Valentine’s Peppermill Claims “Best Burger” Title
Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers along with the Nebraska Beef Council have announced Peppermill and E.K. Valentine Lounge in Valentine, NE as the winner of the third annual “Nebraska’s Best Burger” contest. The contest selection was made through online nominations and a panel of judges.
The contest sought nominations throughout March, resulting in over 2,100 submissions for 293 different restaurants. The Peppermill’s Joseph Angus Burger received enough nominations to reach the top five and was ultimately awarded the best burger by a panel of judges who conducted an anonymous taste test. The Joseph Angus Burger is a ten ounce beef hamburger with jalapeno bacon, cob-smoked ham, barbeque sauce, house ranch dressing, Swiss and cheddar cheeses and is topped with two crispy homemade onion rings.
“We are pleased to present this year’s Best Burger Award to the Peppermill” said Adam Wegner, Director of Marketing for the Nebraska Beef Council. “Being located in the nation’s largest beef cow county, it’s fitting that they would serve an award winning burger.”
The Peppermill was opened in 1987 by William R. Joseph in the historic Fort Niobrara Hotel building in downtown Valentine. A large outdoor garden and banquet hall were added as well as several interior updates throughout the next 8 years. In 1995 William's son, Roger bought the business and developed the concept from cafe to steakhouse and event facility. In 2007 the Peppermill in downtown Valentine closed and Roger's son, Robert re-opened the Peppermill and E.K. Valentine Lounge on highway 20 in Valentine.
The Peppermill will be awarded the first place plaque and will be featured by the Beef Council as part of Nebraska Beef Month.
Four other restaurants rounded out the top five in the contest include the runner-up Dinker’s Bar in Omaha, followed by Greta’s Gourmet in Lincoln, Tommy Colina’s Kitchen in Omaha and the Union Bar in Gering. A complete list of nominated restaurants is available on www.nebeef.org.
May Beef Month Feature - Japanese “Sophisticated Beef Recipes” Highlight U.S. Beef
An elegant cookbook devoted entirely to American beef is one of the fruits of a Japanese media team brought that beef checkoff contractor U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) brought to the U.S. in 2012. The writer for ELLE a table, a high-end international food magazine that introduces upscale restaurants and global cuisine trends, was part of the journalist team visit.
The ELLE a table writer interviewed seven chefs in Japan and the U.S., and published their favorite U.S. beef recipes. Among them, the chef from Dean & Deluca Tokyo introduced beef tenderloin in a chilled dish, and the chef from Fette Sau, a popular Brooklyn barbecue restaurant, explained how to barbecue U.S. rib eye. Restaurants from Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., also are featured in the cookbook, “Sophisticated Beef Recipes: Using American Beef.’
“After visiting ranches and restaurants in the U.S. and seeing the care that goes into production of American beef, the writer decided that U.S. beef deserved its own recipe book and profile with a perspective both from Japan and the States,’ says Tazuko Hijikata, USMEF-Japan senior manager for consumer affairs.
“ELLE a table reaches opinion leaders in the food industry,’ adds Hijikata. “Some restaurants the author described in the magazine were later profiled on television programs in Japan and have seen their business increase.’
A number of the Japanese chefs featured in the book had been advocates for U.S. beef but had switched to other suppliers after the first American BSE case in 2003. The ELLE a table project helped reacquaint them with the quality and value of U.S. beef and inspired them to begin using U.S. beef in their own restaurants again.
The slick, full-color, 96-page book, which features 74 recipes for dishes centered around U.S. beef, has a circulation of 40,000.
In addition to the free-standing recipe book, the editorial department of ELLE a table inserted a shortened version into an issue of the magazine to help build awareness of the book and to promote the quality and tastiness of American beef.
Among the features in the book is a profile of a family owned farm in Oregon. Titled “Country Natural Beef,’ the article explains how carefully the family produces beef in the great outdoors of the United States. The author introduces the profile with: “Discover the secrets: why American beef is so tasty.’
USMEF-Japan worked with ELLE a table in anticipation of the recent decision by Japan to expand access for U.S. beef to product from cattle up to 30 months of age.
Last year, U.S. beef exports to Japan jumped 18 percent in value over 2011, reaching $1.03 billion.
A Tale of Two Forage Regions
Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension Forage Specialist
East versus west. Wet versus dry. Looks like we are starting this year with very different conditions depending on where you live.
If you pay any attention to weather reports, you probably have noticed that we Nebraskans are experiencing two very different worlds of weather. Much of eastern Nebraska has received relatively abundant precipitation this past month, not enough to fully recharge soil moisture but at least enough to give us a good start. Unfortunately, most of central and western Nebraska, especially the Panhandle and southwest, still remain locked in the drought.
Why is this important? I think it's important for you to realize this when you read or listen to farm and ranch advice in magazines, in newspapers, even on the radio like from me. Most advice assumes certain kinds of growing conditions. Advice for good moisture locations usually isn't suitable for drought areas and recommendations dealing with drought rarely optimize production when rainfall is good.
I know you recognize this difference, but sometimes when advice is given it isn't all that clear what weather conditions are required for the advice to be useful. For example, I often discuss fertilizing grasses during spring but sometimes I don't comment much on fertilizing relative to spring soil moisture conditions. That advice assumes that moisture will be adequate to take advantage of the potential growth stimulation by the fertilizer. So B the advice is good for folks in areas with adequate moisture but should be ignored if you are in drought.
This kind of confusion or apparently misleading advice is likely to continue until either everyone is in full drought again or the entire region is back to good moisture.
Until then, only use the advice that fits your conditions.
NDA ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF LIVESTOCK TRADE COST-SHARE FUNDING
On behalf of U.S. Livestock Genetics Export (USLGE), the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) is reminding Nebraskans of the availability of cost-share funds to promote U.S. livestock exports.
