Wednesday December 4 Ag News

Hefty Seed Company Announces New Location in West Point, NE

Hefty Seed Company’s newest store will be open for business just south of West Point, NE on Friday, December 20, 2013.  This location marks the first Nebraska store for one of the nation’s largest ag retailers.

Hefty Seed West Point will be managed by agronomists Chad Odvody and Jacob Gubbels, who have 25 years of combined agronomy experience in eastern Nebraska.

“We’re pleased to be a part of bringing the first Hefty location to Nebraska and to the community here in West Point,” said Odvody.  “Area farmers will benefit from low pricing that our new facility and vast product network enables us to offer for both seed and ag chemical supplies.”

The facility includes bulk storage facilities allowing 37,000 gallons of ag chemical to be stored on site, as well as a fully equipped ag chemical supply warehouse and seed storage area.  Upon opening, Hefty Seed West Point will have pricing on more than 400 varieties of ag chemical that will be available throughout the season.

Other features of the site include an office wing that incorporates meeting areas for agronomy and informational sessions throughout the year.  Upcoming events at the site include an Open House on Thursday, January 16, 2014, where the public will be invited to tour the new facilities.



Nebraska Corn Growers Elect Officers at Annual Meeting

The Nebraska Corn Growers Association held its annual meeting in Seward this week. During the meeting, the association's membership elected officers for the organization. The following corn growers were re-elected:
- Joel Grams of Minden, President
- Larry Mussack of Decatur, Vice President
- Rick Gruber of Benedict, Secretary and Market Development Chair
- Chuck Emanuel of North Bend, Treasurer

The association also gave its annual Golden Ear Award recognizing outstanding service and leadership in Nebraska's corn industry. This year's recipient was Chuck Woodside of KAAPA Ethanol in Minden.

There was considerable discussion regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's recent proposal to reduce the required amount of corn ethanol in the nation's fuel supply—a proposed reduction of nearly 1.4 billion gallons for 2014.

During the annual meeting, the Nebraska Corn Growers Association passed a resolution urging the EPA to rescind its proposal and to retain the RFS in its current form.

As part of a statewide grassroots campaign, members of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association will be asking other organizations to adopt a similar resolution. This effort will include local chambers of commerce, county commissioners, city councils, school boards, banks and services clubs.

"The point is that cutting back on our nation's commitment to renewable fuels is bad for America's energy security, our economy, our environment, and our rural communities," said NeCGA president Joel Grams of Minden. "As corn farmers, we also need to be concerned about the potential loss of demand for corn—and the effect that will have on corn prices and our bottom line."

Grams said that the nation should be focusing on building infrastructure for higher ethanol blends including more flex fuel vehicles and more flex fuel pumps. "Cutting back on the RFS sends a bad signal to companies developing the next generation of biofuels—and it plays right into the hands of the oil companies who have spent huge sums of money to keep ethanol from taking their market share," he said.

On November 29, the EPA opened a 60-day comment period regarding its proposed ethanol reduction. "As corn farmers, we need to speak out against this proposal," Grams said. He directed growers to the National Corn Growers Association website at ncga.com to send a comment to the EPA.



Commercial Manure Applicator Training Scheduled for Jan. 7th in Iowa

Commercial manure applicators can attend annual training Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014 to meet commercial manure applicator certification requirements. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will conduct Commercial Manure Applicator training from 9 a.m. to noon at 76 Iowa locations, two Wisconsin locations and one Minnesota site. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. There is no fee for the workshop, but applicators must register by Dec. 30 with the ISU Extension and Outreach county office where they plan to attend. A complete list of workshop locations can be found at  http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/certification/macprogrampostcard.pdf.

Commercial manure applicators needing to recertify and those wanting to certify for the first time should attend. All currently certified commercial manure applicator licenses will expire on March 1, 2014. Those wanting to renew must complete training requirements, and submit forms and fees to the DNR prior to March 1 to avoid paying late fees. The law requires all commercial manure applicators to attend three hours of training annually to meet certification requirements. Businesses that primarily truck or haul manure of any type or from any source are also required to meet certification requirements.

Those unable to attend the program on Jan. 7 may schedule time with their ISU Extension and Outreach county office to watch the training DVD. Due to scheduling conflicts, many extension offices no longer will accept walk-in appointments to watch these DVDs, but do offer scheduled dates and times to provide this training. Those who can’t attend training during one of the scheduled reshow dates at their county extension office will be charged a $10 fee to view the training at their convenience. If attending the workshops or watching the three-hour DVD is not possible, commercial applicators may contact their local DNR field office to schedule an appointment to take the certification exam.

