Monday April 13 Ag News

Weather Forecast April 2015
Al Dutcher, Nebraska State Climatologist

Weekly 4-inch soil temperature averages under bare soil conditions are running between 51 °F and 54 °F across southern Nebraska.  The northern half of the state shows readings averaging 48-51 °F according to the High Plains Regional Climate Center Automated Weather Data Network (AWDN).   No-till or low-till fields likely have soil temperatures at the 4-inch level 3-5 °F colder than bare soil conditions. (HPRCC maps and data showing soil temperatures across the state are updated daily on CropWatch at http://go.unl.edu/soiltemp)

Current weather forecasts indicate that high temperatures will remain in the low to mid 70s from Saturday through next Wednesday, with lows moving from the upper 30s to the upper 40s by Wednesday.  Weekly bare soil temperatures should move above 55 °F across the southern half of the state and into the low 50s across the northern half of the state.

A cool down in indicated by the models beginning next Thursday and currently hold the cooler temperatures through the end of the forecast period (April 25).  High temperatures are projected to be primarily in the 50s to middle 60s.  If rainfall events do occur as currently projected by the models, high temperatures will likely average in the lower half of the currently projected temperature spread.

Weather models have turned aggressively wet during the past week and indicate significant moisture should materialize for the eastern half of the southern Plains, the southeast, as well as the eastern and central Corn Belt.  Experimental 16-day quantitative precipitation forecasts indicate much of this area will receive between 4 and 12 inches of moisture, with the heaviest area concentrated around the lower Ohio valley region.

For Nebraska, 16-day precipitation forecasts indicate 2-6 inches of moisture, with the heaviest totals falling across southern Nebraska and the lightest totals across extreme north central Nebraska.  It should be noted that 2 inches of moisture during the next 16 days would still be normal to above normal in regards to climatological averages for this time of the year.

Models show the best opportunity for moisture April 13-15, 21-23, and 25-26.  Precipitation that falls this weekend is projected to primarily impact south central and southeast Nebraska, with the bulk of the heavier moisture falling across the eastern Kansas.  Heavy moisture is projected to increase from west to east April 21-23.  Weaker opportunities for moisture return April 25-26.

It should be noted that recent models have shifted the potential for heavy snow and rainfall April 16-18 into the northern Rockies and western Dakotas. (Previously, these models had shown the bulk of heavy snow to the central Rockies and western third of Nebraska.  Severe weather had been projected for areas east of the Panhandle.)

It wouldn't surprise me to see the models reverse their recent trend and come back to a solution that brings significant moisture to the central Rockies and Plains region.  What is certain with the weather models is that they are essentially useless in forecasting daily weather trends out past five days.  Timing of individual events is essentially a roll of the dice in regards to accuracy and precipitation output.

However, the upper air models have been fairly successful in depicting wholesale atmospheric changes. These models are indicating that through the end of the forecast period (April 25-26), the western US will be under the influence of an upper air trough, which should translate to a more active weather pattern for drought stricken regions of the central and southern High Plains region.



Midwest Dairy Rewards Student Efforts to Eat Healthy and Get Active 

On Tuesday, April 14, Memorial Stadium at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be filled with students and teachers from across Nebraska and western Iowa as they gather for a nutrition and NFL-themed reward summit and celebrate a century of dairy farmers' commitment to supporting health and wellness.

An invitation-only event in association with the National Dairy Council, Midwest Dairy Council, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the NFL in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture, the annual event rewards students for their efforts and achievements with Fuel Up to Play 60. The program encourages students to make healthier choices and commit to at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day.

At the event, participants, including Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, will also help celebrate Nebraska's dairy farmers' 100-year commitment to the health and well-being of America's children and adults. Dairy farmers created the National Dairy Council in 1915 to provide nutrition research and education. Over the past century, the organization has continued to take a leading role in community and school health and wellness by creating and supporting important programs such as Fuel Up to Play 60.