The funds are available to private livestock breeders, companies, or cooperatives interested in promoting livestock, semen, or embryo sales in international markets through December 31, 2013. These funds are available through the Market Access Program (MAP) of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Nebraska farmers, ranchers and livestock companies to enter into or expand their presence in the international marketplace,” said Stan Garbacz, NDA’s agricultural trade representative.
The MAP branded program provides for partial reimbursement (up to 50 percent) of the cost of approved activities, such as international advertising, the development, translation and distribution of promotional materials, and participation in foreign trade shows and exhibitions. Funds cannot be used for travel or personnel reimbursement. An administrative fee is charged to participate in the program.
For more information about the program, please contact NDA at (402) 471-2341, or the USLGE at (618) 548-9154.
Johanns Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help Ag Producers, Small Businesses Manage Their Risk
U.S. Sens. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) are leading a bipartisan coalition of Senators in introducing a bill to clarify the exemption for farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small businesses from margin requirements included in the Dodd-Frank financial legislation. These exempted groups, known as end-users, use derivatives to manage their risk and insure against extreme price fluctuations for commodities and inputs – like seed and fertilizer – critical to their business operations.
Johanns said, “Farmers, ranchers and businesses use every tool available to responsibly protect themselves and their customers from unforeseen risks like drought or fluctuations in fuel, fertilizer or commodity prices. Our bipartisan legislation allows these local businesses to continue doing that without battling burdensome and costly margin requirements meant to cover day-traders playing the markets.”
Tester said, “This bill ensures that Montana farmers and ranchers can continue to effectively manage risks, protect their livelihoods, and provide for their families. Smart risk management strengthens our economy, and this bill clarifies Congress’ intent to give small businesses the flexibility and certainty they need to successfully run their businesses.”
Joining Johanns and Tester are Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).
The bill is identical to H.R. 634, which today unanimously passed the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee. It clarifies current law by making explicit that commercial end-users are not subject to costly margin requirements, consistent with Congress’ intent in Dodd-Frank.
End-users are the final user of a good or product. Ranchers, for example, could purchase derivatives contracts on corn in advance of the harvest to protect themselves against unforeseen market fluctuations. Dodd-Frank included margin requirements forcing non-end-users and those speculating on market prices to post margin to cover the risks associated with their derivative purchases.
Dodd-Frank included an exemption for non-financial end-users based on the low risks they pose to the financial system. Despite Congress’ intent, there has been a debate over how broadly the exemption would apply. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission previously issued a joint rule that would exempt end-users from margin, but the Federal Reserve has issued regulations that would capture many end-users in their regulations.
Climate Change Impacts Already Being Felt Worldwide
Climate change already is being felt around the world, and society must figure out how to adapt to the changes already underway and mitigate the severity of future impacts, experts said Tuesday (May 7) at the global Water for Food Conference.
The fifth annual conference, hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, continued into a second day. Its theme is "Too Hot, Too Wet, Too Dry: Building Resilient Agroecosystems."
Managing climate change is one key facet of feeding a global population expected to grow from 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050.
"Climate change is happening right now," Heidi Cullen, chief climatologist for Climate Central, told reporters at a morning briefing. Scientists have measured an average temperature increase of 1.5 degrees on the planet, with the potential that it could become a 7- to 11-degree increase in the future.
"As the planet warms we expect to see more extreme events," said Cullen, whose Climate Central is a nonprofit science journalism organization. Those will include longer heat waves and droughts and more heavy rainfall events.
Rosina Bierbaum, a professor of natural resources and environment at the University of Michigan, said recent events such as Hurricane Sandy "make it clear we're not prepared to cope with the droughts and floods of today, let alone the increase in these events in the future."
The good news, Bierbaum said, is that thousands of efforts are underway across the U.S., with many of them showing promise. Assembling useful information on best practices is key to adapting to already existing change and mitigating future change, she added.
Christo Fabricius, who has spent more than 20 years working on natural resource issues in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the world's epicenters for the looming water for food challenge, also warned about the threat of climate change in a world where "219,000 new people need food every day."
Sixty-six nations cannot now produce enough food for their populations, and significant investments in research and extension are needed to help reverse that. Unfortunately, sub-Saharan Africa spends an average of just 1 percent of its agricultural GDP on research and extension, said Fabricius, who leads the sustainability research unit of the Resilience Alliance at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa.
In the U.S. a robust research and extension tradition helped producers and others deal with the 2012 flash drought, said Charles Hibberd, dean of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Drought occurs routinely in the region and land-grant universities such as UNL have worked with producers for decades to develop strategies to deal with it, as well as to reduce water use even in good times.
"We're always preparing for drought," Hibberd said.
Better irrigation technology and practices have developed, as have other extension-promoted management techniques such as skip-row planting, all of which have helped producers use water more efficiently, Hibberd said.
But last year's drought developed and spread so quickly, it caught many by surprise. Hibberd said extension was able to rapidly deliver "just-in-time information" to producers to help them deal with the crisis. Those efforts have continued through the winter as the drought is expected to linger and have consequences this year.
Producers from Brazil, Nebraska and Colorado discussed their efforts to build resilient, sustainable operations that can weather change. For example, Mike Kelly, whose ranch sits at the southern edge of Nebraska's Sandhills, worked with federal and state partners to revamp a section of the Birdwood Creek that runs through his land. A previous owner had straightened more than a mile of it, resulting in faster water flow that reduced the area's water table. The project restored the creek's original, meandering path, which has restored the water table and improved grass production along it.
Duke Phillips, who owns and operates two large diversified ranching businesses in Colorado, said he thinks ranchers, a dwindling breed, have a responsibility to help educate urban dwellers. To that end, he welcomes to his ranch about 2,000 kids who think "cowboys are out riding horses and shooting guns."
His dude ranch puts visitors to work and is home to concerts and art exhibits.
"My goal has changed from trying to create my own world to trying to create an opportunity for people to get together and learn about each other," Phillips said.
During its first two days, the conference drew about 400 people from around the world who are working to overcome the urgent challenge of growing more food with less water.
Additional information about the 2013 Water for Food Conference is online at: http://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/wff2013. The conference, sponsored by Monsanto, continues through Wednesday.
