Wednesday September 17 Ag News

Heineman On International Trade Efforts
NE to Host Upcoming Int'l Trade Conference

Today, Gov. Dave Heineman discussed Nebraska’s efforts to expand international trade efforts specifically in Japan, and announced that Nebraska has been chosen to host the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association’s 50th annual conference in September 2018. The Governor was joined by

Dacia Kruse, Department of Economic Development Acting Director; Greg Ibach, Director of the Department of Agriculture; and Melissa Ross, Director of Marketing with Oxbow Animal Health to speak about Nebraska’s robust trade partnerships with Japan.

“We continue to have a strong emphasis on international development,” Gov. Heineman said. “In Nebraska, we appreciate the value and importance of trade and foreign direct investment as key drivers of a state’s economic policy. Hosting the 50th Midwest U.S.-Japan Association annual conference will be an opportunity to showcase Nebraska to hundreds of Japanese business leaders who will be attending the conference here in four years.”

Gov. Heineman recently returned from the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference held in Des Moines, Iowa, where the Governor met with business leaders from Japan and touted Nebraska as, “Open for business.” For more than four decades, business leaders from the U.S. Midwest and Japan have met annually at the conference to discuss the countries’ mutual economic growth of bilateral trade, investment, and progress.

Japan is Nebraska’s second largest agricultural market and was the state’s fourth largest overall market in 2013.  Nebraska exported more than $566 million to Japan in 2013, representing 7.7 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Japan accounts for $454 million in agricultural goods, with $411 million made up of beef and pork exports.

Director Kruse stated, “Japan is an important trading partner. The Department of Economic Development is regularly involved in and committed to doing all that we can to maintain, strengthen, and build upon our excellent and long-term relationship.”

“The exports of pork and beef to Japan represent some of what we do best here in the state – add value to our grains locally by feeding them to livestock, and then exporting the meat to foreign destinations. Japan has been a good and dedicated customer of Nebraska’s beef and pork, and customers there recognize the quality and consistency of the product,” Dir. Ibach said.

Nebraska is one of only a few states to have an active trade office operating in Japan. Gov. Heineman opened the Nebraska Center 2006 to help increase trade and business relationships with Japan. Located in Tokyo, the Nebraska Center has been instrumental in identifying business partners and opportunities for Nebraska and Japanese companies. Oxbow Animal Health, a family-owned small business based in rural Murdock, which specializes in pet food and pet care products, has participated in the program since 2006.

“The Nebraska Center has provided assistance to Oxbow in our efforts to capture additional market share and grow exports to Japan – a significant market in our international strategy. The Center has assisted us in conducting market visits, determining a strategic plan for doing business in Japan, negotiating distribution agreements, and translating marketing pieces targeting the Japanese customer,” said Melissa Ross, Director of Marketing for Oxbow Animal Health.

“These businesses and businesses throughout Nebraska continue to tell us that they like Nebraska because we have dedicated, hard-working and well-educated employees, good trucking and rail infrastructure, low utility costs and a high quality of life,” Gov. Heineman said. “National and global industry leaders are choosing to expand in Nebraska, leading Nebraska to become a prime destination for new businesses. Japanese businesses have been extremely active in our state and the Japanese business community is growing and thriving in Nebraska. We believe trade and investment should be a mutually beneficial partnership and we look forward to exploring future opportunities for collaboration between Japan and Nebraska.”



Nebraska Corn Board partners with UNL for distinctive Presidential Chair

The Nebraska Corn Board has made a $2.0 million commitment to the University of Nebraska Foundation to establish the permanently endowed Nebraska Corn Checkoff Presidential Chair. The endowment will provide annual support to the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) for research and development related to corn demand.

For nearly 30 years, the Nebraska Corn Board and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln have collaborated on education and research on behalf of 23,000 Nebraska corn farmers and their investment in their corn checkoff. Now, they are partnering to establish the Nebraska Corn Checkoff Presidential Chair.

“This gift from the Nebraska Corn Board is exceptionally exciting, as it will create opportunities to advance corn-based product development at the University of Nebraska,” said Ronnie Green, NU Vice President and IANR Harlan Vice Chancellor. “I can assure you that the future holder of this presidential chair will develop major advancements from this support that will be beneficial for producers and industry leaders in Nebraska and beyond.”

This presidential chair is only the third of its kind, following suit of the Nebraska Wheat Growers Presidential Chair and Nebraska Soybean Board Presidential Chair. It will enable the university to award faculty members with an annual stipend for salary, research and program support.  Recipients of the award will be selected based on teaching and research ability, academic promise and accomplishments and will receive an annual stipend for research and program support.