Special guests:
" Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts
" Nebraska dairy farmer Lowell Mueller
" Nebraska dairy farmer Ben Rice
" Nebraska s Fuel Up to Play State Ambassador Rachel Diehm
" Former Husker and current Cincinnati Bengal Rex Burkhead
" Husker student athletes

Schools attending:
Anderson Grove Elementary School
Beals Elementary School
Bell Field Elementary School
Bloomer Elementary School
Brownell Elementary School
College View Elementary School
Eastridge Elementary School
Ezra Millard Elementary School
Fredstrom Elementary School
Glenwood Elementary
Golden Hills Elementary School
Grace Abbott Elementary School
Hartington Public School
Harvey Oaks Elementary School
Hickory Hill Elementary School
Hillside Elementary School
Holmes Elementary School
Irving Elementary School
John Neihardt Elementary School
Kenwood Elementary School
Kloefkorn Elementary School
La Vista West Elementary School
Lewis & Clark Elementary School
Liberty Elementary School
Lux Middle School
Messiah Lutheran School
Millard North Middle School
Montclair Elementary School
Norman Rockwell Elementary School
Northeast Elementary School
Oakdale Elementary School
Parkview Heights Elementary School
Portal Elementary School
Randolph Elementary School
Robert L Ackerman Elementary School
Roper Elementary School
Rue Elementary School
Rusmey Station Elementary School
Sandy Creek Elementary School
Scott Middle School
Sheridan Elementary School
St. John Nepomucene Catholic School
St. Patrick's School
Sunset Hills Elementary School
Tara Heights Elementary School
Upchurch Elementary School
Walnut Creek Elementary School
Walt Disney Elementary School
West Dodge Station Elementary School
Westbrook Elementary School



GRASS-ALFALFA MIXTURES INSTEAD OF PURE ALFALFA
Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension Forage Specialist

               Are you going to plant a new hay field this year?  Instead of automatically planting pure alfalfa, think about mixing some grass into your planting.

               Hay growers in our area often plant new fields to alfalfa without even thinking about other alternatives.  For lots of folks, pure alfalfa is the best choice, but many of you might find it better to mix in some grass, like orchardgrass, smooth brome, or festulolium, with your alfalfa.

               Let’s look at some advantages of a grass-alfalfa mixture.  If you regularly feed more than 5 or 6 pounds of alfalfa per day to stock cows during winter, they probably are getting way more than enough protein but maybe not enough TDN or energy.  Mixing grass with alfalfa usually lowers the protein but slightly increases the TDN content of hay.  So your cows actually could receive a more balanced diet.  Also, if you sometimes graze your hay fields, grass will reduce the risk of bloat.

               In the field, grass can grow in areas where alfalfa is not well-adapted or fill in spots as alfalfa dies out.  This is better than having weeds invade bare areas.  Grass-alfalfa mixtures often dry out more rapidly after cutting than pure alfalfa so you might get more hay made without rain damage.  And if it does rain, the mixture usually suffers less injury, both in the windrow and in the bale.

               Yield-wise, protein yield may be less with the mix, but total tonnage usually is about the same or higher than pure stands.  Most of the grass yield will come at first cut, so regrowth will be mostly alfalfa.  Selling a mixture can be more difficult, though, because dairies prefer pure alfalfa and grass is more difficult to grind.

               You know alfalfa is good, but maybe for you, mixing it with grass is even better.



RONNIE GREEN APPOINTED INTERIM SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Ronnie Green, Harlan Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the NU system, has been appointed to the position of interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNL, Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced today.

       Green, who has been with the university since 2010, will continue in his IANR role during the interim period, which will begin July 1. The appointment is pending approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

       “Ronnie has displayed remarkable leadership at IANR,” Perlman said in a message to faculty and staff. “Moreover, his interests and activities on behalf of the university have gone far beyond IANR. He comes to Academic Affairs informed about most of the major challenges and enthusiastic about supporting the deans and faculty.”

