Tuesday October 29 Ag News

Ak-Sar-Ben Carcass Results

Cuming County 4-H members placed well in the livestock carcass contest that followed the live shows at the 86th annual Ak-Sar-Ben Livestock exposition according to University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Educator in Cuming County, Larry Howard.

In the Beef contest, Hunter Schroeder of West Point placed 10th with his 1455 pound Calf Challenge Market Steer that has a 948 pound carcass.  His steer had a 17.2 inch rib eye area, .4 inch fat and graded low choice and received a purple.  Cuming County 4-H beef exhibitors received one purple and two blues.

In the Swine contest, Megan Groth of Beemer placed 16th with her 268 pound gilt that had a 207 pound carcass, a 9.38 inch loin eye area, .65 inch fat and a 57.52 lean index.  Blake Guenther of West Point placed 31st and 54th, Rachel Groth of Beemer placed 40th, Jamie Plagge of West Point placed 46th and Kiley Guenther of West Point placed 48th all receiving purples.  Cuming County 4-H Swine exhibitors received six purples, five blues, six reds and one white.

In the Sheep contest, Chase Ott of Wisner placed 22ns with his 136 pound lamb that had a 78.9 pound carcass, a 3.98 inch loin eye area, .2 inch fat and received a purple.  Cuming County 4-H exhibitors received one purple and four blues.



Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium to be Held in November

            Youth interested in Nebraska's beef industry can attend the Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium Nov. 22-24.

            The symposium will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus in the Animal Science Complex.

            Youth need to be at least freshman in high school. There will be two sessions available, one for freshman and sophomore students and another for juniors and seniors.

            "It's an excellent opportunity for youth to engage with each other and specialists on campus, extension personnel and industry leaders," said Lindsay Chichester, UNL Extension educator. "It's fun. They have a really good time with it."

            Check-in for freshman and sophomores will be at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 22.

            The freshman and sophomore session will provide an introduction to the beef industry and provide information about career options. The youth will be put into teams and each team will complete a media blast on the nutrition benefits of beef in the diet, which will be presented to parents and guests at the luncheon on Nov. 23.

            The junior and senior session will be held Nov. 23-24.

            Check- in will be held at 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 23. The session will feature in-depth information about the beef industry, meat science and marketing. Youth will have the opportunity to work with a professional chef and a meat science specialist to create a new beef dish.

            The culmination will be presentations in a "booth" atmosphere where UNL students and faculty can also interact with the groups about their projects.

            Registration is $30 per student. The registration fee is due Oct. 31. Registration after Oct. 31 and before Nov. 8 is $50.

            Four CASNR $500 scholarships will be awarded to juniors and seniors.

            To register or for more information, visit: http://animalscience.unl.edu/ANSCExtensionYouthProgramNYBLS. 



Nebraska Cattlemen to Celebrate 125th Anniversary at Annual Convention & Trade Show

Registration for the 2013 Nebraska Cattlemen Annual Convention and Trade Show is underway. The 125th Annual Convention will be held in Kearney, Neb., December 4-6, 2013 and early registration is open until November 29, 2013.

2013 convention participants will hear from industry leaders, gather insight on industry trends, and provide input on policy discussion. NC President Dale Spencer said the convention is a must for all cattlemen.

“Our Annual Convention is a great opportunity for members to shape policy and provide direction for leadership and staff,” said Spencer. “It will also be an excellent time for people to come together and celebrate the beef industry and the historic impact Nebraska Cattlemen has had over the past 125 years.”

To register for the 2013 Nebraska Cattlemen Annual Convention and Trade Show, visit www.nebraskacattlemen.org or contact the NC office at 402.475.2333.



Enrollment Up Again at College of Ag Sciences and Natural Resources

            Undergraduate enrollment in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources is up 5.2 percent over last year, the college's ninth straight annual increase.

            "This trend reflects what we're seeing in the job market," said Steve Waller, dean of CASNR.  "Jobs in agricultural and natural resources fields are expanding. This is a very good time to get a degree in one of these fields. CASNR had its largest ever Career Fair this fall."