From the Nebraska Corn Board’s investments in students through the Corn Development Utilization & Marketing Board Scholarship and Fellowship Fund, educational projects like the UNL Agricultural Economics Trading Room and the Raising Nebraska exhibit at the State Fair; and numerous corn-related research projects, the partnership with IANR has helped the board address its mission of increasing the demand for Nebraska corn and enhancing the profitability of Nebraska’s corn growers.

“But now, the corn industry is at a crux, where corn production is outpacing demand and developing new markets are needed more than ever,” said Tim Scheer, farmer from St. Paul, Nebraska and chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board.

“Corn prices are at or below the cost of production following a record crop last year and yet another estimated for this year,” said Scheer. “The timing of the opportunity for the Nebraska Corn Board to partner with the University to support such a distinctive chair is advantageous to develop new uses and create more demand for corn.”

This endowed Presidential Chair will ensure that IANR’s research in this important area of Nebraska’s corn industry exists in perpetuity.

The gift of the endowed chair also supports the University of Nebraska’s current Campaign for Nebraska fundraising initiative, which ends on December 31, 2014, and one of its priorities to increase support for faculty members in an effort to both retain and recruit top faculty.



Statues of Four Secretaries of Agriculture to be Dedicated Saturday

Statues honoring four Nebraskans who made lasting, national impacts on agriculture and natural resources have come to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus.

Commissioned in 2012 as part of the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862, the life-sized statues are of former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture J. Sterling Morton, Clifford Hardin, Clayton Yeutter and Mike Johanns. The statues, paid for with donated funds, are in the green space north and east of Filley Hall.

The statues will be dedicated during a 3 p.m. Sept. 20 ceremony. The event is free and open to the public and will be held in the green space north of Filley Hall. If it rains, the dedication will be moved to the nearby Nebraska East Union.  Game day attire is encouraged for the event.

Omaha artist Matthew Placzek designed the sculptures.

"It is very fitting that these four Nebraskans be remembered and honored by the university for careers dedicated to agriculture and natural resources. That service extended even well beyond their terms as secretaries of agriculture," said Ronnie Green, Harlan vice chancellor of the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Morton was appointed agriculture secretary by Grover Cleveland and served from 1893 to 1897. Known for his dedication to tree planting, Morton served in the state legislature and as governor of Nebraska Territory. He was also a member of the State Board of Agriculture, where he came up with the idea to create a holiday to celebrate the planting of trees. The first Arbor Day was held in 1872 and quickly became a national holiday.

Hardin served as agriculture secretary from 1969 to 1971, having been selected by Richard Nixon. His accomplishments included the 1970 farm bill. Hardin was also chancellor of the University of Nebraska from 1954 to 1968. He is credited with being the founder of the modern University of Nebraska.

Yeutter was agriculture secretary from 1989 to 1991 under George H.W. Bush. He and a team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were responsible for much of the 1990 farm bill, which moved U.S. farm policy toward greater market orientation. He served in three sub-cabinet posts and in three cabinet or cabinet-level posts; secretary of agriculture, U.S. trade representative, and counselor to the president, the only Nebraskan ever to do so.

A U.S. senator since January 2009, Johanns was U.S. secretary of agriculture from 2005 to 2007, in the George W. Bush administration. Johanns was also Nebraska's 38th governor from 1999 to 2005. As a senator, he serves on five committees, including Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Environment and Public Works.



Climate Change Panel Discussion is Topic of Sept. 25 Heuermann Lecture

The 2014-15 Heuermann Lecture season kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept.  25, when Donald Wilhite, professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Natural Resources, leads a panel discussion on the issues surrounding our changing climate.

"Understanding and Assessing Climate Change: Implications for Nebraska" is the title of the lecture, which will be held at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center auditorium, 2021 Transformation Dr.

Associated economic, social and environmental risks, as well as the challenges Nebraskans will face will be the featured topics. Other panel members include Robert Oglesby, Clinton Rowe and Deborah Bathke, all UNL faculty members in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Oglesby is a climatologist with a joint appointment in the School of Natural Resources. Rowe's expertise is in climate modeling and paleoclimatology. Bathke is a climatologist.

The Heuermann Lecture will coincide with the release of a report on climate change compiled by these UNL faculty members. Copies of the report will be available at the lecture and on-line following the lecture. One of the goals of this report is to identify the key challenges associated with climate change for the state and potential actions to adapt to our changing climate. "Action now is a preferable and more cost effective than reaction later," says Wilhite.