In addition to the commercial manure applicator training offered on Jan. 7, ISU Extension and Outreach will offer eight dry/solid manure workshops for commercial manure applicators in February 2014. Information regarding these workshops and locations is also available online at the link listed above. Program requirements are the same as the regular commercial training program, but this training program is geared more toward dry/solid manure issues. 

For more information or to have questions about the commercial manure applicator certification program answered, contact an ISU Extension and Otureach county office or visit http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/mac.html.



2014 IA Confinement Site Manure Applicator Workshops Scheduled

Confinement site manure applicators and those interested in learning about manure issues should plan to attend one of the two-hour workshops offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in January and February 2014. The workshops are offered in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. There is no fee to attend the workshops, but applicators will need to pay certification fees to complete certification requirements.

“Iowa law requires confinement site manure applicators to attend two hours of continuing education each year of their three-year certification period, or take and pass an exam once every three years,” said Angela Rieck-Hinz, ISU Extension program specialist and coordinator of the manure applicator certification program.

A total of 63 confinement site manure applicator workshops will be held in 59 Iowa counties. In addition, a series of eight dry/solid manure applicator certification meetings will be held in February. ISU Extension and Outreach county offices have a complete list of workshop dates and locations, or view a list online at  http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/certification/confdates.html.

The workshops serve as initial certification for those applicators not currently certified, recertification for those renewing licenses, and continuing education for those applicators in their second or third year of their license.

Due to uniform certification deadlines, applicators are encouraged to attend workshops prior to March 1 to avoid being assessed a late fee of $12.50. Those unable to attend one of the workshops need to schedule time with their ISU Extension and Outreach county office to watch the training DVD. Due to scheduling conflicts, many extension offices no longer will accept walk-in appointments to watch these DVDs, but do offer scheduled dates and times to provide this training.Those who can’t attend training during one of the scheduled reshow dates at their county extension office will be charged a $10 fee to view the training at their convenience. If attending the workshops or watching the two-hour training DVD is not possible, confinement site manure applicators may contact their local DNR field office to schedule an appointment to take the certification exam to meet certification requirements.

Contact an ISU Extension and Outreach county office for more information about the Manure Applicator Certification Program or visit http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/mac.html.



Branstad, Northey Ask Harkin to Support King Amendment
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey Tuesday sent a letter to Sen. Tom Harkin encouraging him to support the inclusion of the "King amendment" as part of the ongoing farm bill negotiations.

Iowa Congressman Steve King sponsored the amendment and would prevent individual states from dictating agriculture production practices in other states.

"Supporting the King amendment will prevent a few large states like California and New York from dictating the modes of agricultural production in Iowa and other states," Branstad and Northey wrote in the Tuesday letter to Harkin. :Congressman King's amendment would still allow states to restrict agricultural operations within their own state borders and jurisdiction, but the amendment would not allow any state to violate the Commerce Clause by restricting the sale of certain agriculture goods produced differently in another state. There are already federal, state and local food safety laws to protect consumers and opposition to the King amendment in all practicality would mean California and a few other big states could dictate how family farmers and agricultural producers all across the country have to produce their products. The amendment would not prevent states from imposing future food safety requirements and merely clarifies that a state cannot prohibit the import of a product from another state based solely on that product's means of production. If a state so chose, it could enact labeling requirements for various modes of production."

The two Iowa leaders said they are very concerned that a Farm Bill lacking the King Amendment would lead to higher food prices that would disproportionately impact low income families. Regulatory production restrictions, similar to those which California seeks to impose, have already been implemented in Europe and have led to increased food costs.

In just one example, Branstad and Northey wrote, new cage size laws in the European Union have decreased the supply of eggs to consumers in Central and Eastern Europe. According to an article published in the Wall Street Journal on April 4, 2012, the average price of 10 eggs in the Czech Republic more than doubled from 2011 to 2012, and consumers on average across the entire EU were forced to pay 76.5% more per egg in 2012 than they paid in 2011. EU restrictions have had a very negative impact on the availability of eggs to the average consumer.

"If the King amendment is not included in the Farm Bill, we are very concerned the conversation will quickly move beyond how chickens are produced in Iowa or Arkansas to how milk is produced in Wisconsin or Vermont or to how corn and soybeans are grown in the Midwest.," the two wrote to Harkin.



Salute to Soil Underscores Need to Focus on its Health

It’s responsible for nearly all life on the planet, but rarely gets the respect it deserves. On December 5, this living and life-giving resource is finally getting its day—across the state and across the globe.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization will celebrate World Soil Day in Rome, Italy, under the framework of the Global Soil Partnership. The goal of the celebration is to raise awareness of the importance of healthy soils for food security, ecosystem functions and resilient farms.