Ray and Neale Bring Expertise to Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute
Two eminent water resources experts are bringing their broad experience and leadership to the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska.
Chittaranjan Ray will join the DWFI in August as director of the Nebraska Water Center, and Christopher M. U. Neale will join the DWFI in October as director of research.
The two will be members of founding executive director Roberto Lenton's leadership team for the institute.
Neale is professor in the Irrigation Engineering Division of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Utah State University and has been a leader in remote sensing and management of agricultural water resources since joining the faculty there in 1988.
Neale holds a doctorate in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University. He has extensive experience working in water research and management projects in the western U.S. and in South America, Africa and the Caribbean.
He is president-elect of the International Commission on Remote Sensing of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences and will assume the presidency in July 2014.
Ray is professor of civil engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is currently the interim director of the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Hawaii, which like the Nebraska Water Center is part of a network of more than 54 water resources research institutes at land-grant universities nationwide.
Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Hawaii in 1997, Ray held positions in industry and at the Illinois State Water Survey.
He has a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Illinois, and he has extensive experience in many facets of managing both water quantity and water quality issues.
"I am delighted by the appointment of Drs. Neale and Ray," said Roberto Lenton, executive director of the Water for Food Institute. "They will play critically important roles in advancing the work of the Water for Food Institute in Nebraska and other parts of the world facing critical water for food challenges."
The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska is a research, education and policy analysis institute committed to helping the world efficiently use its limited freshwater resources, with particular focus on ensuring the food supply for current and future generations.
Report examines Climate Change and Carbon Sequestration
Today the Center for Rural Affairs released a report titled, Banking on Carbon, which examines opportunities for farming and ranching practices to mitigate climate change through the potential for agricultural soils to pull carbon out of the air, thereby reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas levels.
A full copy of the report can be viewed and downloaded at: http://files.cfra.org/pdf/Banking-On-Carbon.pdf.
“The climate is changing at a quickening pace as a direct result of human activities,” said Wyatt Fraas, Assistant Director of Rural Opportunities and Stewardship at the Center for Rural Affairs and author of the report.
“While there is no single “silver bullet” agricultural solution that will fit the variety of cropping systems, climates and soils across the country; farming and ranching systems could be tailored to meet these challenges through targeted research.” Wyatt Fraas, Center for Rural Affairs.
Because farming and ranching contribute a relatively small portion of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, reducing agricultural emissions, while beneficial, pale in comparison to the greatest tool farming and ranching have to reduce atmospheric carbon, namely sequestration in agricultural soils, Fraas continued.
According to Fraas, his report seeks to encourage farming and ranching efforts to sequester atmospheric carbon in agricultural soils. It also describes other practices and public policy options that can decrease atmospheric carbon and increase farm and ranch resilience to climate change.
“Current agricultural recommendations to reduce global warming are to farm with no-till techniques, plant trees, reduce fertilizer use and capture methane at confinement livestock operations, added Fraas. “However, more and better approaches can greatly increase the carbon captured and emissions reduced. Most of these enhanced practices will also make farm and ranch land more resilient and better able to withstand effects of global climate change.”
Farm policy must encourage changes in the ways farmers and ranchers conserve their soil and water, and in the crops they plant. At the Center for Rural Affairs, we are looking for solutions to these challenges. This report, Banking on Carbon, details what we have found so far, Fraas explained.
Policy recommendations found in Banking on Carbon include:
- Build conservation and carbon payment programs that complement each other. Carbon practices should not impair other conservation objectives such as erosion control, water quality and wildlife habitat. Landowners should be allowed to “stack” payments for carbon management with incentives for conservation to achieve these broader benefits.
- Prioritize research to guide protocols for carbon payments. Current payments reward a narrow slice of practices while a wide array of practices with proven carbon sequestration potential (cover crops, crop rotations, diverse plantings, managed grazing systems, grass-based livestock systems, and combinations of such practices) go unrecognized. One “silver bullet” solution will not fit the variety of cropping systems, climates and soils across the country, but systems could be tailored to meet those requirements through targeted research.
- Protect long-term results of carbon payments. Initial carbon trading protocols were for only five-year terms, with the credit recipient free to end the practice and return the sequestered carbon to the atmosphere. Measures that ensure sequestered carbon remains sequestered are necessary. However, current payments are inadequate incentive for landowners to enter into long-term agreements.
- Provide real “additionality” to carbon payments. Only new and “additional” efforts to reduce emissions or capture carbon should qualify for incentives. EPA and USDA should develop guidelines for determining when practices approach the usual and thus no longer require incentive and for addressing emissions caused by technologies that are in decline, such as anaerobic lagoons. This will eliminate payments for what would have been done anyway; a practice that wastes limited resources. In addition, it is critical to foster innovation by paying those who have led the way in the past with early adoption.
- Incorporate agricultural resilience into carbon management. Many farming/ranching practices both sequester carbon and reduce the effects of climate changes. Increasing soil organic carbon improves crop yields, absorbs more water during storms and stores it longer, resists erosion, and reduces drought effects. While reducing emissions and capturing carbon are necessary to slow global warming, a simultaneous effort to deal with its impacts – which have already begun – is a realistic response to maintaining crop production, food supplies and the farm economy.
- Ensure that bioenergy production works in concert with soil carbon goals. When crop residues or dedicated energy crops are considered for cellulosic ethanol and biomass energy production, we risk losing carbon from the soil. We also remove the nitrogen in the crop residue. If that nitrogen is replaced by manufactured nitrogen, the practice will generate additional emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Much more crop residue is required to maintain soil carbon and fertility than to reduce erosion, which had been guiding plans for energy crops. USDA should also research the potential for other “win-win” options for sourcing biomass for biofuel production, such as limited biomass harvest from Conservation Reserve Program acres timed to minimize damage to wildlife.