Wilhite is the founding director of the International Drought Information Center and the National Drought Mitigation Center.  He served as director of the National Drought Mitigation Center from 1995 until 2007, when he was appointed director of UNL's School of Natural Resources, an appointment he kept from 2007 until 2012. Throughout his career, Wilhite has worked with many state, federal and international agencies, including several agencies of the United Nations, and many foreign countries with the development and implementation of integrated drought monitoring programs and risk-based drought preparedness strategies and policies.

"Globally and locally, we face significant economic, social and environmental risks associated with climate change," Wilhite said. "The body of scientific evidence confirms with a high degree of certainty that human activities in the form of increased concentration of greenhouse gases since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, changes in land use and other factors are the primary causes for the warming the planet has experienced, especially in recent decades."

Current and projected changes extend beyond temperature increases and include changes in precipitation amounts, seasonal distribution and frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The increasing frequency of extreme events raises serious concerns for all nations due to economic, social and environmental costs associated with responding to, recovering from and preparing for these events.  

"Nebraskans will face many challenges as a result of climate change," he added. "However, imbedded in each of these challenges are opportunities to create greater resilience as we adapt to these observed and projected changes in climate."

Heuermann Lectures are free and open to the public.  Lectures focus on providing and sustaining enough food, natural resources and renewable energy for the world's people, and on securing the sustainability of rural communities where the vital work of producing food and renewable energy occurs.  They are made possible by a gift from B. Keith and Norma Heuermann of Phillips, long-time university supporters with a strong commitment to Nebraska's production agriculture, natural resources, rural areas and people.  A 3 p.m. reception in the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center banquet hall precedes the lecture.

Lectures are streamed live online at http://heuermannlectures.unl.edu, and aired live on UNL campus and state cable channel 4.  Lectures are archived after the event and are broadcast on NET2 World at a later date.



New Beef Facilities Tour to Show Options for Young Producers

All signs point to Iowa as the most economical place to feed high quality beef cattle, and young cattle enthusiasts are eager to fill the void. Two new harvesting facilities in the state, an abundance of cheap feedstuffs and record-high fed cattle prices are the formula, and innovative beef cattle facilities are the solution, according to Patrick Wall. The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach beef program specialist said a three-location tour in southeast Iowa will provide a look at expansion options.

"The Iowa Beef Center, via the Beginning and Young Livestock Producer Network, is proud to host the free tour on Sept. 25," Wall said. "It begins near Albia with a stop at a pitted, covered feeding structure. We'll then travel to rural Oskaloosa to view a hoop and mono-slope structure side-by-side in operation. After the third stop at a new calving and cattle handling facility near Otley, we'll end with dinner at the Marion County Extension office in Knoxville."

The tour offers young producers looking at expanding their beef cattle enterprise the opportunity to check out these new structures and to ask questions of those doing chores in them every day, Wall said. The tour also will provide nutrition information, and materials that compare manure handling and value from the various facility types. An event brochure is available on the IBC website.

"This is a huge investment for young farmers, and anything we can do to help them limit risk and find the building that fits their labor and resources will benefit the industry in the long run," Wall said.

People are welcome to attend any or all of the stops, including dinner, at no charge, but preregistration is needed by Sept. 22. For more information or to preregister, contact Wall either by phone at 515-450-7665 or email patwall@iastate.edu.



ASA Encourages Soybean Farmers to Safeguard Export Markets Through Proper Grain Stewardship

As the soybean and corn harvest hits full stride in much of the nation’s growing regions, the farmer-leaders of the American Soybean Association remind farmers to do their part by taking extra care to keep biotech traits that are not yet approved in key export markets out of normal grain marketing channels. For those soybean farmers that also produce corn, this includes keeping biotech corn traits that are not yet approved in China, such as MIR 162 and Duracade, out of normal commodity streams so that U.S. soybean shipments to China aren’t at risk of rejection due to the presence of unapproved corn traits.

“China is U.S. soy’s biggest customer, buying more U.S. soybeans than all other foreign customers combined,” said ASA President and Corning, Iowa, farmer Ray Gaesser. “With a record U.S. soybean crop ready for harvest, we need to ensure that U.S. soy exports aren’t disrupted. Farmers growing biotech corn traits that aren’t yet approved in China need to follow stewardship agreements carefully, ensure thorough equipment clean-out, and only market their grain in approved domestic channels.”