The global focus on soil is being amplified across Nebraska through a new awareness and education campaign from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) titled “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil.” The campaign is designed to help more farmers and ranchers discover the basics and benefits of soil health—and to encourage the adoption of soil health-improving practices like cover crops, no-till and diverse crop rotations.

“We work every day in every county to conserve and protect this vital resource,” said NRCS State Conservationist Craig Derickson, “so to us, every day is ‘soil day.’”

Derickson said improving the nation’s soil health has broad implications related to the vitality of our nation’s farms, the health of our planet and our ability to feed more than 9 billion people who will be living on Earth by the year 2050.

“Keeping soil healthy improves water and air quality, makes farms more sustainable and resilient, provides for wildlife habitat and reduces flooding,” he said. “Increasingly, more and more producers in Nebraska and throughout the nation are harvesting a wide range of production, environmental, and business benefits—on and off the farm—by improving soil health.”

Derickson said that while improving soil health has enormous benefits, it also has its challenges. “We know that every farm is different and has its own set of unique resource issues,” he said. “Fortunately, Nebraska’s farmers are innovative, courageous and tenacious, and NRCS is committed to assist these soil health pioneers—to help make their farms more productive, resilient and profitable along the way.”

Derickson said that World Soil Day serves as a reminder to all of us that the promise of our future resides in the soil. “As we face mounting global production, climate and sustainability challenges, there is no better time to work hand-in-hand with our nation’s farmers and ranchers to improve the health of our soil,” he said.

Those interested in learning more about the basics, benefits and promise of improving soil health, Derickson said, can visit www.nrcs.usda.gov to “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil.”



Weekly Ethanol Production for 11/29/2013

According to EIA data, ethanol production averaged 913,000 barrels per day (b/d) — or 38.35 million gallons daily. That is down 16,000 b/d from the week before. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 918,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 14.07 billion gallons.

Stocks of ethanol stood at 15.1 million barrels. That is a 0.7% increase from last week.

For the ninth week in a row, imports of ethanol were zero b/d.

Gasoline demand for the week averaged 372.7 million gallons daily.

Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 10.29%.

On the co-products side, ethanol producers were using 13.843 million bushels of corn to produce ethanol and 101,894 metric tons of livestock feed, 90,839 metric tons of which were distillers grains. The rest is comprised of corn gluten feed and corn gluten meal. Additionally, ethanol producers were providing 4.76 million pounds of corn oil daily.



Farmers Head to Washington, D.C., to Defend Ethanol at EPA Hearing

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to cut the amount of corn ethanol required under the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard by 10 percent will affect corn prices and rural economies, farmers plan to tell the agency at a hearing set for Thursday outside the nation’s capital.

More than 30 corn farmers and their allies from around the country are traveling to Washington for the important public hearing. Growers from NCGA will be present representing 13 states -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

“It’s great to see so many people willing to leave their farms at this time of year for an important opportunity to give the EPA a piece of their mind,” said NCGA First Vice President Chip Bowling, a Maryland corn grower scheduled to speak at the hearing. “This has already had a negative effect on our farms, and if the EPA gets its way, it could cause serious harm to the rural economy – not to mention cutting the environmental benefits of domestic, renewable ethanol.”

For 2014, the EPA has proposed a 1.4 billion gallon reduction in how much corn ethanol will be required under the RFS, the federal law that requires the blending of domestic, renewable, cleaner-burning corn ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply.  Because of the record crop, growers are already seeing corn prices falling below the cost of production, and due to the planting cycle are having to buy inputs such as fertilizer, seed and fuel at much higher prices, Bowling said.

NCGA strongly urges all its members to comment directly to the EPA about this issue before the Jan. 28 deadline. More information about how farmers can do this is available online at www.ncga.com/rfs.



Biodiesel Supporters to Voice RFS Concerns with EPA

Nearly two dozen representatives of the U.S. biodiesel industry are slated to testify at an EPA hearing Thursday about the threat to their businesses and surrounding communities under the EPA’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standard for biodiesel.

Biodiesel – made from a diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats – is the first EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel to reach commercial-scale production nationwide. Yet in its recent RFS draft, the EPA proposed reducing biodiesel production to 1.28 billion gallons, down sharply from the industry’s production rate of about 2 billion gallons since July.