            CASNR's undergraduate enrollment is at 2,114, its all-time high.  That number includes 15 students enrolled at CASNR through the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

            Degree programs with at least 25 students that grew in enrollment include:  Pre-veterinary Medicine, Agronomy, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Environmental Studies.

            CASNR's increase ranked second among UNL colleges.  UNL's total undergraduate enrollment this year is 24,445, up 1 percent from a year ago.

            Graduate student enrollment in CASNR went up 6.5 percent, to 636.  In total, CASNR's total enrollment including graduate and professional programs is 3,296.

            Waller also noted that the number of CASNR graduates December 2012, May 2013 and August 2013 comprised the college's largest graduated class ever, up 6.4 percent to 451.

Other numbers from the fall 2013 CASNR class:
            – First-time student enrollment in CASNR increased 19.9 percent to 434.  The degree programs with the largest class of new freshmen were Animal Science, 56; Pre-veterinary Medicine, 54: Agribusiness, 49; Forensic Science, 39; and Agronomy, 35.
            – Nebraska residents comprise 77.6 percent of first-time freshmen.
            – The CASNR population is 58.4 percent male and 41.6 percent female.
            – The top five degree programs based on CASNR enrollment are:  Animal Science, 300; Agribusiness, 220; Agronomy, 200; Fisheries and Wildlife, 194; and PGA Golf Management, 111.  Biochemistry has a total enrollment of 259, with 85 of those in CASNR and 174 in the College of Arts and Sciences.



ISU Extension Offers Update Meetings for Ag Input Providers

Updates on the latest crop production products and recommendations are featured topics at two Iowa State University Extension and Outreach meetings planned for December. The update meetings will be held Dec. 2 in Iowa City and Dec. 11 in Ames.

Agriculture input providers will have an opportunity to meet with extension specialists from Iowa State and hear presentations on Pythium seedling disease, Palmer amaranth management, cover crops, soybean aphids and changes to nutrient management recommendations. Each meeting also will feature presentations on weed, insect and crop disease management as well as soil, water and nutrient management.

Update meetings will be hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach field agronomists.
-    Dec. 2 – Highlander Conference Center, 2525 N Dodge Street, Iowa City. Hosts: Jim Fawcett, fawcett@iastate.edu, (319) 337-2145 and Virgil Schmitt, vschmitt@iastate.edu, (563 263-5701.
-    Dec. 11 – Quality Inn/Starlite, 2601 E. 13th Street, Ames. Hosts: Mark Johnson, markjohn@iastate.edu, (515) 979-9578, and Mark Licht, lichtma@iastate.edu, (515) 382-6551.

Registration is $70 if received by midnight, Nov. 25 (Iowa City) or Dec. 5 (Ames). Registration after those dates is $85. Online registration and printable registration forms are available at www.aep.iastate.edu/acu.

Continuing Education
Both meetings are approved for Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) credits and recertification for Iowa Commercial Pesticide Applicators in categories 1A, 1B, 1C and 10. Recertification is included in meeting registration; attendance at the entire meeting is required for recertification.



Iowa Farm Bureau to Conduct Farm Income Tax Webinar

Annual farm income tax preparation is a real challenge with changing tax codes and regulations. To help farmers through this process, the Iowa Farm Bureau is hosting a farm income tax webinar on Nov. 15, at 1 p.m.

Event speakers will draw on their experiences to provide useful, timely information for participants. Speakers include Roger McEowen, director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT) at Iowa State University, and Charles Brown, president of AgriFinancial Services, LLC. The event will be available live, online to anyone wishing to attend. The webinar will also be recorded and available exclusively to Farm Bureau members online, along with webinar handouts.

Farmers can access the webinar from their home or farm office by going to www.iowafarmbureau.com, finding the webinar banner and entering the forum as a guest on the day of the event. Local sites are also being organized where farmers will gather to view the event together. Interested farmers are encouraged to visit the Farm Bureau website for an updated list of local viewing sites. No pre-registration is required for online or local viewing sites.