       The senior vice chancellor for academic affairs is UNL’s chief academic officer and is the university’s responsible authority in the absence of the chancellor. The Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor is charged with helping UNL achieve excellence across all areas of the academic enterprise through oversight of undergraduate teaching and learning; graduate mentoring; faculty development, promotion and tenure; resource allocation; strategic planning; and the development of innovative academic initiatives that will be recognized as unique signature strengths.

       The senior vice chancellor’s office also is responsible for the administration, coordination, and development of general policies and functions applicable to all academic programs.

       Green earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from Virginia Tech and Colorado State University, respectively, and a doctorate in animal breeding and genetics jointly from UNL and the USDA-ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center.

       Green was on faculty at Texas Tech University and Colorado State, and was the national program leader for animal production research for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and executive secretary of the White House’s interagency working group on animal genomics within the National Science and Technology Council. In that role, he was a leader in the international bovine, porcine, and ovine genome sequencing projects.

       He has published 130 refereed publications and abstracts, nine book chapters and 56 invited symposia papers and has delivered invited presentations in 43 U.S. states and 21 countries. He returned to UNL from Pfizer Animal Health, where he was senior global director of technical services for animal genomics.

       “I am humbled by the trust placed in me to serve the university in this way during a time of unprecedented momentum,” Green said. “I look forward to collectively rolling up our sleeves to continue to advance and elevate UNL’s academic impact with a tremendously talented and visionary group of deans, academic leaders, faculty and staff.”

       Ellen Weissinger, who has been senior vice chancellor for academic affairs since December 2009, announced last fall that she would step down on June 30. A university search committee for her successor recently concluded that the candidates for the position were not suitable to continue the process.

       “It is clear the uncertainty of my tenure affected the search,” wrote Perlman, who announced April 1 that he would retire as chancellor on June 30, 2016, and return to the faculty at the College of Law.

       The chancellor noted, however, that neither he nor Green intended to “coast” during the next year.

       “There are important initiatives and opportunities to pursue and we will both be fully engaged, along with the rest of the campus administration, in addressing them,” Perlman wrote.




New Soybean Herbicides for 2015
Stevan Knezevic, UNL Extension Integrated Weed Management Specialist

Several new herbicides were recently registered for weed control in soybean. These new herbicides do not have an active ingredient with a new mode of action, but are tank mixtures of existing herbicides. A season-long weed management plan should include herbicides with multiple modes of action.

The following new herbicides that should be available for the 2015 growing season.

Afforia™ [flumioxazin (40.8%) + thifensulfuron methyl (5%) + tribenuron-methyl (5%)]. This is for burndown and preplant residual control of broadleaf weeds and partial control of annual grasses in soybean. It has two modes of action and rapidly inhibits the growth of susceptible weeds. It can be applied at 2.5 oz/ac a day before planting soybean or at 2.5 to 3.75 oz/ac if applied at least seven days before planting soybean. Crop injury may occur from applications made to poorly drained soils under cool, wet conditions. EPA Reg. No. 352-889. Mode of action groups: 14, 2.

Authority®Elite [sulfentrazone (7.55%) + S-metolachlor (68.25%)]. It is a soil-applied herbicide for control of broadleaf, grass, and sedge weeds in soybeans. The crop rotation restriction for corn and sorghum is 10 months. Do not apply more than 38.7 fl oz/ac per year. EPA Reg. No. 279-3442. Mode of action groups: 14, 15.

Authority®Maxx [sulfentrazone (62.12%) + clorimuron-ethyl (3.88%)]. It can be applied pre-plant or pre-emergence in soybean for broadleaf and partial grass weed control. The application rate is 6 to 9 oz/ac depending on soil texture and organic matter content. EPA Reg. No. 279-9560. Mode of action groups: 14, 2.