TPP talks key to opening Japan
Sen. Mike Johanns & Dan Glickman
(from Politico)
Japan’s recent decision to seek inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations could be a game-changer for U.S. agriculture and good news for our country’s overall economy. We welcome the Obama’s administration announcement that it would support Japan’s inclusion, and we urge other countries to do the same.
Japan, Asia’s second largest economy, has strong demand for the agricultural products America’s farmers and ranchers can supply. Globally, it is the fourth largest market for these products. In 2012 alone, U.S. agricultural exports to Japan topped $13.5 billion. That is eight times higher than United States exports to Vietnam, which is the next biggest agricultural market among the TPP nations that don’t have existing free-trade agreements with the United States.
What’s even more remarkable about these trade levels is that the U.S. has been able to achieve them despite Japan’s history of placing restrictions on key imports. As secretaries of agriculture, we heard many concerns about these restrictions from U.S. producers, and we know the direct impact they have on opening access to Japan’s market. The first step to improving trade relations, however, is to sit down at the negotiating table. That is why Japan’s entry into the TPP now is so essential to improving market access for U.S. producers. For many U.S. agricultural products — such as wheat, barley, rice, beef, pork, poultry, dairy products and soybean oil — improved trade relations with Japan will most likely increase exports and in turn boost our nation’s economy at a time when job creation and growth are very much needed.
The simple fact is that nations rarely reduce or eliminate tariffs unilaterally. Tariff quotas and similar trade-limiting measures are usually reduced as part of trade negotiations. Since 2009, the multilateral trade talks at the World Trade Organization’s Doha round have been stalled. That is why Japan’s becoming a negotiating member of TPP offers the best hope for improved market access and eventual free trade with Japan.
Japan produces many high-quality farm products, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has rightfully recognized that growth in those products must come from global markets. For years, Japanese policies regarding agriculture have been defensive, seeking to protect Japanese producers from global markets rather than take advantage of the opportunities beyond the country’s borders. Earlier this year, Japan took another important step in reducing trade barriers by easing restrictions on imported U.S. beef. We welcome this shift in thinking and hope it bears fruit in the TPP negotiations for both countries.
Trade agreements strengthen the economies of trading partners while often forging friendships in parts of the world where we need strong allies. Japan and the U.S. have maintained an important alliance, as two great democracies, for more than five decades. It is a partnership that must be sustained and nurtured, especially during troublesome times in this important region.
It is, of course, impossible to predict the outcome of the negotiations with Japan on TPP. But we can safely predict that without Japan in those talks, an opportunity will have been lost for U.S. agriculture and the broader economy of our country and the countries lining the Pacific Rim. It is an opportunity, and we hope all of the TPP negotiating partners embrace Japan’s entry into the talks.
Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) was secretary of agriculture in the administration of President George W. Bush; former Congressman Dan Glickman (D-Kan.) was secretary of agriculture under President Bill Clinton.
Harkin, Franken Introduce Energy Section of Farm Bill
U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the energy legislation to be included in the 2013 Farm Bill, which includes several provisions expected to create jobs throughout Minnesota and the country. Sens. Harkin and Franken's Rural Energy Investment Act will help farmers, ranchers, and rural communities by encouraging the growth of agricultural energy technologies, including advanced biofuels, biogas, biomass, and renewable energies.
"The 2002 farm bill included an energy title for the first time to send a message that our farms, ranches, and rural communities are on the front lines of producing new energy sources such as bioenergy and windpower," said Sen. Harkin. "These energy programs are essential for expanding clean energy supplies, which also spur rural economic development and job creation. The tradition of providing strong support for an energy title in a farm bill must continue today, so for that reason I am hopeful that this measure will serve as a marker as the 2013 bill moves through the U.S. Senate."
"Advancing our agricultural energy technologies is good for our farmers and economy, and it improves our overall energy independence and security," said Sen. Franken. "This legislation will create jobs and play a critical role in cutting costs for our farmers and producers and will help them with the adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. I look forward to incorporating it into this year's Farm Bill."
Sen. Franken and Harkin's bill is cosponsored by Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Sen. William "Mo" Cowan (D-Mass.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii.).
The Rural Energy Investment Act also contains several programs that will specifically help Iowa, including:
-- The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which was included in the 2012 Farm Bill that passed the Senate. The program helps agriculture producers and businesses in rural areas invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects so they can cut energy bills and earn additional income by selling the energy they produce.
-- The Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP), which assists in the development of new and emerging technologies for advanced biofuels through support for the construction and retrofitting of biorefineries for the production of advanced biofuels.
-- The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which provides financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural land and non-industrial private forest land who wish to establish, produce, and deliver biomass feedstock to energy producers.
-- The Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI), which provides competitive funding in the form of grants, contracts, and financial assistance for research, development, and demonstration of technologies and processes leading to significant commercial production of biofuels, biobased energy, feedstocks, and products--including the development of cost-competitive cellulosic ethanol.
Since 2009, thousands of direct and indirect jobs have been created or saved in rural areas by the Farm Bill's energy programs that benefitted almost 12,000 rural small businesses, agricultural producers, and advanced biofuel refineries across the country. Continued growth in new agriculture, manufacturing, and high tech jobs are at great risk without continued Federal investment.
A strong energy section of the Farm Bill has the support of a coalition of over 100 agriculture and energy organizations.
Iowa Receives Presidential Disaster Declaration
Gov. Terry E. Branstad received word that a Presidential Disaster Declaration has been issued for five Iowa counties. The five counties included in the declaration are Dickinson, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola and Sioux.
The Governor sent the request for the declaration on Friday, April 26, in response to severe weather which occurred April 9-11, 2013. The severe weather produced damaging winds, heavy rains, thunderstorms, freezing rain, ice and snow that caused damage to utility lines, poles, trees and vegetation.
The declaration by the President will provide federal funding to the declared counties under the Public Assistance Program. A Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance puts into motion long-term federal recovery programs, some of which are matched by state programs, and designed to help public entities and select non-profits. Public Assistance funds may be used for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and may include debris removal, emergency protective measures, repair of damaged public property, loans needed by communities for essential government functions and grants for public schools.