"Today's farmers face numerous challenges, and yearly farm income tax preparation is one of those," said Ed Kordick, IFBF commodity services manager. "Each year is unique and topics this year will include crop insurance deferral rules and major changes to the Section 179 expense election for 2014. We look forward to providing our members a timely farm income tax update and relevant information again this year."

For more information, contact Kordick at ekordick@ifbf.org.



HSUS Attacks America’s Hog Farmers Again
A questionable undercover video from a Minnesota farm released today by Mercy for Animals, a front group for the Humane Society of the United States, is the latest attack against America’s hog farmers. In advance of a press conference that is expected to be full of misinformation, it is important to know the facts:

An independent veterinarian, who was taken by law enforcement to the Pipestone facility shown in the video, determined that there were no signs of inhumane treatment or violations of good production standards. Therefore, no charges were filed.

But that wasn’t good enough for this Pipestone farm. Its care for animals is so firmly rooted in its commitment to industry best practices that it did something consistent with its proactive approach to continuous improvement – it brought in a third party to investigate.

Though the MFA-produced undercover video was unfortunately never made available to Pipestone, the farm’s investigation determined that the employee involved had not been following animal care protocols, and he was immediately fired.

America’s pork producers are primarily family farmers who care about the animals they raise and the food they produce for the American consumer. It is the same food they produce for their own families. They don’t need questionable undercover videos produced by organizations with political agendas to remind them of their commitment to animal care.

American farmers have the trust of the American people and don’t deserve the onslaught they face from groups such as the Humane Society of the United States that have deep pockets from deceptive fundraising practices.

This latest attack by HSUS and MFA clearly is the result of the pressure they’re feeling after a year of significant state and federal legislative losses. HSUS has spent significant amounts of its donors’ money on futile legislative efforts and on a lawsuit that had nothing to do with animal welfare was dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge. HSUS donors, especially the many whose priorities are the protection of companion animals, deserve better than that.



Payments for Popular Conservation Program Ready Following Shutdown Delay

Farmers waiting for their Conservation Security or Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) payments should receive them in the coming days. The shutdown of the federal government delayed some of the $907 million in payments from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to CSP participants who have enrolled millions of acres to improve the overall conservation performance of their operations.

"Farmers and ranchers are stewards of our natural resources, and their efforts show the value of conservation – working farms, ranches, and forests can provide food and fiber as well as clean water and valuable wildlife habitat," NRCS Chief Jason Weller said. "We're happy to have our staff back in the field where they can continue working with farmers and ranchers to put conservation practices on the ground."

The payments are part of a financial assistance program for producers who are already established conservation stewards and are implementing additional conservation activities for higher, farm-level benefits on their property. This work leads to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and enhanced wildlife habitat, while also supporting rural economies.

The Conservation Stewardship Program, now in its fifth year, replaced the former Conservation Security Program. To date, farmers, ranchers and forestland owners have enrolled about 60 million acres into the programs.

Funding for other Farm Bill programs expired Sept. 30, including the Conservation Reserve Program, Grassland Reserve Program, Wetland Reserve Program, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative and Healthy Forests Reserve Program. NRCS is not accepting applications for these programs at this time.



Legislative Interference on COOL Unwarranted

National Farmers Union (NFU), the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, American Sheep Industry Association and Consumer Federation of America sent a letter today to the 2013 Farm Bill conference committee members expressing continued strong support for Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) and opposition to any legislative changes to the law.

“Once again packer-producer organizations and their foreign counterparts that do not have the interest of U.S. family farmers and ranchers in mind have called for legislative interference on COOL,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “Based on recent World Trade Organization (WTO) rulings, there is no reason for Congress to take action on COOL.”

A WTO panel affirmed the right of the United States to require COOL for meat products, but said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had to adjust some provisions in order to be fully compliant with WTO requirements. USDA followed a carefully considered, open and transparent process as it crafted changes to the rule which provides consumers with additional information on where each of the production steps for cattle -- born, raised and slaughtered -- occurs. The final rule complies with the WTO ruling and is consistent with U.S. law.