Fierce™ [flumioxazin (33.5%) + pyroxasulfone (42.5%)]. Fierce is a new premix for pre-emergence control of broadleaf and grass weeds. The use of residual herbicides can help manage or prevent the development of glyphosate-resistant weed biotypes and reduce early season weed competition. Flumioxazin is a PPO inhibitor and pyroxasulfone is a seedling growth inhibitor. EPA Reg. No. 63588-93-59639. Mode of action groups: 14, 15.

Fierce XLT™ [flumioxazin (24.57%) + chlorimuron (6.67%) + pyroxasulfone (31.17%)]. It provides residual weed control in soybean. It also provides additional burndown activity when used as part of a burndown program. Do not make more than one application per growing season. Do not apply more than 5.25 oz/ac during a single growing season. EPA Reg. No.59639-194. Mode of action groups: 14, 2, 15.

Flexstar®GT 3.5 [fomesafen (5.88%) + glyphosate (22.4%)]. Flexstar GT is a new premix herbicide from Syngenta for pre- and post-emergence control of certain grasses, broadleaf, and sedge weeds in soybean. A maximum of 3.5 pts/ac may be applied in alternate years. MOA: Fomesafen is a PPO inhibitor (Group 14) and glyphosate is an EPSPS inhibitor (Group 9). EPA Reg. No. 100-1385. Mode of action groups: 14, 9.

Marvel™ [fluthiacet-methyl (1.2%) + fomesafen (30.08%)]. It is a new premix herbicide from FMC for post-emergence weed control in soybean. It can be applied at 5 to 7.25 fl oz/ac from pre-plant through full flowering stage (prior to R3). It is a contact herbicide therefore, a good coverage is essential for optimum weed control. Do not apply more than 7.25 fl oz/ac per application and 9.75 fl oz/ac per year. EPA Reg. No. 279-3455. Mode of action group: 14.

OpTill® PRO [saflufenacil (17.8%) + imazethapyr (32%) + dimethenamid-P (63.9%)]. It is one of the Kixor-based herbicides from BASF. This co-pack consists of Sharpen, Pursuit, and Outlook herbicides and features three modes of action. It provides both contact burndown and residual pre-emergence weed control in soybean. EPA Reg. No. 7969-332. Mode of action groups: 14, 2, 15.

Pummel™ [metolachlor (5 lb ai/gal) + imazethapyr (0.25 lb ae/gal)].  Pummel is a new product from Adama to be used for pre-plant or pre-emergence control of annual grasses and many broadleaf weeds in soybeans. The use rate is from 1.6 to 2 pt/ac depending upon soil type and organic matter. EPA Reg. No. 66222-251. Mode of action groups: 15, 2.

Rumble® [fomesafen (1.88 lb ai/gal)]. For post-emergence control of broadleaf weeds in soybeans. Adama. EPA Reg. No. 66222-246. 2012. Mode of action group: 14.

Tailwind™ [metolachlor (5.25 lb ai/gal) + metribuzin (1.25 lb ai/gal)]. For pre-emergence control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds in soybeans and potatoes. Adama. EPA Reg. No. 66222-245. Mode of action groups: 15, 5.

Torment™ [fomesafen (2 lb ae/gal) + imazethaypr (0.5 lb ae/gal)].  Torment is a new product from Adama that can be applied pre-plant, pre-emergence, or early post-emergence for control of broadleaf and grass weeds in soybeans. The use rate is 1 pt/ac when soil-applied and 0.75 to 1 pt/ac with a minimum 15 GPA carrier volume when applied post-emergence. EPA Reg. No. 66222-249. Mode of action groups: 14, 2.

Trivence™ [chlorimuron ethyl (3.9%) + flumioxazin (12.8%) + metribuzin (44.6%)]. Trivence is a burndown as well as residual herbicide that may be applied pre-plant or pre-emergence to soybean. It has three modes of action and rapidly inhibits the growth of susceptible weed species. It can be applied at 6 to 9 oz/ac depending on soil texture and soil pH. EPA Reg. No. 352-887. Mode of action groups: 2, 14, 5.

