Friday September 13 Ag News

PLANNING THAT LAST CUTTING OF ALFALFA
Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension Forage Specialist

Here in mid-September, it's time to decide when to take your last cutting of alfalfa.  Let’s review some factors you should consider.

The date you take your last harvest of alfalfa affects its winter survival and next spring's vigor.  Alfalfa needs about six weeks of uninterrupted growth in the fall to become fully winterized.  This winterterizing generally begins about three weeks before the average date of first frost so for many of us this winterizing has just begun.  Your last harvest can occur anytime before winterizing begins or after the winterizing period is over with little worry about affecting stand life.  But, harvest during winterizing can be risky.

How risky is it to harvest alfalfa during winterizing?  Well, that depends on how much total stress your alfalfa experienced this year.  The most important factor is the number of cuts you took this year.  Fields cut 4 or 5 times are more susceptible to winter injury than fields cut 3 times or less.  Also, young stands of winterhardy, disease resistant varieties are less stressed and can be harvested during winterizing with less risk than older stands of disease susceptible varieties that are only moderately winter hardy.

Also consider your need for extra alfalfa or its cash crop value.  Hay is pretty expensive, so cutting this final harvest may be worth the risk of lowering next year’s yield. When this hay is plentiful and reasonably priced, it may be better to purchase extra hay rather than risk another cutting.  Remember, you can cut after winterizing with less risk.

Harvesting alfalfa during its winterizing period is risky, but by reducing total stress, you control how risky it is.

PASTURE GROWTH AFTER RAIN
Let’s play a little game of ‘what if’.  As in ‘what if it rains enough for your pastures and hay meadows to green up and grow’.  Should you graze?

If recent rain or some in the near future greens up your pasture so it grows enough to graze, will you succumb to the temptation?

As tempting as it may be to give your animals some nice green grass, resist that temptation.  If you do graze, it might do more harm to your grass than if it did not rain at all.

How can that be?  To understand this risk, we need to review what happens when a dormant plant starts to grow.  When a dormant plant starts to green up and grow, like in the spring following winter or after a rain during a drought, the plant mobilizes nutrients from its root system to energize the initial growth.  This process actually weakens the root system and the plant temporarily.  As the plant grows and produces more leaves, those leaves eventually harvest enough sunlight energy to replace the nutrients used during the green up process.

However, if some of the leaves are removed by grazing before they replace the nutrients used during green up, the plant will try to mobilize even more root nutrients to restart the process.  At this time of year, though, the plant needs to increase root nutrients for winter survival.  If grazing prevents that from happening, plants will go into winter in a very weakened condition.  Some may die.  And those that survive to next spring will grow very slowly until they have recovered from the multiple stresses of drought and untimely grazing.

So do yourself and your pastures a favor.  Decide right now that you will not graze dormant grass that has greened up due to recent rain again until next year.  Pasture survival may depend on it.



Collecting and Analyzing Yield Data is Important at Harvest Time

            Collecting yield data for crops like corn, soybeans and wheat at harvest time is an important step when it comes to precision ag management techniques, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension precision ag specialist says.

            Yield data collected from yield monitors allows producers who have been doing precision ag management to evaluate year to year what is happening in their fields, and, more specifically, within management zones in those fields, said Joe Luck, UNL Extension precision ag specialist.

            Yield monitor calibration is one of the most important aspects of collecting that data, and it's often overlooked by many producers at harvest time, he said.

            "It is important that yield monitors are calibrated for every different crop that producers harvest," Luck said. "If you are harvesting corn, you need to perform a calibration for corn, if you switch to soybeans, you need to perform a calibration for that and so forth.

            "If you want to get the most accurate data, you want to have a good calibration for that crop."

            Luck said another thing that is becoming very important right now is "cleaning" the yield data, or removing the errors from that data.

            "This has become a very important part of the process as people try to get really accurate information from their fields," he said. Producers have been using yield monitors for more than 20 years, but the systems haven't changed very much and still tend to generate some errors.

            He said there is a software program available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture called Yield Editor that can help remove those errors.

            "This is becoming very important as producers use yield data to develop new prescription layers – for example nitrogen recommendation based on yield information from the previous year – it is important to have accurate yield data to move that process forward," he said.