“The agribusiness and packer-producer groups are merely trying to scare members of Congress into changing the law to benefit their bottom lines,” said the letter. “We strongly oppose such action. COOL is a top priority for our organizations. Any effort to change it in the farm bill would affect our groups’ support of that legislation.”



House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Passes the FUELS Act

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) appreciates the action taken this afternoon by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in passage of the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship (FUELS) Act (H.R. 311). This bi-partisan legislation, sponsored in the House by Rep. Eric Crawford (R-Akr.), was passed out of committee today by unanimous consent and is now ready to head to the House floor for full consideration.

“The FUELS Act would ease the burden placed on farmers and ranchers by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) program,” said NCBA president and Cody, Wyo. cattlemen Scott George. “Under the FUELS Act, the burdens of the SPCC regulations would be greatly reduced and family farmers and ranchers would be exempted from having to develop and implement costly spill containment plans.”

SPCC regulations call for agricultural operations to develop an SPCC plan if the farm has an above ground oil storage capacity greater than 1,320 gallons or a buried oil storage capacity of 42,000 gallons or more. Under the FUELS Act, the burden of the SPCC regulation is eased by raising exemption and self-certified levels for on-farm fuel storage. The legislation exempts farms with a storage capacity of 10,000 gallons or fewer from having to develop an SPCC plan. The legislation also allows more operations to self-certify by raising the self-certification level to up to 20,000 gallons of fuels storage. Operations with greater than 20,000 gallons will still be required to have a Professional Engineer (P.E.) certified spill plan.

“NCBA is pleased to see the exemption level of 10,000 gallons,” said George. “The language in this bill will keep many of our producers from having to undertake excess costs as a result of the EPA’s overregulation.”

Similar language is also contained in the House Farm Bill and as an amendment to the Senate’s Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). NCBA will work to ensure these important provisions are passed into law.



Maintenance on Rails, River Complicates Crop Shipments

Harvesting the largest U.S. corn crop on record and transporting it on railroads and rivers to markets here and abroad is driving up costs for rail cars, barges and trucks in the world's top crop producer and exporter. According to Reuters, after three years of crop shortfalls that left grain supply pipelines all but empty by late summer, the U.S. grain handling system is now tasked with quickly absorbing a huge corn crop--projected at a record 13.8 billion bushels, around half of which is already harvested.

With the bulk of the estimated 3.15-billion-bushel soybean harvest complete, farmers are turning their attention to the much larger corn crop, and yields so far are surprisingly big.

"People were projecting a sizable corn harvest, but yield results coming in from the field are better than expected. That's going to tax the system even more," said Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.

Already, costs for rail freight have surged this month, due in part to strong export demand for U.S. soybeans and hard red winter wheat. Also, grain traders say freight trains have been running slowly, especially in the western half of the country.

Service on the BNSF Railway, a major hauler of grain from Midwest to Pacific Northwest export terminals, has slowed after recent infrastructure upgrade projects fell behind due to adverse weather.

Meanwhile, industry sources said a growing number of ships were waiting for rail-delivered grain to load at Pacific Northwest export terminals.

"There are lots of vessels waiting in the Pacific Northwest that are waiting to be loaded and railroads are having trouble keeping up," said Steenhoek of the Soy Transportation Coalition.

Rail cars are commonly traded in a secondary market by brokers who trade space on 100-car "shuttle trains," expecting the trains to make a certain number of trips. When the trains run more slowly, these brokers are forced to pay up for more freight to cover their commitments.

The influx of newly harvested crops has also raised costs for shipping grain on Midwest river barges to export terminals at the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly on the lower Ohio River, where a lock construction project has caused severe delays near its confluence with the Mississippi.



DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends

Retail fertilizer prices are continuing their six-month slide, according to DTN's national retailer survey for the third week of October.  All eight of the major fertilizers averaged lower prices compared to last month, although all decreases were fairly insignificant, as all were only between 1% and 3% lower.  DAP and potash each dropped about 3% in the past month, while MAP, urea, 10-34-0 and UAN28 all were only about 2% lower. Also, anhydrous and UAN32 fell about 1% each.

