow-finish pig Digestibility, Metabolism and Tissue Accretion.”

Rick Berman of Berman and Company in Washington, D.C., will provide an inside look at the “Animal Rights Agenda and Animal Production.” The morning session closes with Denmark’s Dr. Bjarne Pedersen, who will talk about “Global Success in Swine Production Tomorrow - What Will it Take?” Three concurrent afternoon sessions will discuss these and other topics in greater depth.

Iowa Swine Day 2013 will be held from 9 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. in the Scheman Building on the ISU campus. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. Lunch and refreshments are included in the registration fee which is only $60 until June 14; the registration then increases to $80. Students of all ages are offered a reduced rate of $25.

Additional information and the registration form can be found at http://www.aep.iastate.edu/iowaswineday/registration.html.



Iowa’s pork tenderloin contest nominations open May 1

Pork tenderloin lovers can begin nominating their favorite for the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s 11th annual Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin Contest on May 1. The contest celebrates a Midwest favorite by recognizing restaurants around the state that support their local pork producers by putting pork on their menu.

Nominations are limited to one per household. Forms are available at iowapork.org and in the May issue of the Iowa Pork Producer magazine. The deadline for nominations is June 11, 2013.

Any café, restaurant or tavern that serves breaded pork tenderloins is eligible to be nominated. Restaurants must receive three nominations to enter the first round of judging. Restaurant owners and operators are prohibited from nominating their own establishment.

“We had our work cut out for us last year with 65 sandwiches to judge, so we anticipate an even greater challenge in 2013,” said IPPA Marketing and Programs Director Kelsey Sutter. “Judging these juicy, tender, flavorful, mouth-watering sandwiches is a tough job, but someone has to do it!”

One person who nominates the winning restaurant will be entered in a drawing to win $100. The winning restaurant will receive $500, a plaque to display in the establishment and statewide publicity.

Representatives of the Iowa pork industry will judge the tenderloins on taste, appearance and physical characteristics and IPPA will announce the winner during October Pork Month.

The 2012 contest winner was Breitbach’s Country Dining in Balltown.



Weekly Ethanol Production for 4/19/2013

According to EIA data, ethanol production averaged 853,000 barrels per day (b/d) — or 35.87 million gallons daily. That is up 21,000 b/d from the week before and the second highest weekly average of the year. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 836,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 12.82 billion gallons.

Stocks of ethanol stood at 17.6 million barrels. That is a 0.5% increase from last week.

Imports of ethanol showed 39,000 b/d, up from last week.

Gasoline demand for the week averaged 367.5 million gallons daily.

Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 9.75%.

On the co-products side, ethanol producers were using 12.934 million bushels of corn to produce ethanol and 95,197 metric tons of livestock feed, 84,869 metric tons of which were distillers grains. The rest is comprised of corn gluten feed and corn gluten meal. Additionally, ethanol producers were providing 4.44 million pounds of corn oil daily.



CWT Assists with 2.2 Million Pounds of Cheese and Butter Export Sales

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 9 requests for export assistance from Darigold, Foremost Farms, and United Dairymen of Arizona to sell 965,625 pounds (438 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, and 1.257 million pounds (570 metric tons) of butter to customers in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. The product will be delivered May through October 2013.

Year-to-date CWT has assisted member cooperatives in selling 50.056 million pounds of cheese, 50.625 million pounds of butter, 44,092 pounds of AMF, and 218,258 pounds of whole milk powder to 30 countries on six continents. These sales are the equivalent of 1.567 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. That is more than USDA’s projected increase in milk marketings for all of 2013.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively impacts producer milk prices in the short-term by helping to maintain inventories of cheese and butter at desirable levels. 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 assistance to the bidders only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.



USDA and Dairy Producers Renew Agreement to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Increase Sustainability of Dairy Production

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack today renewed a historic agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate the adoption of innovative waste-to-energy projects and energy efficiency improvements on U.S. dairy farms, both of which help producers diversify revenues and reduce utility expenses on their operations.. The pact extends a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009.

"Through this renewed commitment, USDA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy will continue research that helps dairy farmers improve the sustainability of their operations," Vilsack said. "This vital research also will support the dairy industry as it works to reach its long-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020."

The Secretary signed the agreement this afternoon at the White House and was joined by representatives of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and Dairy Management, including Thomas P. Gallagher, CEO of the center. One objective of the MOU is to increase the construction of anaerobic digesters and explore innovative ways to use products previously considered waste streams from dairy production, processing and handling.