            Luck also recommends producers become familiar with the capabilities of farm management software to bring in yield data from the harvester, display that data and then perform some sort of analysis of that data. Even if producers are going to allow a trusted advisor to manage their data, understanding how that process works will result in better communication about the goals for their operation.

            For more information about the best precision agriculture management practices, visit precisionagriculture.unl.edu or read the "Checks and Adjustments to Ensure Quality Yield Data Collection" article in this week's CropWatch, UNL Extension's crop production newsletter, at http://go.unl.edu/cwprecision.



NFU Honors Champion for Family Agriculture with Golden Triangle Award
National Farmers Union (NFU) recently announced the recipients of the Golden Triangle Award, the organization’s highest legislative honor. The annual award is presented to members of Congress who have demonstrated leadership and support policies that benefit America’s family farmers, ranchers, fishermen and rural communities.

“Recipients of the Golden Triangle Award have been strong advocates for family farmers and ranchers, and support similar principles and policies as Farmers Union,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “We are pleased to honor those who have proven to be true allies of our organization and our members across the country.”

This year’s Golden Triangle recipients were selected for their leadership on a variety of issues, including the 2013 Farm Bill, dairy policy, competition, support for the continuation of energy programs and provisions for a safety net for farmers in times of long term market collapse or natural disaster.

The Golden Triangle Award is based on NFU’s symbol – a triangle with “legislation” and “cooperation” forming the sides and “education” the base. The Golden Triangle Awards have been presented every year since 1988. Representative Jeff Fortenberry from Nebraska was honored with the 2013 Golden Triangle award.

Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen said, “Representative Fortenberry has once again stepped forward on behalf of family farm agriculture to provide leadership and support on key items in the contentious Farm Bill process.  He successfully amended the Agriculture Committee’s proposal by adding meaningful payment limits language.  He also fought for conservation compliance requirements for crop insurance, which will help protect that critical program from further attacks.  Representative Fortenberry has become a very thoughtful and effective leader on agricultural issues.

“In addition, Representative Fortenberry has continued to be a leader on renewable fuels, conservation, beginning farmer issues, Farmers Markets and direct marketing opportunities, and rural development. We are very proud of the work he has done on behalf of the family farmers and ranchers of Nebraska.  He has become a respected problem solver, spokesman, and advocate for rural Nebraska,” Hansen concluded. 



Upcoming County Farm Bureau Meetings...

Cuming Co - Sept 17 - 6pm - Legion Hall - Beemer
Madison Co - Sept 17 - 7pm - St. John's Parish Hall, Battle Creek -
Thurston Co - Sept 19 - 6pm - Legion Hall, Pender - Steve Nelson, Speaker - 100th Anniversary!
Merrick Co - Sept 19 - 6:30pm - St. Michael's Parish Hall, Central City - Mark McHargue, Speaker
Nance Co - Sept. 19 - 6:30pm - Senior Center, Fullerton -
Otoe Co - Sept. 19 - 6:30pm - Daylight Donut Shop, Syracuse -
Dixon Co - Sept 23 - 6:30pm - Fire Hall - Allen - Senator Larson, Speaker
Knox Co - Sept 23 - 6pm - Bloomfield Community Center -
Saunders Co - Sept 24 - 7pm - Farm Bureau office, Wahoo -
Dodge Co - Oct 02 - 6pm - Office Bar and Grill, Hooper - Rob Robertson, Speaker
Wayne Co - Oct 7 - 6:30pm - Molly's Cafe, Wayne - Jordan Dux, Speaker
Butler Co - Oct 27 - 6pm - Winfields, 467 D Street, David City - Jordan Dux, Speaker
Douglas Co. - Nov 5 - 6:30pm - Farmer Brown's Steakhouse, Waterloo - Steve Nelson, Speaker



Saunders Co Livestok Outlook mtg
Monday, Sept 16
Saunder Co Fairgrounds, Wahoo
6pm Social, 7pm Dinner
Speakers
  - NE Soybean Board on their Animal Agriculture initiatives
  - Casey Potter, ADM Grain merchandiser
  - Nick Soucek - Farmers Coop Grain merchandiser
  - Jolanda Junge, We Support Ag



NE Ag-Biz Club October Meeting
The Nebraska Agribusiness Club October 7 Lunch-n-Learn meeting will be held at the Lancaster Extension Education Center, 444 Cherry Creek Road, Lincoln, NE.  Kevin Kock from Great Western Bank will be speaking about his many tours in Afghanistan and the agriculture there. Buffet lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m., with the program starting at 12:20 p.m. Meeting registration, which includes lunch, is $10 per person (unless you have already paid for the inclusive membership). Guests are $10 per person.  Please RSVP by October 3rd.... http://nebraskaagribusinessclub.wordpress.com/rsvp/.  