More information about the efficacy of these herbicides is available in the 2015 Guide for Weed management in Nebraska (EC130) available online to purchase at http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec130.pdf. Always refer to the herbicide product label for complete details and directions for use.



Feed Energy Opens Application Period for “Excellence in Ag” Scholarship

Iowa-based Feed Energy announced today that for the fourth consecutive year it is offering two $2,500 “Excellence in Ag” scholarships to students studying agriculture at a college or university in the Midwest. Interested students can find more information and apply for the scholarship here. The application deadline is April 30, 2015.

To be eligible students must meet specific requirements, including attending a college or university in one of the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota or South Dakota. They must have an agriculture-related major, be a sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student, and have a 3.0 to 4.0 GPA. The two scholarship recipients will be chosen based on their references, resume and a two-page essay.

"We are proud to offer the Scholarship because we believe funding ag education is critical for the future of so many areas of our society," said Joseph P. Riley, Executive Vice President. "By supporting our students as they develop knowledge in the many different aspects of agriculture, we can indirectly contribute to the larger bio-economy, particularly in the Midwest."



Iowa Swine Day 2015

Production targets... Be prepared for emerging diseases...  Communicating with the public... These and other compelling challenges facing the pork industry, animal science and the consuming public will be explored with common sense, uncommon depth, scientific scrutiny and national expertise at the third Iowa Swine Day in Ames, Iowa, June 25.

Facts at a glance:
What: Iowa Swine Day
When: June 25, 2015, 9-4:35
Where: Benton Auditorium, Scheman Building, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (plenty of free parking right next to the building)
Cost: $60 (this will include coffee, snacks, pork lunch and a copy of the proceedings.

Speakers: William Sawyer, Vice-President of FAR Animal Protein, Rabobank F&A Banking; Alan Wessler, Vice-President, MFA Inc., Matt Culbertson, Director PIC; distinguished regional, national and international leaders in swine research, economics, veterinary medicine, production, animal welfare and the marketplace.

Attendees: Open to all, of particular interest to pork producers (farm owner-operators, company service personnel, technical staff and senior management), suppliers (genetics, feed, equipment and pharmaceutical professionals), extension personnel, consultants, researchers, veterinarians and students.



Motor Clubs highlight reliability of E15 to Members of Congress

The management of both Association Motor Club Marketing (AMCM) and Travelers Motor Club are continuing to use advocacy platforms to promote the reliability and consumer interest of E15 fuel.

Motor club representatives recently visited 17 congressional offices during the American Coalition for Ethanol’s annual “Biofuels Beltway March” fly-in, meeting with Members of Congress or their advisors representing Arizona, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. AMCM Owner Gene Hammond then wrote this blog post highlighting his experience and reasons the motor clubs back E15.

Hammond writes: “That E15 hasn’t caused any damage to cars is no surprise to us, because during our entire time in the motor club business, we’ve never had a complaint about any blend of ethanol in gasoline, period.”

“But the critics and the E15 ghost stories haven’t gone away, so we did our part recently by meeting with Members of Congress about what we’ve seen, and more importantly what we haven’t seen, from the usage of E15 by our motor club members. If the anti-E15 predictions and warnings Congress has heard for the last two years were true, the people who had those problems would be well known to you by now. But the charges aren’t true. We let Congress know how safe this fuel is. We don’t think motorists should be forced to use any fuel, but what the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) does is give every driver in the United States the option to buy a quality American made product like the E15 fuel blend if they choose. More fuel choices mean more competition and that means our members save at the pump.”



ASA Welcomes News of Pending RFS Volume Numbers from EPA

The American Soybean Association (ASA) welcomed news Friday that the Environmental Protection Agency will propose the volume requirements for biomass-based diesel for 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 by June 1, 2015 and finalize them by November 30, 2015. In addition to the 2014 and 2015 volume requirements, EPA announced the same timeline for establishing the biomass-based diesel volumes for 2016 and 2017. ASA President Wade Cowan, a farmer from Brownfield, Texas, noted the association’s cautious optimism in a statement Friday afternoon:

“Today’s announcement provides encouragement that EPA will get the RFS implementation back on track and provide greater certainty and stability to the U.S. biodiesel industry. ASA has been urging EPA and the White House to address the overdue RFS volume requirements and move forward immediately on finalizing increased volumes for biomass-based diesel, and we met with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in late March and pressed this issue.