USDA support for agricultural and waste-to-energy research has played a key role in the agreement's success to date. Since signing the MOU, USDA has made nearly 180 awards that helped finance the development, construction, and biogas production of anaerobic digester systems with Rural Development programs, such as the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, Value Added Producer Grants, amongst others. These systems capture methane and produce renewable energy for on-farm use and sale onto the electric grid. Additionally, during this period, USDA awarded approximately 140 REAP loans and grants to help dairy farmers develop other types of renewable energy and energy efficiency systems at their operations.

Also, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has provided $257 million in funding since 2009 that has helped more than 6,000 dairy farmers plan and implement conservation practices to improve sustainability. NRCS support for the dairy industry has resulted in 354 on-farm and in-plant energy audits as well as 18 conservation innovation grants for dairy-related projects during the past three years.

Anaerobic digester technology is a proven method of capturing methane from waste products, such as manure, and converting into heat and electricity. The technology utilizes generators that are fueled by the captured methane.. Dairy operations with anaerobic digesters routinely generate enough electricity to power hundreds of homes per year.

Gallagher added, "We have a long and strong relationship with USDA and Secretary Vilsack, and dairy farmers and the dairy industry are very happy that USDA is entering into the next MOU with the Innovation Center. We are all interested in sustainable agriculture and producing good food responsibly, while bolstering an important rural economy, and this new MOU lays out the roadmap for more improvements. That's good for dairy, good for the economy and good for consumers."



R-CALF USA Joins Coalition to Limit Excessive Speculation

R-CALF USA joined with other members of the Commodity Markets Oversight Coalition (CMOC), a broad coalition of associations representing Main Street businesses and agriculture to file an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia in support of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) rule that would limit speculative trading in commodities.

The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act required the CFTC to quickly adopt speculative position limits for all energy futures and swaps and report back to lawmakers on their impact after the limits had been imposed for one year.

On Feb. 15, 2011, R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, regarding the need to limit excessive speculation in the cattle futures market to prevent market manipulation by speculators with a vested interest in the price of cattle and from distortions caused by excessive speculation.

On March 18, 2011, R-CALF USA submitted comments on the CFTC ruleexpressing its concern for the ever-decreasing share of physical hedger interests in the Live Cattle and Feeder Cattle markets. R-CALF USA urged the CFTC to set "meaningful position limits to prevent excessive speculation, market manipulation, and ensure market liquidity for bona fide hedgers and preserve the price discovery function of the futures market."

The CFTC approved a final rule on Oct. 18, 2011 that would have imposed speculative position limits on futures and swaps for 28 listed commodities, including cattle.

Last September, a District Court judge, responding to a legal challenge by Wall Street groups, vacated the rule citing an "ambiguous" Congressional mandate and CFTC's failure to determine if it should have made a finding of necessity before promulgating the final rule.

In its amicus brief, the CMOC supports the CFTC's position that Congress mandated a rule setting speculative position limits, citing nearly a decade of Congressional investigations and dozens of hearings into the matter. During that time, lawmakers received expert testimony from CMOC members on the harm that excessive speculation was causing their industries and constituent businesses.

"Congress had been gathering evidence for nearly a decade about excessive speculation and had already concluded that [excessive speculation] constituted an undue burden on interstate commerce" the coalition said in the brief. "Congress had studied and identified a serious crisis that it wanted remedied quickly, and therefore mandated position limits."

The coalition also pointed to the requirement by Congress that regulators conduct an expedited rulemaking process. Lawmakers also required a study into the effect of position limits one year after they had been imposed.

Given this, "there should be no doubt that Congress was mandating swift and decisive action to end what it believed was a serious problem," the CMOC said.



Baucus Announces Decision to Retire

Montana U.S. Senator Max Baucus said Tuesday he won't seek a seventh term next year. First elected in 1978, Baucus says he wants to spend the next year and a half on Capitol Hill focused on serving his constituents and chairing the powerful Senate Finance Committee without the distraction of running for re-election.

The Democrat Baucus is the latest of a slew of members of the Senate to announce his decision to leave politics. Mike Johanns, Frank Lautenberg, Jay Rockefeller, Tom Harkin and and Saxby Chambliss have also stated their intentions to retire after their current terms.

"Deciding not to run for re-election was an extremely difficult decision," Baucus said in a statement. "After thinking long and hard, I decided I want to focus the next year and a half on serving Montana unconstrained by the demands of a campaign."