Annie's Project 10th Anniversary to Honor Iowa Farm Women

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, 30 percent of the nation's 3.3 million farm operators were women -- that's more than 1 million! Many more Iowa women play key roles in their family farming operations.

Some 1,500 Iowa farm women are among the 10,000 farm women across the country who participated in Annie's Project, building agricultural risk management skills and putting those skills to work on their own farms to increase profitability, rural quality of life and national food security. And they're all invited to a party in their honor Sept. 18, when Annie's Project will celebrate 10 years of empowering farm women to be better business partners and owners through networks and by managing critical information.

"We invite all Iowa farm women, whether or not they've participated in Annie's Project, to the celebration Sept. 18 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Iowa State University campus in Ames," said Madeline Schultz, a value added agriculture specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and national co-director for Annie's Project. "We want to honor all Iowa farm women for their roles in agriculture, connect women with each other and the resources available to them through Iowa State University, and raise awareness of agricultural risk management."

The program will feature tours of Iowa State University agricultural programs, agricultural risk management workshops and a celebration luncheon. Registration is available online at www.aep.iastate.edu/annie/ten/. Registration is $25 and must be received by midnight, Sept. 13.

Marsha Laux, a value added agriculture specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach and state coordinator for Annie's Project, noted evaluation data gathered from Annie's Project past participants. "We're seeing a consistent increase in the women's level of knowledge in agricultural risk management and decision making. Annie's Project helps women be more confident in their management role on the farm," Laux said.

"The growing number of farm women throughout the country is fueling the rising interest in risk management education," Laux said. USDA statistics show that women are the principal operators of 14 percent of the nation's 2.2 million farms. Here in Iowa, women are the principal operators of 9 percent of farms. They're responsible for more than one million acres of land, as well as crop and livestock sales totaling more than $341 million.

Annie's Project celebrating 10 yearsThe Annie's Project Tenth Anniversary Celebration will begin with a message from Annie's Project founder, Ruth Hambleton. She'll explain why and how Annie's Project started and the unique role Iowa State has played in spreading educational opportunities for farm women across Iowa and to 34 states. Hambleton is a retired University of Illinois Extension agribusiness and marketing specialist, president of Annie's Project Education for Farm Women Not-for-Profit, and an adjunct lecturer in agricultural business at Southern Illinois University.

The morning breakout workshops will feature Ag Decision Maker (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm) resources for estate planning, budgeting, grain marketing, farmland leasing and agricultural employers. Next, participants may choose from on-campus tours featuring Morrill Hall, Farm House Museum, local foods on campus, the Meats Lab or the Plant and Soils Lab.

Cathann Kress, vice president for ISU Extension and Outreach, and Angela Loew, a financial officer with Farm Credit Services of America, will keynote the noon luncheon program. Videos highlighting past Annie's Project participants on their farms also will be featured.

The afternoon breakout workshops will showcase the Iowa Beef Center, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the Farm Energy Project, Safe Farm and the Beginning Farmer Center. Afterward, participants will board buses for a choice of Iowa State University tours including the BioCentury Research Farm, Dairy Farm, Horticulture Farm, Vet Med Diagnostics Lab and Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center. Then participants will re-convene for a final light-hearted session in the Memorial Union featuring Mary Swander, distinguished professor of English at Iowa State and Iowa Poet Laureate.

The Annie's Project Tenth Anniversary Celebration is being planned by the Annie's Project team at ISU Extension and Outreach. The program is sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach, Farm Credit National Contributions Program and Farm Credit Services of America.

For more information on the Annie's Project 10th Anniversary Celebration or access to registration, please call 515-294-9483 or go to www.aep.iastate.edu/annie/ten/.