The Governor also received notification that the Presidential Disaster Declaration includes funding to conduct hazard mitigation activities for the entire state. With this funding, Iowa will be able to minimize the impact of future natural disasters by taking steps now to strengthen existing infrastructure.
This Presidential Disaster Declaration is the 15th Major Presidential Disaster Declaration Iowa has received since March 2007.
Iowa Soybean Association, FFA combat food insecurity at packaging event
The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) joined GROWMARK in sponsoring the packaging of more than 260,000 soy-based Meals From The Heartland during the 85th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference held last month in Ames. Nearly 1,500 FFA volunteers took turns measuring and packaging the nutritious meals that will feed people internationally while building demand for Iowa-grown soybeans. This was the second consecutive year that the ISA, Iowa FFA Foundation and Iowa FFA Association partnered in sponsoring the soy-based meals packaging. Combined, nearly 500,000 servings were packaged and distributed.
USDA's May 10, 2013, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report to Incorporate Some Changes
The May 10 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, which will be released at 12 noon EDT, will present USDA's initial assessment of U.S. and world crop supply and demand prospects and U.S. prices for the 2013/14 marketing year. It will also present the first calendar-year 2014 projections of U.S. livestock, poultry, and dairy products.
Changes to the May WASDE will include the following:
- On pages 20 and 21 in the World Coarse Grain Supply and Use table, Brazil is moved from "Selected Other" to "Major Exporters."
- On pages 22 and 23, in the World Corn Supply and Use table, Brazil is moved from "Selected Other" to "Major Exporters."
- On page 28, in the World Soybean Supply and Use table, Paraguay is listed separately under "Major Exporters," and Uruguay is now included in the "Major Exporters" total.
Examples of these changes and five sample WASDE pages for the 2013/14 marketing year can be found on the "Historical Revisions" page on the WASDE website, located at: www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/revisions/May2013ExamplePages.pdf.
Background on USDA's WASDE report and past issues of the report are available at: www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/.
Retail Fertilizer Trends
Retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the fifth week of April 2013 remain extremely stable. However, that calm may belie a growing angst as farmers who pre-contracted anhydrous for spring delivery run out of time for application. Prices for six of the eight major fertilizers slipped lower compared to last month, but these moves to the low side were fairly undersized, DTN's retail survey showed. DAP had average price of $616 per ton, MAP $659/ton, potash $587/ton, urea $571/ton, anhydrous $857/ton and UAN28 $403/ton. Prices for the remaining two fertilizers edged higher compared to the last week of March, but again the move was slight. 10-34-0 had an average price of $613/ton on and UAN32 $451/ton.
On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.62/lb.N, anhydrous $0.52/lb.N, UAN28 $0.72/lb.N and UAN32 $0.71/lb.N.
Only one of the eight major fertilizers is showing a price increase compared to one year earlier. Anhydrous is now 13% higher compared to last year. Four fertilizers are a single digit lower in price compared to April/May 2012. DAP is 4% lower, both MAP and UAN28 are down 5% and UAN32 is 6% lower compared to last year. The remaining three fertilizers are now down double digits from a year ago. Potash is now down 12% while 10-34-0 is 22% less expensive and urea is 24% lower.
Low Cattle Prices Have Time to Rebound
Although finished-cattle prices that were expected to increase this year for producers remained low in the first quarter, Purdue Extension agricultural economist Chris Hurt said increases could be on the horizon. Hurt said he earlier had thought that beef production would decline by 3 percent for the first half of the year and that cattle prices would be in the $130s by now, but that hasn't happened.
"So far this year, beef supplies have been down close to 1 percent," he said. "That means more beef than we expected, and more beef is certainly one of the contributors to lower cattle prices."
More supply isn't the only component of the lower-than-expected beef prices. Additional contributors include a weaker U.S. economy, reduced pork and chicken exports and high retail beef prices.
"The weak U.S. economy has many consumers shopping for value and beef has had higher retail price increases as compared with competitive animal proteins," Hurt said. "As an example, retail choice beef prices have been at record-high levels this year, reaching $5.30 per retail pound in the month of March."
Over the past six months, beef prices have risen 6 percent more than pork prices, 10 percent more than turkey, 4 percent more than chicken and 7 percent more than eggs.
Higher beef prices for consumers, coupled with lower animal exports - pork exports were down by 14 percent in the first two months and chicken exports by 3 percent - have created more competition in the domestic market for beef.
Hurt said continued small supplies of beef for the rest of the year suggests a brighter future for cattle prices.
"Last-quarter supplies could drop by 6 to 7 percent, with prices rising into the low $130s," he said. "First-quarter prices for next year should improve a few dollars toward the low- to mid-$130s. These forecasts are all higher than current futures prices."
If crop yields are closer to normal this year and corn is about $5 a bushel by harvest, those much lower feed prices will stimulate expansion of all animal species.
Hurt said with lower feed prices and improved pasture conditions, cattle producers are expected to retain more heifers. These early stages of herd expansion will draw the beef supply down even more and lead to higher cattle prices.
"This all suggests better days ahead for both finished cattle and calf prices," he said.
EIA lowers forecast for summer gasoline prices
U.S. gasoline prices are expected to be lower this summer than previously thought. The price for regular gasoline this summer is now expected to average $3.53 a gallon, according to the new monthly forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That’s down 10 cents from last month’s forecast and 16 cents cheaper than last summer.
After reaching a weekly peak of $3.78 a gallon in late February, pump prices fell nine weeks in a row to $3.52 per gallon by the end of April. Gasoline is expected to cost less because of lower crude oil prices, which account for about two-thirds of the price drivers pay at the pump.
U.S. crude oil production expected to top 8 million barrels per day, highest output since 1988
U.S. crude oil production in 2014 is now expected to top 8 million barrels per day for the first time in over a quarter century. The U.S. Energy Information Administration boosted its forecast for daily crude oil production this year by 120,000 barrels to 7.4 million barrels per day.