All eight of the major fertilizers have tumbled by double digits in price compared to a year ago.  Urea dropped the most from last year -- 26% -- and now averages $442 per ton. Anhydrous saw the next largest drop since last year at 22%, and averages $654/ton. Potash also had a significant drop -- it is 20% less expensive than last year, averaging $491/ton. DAP was 17% lower than last year, averaging $524/ton last week.  Both MAP and UAN28 fell 16% since this time last year, averaging $566 and $323, respectively.  Also, 10-34-0 fell by 15% since last year and averaged $524/ton. The smallest drop was UAN32 which fell just 13% from a year ago, averaging $367/ ton.



Recent Forward Contracting of Fed Cattle
Matthew A. Diersen, Professor, Department of Economics, South Dakota State University

The high cash prices and high nearby futures prices have been the talk in the fed cattle market. The historically tight supply of cattle is supporting prices. In addition, the feeder cattle market is seeing solid demand and some limits to supply as producers weigh the longer-run benefits from retaining heifers. Whenever rallies happen, it is a good idea to check the opportunities in the related forward contract market. A good source for that information is the USDA-AMS report "LM_CT153", which covers weekly fed cattle volume contracted with related basis levels.

Recent weeks also encompassed the federal shutdown that caused a loss of current market information. The weeks leading up to the shutdown were marked by increased forward contract activity and a steady increase in the total or cumulative volume outstanding. Conceptually, it is like futures volume and open interest. After reaching a low in early July 2013 at 833,237 head, the outstanding volume increased to 1,387,554 head in the 09/29/2013 report. During the shutdown, the AMS did not convey the information mandated by the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, but it was collected and submitted by packers. On October 21, 2013 the AMS released the backlog of information.

Did the absence of reporting matter? It is difficult to tell. For the first two weeks in October, the new signings totaled 167,115 head, which suggests a slower pace of contracting compared to the surrounding weeks. However, volume changes are common in October. More interesting was what happened to forward basis activity. During the last week in September, the average basis for April 2014 was -$1.51. During the shutdown, the average basis narrowed to -$0.98. The basis increase would not have been transparent. As might have been expected, the basis range for April deliveries did not change, suggesting that both parties tried to roll things ahead during the shutdown.

Aside from the shutdown, the total volume contracted has again been on the increase. The most recent report (10/28/13) shows total volume is 1,539,781 head. For the April 2014 delivery month the volume is ahead of year ago levels. This suggests the forward contract share of slaughter volume in the coming months will increase. While most of the contracts outstanding have delivery months out for the next six months, there are some as deferred as January of 2015.

Formally "LM_CT153" is titled, "National Weekly Direct Slaughter Cattle: Prior Week Slaughter and Contract Purchases" or "Weekly Direct Slaughter Cattle - Packer Owned Cattle". The report gives the weekly volume (number of head) of new forward contract signings between feeders and packers. AMS also tracks the cumulative volume and a breakdown by delivery month with an average basis and a basis range of the related futures contract. The report is available at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lm_ct153.txt. 



Late Harvest Extends Deadline for New Leader Program
With harvest running a little later and growers in the field longer than expected, the first session of the NCGA DuPont New Leader Program, previously scheduled for November, has been moved to January by the National Corn Growers Association. The application deadline for the program has been extended to Dec. 6, to allow more growers the opportunity to get involved.

"We hope that this will lead to fuller participation by all NCGA affiliated states for an excellent communications and leadership training program after a corn harvest that is running late in several areas," said NCGA President Martin Barbre. "This program was developed to help our state affiliates identify emerging leaders and recruit potential board members, we especially appreciate the support of our program co-sponsor DuPont."

One couple or single person per state will be chosen to participate for this hands-on leadership and communications training program designed for corn growers interested in strengthening their existing skills so they can better serve the industry at local, state and national levels.

The program is implemented in three phases, with two plenary sessions and an interim project. Session I now will be held Jan. 27-30, 2014, in Des Moines. Participants will choose interim projects to take place between January and July. Session II will take place in Washington and Wilmington, Del., July 13-18, 2014.