NCBA Accepting Applications for Spring and Summer Public Policy Internships

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) government affairs office in Washington, D.C., is accepting applications for spring and summer 2014 public policy internships. The deadline to submit an application for these opportunities is Oct. 6, 2013.

“NCBA’s public policy internship gives college students a one-of-a-kind view into the policy making process in Washington, D.C., while helping them prepare to transition from college to career,” said NCBA Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Kristina Butts. “We are looking for college students with an interest in the beef industry, public policy and communications to help NCBA represent cattlemen and cattlewomen in Washington, D.C. The internship is designed to work closely with the lobbying team on Capitol Hill and assist with NCBA’s regulatory efforts.”

The full-time spring internship will begin Jan. 6, 2014, and end May 9, 2014. The full-time summer internship will begin May 19, 2014 and end Aug. 22, 2014. To apply, interested college juniors, seniors or graduate students should submit the application, a college transcript, two letters of recommendation and a resume to internship@beef.org. More information and the internship application are available on NCBA’s website.

“This isn’t a ‘check-the-box’ style of internship. NCBA’s public policy interns work alongside NCBA staff on critical issues ranging from agriculture policy to trade, the environment and more.” Butts said. “If you or someone you know is interested in this opportunity, we encourage you to apply.”



CONVERSATION ON FARM SIZE AND QUESTIONS ABOUT “BIG AG” FOCUS OF OCTOBER 24 FOOD DIALOGUES

There are many factors that influence food-purchasing decisions, including the methods used to grow and raise food.  Increasingly, consumers are hearing they should be concerned about larger farms, and may be making purchasing decisions without understanding how food is grown and raised on farms of any size. U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) will address the differences, and similarities, between large and small farms, at its next Food Dialogues event, which will be held in Boston on Thursday, October 24. The event will stream live online at www.fooddialogues.com.

Timed to Food Day, the Food Dialogues: Boston event, “Does Farm Size Really Matter? From environmental stewardship to animal care, are small and big farms that different?” will feature a panel of farmers, ranchers and food pundits. The panel will explore farm size and ownership and will address recent attacks on industrial agriculture and food production. Panel participants will be asked to address questions such as:
·    What is a factory farm?  Is it fair to call any farm or ranch a factory farm?
·    How do standards and regulations differ on small or big farms and ranches? 
·    Who runs big farms? 
·    Are family farms still thriving in America?
·    Is entertainment and creative advertising attacks on large-scale, production agriculture a new take on marketing smaller, niche brands and companies?

USFRA will announce the full-panel line-up in the coming weeks, and is inviting speakers from all sides of the topic.  USFRA plans to invite farmers – big and small – advocates and consumer brands to the conversation.  USFRA will be extending an invitation to Chipotle to participate on the panel. The company recently ignited attention on this topic with its new animated film and video game concepts.

For more information on this event, including how to register, visit www.fooddialogues.com.



Brazil Increases Purchases of Kansas Wheat

A temporary tariff change by one of the world's leading wheat importers, further extended just this week, means significant hard red winter (HRW) sales for Kansas wheat farmers. After wheat supply shortages in the Southern Hemisphere caused a shift in trade policy, Brazil has purchased 86.3 million bushels (2.35 million metric tons (MMT)) of HRW wheat since February 2013, worth an estimated $700 million.

Brazil is South America's largest wheat importing market, but typically only purchases about 400,000 MT per year from the U.S., instead relying on fellow Mercosur member Argentina for the bulk of its wheat imports.

This year, however, both Brazil and Argentina's wheat crops fell short.

That supply situation, combined with concerns of inflation in Brazil, resulted in a market opportunity for Kansas wheat farmers.

On April 1, 2013, Brazil lifted a 10 percent common external tariff on wheat, including for the U.S., for a quota of 36.7 million bushels (1.0 MMT).

Brazil's government later extended the tariff-rate quota to 73.5 million bushels (2.0 MMT) through Sept. 6.

Two days ago, on Sept. 9, Brazil again extended the quota another 14.7 million bushels (400,000 metric tons) through the end of November 2013, signaling even more opportunities for HRW sales.