For 2014, EIA’s forecast for daily production was revised upward by 310,000 barrels to nearly 8.2 million barrels per day. This would mark the first time since 1988 that U.S. crude oil output exceeded 8 million barrels per day. The higher production over the next two years will be due mainly to increased oil drilling in North Dakota and Texas.
Additions to natural gas in underground storage to be nearly 50% higher this summer
Although it’s still spring, natural gas supply companies and utilities are already preparing for next winter and are building their inventories of natural gas to meet future heating demand. About 2.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas will be added to gas inventories in underground storage over the summer months to get ready for the winter heating season, which starts November 1. That is significantly higher than the roughly 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas added during last summer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s new monthly forecast.
Higher natural prices this year will lead to lower gas use by power plants to generate electricity, which will contribute to the higher build in gas inventories.
Summit Showcased Ag's Need to Build Relationships and How Words Have Consequences
“The era of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in agriculture is over,’” remarked Dallas Hockman, to attendees at the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 12th annual Stakeholders Summit. Hockman, Vice President of Industry Relations for the National Pork Producers Council adamantly told Summit attendees that the ag industry can no longer afford to stay quiet; we must communicate.
More crucially, however, Hockman emphasized that the industry doesn't just need to “communicate” but instead, must form relationships with consumers and recognize their concerns.
“This is about transparency, and transparency means that it’s our job to go and inform our customers, it’s not our customer’s job to come and ask us about something,” said Hockman. “We all know what we’re against, but the challenge is: what are you for? It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.”
Numerous speakers throughout the day put the responsibility on the industry to communicate to consumers, instead of the other way around.
Earlier in the day, David Wescott, Director of Digital Strategy for APCO Worldwide, told attendees that they must identify their true stakeholders, ask those stakeholders what they want, and then give it to them.
Both Hockman and Wescott discussed the importance of relationship building with consumers. But while communication, engagement and finding the “middle ground” consumers were themes highlighted in the morning’s presentations, the day ended with heated discussions on topics ranging from Hallmark/Westland to engaging the media.
“The consumer has a right to know anything he wants to know about where he’s spending his wholly earned, almighty dollar. That’s a reality,” said Andy Vance, Editor of Feedstuffs and one of the afternoon’s speakers. “Consumers increasingly want to know more about their food and they increasingly are more and more skeptical about companies and industries that don’t give them what they want to know.”
Vance emphasized that the industry needs to think about the five or ten things that it has issues with and analyze those issues objectively. Vance described the presentations of the day as somewhat of a rollercoaster, each offering a different viewpoint, or highlighting a different challenge facing the industry.
The Summit’s first day, certainly ended on a high note, however, with a presentation by famed Peterson Brothers parody creator, Greg Peterson, presenting his videos for the audience. Peterson is the creator, along with his two brothers, of the popular videos “I’m Farming and I Grow it,” and “Farmer Style.”
In addition to Peterson, a Kansas State University Senior, there were also several other college agricultural students in the audience, namely the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 4th annual College Aggies Scholarship winners: Tiffany Swanson (North Dakota State University), Zachary Frazier (Purdue University) and Karoline Rose (Montana State University). These students were presented with their awards at the Summit’s luncheon on May 1st.
The Summit closed with a half-day “workshop” focused on crisis communications, employee hiring strategies and the intersection of the environmental and animal rights movements and how those partnerships affect agriculture. To view presentations from May 1st, please visit the Alliance website. Presentations from May 2nd are available to Alliance members and registered attendees only.
The 12th annual Stakeholders Summit, themed “Activists at the Door: Protecting Animals, Farms, Food and Consumer Confidence,” was held May 1-2, 2013 in Arlington, Virginia. It included about 200 leaders from across the food chain.
Event sponsors included Alltech Ag Network, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, Murphy-Brown LLC, Farm Credit, Provimi North America, Merck Animal Health, Zoetis, Hy-Line, American Feed Industry Association, Bayer Animal Health, United Soybean Board, Alltech, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, Diamond V, Aviagen, Genus/PIC/ABS, United Egg Producers, WATTPublishing Co., Cactus Feeders, BrakkeConsulting, Kemin, AgriBeef Co., Seaboard Foods, National Association of Farm Broadcasting, Protect the Harvest, Elanco Animal Health and the Potash Corp.
Study Shows Benefits from Integration of Sweet Sorghum Juice in Corn Mash for Ethanol Production
The Sorghum Checkoff in collaboration with the NCERC at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (formerly the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center) is pleased to announce a successful bench-scale evaluation of sweet sorghum juice sugars with corn mash for the production of fuel ethanol. This study expands upon a commercial-scale trial that was conducted in Hopkinsville, Ky., in late 2012 by Commonwealth Agri-Energy LLC, Delta BioRenewables LLC, Ceres Inc. and the Sorghum Checkoff.
The bench-scale study yielded critical data on the production of ethanol from a combination of the two feedstocks by evaluating fermentation performance at different levels of sweet sorghum juice inclusion in corn mash. The sugar juice was successfully used as a replacement for process water, demonstrating the potential for a corn ethanol plant to increase production above nameplate capacity by incorporating sweet sorghum juice sugars.
“This analysis was extremely successful at the lab scale, and suggests that sweet sorghum juice inclusion could increase the throughput of existing corn ethanol facilities. In addition to increased yields, sorghum juice inclusion may reduce enzyme and nutrient usage per gallon of ethanol produced. Sweet sorghum juice sugar can also help ethanol producers diversify their feedstocks and serve as a bridge to the next generation of biofuels,” said Dr. Sabrina Trupia, NCERC assistant director of research.
John Duff, Sorghum Checkoff renewables program director, says the success of the trial is validation sweet sorghum juice sugars are fully compatible and maybe even synergistic with corn mash in ethanol production.
“Before a corn ethanol plant will take a step toward that next generation it must be confident in its ability to do so successfully,” Duff said. “We think this study will help provide that assurance and support the commercialization of sweet sorghum as a new industrial sugar feedstock crop across the broad geographic area of the country where it can be grown.”