January's session will include communications, presentation and social media training as well as a tour of DuPont Pioneer's facilities and the selection of interim projects. Participants should plan to arrive in Des Moines the afternoon of Jan. 27, and can depart the morning of Jan. 30.

Participants must be at least 21 years of age, active in corn farming, NCGA members and not currently serving in a state affiliate officer position or as a Corn Congress delegate or alternate. This program is for growers who are just beginning active association involvement. While couples are preferred, qualified individuals will be considered.

Qualified corn growers interested in participating are asked to contact their state corn association before Friday, Dec. 6. Complete and updated information on the NCGA DuPont New Leader Program is available at www.ncga.com/nlp.



National FFA Convention Kicks-Off in Louisville

The 86th annual National FFA Convention & Expo opens in Louisville this week. The annual event is expected to attract nearly 60,000 visitors and generate about $40 million for the local and state economy.

The convention and full slate of associated events will use all of the space at the Exposition Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center, with additional activities planned at the downtown KFC Yum! Center.

The national convention is returning to Louisville, which hosted the meeting from 1999-2005, and will alternate between Louisville and Indianapolis for the foreseeable future.

Louisville will get the convention, usually a four-day event in late October, in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Then it goes to Indianapolis for three years. But after that, Louisville has an option to have the convention in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The convention will then go to the Hoosier capital again for three years, but Louisville will again have first rights for 2025, 2026 and 2027.

Meanwhile, the convention has a full slate of educational and entertainment events. Country star Dierks Bentley will perform a special FFA-only concert and the World's Toughest Rodeo will entertain the convention-goers. Rick Pitino will be the opening session's headline speaker, followed by several inspirational speakers throughout the session. The young adults can choose to attend leadership and personal growth workshops.



CWT Assists with 525,000 Pounds of Cheese and Butter Export Sales

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted four requests for export assistance from Northwest Dairy Association and Upstate Niagara (O-AT-KA) to sell 304,238 pounds (138 metric tons) of Cheddar cheese and 220,462 pounds (100 metric tons) of butter to customers in Asia and North Africa. The product will be delivered in November and December 2013.

Year-to-date, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in selling 111.635 million pounds of cheese, 81.008 million pounds of butter, 44,092 pounds of anhydrous milk fat and 218,258 pounds of whole milk powder to 37 countries on six continents. These sales are the equivalent of 2.854 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

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.



CFTC Vote to Drop Position Limit Appeal

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted to abandon a court challenge of a rule designed to limit speculation in commodity markets, agreeing to drop the agency's appeal as it works to advance a revised version of the rule.

The CFTC voted to drop its appeal of a September 2012 decision tossing out the agency's "position limits" rule, which aimed to curb sharp price spikes by limiting the percentage of the market any one firm can control in certain commodities.

The CFTC is working to modify the rule--authorized by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law--to address problems identified by a federal court last year, including providing further legal justification for the limits as well as a more thorough cost-benefit analysis. The agency is expected to vote on the revised rule next week.

Last September, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sent the rule back to the CFTC, saying the Dodd-Frank statute was ambiguous as to whether the limits were mandatory and that regulators didn't properly justify the imposition of the limits. The ruling was a big setback for the agency as it was trying to implement the Dodd-Frank law.

Republican Commissioner Scott O'Malia Tuesday said the CFTC wasted taxpayer dollars by pursuing an appeal of the court ruling at the same time it worked to revise the rule.

"As I pointed out at the time, the district court concluded that the commission had failed to do its homework in drafting the rule," Mr. O'Malia said in a statement. "The clear lesson for the commission, then, was that it needed to go back to the drawing board and propose a new rule with the proper statutory and empirical foundation."



Vilsack Highlights First-Ever Report on Agroforestry on Farms

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday released the first-ever report on USDA's role advancing agroforestry. Agroforestry: USDA Reports to America details how agroforestry practices are helping farmers, ranchers and woodland owners enhance agricultural productivity, protect the environment and increase profits.