“As good as this news is, however, there are still questions that remain regarding the volume levels that EPA will propose for 2014-2017. We will continue to work closely with the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) to advocate the appropriate volumes for the program. EPA has indicated that it will propose volume requirements for 2014 that ‘reflect the volumes of renewable fuel that were actually used in 2014.’ The total amount of biomass based diesel utilized in 2014 was approximately 1.75 billion gallons. From there, ASA will continue making a case to EPA and the Administration to provide modest and achievable annual increases in the biomass-based diesel volumes.”



NFU Hopeful RFS Timeline Can Restore Certainty in Biofuels Industry; Urges EPA to Stick to Statutory Target Levels

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson said today that he was hopeful the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) timeline for releasing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) target levels would restore stability to an already damaged biofuels market and urged the EPA to stick to RFS statutory volume target levels when issuing the rule.

“The timeline announced today by the EPA is encouraging because it provides the biofuels industry with some measure of the certainty it has lacked during the delays to setting the RFS target levels,” said Johnson. “NFU urges EPA to reinforce its support of clean energy, job creation and our nation’s energy independence by returning the volume obligations to their statutory levels.”

The EPA announced today that it will release the long-anticipated 2014 - 2016 proposed volume targets for the RFS on June 1, 2015. Johnson noted that the EPA’s proposed target levels from November 2013 were unacceptable and that the volume standards are supposed to be a significant help in establishing the market for biofuels.

“The RFS has been the best thing to happen to farm country in generations, and rural America and the biofuels industry look to the EPA’s target levels for certainty in planning and investment,” said Johnson. “The EPA needs to make sure the numbers ensure the success of biofuels in America.”



New H5N2 Cases Confirmed in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota

The highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza continues to spread across the northern U.S. with new cases detected in commercial turkey and chicken flocks in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin over the weekend and on Monday, according to USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

APHIS on Monday confirmed the first case of H5N2 in Wisconsin in a commercial layer flock in Jefferson County. The flock of 200,000 chickens is located within the Mississippi Flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified, APHIS said in a news release.

Over the weekend, additional H5N2 cases were also confirmed in Minnesota and North Dakota, according to APHIS news releases on April 11. The Minnesota case was found in a third commercial turkey flock in Kandiyohi County. This is the fourteenth confirmation in a commercial flock in Minnesota. The flock of 38,000 turkeys is located within the Mississippi Flyway. The North Dakota case was found in a commercial turkey flock in Dickey County. The flock of 40,000 turkeys is located within the Central Flyway, where H5N2 has previously been identified.



Monarch Meeting Explores Possibilities for Population Restoration

Last week, the National Corn Growers Association represented corn farmers' interests during the Keystone Monarch Collaborative meeting held in ­­­­­­­­­­­­ St. Paul, Minn.  This meeting brought together farm organizations, farmers, government agencies, monarch researchers, companies in the agricultural supply chain and conservation organizations to discuss the need for more collaboration and public private partnership on monarch recovery and conservation efforts.

During the meeting, participants shared information about existing efforts underway, including research and monitoring. After identifying areas for immediate engagement for those already taking active measures, the group explored the usefulness of a more comprehensive planning process.

"NCGA came to the table for these discussions to learn about the type of conservation efforts recommended for farmers to improve the health of monarch populations," said NCGA Director of Public Policy Ethan Mathews. "While our proposed solutions to this issue may vary widely, we understand the importance of having a seat at the table and working on areas of mutual agreement to find the best outcome possible that takes farmers' concerns into consideration."