The Sorghum Checkoff and NCERC recognize Delta BioRenewables and Commonwealth Agri-Energy for their input into the study’s experimental design. Delta BioRenewables provided the sweet sorghum juice used in the study.
CWT Assists with 1.9 Million Pounds of Cheese Export Sales
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 6 requests for export assistance from Bongards and Darigold to sell 1.896 million pounds (860 metric tons) of Cheddar, Gouda and Monterey Jack cheese to customers in Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. The product will be delivered May through November 2013.
Year-to-date CWT has assisted member cooperatives in selling 52.877 million pounds of cheese, 51.727 million pounds of butter, 44,092 pounds of AMF, and 218,258 pounds of whole milk powder to 31 countries on six continents. These sales are the equivalent of 1.617 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 Funds Major Research Initiatives to Study the Affects of Weather and Climatic Variability on Beef and Dairy Cattle
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today awarded $19.5 million to support research, education and Extension activities associated with climate solutions in agriculture aimed at the impacts of climate variability and change on dairy and beef cattle. USDA remains focused on carrying out its mission, despite a time of significant budget uncertainty. Today's announcement is one part of the Department's efforts to strengthen the rural economy.
"We have seen the impact that variable climate patterns have had on production agriculture for the past several years. These projects will deliver the best tools available to accurately measure and respond to the effects of climate on beef and dairy production," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Farmers and ranchers need sound, science-based information and solutions to help them make management decisions that will sustain their productivity and keep their operations economically viable."
The University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison, Wisconsin, received $9.9 million over five years to study the environmental impact of various dairy production systems and develop best management practices for producers to implement at the farm level. The project's ultimate goal is to increase the resiliency of dairy production systems while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The team will also develop an agricultural education curriculum with an urban foods focus at Vincent High School in Milwaukee in an effort to educate future leaders and consumers about the contributions of the dairy industry to economic and environmental sustainability. Curricula at the high school and college levels will be developed related to mitigation and adaptation to climate change and agricultural sustainability.
The University of Wisconsin is partnering in the project with the University of Arkansas, Cornell University, the University of Michigan, North Carolina A&T University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Washington, along with four USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) laboratories, the U.S. Department of Energy and the industry-sponsored Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.
Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Oklahoma, received $9.6 million over five years to better understand vulnerability and resilience of Southern Great Plains beef in an environment of increased climate variability, dynamic land-use and fluctuating markets. The team's goal is to safeguard regional beef production while mitigating the environmental footprint of agriculture. The project also includes education and Extension components to train the next generation of producers and researchers in addressing the impact of climate on beef cattle. Using a community- and citizen-science approach, the project will train young students and citizens to use GPS-enabled digital cameras and smartphones and web data portals to participate in field data collection. The geospatial data will be integrated into a portal for community-based analysis and inventory and used to educate the general public on climate change related to range-based beef production.
The team is comprised of 32 scientists from OSU, Kansas State University, University of Oklahoma, Tarleton State University, the Samuel R. Noble Foundation, and two ARS laboratories.
These Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAP) bring together teams of researchers that represent various geographic areas to support discovery, applications and promote communication leading to innovative, science-based solutions to critical and emerging national priorities and needs. This year's awards broaden NIFA's CAP climate change portfolio, which includes three projects awarded in 2010 focusing on loblolly pine in the South, corn production in the Midwest and wheat crops in the Northwest.
NIFA made the awards through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) funding opportunity. AFRI's Climate Variability and Change challenge area is focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration in agricultural and forest production systems and preparing the nation's agriculture and forests to adapt to changing climates.
AFRI is NIFA's flagship competitive grant program and was established under the 2008 Farm Bill. AFRI supports work in six priority areas: 1) plant health and production and plant products; 2) animal health and production and animal products; 3) food safety, nutrition and health; 4) renewable energy, natural resources and environment; 5) agriculture systems and technology; and 6) agriculture economics and rural communities.
Ammonium Nitrate was Explosive in West (TX) Plant Blast
(AP) — A store of ammonium nitrate is what exploded April 17 at a Central Texas plant, killing 14 people, injuring hundreds and devastating an adjoining town.
The finding was expected, and officials had said they were focusing their investigation on the explosive chemical used in many fertilizers, said Rachel Moreno, spokeswoman for the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office. A spot where the ammonium nitrate was stored is now a 90-foot-wide crater, Moreno said Monday.
However, the ignition source for the explosive chemical remained undetermined Monday. Findings on the cause of the blast on the outskirts of the small town of West initially had been expected Friday. However, the investigation will take one to two extra weeks to complete, with dozens of investigators combing through plant wreckage and the adjoining wrecked neighborhood, Moreno said.
Also, federal emergency officials have begun offering shelter for West residents whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged. About 70 homes were damaged or destroyed.
A statement from the Federal Emergency Management Administration said the transitional sheltering assistance was requested by Texas state officials. It would allow those whose homes were left uninhabitable by the blast to stay for a limited time in a hotel or motel at government expense. Meals, telephone calls and other incidental charges are not covered, and applicants are responsible for any lodging costs above the authorized lodging costs, according to the statement. Eligible applicants are being notified.
Argentina to Offer Farmer Incentive
Argentina's government will offer farmers a financial incentive to produce wheat in a bid to stoke planting of the staple crop and reverse years of declining production.
Overseas wheat sales are currently taxed at 23% and exports are tightly controlled to ensure domestic supply and low prices at home. But the taxes and export limits have fueled a wholesale stampede away from the crop by farmers due to the low prices they get for the grain.
"We want to make producing wheat more profitable and we want to make the soil healthier," Argentina President Cristina Kirchner said.
The president offered vague details about how the plan will work. She said revenue from wheat export taxes will go to a fund, which will then be redistributed to wheat farmers who have paid the appropriate taxes. Farmers will be eligible to receive $30 per metric ton of wheat produced.
"The more they produce, the more they'll get," she said.