"USDA has invested less than one percent of its budget into tree-based practices. Yet that small investment allows us to help create private goods and public services that reap great rewards, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and more resilient agricultural lands," Vilsack said. "However, much work remains to promote and sustain agroforestry practices, which have great potential to promote economic growth and job creation in rural communities."

Agroforestry is a management approach that intentionally combines agriculture and forestry to create more sustainable land-use systems. Over the last five years, USDA has assisted landowners financially and with technical guidance to establish roughly 336,000 acres of windbreaks, riparian forest buffers and alley cropping; about 2,000 acres of silvopasture; and about 500 acres of forest farming. Those acres represent less than 1 percent of the potentially suitable land for applying those practices, suggesting there is an opportunity to significantly expand the application of agroforestry in the United States.

"Agroforestry provides benefits beyond rural areas," Vilsack said. "In suburban areas, agroforestry practices can improve wildlife habitat, mitigate the movement of odors and dust, serve as noise barriers and act as filters that help keep water clean."

Agroforestry: USDA Reports to America is a cross-Departmental effort from eight agencies serving on the Agroforestry Executive Steering Committee: Agricultural Marketing Service; Agricultural Research Service; Farm Service Agency; National Agricultural Statistics Service; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Rural Development; and U.S. Forest Service. These agencies work closely with the USDA National Agroforestry Center to advance the science, practice and application of agroforestry, and guide implementation of the USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework. A longer version of the report will be posted by USDA soon.

With the release of this report on agroforestry, USDA wants to start a national conversation about agroforestry with producers, landowners, communities and young people - America's future farmers.

"Our goal is and always has been to help landowners understand that trees - and other permanent vegetation - planted in the right place for the right reason, will add value to their lands," said Wayne Honeycutt, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Deputy Chief for Science and Technology, who chairs USDA's Agroforestry Executive Steering Committee. "Through the report, we are able to show landowner successes. In some cases, family farms have been saved and woodlands spared from development. We hope by showing these stories, more landowners will see the potential for their operations."

To access the report, visit www.usda.gov/agroforestry. Send comments and questions about the report and USDA's role in agroforestry to agroforestry@USDA.gov.



FARMERS GAIN NEW WEED-CONTROL INCENTIVES WITH 2014 ROUNDUP READY PLUS® WEED MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS PLATFORM

Farmers taking proactive steps to manage weeds on their farm will have even more incentive to do so in the 2014 growing season, Monsanto announced today. The company has expanded its popular Roundup Ready PLUS®Weed Management Solutions platform to include additional herbicides for use in cotton and soybeans, has expanded the financial incentives to include Arizona cotton, and has increased the number of available products in Texas. These additional herbicides and incentives – combined with the recommendations of weed scientists, academics and industry partners – help farmers develop economical approaches to controlling tough-to-manage weeds through Diversified Weed Management Practices (DWMPs), while earning cash-back incentives for soybeans, cotton or corn acres when using Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides or Roundup Ready PLUS-endorsed products. 

“Farmers understand the importance of a proactive weed management program utilizing residual herbicides,” said Chris Reat, Roundup Ready PLUS marketing manager. “We’re working with industry partners to offer herbicides and incentives that will help farmers manage tough-to-control and herbicide-resistant weeds. We’re seeing continued strong adoption of the Roundup Ready PLUS platform, and farmers who follow the recommendations are reporting improved weed control.”

Cotton farmers will have three new herbicides to battle tough-to-manage weeds in the 2014 growing season, and farmers in Arizona are now eligible for incentives.

In 2014, soybean farmers will have the added benefit of Authority® MAXX herbicide in the Roundup Ready PLUS platform. Authority MAXX will be labeled to control difficult weeds – such as waterhemp, velvetleaf and pigweed – in soybeans.

Warrant® Herbicide will continue providing cotton and soybean farmers the flexibility and control they need to battle tough-to-manage and herbicide resistant weeds. Warrant Herbicide came on the market labeled for post-emergence applications, but has since been approved and labeled for both pre- and post-emergence application.  The wider window of application includes early preplant, at-planting, pre-emergence and post-emergence (through first flower in cotton and up to R2 growth stage in soybeans) and provides up to 30 days residual control.