These discussions come on the heels of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services announcement it had opened a status review on monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act. The outcome of this action could potentially impact farmers by impairing their ability to use many common tools and practices. NCGA is working with a broad array of groups and with government officials currently to demonstrate this potential impact and to ensure only sound, well-verified science holds weight in the review process.



Cargill reports third-quarter fiscal 2015 earnings

Cargill reported net earnings of $425 million in the fiscal 2015 third quarter ended Feb. 28, 2015, a 33 percent increase from $319 million in the year-ago period. Through nine months, the company earned $1.63 billion, up 13 percent from last year. Revenues in the third quarter decreased 11 percent to $28.4 billion; nine-month revenues totaled $91.97 billion.

“Cargill’s results were led by strong performance in our global group of meat and animal nutrition businesses,” said David MacLennan, Cargill’s president and chief executive officer. “In volatile petroleum markets, we saw a rebound in our energy businesses, having gained momentum from strategic changes made in the prior fiscal year. Faced with slowing growth and currency shifts in a range of markets, our food segment lagged expectations.”

MacLennan noted the company’s third quarter was up over a relatively weak comparative period in fiscal 2014. “One of the qualities that has made Cargill successful throughout our 150 years is our ability to meet challenges by uncovering new opportunities. With the uncertainties in the global economy, we are directing our full talent and capabilities to help customers adapt and thrive in this new environment. That’s essential to our growth goals, too.”
Segment performance:

The Animal Nutrition & Protein segment made the largest contribution to Cargill’s third-quarter earnings. On a combined basis, the animal protein businesses were up considerably over a solid quarter in the prior year, with strong performance in Australian beef processing, Central American poultry, and U.S. pork and turkey processing. Aided by gains in sales volume, the segment’s animal nutrition businesses jointly increased earnings from the year-ago period. The animal nutrition operations in Venezuela incurred a charge related to the country’s revision of its currency exchange system. In Velddriel, Netherlands, Cargill opened its newly expanded animal nutrition innovation center, where Cargill scientists can work with experts from nearby universities to conduct research that supports the development of new products and services for customers in dairy, poultry and swine. Also during the quarter, Cargill divested a feed yard in Lockney, Texas, a move related to the idling of its Plainview, Texas, beef processing plant in 2013. It closed a turkey slicing and packaging facility in Springfield, Missouri, relocating production to two other company locations.

Earnings in Food Ingredients & Applications were below the prior-year period, as segment businesses faced macroeconomic headwinds in several regions. Slowing economic growth and excess processing capacity in developing markets such as China, Brazil and Indonesia created a difficult operating environment. The strong value of the U.S. dollar against depreciating currencies like the euro and Brazilian real also hampered results, as earnings were translated back to dollars at lower rates. Cargill revalued certain food and salt assets in Venezuela and took a charge against earnings after the country’s government restructured its foreign exchange mechanisms. By contrast, results in U.S. road salt and deicing were up significantly over a good quarter last year, with teams executing well through a harsh winter in the U.S. Northeast. Some of the segment’s food ingredient and staple foods businesses also posted improved earnings.

Earnings rose year-on-year in Origination & Processing, based on strong performance in North America and external events that reduced segment results in the comparative quarter, including China’s rejection of U.S. corn cargoes containing an unapproved genetically modified trait and service disruptions to North American railways due to severe weather. In the current period, the combination of record U.S. crops, a robust export pull and limited supply from South America created healthy volumes in the North American crush sector. Grain origination and farmer services in Canada also were strong, supported by the country’s good-sized 2014 crop and continued carryover from 2013’s record deliveries. Meanwhile, Russian restrictions on wheat exports, changes in the export competitiveness of different origins and events such as a truckers’ strike in Brazil created challenges in some markets. During the quarter, Cargill completed the acquisition of Indonesian palm oil producer Poliplant Group. The new assets should allow Cargill’s palm oil business to take efficient, cost-effective steps in building an integrated supply chain that meets customers’ needs for sustainable palm oil. The company also started up its new canola oil refinery in Clavet, Saskatchewan. With an annual refining capacity of about 450,000 metric tons, the facility will better serve customers in the expanding North American canola market.