In the current marketing year, China has imported nearly one-third of all U.S. soybeans produced and U.S. soybean exports to China total over $14 billion.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has been working with Syngenta and reminds farmers about the need to keep Duracade technology out of export channels. NCGA also has urged farmers to recheck seed plots grown on their farms to verify the traits grown and to ensure that traits that are unapproved in China are stewarded to appropriate channels.

“As American farmers, we are particularly fortunate to work with so many innovative technology partners, each of whom provides us with revolutionary technology in the field. Unfortunately, some approval systems around the world, including China’s and the European Union’s, aren’t working as timely as we’d like,” said Gaesser. “Because of this, farmers have to take extra steps—especially now during the harvest season—to be sure that seed bearing these traits doesn’t find its way into their commodity grain loads. It’s also worth noting that the margin of error in this case is extraordinarily slim. Only a few kernels of corn with unapproved traits are more than enough to reject the entire shipment.”

The reminder comes following several export disruptions caused by the rejection of grain shipments in foreign markets upon the detection of unapproved biotechnology traits.

“We remain frustrated with the pace and murkiness of regulatory approvals in some of our export markets, but we also recognize that the rules are the rules in those markets, and we have to respect them. That means that we simply can’t send grain with traits that aren’t yet approved,” added Wade Cowan, a producer from Brownfield, Texas, and ASA’s first vice president. “Every necessary precaution needs to be taken by originating trait providers and seed companies, and then on our farms, at the elevators, at terminals and at ports, to prevent seed with unapproved traits from entering the supply chain. The longer term answer, of course, is a more efficient and transparent system of foreign approvals , and a global policy to allow for the low level presence of biotech traits that are fully approved in a producing market but not yet approved in an export market.”

ASA is working to improve the marketability of U.S. biotech crops both individually as an organization and in cooperation with other farm, trait, seed, grain, and grain processing organizations through the U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance.



NCGA Applauds USDA Deregulation of ENLIST Crops, Urges EPA Movement on Herbicide

The National Corn Growers Association applauds the U.S. Department of Agriculture's approval of Dow AgroSciences 2,4-D and glyphosate-resistant corn, a part of the ENLIST system. This approval, which will still require U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval of the accompanying pesticide before the system comes to market, represents the first time in which USDA approved a crop modified to be resistant to more than one herbicide.

"Gaining approval for this important technology has been a long, hard fought battle," said NCGA Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Jim Zimmerman, a farmer from Rosendale, Wis. "It is important that farmers continue to gain access to the tools that they need in the field through a science-based, timely regulatory system. We look forward to similar results for other herbicide systems in the future."

The decision, which posted to the regulatory docket on Tuesday, states that USDA finds no issues with the release of the crop. USDA reached a determination of nonregulated status based on the findings of its Environmental impact statement and plant pest risk assessment.



Export Customers Commit to Buy $2.3 Billion of U.S. Soy

Buyers from China at the second-annual, soy-checkoff-funded U.S. Global Trade Exchange have agreed to buy $2.3 billion of U.S. soy totaling 176 million bushels of U.S. soybeans, marking the second consecutive year that the gathering has generated significant export sales for U.S. soybean farmers in their own backyard.

“This is very exciting news for U.S. soybean farmers,” says Jim Call, soybean farmer from Minnesota and United Soybean Board (USB) chairman. “This shows that we continue to meet the needs of our international customers, and they’ve certainly taken notice.”

The event – where foreign buyers gather in the heart of the American Soybean Belt to make deals and learn about U.S. soy – is co-sponsored by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the Midwest Shippers Association and the American Soybean Association (ASA). It continues through Thursday, Sept. 18.

"This week is really a great example of the whole picture of U.S. soy's work with our export partners," says Randy Mann, USSEC chairman and soybean farmer from Kentucky. "Of course the new sales are a boon for farmers, but we're also laying groundwork for future sales by helping our current and prospective customers learn more about the sustainability and quality advantage of American soybeans."

During the event, international representatives will meet with U.S. soy farmer-leaders and will also attend a variety of presentations to learn about the sustainability and quality of U.S. soybeans.

"This event is a great opportunity for U.S. farmers to interface with our customers overseas," says Ray Gaesser, ASA president and soybean farmer from Iowa. "They continue to demand the soybeans we produce, and we continue to innovate to bring higher quality and better beans for them. The relationships we're strengthening here in Milwaukee are a huge part of why soybeans are the leaders in U.S. farm exports."