Last season, farmers harvested 9.8 million metric tons of wheat, according to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange. That is down from 13.2 million tons in 2011-12, and 15.8 million tons in 2010-11. Argentina has traditionally been a top global wheat exporter, with most shipments going to neighboring Brazil.
Farmers are currently gearing up to start planting of the 2013-14 winter wheat crop. Despite good weather conditions and recent showers, analysts expect another small crop.
The wheat area this season is seen rising 8.3% on the year to 3.9 million hectares, according to the exchange.
While up on the year, the wheat area is seen 7% below the average of the past five years and 20% below the average of the past 10 years, according to the exchange.
Farmers have shifted to growing other winter crops like barley, which don't face export taxes. Others simply skipped the winter season and planted soybeans in the spring.
Dow AgroSciences Receives U.S. EPA Registration for Sulfoxaflor
Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), announced today that U.S. regulatory authorities have approved the new insecticidal active ingredient, sulfoxaflor to be marketed in the U.S. as Transform® and Closer™. The U.S. registration, and the recent Canadian registration, are the result of a Global Joint Review which also includes Australia. Australian sulfoxaflor registration is expected by third quarter 2013. South Korea, Panama, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Guatemala have already registered sulfoxaflor and additional global registrations are expected in the near future.
Sulfoxaflor belongs to a novel chemical class called sulfoximines invented by Dow AgroSciences and offers extremely effective control of many important sap-feeding insect pests. It can be used in a large number of major crops, including cotton, soybean, citrus, pome/stone fruit, nuts, grapes, potatoes, vegetables and strawberries. Sulfoxaflor has unique attributes compared with other sap-feeding insecticides providing a significant new tool for growers for many years to come.
“Sulfoxaflor is an ideal addition to Integrated Pest Management programs. Its unique mode of action provides fast-acting control of harmful pests. Moreover, research data on sulfoxaflor continues to demonstrate lack of cross-resistance with other insecticides,” says Daniel R. Kittle, vice president, Research and Development, Dow AgroSciences. “This innovative new option fits conveniently into growers’ existing programs to help them protect yields in a wide variety of foods and fiber around the globe.”
In 2012 Dow AgroSciences had a successful South Korean launch of sulfoxaflor and received a U.S. Section 18 Emergency Use Label in cotton that led to positive market feedback.
Know Your Enemies: Scout Corn Fields for These Five Weeds in 2013
With more weeds becoming glyphosate-resistant or surviving glyphosate-only applications, corn growers continue to rely on residual herbicides to manage tough weeds and protect their yield. In addition to controlling weeds early in the season, growers should consider SureStart® herbicide, which attacks weeds at multiple sites of action for those that are becoming harder to control.
“We need to maximize the number of sites of action,” says Travis Legleiter, weed program science specialist at Purdue University. “We don’t have a lot of sites of action left to us, so we need to maximize what we do have available to us and rotate them as much as we can. Avoid applying any site of action more than two times in a growing season. By applying a site of action more than two times in a growing season, we’re putting pressure on those weeds to become resistant to it.”
Utilizing three non-glyphosate modes of action, SureStart controls more than 60 grasses and broadleaf weeds, including herbicide-resistant species such as marestail, common and giant ragweed, waterhemp and pigweed. This corn and soybean herbicide chart describes mode of action in greater detail, by herbicide class.
By eliminating weed pressure early, growers can protect corn during critical stages of development as well as optimizing yield potential. SureStart offers unmatched application flexibility for residual control of these weed threats and many others for up to six weeks.
Watch for these five high-anxiety weeds that could threaten your corn yields this season:
Lambsquarters
- Trend: According to Weedscience.org, the lambsquarters population remains steady or is increasing in 20 states.
- Germination timing: Summer annual; emerges in the spring; sets seed in late summer/fall and dies.
- Found in: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY
- Percentage of control: 98% using 2.5 pt. SureStart preemergence followed by Durango® DMA® herbicide
Marestail
- Trend: In 2012, 23.8 percent of growers reported the presence of glyphosate-resistant marestail on their farms, 8 percentage points more than in 2011.
- Germination timing: Marestail is generally considered a winter annual weed. However, it can germinate eight to nine months out of the year. It may be shifting to more spring and summer germination as a result of cropping systems and herbicide use patterns.
- Found in: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY
- Percentage of control: 93% using 2.5 pt. SureStart preemergence followed by Durango DMA
Palmer amaranth
- Trend: In 2012, 13.3 percent of growers reported the presence of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth on their farms, 4.6 percentage points more than in 2011.
- Germination timing: Palmer amaranth has an extended emergence pattern, typically May to mid-July in the Southern United States. It has a rapid growth rate (up to 2½ inches per day) and high seed production, averaging 40,000 seeds per plant.
- Found in: AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WV
- Percentage of control: 99% using 2.5 pt. SureStart® preemergence followed by Durango DMA
Waterhemp
- Trend: In 2012, 16.5 percent of growers reported the presence of glyphosate-resistant waterhemp on their farms, 6 percentage points more than in 2011.
- Germination timing: Summer annual; waterhemp germination and emergence extends late into the growing season.
- Found in: AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE,GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WA, WI, WV
- Percentage of control: 97% using 2.5 pt. SureStart preemergence followed by Durango DMA
Velvetleaf
- Trend: Velvetleaf has been hard to control with glyphosate alone and continues to show prevalence among row crops.
- Germination timing: Summer annual. Emerges in the spring, sets seed in late summer/fall and dies.
- Found in: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY
- Percentage of control: 95% using 2.5 pt. SureStart preemergence followed by Durango DMA
For the latest herbicide-resistant weed information, visit WeedScience.org. To learn more about SureStart, visit www.SureStart.com or contact your local ag retailer.
Welcome to the KTIC Agriculture Information blog!!! Check back here for the latest in ag news and information, from local events to international happenings and government reports that affect your operation. Please email with suggestions! -Chad Moyer, Farm Director, KTIC Radio
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