Improper Cooking, Handling Lead to More Severe Illnesses From Chicken, Ground Beef

(AP) -- An analysis of more than 33,000 cases of foodborne illness shows that ground beef and chicken have caused more hospitalizations than other meats.

The report by the Center for Science in Public Interest says chicken nuggets, ham and sausage pose the lowest risk of foodborne illness.

The group used government data on 1,700 outbreaks over 12 years to analyze salmonella, E. coli, listeria and other pathogens that were definitively linked to a certain meat.

To calculate which meats were riskiest, CSPI ranked the foods in which contamination was most likely to cause hospitalizations. Some meats may have had more illnesses but were less likely to cause severe illness.

After ground beef and chicken, CSPI categorized turkey and steak as "high risk" and deli meat, pork, roast beef and beef or pork barbeque as "medium risk."

Salmonella and E. coli, pathogens that contaminate meat and poultry during slaughter and processing, accounted for a third of the illnesses surveyed. Clostridium perfringens, a lesser-known pathogen that usually grows after processing when foods are left at improper temperatures for too long by consumers or food establishments, accounted for another third.

While a large number of chicken illnesses were due to clostridium perfringens, chicken led to many hospitalizations partly because of the high incidence of salmonella in chicken that isn't properly cooked.

Most of the ground beef illnesses were from E. coli, which is found in the intestinal tracts of cattle and can transfer to the carcass if the meat isn't handled properly during slaughter. Ground beef can be riskier than steak and other beef products because pathogens are spread during the grinding process.

According to the report, listeria, salmonella and E. coli required the most hospitalizations.

The group noted that the data is incomplete because so many foodborne illnesses are not reported or tracked. The CDC estimates that as many as 48 million Americans get sick from food poisoning each year.

To reduce foodborne illnesses from meat, CSPI recommends what they call "defensive eating" -- assuming that meat can be unsafe. Safe handling includes not letting meat juices drip onto other food or counters, cleaning cutting boards and plates that have held raw meat, wearing gloves when preparing meat and washing hands often. Cooks should also make sure meat is heated to the proper temperature before eating it.



Monsanto Announces $400 Million Research Center Expansion

Monsanto Company Tuesday announced plans to bring together its St. Louis-based industry-leading research and development team on one campus when it completes a more than $400 million expansion at its Chesterfield Village Research Center. The company plans to begin work this summer and expects to add 675 jobs across St. Louis County over the next three years.

Monsanto plans to add 36 new greenhouses, additional offices and laboratory space as well as additional plant growth chambers to facilitate development of its seed and trait pipeline. Greenhouses and plant growth chambers, which can be programmed to represent any climate around the world, are a critical component of Monsanto's research work as they offer Monsanto scientists an opportunity to observe and select only the best performing seeds for in-ground testing.

"Our Chesterfield Village Research Center is already a world-class facility, and with our planned new investment, will truly be a home worthy of what I believe is the most innovative team in agriculture," said Robb Fraley, Ph.D., Monsanto's chief technology officer. "Monsanto has pledged to help those in agriculture find new ways to produce more while using less of our globe's resources."

Monsanto's proposed expansion will enable greater collaboration between researchers, as they work to develop new systems of technologies to make agriculture more productive and more sustainable.

Monsanto currently has approximately 1,000 employees at its Chesterfield site, which could have the capacity to house 2,000 local technology employees once the project is complete. Today, the site comprises 1.5 million-square-feet and includes approximately 250 laboratories, 122 plant growth chambers and two acres of greenhouses. In addition to the new office and research space, the company plans to add a new cafeteria for employees, a conference center and a parking structure. The expansion is being made possible with the support of the State of Missouri and St. Louis County.

"In Missouri, we take great pride in our state's status as a leader in the biotechnology industry, and Monsanto's $400 million expansion in St. Louis will accelerate our state's continued growth in this area," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said. "One of the fastest-growing sectors of Missouri's economy is in science and technology, and I remain committed to embracing these industries to transform our economy and create next-generation jobs. Monsanto's major investment in the state of Missouri, which will create hundreds of high-tech, high-paying jobs while also boosting our construction industry, further establishes the Show-Me State as a biotech powerhouse."

Monsanto's commercial and corporate teams will continue to occupy the company's Creve Coeur campus, which also currently houses lab spaces. Once employees are transferred to Chesterfield, those lab spaces may be converted to other uses, Fraley said. Construction is expected to be completed in 2017, and teams will begin moving to the Chesterfield site in phases beginning at that time.