In the most recent marketing year, U.S. soybean farmers exported more than 1.7 billion bushels of U.S. soy to customers beyond our borders. The value of these exports set a record of more than $28 billion. Representatives from China committed to buy $2.8 billion worth of U.S. soy during last year’s U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange in Davenport, Iowa.



US Ethanol Stocks at 1-1/2-Year High

The Energy Information Administration released data Wednesday showing ethanol inventories in the United States soared to a 1-1/2 year high last week, as domestic production rose to a four-week high while demand fell to a 4-1/2 month low.

The data detailed an 800,000 barrel (bbl), or 4.4%, spike in domestic stocks to 18.8 million bbl during the week-ended Sept. 12, the highest since the week-ended Mar. 1, 2013, with four of the nation's five regions seeing stock increases between 100,000 bbl and 300,000 bbl.

Plant production increased 4,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week to 931,000 bpd, the highest since mid-August, while 11.2% higher than a year prior. Four-week average output was up 11.0%.

Blender inputs, a proxy for ethanol demand, fell 4,000 bpd to 846,000 bpd last week, the lowest since the week-ended May 2, while up 4,000 bpd year-over-year.



ACE urges support for STB Reauthorization Act of 2014

Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of the American Coalition of Ethanol (ACE) has sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee urging support for S. 2777, the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2014.

Jennings says in the letter, “U.S. corn-based ethanol is the most economical transportation fuel in the world, and given its favorable blending economics and the Renewable Fuel Standard, ethanol is capable of comprising much more than its 10 percent share of U.S. gasoline use today.  But in order to do that, reliable and timely rail service is critical.”

“Unfortunately, during most of 2014, railroads have failed to provide reliable and timely service.  Logjams built-up this winter due to extreme cold and snow which reduced the speed and size of trains, and all year long it has appeared that railroads have provided favorable service to crude oil shipments at the expense of ethanol and agricultural commodities….”

“Many of ACE’s ethanol producer members are captive shippers and have reported chronic rail service disruptions this year, such as delayed tank car arrivals, insufficient tank cars received for ethanol off-take, loaded cars parked and overdue for power to arrive, and turn-around times that have doubled.  As a result, storage tanks at ethanol plants are full and many of our members have been forced to slow production or worse yet, shut down operations at a time when demand for ethanol is on the rise because of its low price and clean octane benefits.  To cope with unreliable rail service, some biorefineries have invested in additional storage or considered adding unit train capability, but it is hard to justify those investments without meaningful commitment by the railroads that service will improve.  Moreover, we are concerned that a record harvest of corn and soybeans this fall could make a bad situation on the rails even worse.”

“While S. 2777 does not comprehensively or immediately tackle all these problems, your legislation is an important step in the right direction because it will allow the STB to launch its own investigations and establish shorter timelines for the review of cases.”



Grains, Trains and Global Success
Bruce Blanton, Agricultural Marketing Service
Fall is harvest time and our rural communities are bustling with activity. For American soybean farmers the days start in the early dawn, and they stay until the last light is gone, tending fields that seem to stretch to the end of the world. But success for them relies on more than just growing a good crop. Their soybeans must also move efficiently from the fields to the far corners of the world.

Helping farmers understand the importance and impact of transportation trends is one of the services provided by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). AMS helps growers and exporters by gathering agricultural transportation data for a wide array of publications that are available to everyone on our agricultural transportation website.

U.S. agricultural exports had a record-setting year in 2013, with U.S. agricultural exports reaching nearly $141 billion and supporting about a million U.S. jobs. Part of that success was the U.S. production cost advantage due to lower transportation costs. Now--although the U.S. is still the dominant country within the soybean market--our global market share is declining. This trend reflects the loss of our production cost advantage over countries like Brazil and Argentina.

Because of the impact it can have on the market, U.S. soybean farmers need to understand the transportation environment that links their fields to global markets. Any change in supply or demand can affect the transport system capacity. To help soybean producers understand the impacts of transportation trends, AMS recently released the study Eroding U.S. Soybean Competitiveness and Market Shares: What Is the Road Ahead?.

The results of the report suggest that the U.S. world market share could decline by 20 percentage points. The United States, Brazil, and Argentina market shares depend on each country's exporting capacity, which in turn depends on the transportation infrastructure. And in the case of the world soybean market--the competitiveness of ocean freight rates.