Tim Keaveney, vice president for Erie, Pa.-based biodiesel producer HERO BX, plans to tell the EPA that the company is producing a record amount of biodiesel this year, reducing the cost of production as a result and helping revitalize the local economy. But the proposed EPA rule threatens jobs at the plant and its surrounding area, and has already frozen a planned expansion that would add to the company’s current work force of 43 full-time employees.

“We have invested $120 million into our biodiesel refinery with a vision of supporting a green industry, to foster innovation, and to create meaningful jobs in Erie, Pennsylvania, one of America’s oldest manufacturing towns,” Keaveney said. “The investment was made in part due to the government’s stance on establishing and supporting renewable fuels. To pull the rug out from under us now would foil current investment and likely stagnate future development in clean energy.”

Wayne Presby, head of White Mountain Biodiesel in North Haverhill, N.H, will tell the agency that the proposal threatens the survival of his company.

“We are one of the largest businesses in Northern New Hampshire and one of the few that has provided new employment over the past few years,” Presby said. “We currently employ 20 people and have grown at an annual rate of 300 percent per year for the last two years.  We were intending to further increase our production this coming year and hire additional workers for a third shift, however, the current proposal by the EPA will halt our growth completely and may result in the closing of our business”

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the industry trade association, has warned that the EPA proposal will lead to layoffs and plant closures nationwide as biodiesel refiners sharply scale back production. The proposal also sends a devastating signal to investors that threatens future growth in the industry, while damaging prospects for other future alternatives to petroleum.

“This industry has been running at an annualized rate of about 2 billion gallons since July. That’s displacing 2 billion gallons of petroleum diesel,” said Anne Steckel, NBB’s vice president of federal affairs. “You can’t cut it almost in half and expect jobs and businesses to survive.”

“What’s so frustrating about the proposal is that biodiesel is an EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel that has exceeded RFS targets. It’s an RFS success story that is creating the clean-energy jobs that the Obama Administration has pushed so hard for in recent years,” Steckel added. “There is not a commercial-scale fuel on the planet that beats the environmental benefits that biodiesel delivers. By the EPA’s own calculations, biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emission by 57 percent to 86 percent. So we will be looking for answers from the EPA and the Administration about why they are doing this. It is not consistent with the Administration’s stated policy.”

The EPA’s draft proposal is particularly challenging for biodiesel because excess biodiesel production from this year’s record volume can be carried over and used for RFS compliance in 2014. As a result, the 1.28 billion gallon proposal could mean an effective market closer to 1 billion gallons. Additionally, it holds the biodiesel volume at 1.28 billion gallons for 2 years, in both 2014 and 2015, effectively freezing the industry.



Another Weapon to Fight FMD

Proteins called interferons are among the latest weapons U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are using to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). These proteins kill or stop viruses from growing and reproducing.

Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit, located at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center at Orient Point, N.Y., have demonstrated that interferons can be used to protect animals immediately against FMD infection. This rapid protection gives vaccines time to induce the animal's immune response needed to fight the disease.

Interferons consist of three families--type I (alpha-beta), type II (gamma), and type III (lambda). Retired ARS chemist Marvin Grubman discovered that type I is very effective in controlling FMD virus infection. Pigs inoculated with a viral vector containing the gene coding for swine type I interferon and challenged with FMD virus were protected for five days.

To cover the seven-day window it takes for vaccines to start protecting against FMD, Grubman combined type I and II in an antiviral vaccine-delivery system, which quickly blocks the virus in pigs. In combination with a vaccine, this patented technology provided thorough protection from day one until the vaccine immune response kicked in seven days later.

These methods work well in pigs, but not in cattle. However, ARS microbiologist Teresa de los Santos, computational biologist James Zhu and Grubman have identified a type III interferon that rapidly protects cattle against FMD virus as early as one day after vaccination. In laboratory tests, disease was significantly delayed in animals exposed to FMD virus after previously being treated with bovine type III interferon, as compared to a control group that did not receive treatment.

In other experiments, the type III interferon treatment was found to be even more protective in cows that were naturally exposed to FMD, according to de los Santos.



China Rejects GE Corn from US

China has rejected more than 120,000 metric tons in shipments of U.S. corn after finding an unapproved genetically engineered strain, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.

The insect-resistant MIR162 strain was found in five batches by inspectors in Fujian, Shenzhen and Shandong provinces, the agency said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

The dates of the discoveries weren't disclosed.

Shenzhen regulators rejected a shipment in November for the same reason, it added.

The U.S. was asked to tighten checks ahead of export, the administration said.

China has imported about 1.54 million tons of corn from the U.S. in the first 10 months of this year.