Brazil's revised tariff rate quota for this year is temporary, but it has provided for U.S. wheat producers with an opportunity to gain new market access.



Taking New Steps to Care for the Land and Water
Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary, USDA

Natural resource conservation is paramount to the ongoing strength of our nation. Healthy soil contributes to agricultural productivity. Healthy forests clean our water and air. Vibrant waterways are critical for our health, for transportation and for trade. Investments into conservation spur job growth and community development, particularly in rural areas.

This is an uncertain time for USDA conservation activities. Congress has not yet passed a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill that would continue to invest in conservation efforts, while providing rural America with certainty regarding many other important programs.

As we continue urging Congress to provide a new Food, Farm and Jobs Bill, USDA this week took several new steps to strengthen conservation across the country.

We invested in innovation by awarding new grants under USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grants program.  New technologies and tactics are constantly emerging that help producers and landowners care for the environment.  These 33 new awards will help organizations across the country carry out advanced new conservation strategies and share them with producers. For example, several projects will investigate the benefits of cover crops, which could help producers grow more while mitigating the impacts of a changing climate.

These new project awards are part of more than 260 projects funded since 2009, including a special group of Conservation Innovation Grants to help agriculture adapt to drought.

We also invested this week in the future of renewable energy from wood products. USDA announced a partnership with industry to work toward additional wood-to-energy projects, while awarding more than $1 million in grants for five statewide teams that will further develop these efforts.  This builds on past work that has resulted in more than 230 wood-to-energy projects created under the Obama Administration.

Advanced wood energy provides a wide range of benefits for our nation. It encourages forest restoration by providing a new way to use wood byproducts. It contributes to an “all-of-the above” energy strategy, giving folks an alternative to costly energy sources. And it helps to create good jobs in energy and forestry for rural Americans. Renewable wood energy holds tremendous promise for rural America, and the new investments made this week are yet another step forward for this technology.

To cap off a week of positive new developments for USDA conservation efforts, we announced today that the U.S. Forest Service will partner with Coca-Cola, the National Forest Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in a long-term effort to restore and clean waterways in our National Forests.

National Forests provide drinking water for more than 60 million Americans – and working together, USDA and Coca-Cola will undertake a range of projects in the coming years to restore forest waterways. These include working on the Angeles National Forest in California to prevent erosion caused by wildfire; restoring a stream in New Mexico that was previously impacted by industrial activity; and enhancing waterways within the Lake Michigan watershed.

Our hope is that these restoration projects will stand as an example for the benefit of public-private partnership to deliver results for the American people, even in a time of tighter budgets.

These new efforts complement the wide range of work we will continue to do with a focus on delivering record conservation results for Americans. With the right tools, including a new Food, Farm and Jobs Bill, there is much more we can achieve in the years to come.



NATIONAL FARM SAFETY AND HEALTH WEEK, 2013, PROCLAMATION
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BARACK OBAMA

  Farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers form the cornerstones of some of America's most essential economic sectors.  Their products feed, clothe, and fuel our Nation.  Their way of life -- handed down from generation to generation -- is central to the American story.  During National Farm Safety and Health Week, we celebrate our agricultural producers' values, experiences, and contributions, and we recommit to secure work environments on all our country's farms.

  For many agricultural workers, the risk of injury and illness is a daily reality.  They face multiple challenges, including entering hazardous grain storage bins, handling livestock and chemicals, and transporting large machinery on our Nation's rural roadways.  I encourage agricultural producers and their families and communities to participate in comprehensive farm safety and health programs, take precautions, and prepare themselves for emergencies.  I urge all Americans to respect farming and ranching families by driving rural roadways with care, and I ask communities to remember agricultural workers' needs in setting up health facilities and emergency response programs.

  As the fall harvest season begins, we pay tribute to the generations of Americans who have devoted themselves to supplying the basic materials that make our country work.  This week, we resolve to make farms and ranches safer places to live, work, and raise families.

  NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 15 through September 21, 2013, as National Farm Safety and Health Week.  I call upon the agencies, organizations, businesses, and extension services that serve America's agricultural workers to strengthen their commitment to promoting farm safety and health programs.  I also urge Americans to honor our agricultural heritage and express appreciation to our farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers for their contributions to our Nation.

  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.