Understanding the transportation issues at home are equally as important and AMS provides transportation profiles for corn, wheat and soybeans. These reports examine the implications of the recent trends and the transportation outlook in the United States. More data on grain transport--including prices, deliveries, movements, sales, and freight rates--is available through market reports, such as the weekly Grain Transportation Report issued every Thursday.

USDA continues to promote U.S. trade and to help America's farmers and ranchers increase their productivity. Knowledge of the transportation environment is critical to our continued success and to expanding market opportunities for American agriculture.



USDA chief says urged Buffett to ready BNSF for record crops
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack met with Warren Buffett last week to urge the billionaire investor to make sure his BNSF railroad is ready for an expected record corn and soy harvest this year.

Vilsack said on Tuesday that Buffett, who heads the sprawling conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, recognized the challenge and indicated his company was taking steps.

"I said, 'Warren, you've got to make sure that your railroad understands what's going on here,'" Vilsack said he told Buffett during a 45-minute conversation. "There is pressure now, but as soon as this crop is harvested, there will be more pressure."

Speaking at a conference sponsored by Growth Energy, a biofuel trade group, Vilsack said BNSF was making "significant" investments. "It's a long-term issue."

Backlogs along U.S. rail lines became a major concern for a number of commodities markets this year.

In June, for example, U.S. officials ordered BNSF and Canadian Pacific Railway Co to report their plans to clear a backlog of grain cars after months of service delays blamed on harsh winter weather and high freight demand.

BNSF is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway. The railroad, which was struggling from the Great Recession when Berkshire bought it for $26 billion in 2010, returned a $3.8 billion profit last year.

One major source of profit, oil by rail, has become controversial, with some commodities producers saying railroads, including BNSF, are prioritizing the shipments of crude at the expense of other cargo. This has been denied by BNSF.

Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday. Canadian Pacific also did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Vilsack on Tuesday praised BNSF for its work to improve service for farmers this year.

"If we had made as much progress with Canadian Pacific, we'd be in a little bit better place than we are today," he said.



Daugaard Presented 2014 BIO Food & Agriculture Governor of the Year Award

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced today that South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard was presented with its 2014 Food and Agriculture Governor of the Year Award in recognition of his leadership and commitment to strengthening the agricultural and livestock biotechnology industries within South Dakota.

Governor Daugaard received the award at today’s BIO Livestock Biotech Summit, held at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

“Supporting agricultural biotechnology innovation is not just key to growing South Dakota’s economy and creating more jobs, but it unlocks the door to important medical, food production, animal health and renewable energy advances that will ultimately benefit us all,” said Governor Daugaard. “I am proud to say companies across the biotechnology spectrum have taken notice of what we are doing in South Dakota and have decided to put down roots with us. I am honored to receive this acknowledgement of South Dakota’s commitment to fostering growth in the biosciences, and our state’s support of innovations that help heal, fuel and feed the world.”

“Thanks to the leadership of Governor Daugaard, South Dakota is emerging as a world leader in agriculture biotechnology, especially in the growing field of animal biotechnology,” said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of BIO.  "Under his leadership, support for research and development in the area has yielded scientific advances such as animals engineered to produce human models of disease or produce antibodies and other human health therapies to treat life-threatening diseases.  The state is also home to research involving animal health studies, seed technology, bioenergy and biofuels production."

“Governor Daugaard has always been a pro-business advocate for initiatives that support the unique needs of early-stage companies," said Joni Johnson, Executive Director of the South Dakota Biotech.  "By attracting and supporting industry growth and university research, he has been a driving force behind our growing state-wide biotech community.  We thank him for his support, both in his current leadership position and through his seventeen years of service to citizens of South Dakota!”



Cargill to Close Memphis Corn Milling Facility

Cargill will close its Memphis corn milling facility, which employs approximately 440 people, 120 being contract employees, effective January 2015.

The closure of the facility results primarily from the underutilization of the Memphis plant and its location away from the corn belt. The corn oil refinery will remain open and operate as a standalone facility to continue to serve customers.

For the employees impacted at the plant, Cargill will be offering opportunities to fill positions at other company locations in the region.

Those who relocate to positions at other Cargill facilities will receive assistance. For displaced employees, Cargill will provide support including interview and resume writing training, severance packages and the opportunity to attend career fairs.

"The decision to close our Memphis corn milling facility was made only after a careful examination of the current business situation and we examined all other possible options," said Julian Chase, president of Cargill Corn Milling based in Minneapolis. "This was a difficult decision to make because we have an excellent team of employees in Memphis. It is unfortunate that we must close any plant because of the impact to good people, their families and the community."