Industrial & Financial Services earnings were down due to decreased results in asset management. The segment’s energy businesses staged a rebound after an unprecedented price spike in U.S. power markets marred results a year ago. In the current period, the energy team successfully navigated the dramatic decline in global crude oil prices and the volatility in petroleum markets that followed. The segment’s steel processing operations were well positioned to meet manufacturing customers’ demand for just-in-time inventory in a falling price environment linked to the slowdown in global steel consumption.



CWT Assists with 8.1 Million Pounds of Cheese and Whole Milk Powder Export Sales

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 7 requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 921,532 pounds (418 metric tons) of Cheddar, and Gouda cheese and 7.322 million pounds (3,321 metric tons) of whole milk powder to customers in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The product has been contracted for delivery in the period from April through October 2015.

Year-to-date, CWT has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 25.763 million pounds of cheese, 24.387 million pounds of butter and 7.232 million pounds of whole milk powder to twenty-six countries on five continents. The amounts of and butter in these sales contracts represent the equivalent of 839.962 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program, in the long-term, helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively impacts U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.



U.S. Tractor, Combine Sales Off During March

Agri Marketing magazine reports that the Association of Equipment Manufacturer's monthly "Flash Report" notes that the sale of all tractors in the U.S. for March 2015, were down 9% from last year.

For the month in 2015, a total of 15,837 tractors were sold which compares to 17,475 sold thru March 2014 representing a 9% decrease.  For the month, two-wheel drive smaller tractors (under 40 HP) were down 5% last year, while 40 & under 100 HP were down 7%. Sales of 2-wheel drive 100+ HP were down 24%, while 4-wheel drive tractors were down 30%.  Combine sales were down 57% for the month.

For the three months so far this year, two-wheel drive smaller tractors (under 40 HP) are up 1% over last year, while 40 & under 100 HP are down 2%. Sales of 2-wheel drive 100+ HP are down 16%, while 4-wheel drive tractors are down 45%.  Sales of combines for the first three months totaled 1,003, a decrease of 45% over the same period in 2014.



USDA Small Grains Genotyping Labs Help Breeders Develop & Release Improved Cultivars Faster

Ask most people what a “genotyping lab” is and why its work is important, and you’ll be rewarded with a blank stare.  Ask a wheat or barley breeder the same question, and you’ll receive a succinct reply — and one delivered with conviction.

The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) operates four regional small grains genotyping laboratories.  Though their work is highly technical, the core mission of these labs boils down to four focus areas: developing new molecular marker technologies; implementing effective strategies for their application in the breeding of small grains; providing breeders with access to state-of-the-art molecular technologies; and finally, helping to maximize the efficiency of small grain breeding programs by speeding up the process of new cultivar release.

Plant breeders, both public and private, annually submit thousands of samples from their research programs to these labs.  The labs then employ their sophisticated gene marker technology to analyze the samples for traits of interest and to interpret the generated data.  This information, back in the hands of the breeders, is of great value as they focus on incorporating the desired trait(s) into their breeding populations much more quickly than they could have otherwise.

All four ARS small grains genotyping labs serve breeders who are working directly on resistance to Fusarium Head Blight (scab).  The Raleigh, NC, lab primarily works with breeders in the soft red winter, soft white winter and hard red winter wheat market classes, plus barley and oat breeders.  The lab at Fargo, ND, serves hard red spring, durum and hard red winter wheat breeders, as well as spring barley, primarily from Minnesota and the two Dakotas.  The ARS lab in Manhattan, KS, mainly serves the genotyping needs of hard winter wheat breeders from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Montana and the Dakotas, while the Pullman, WA, lab works with Pacific Northwest breeders, including Idaho and Montana for purposes of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB).

These ARS labs also conduct collaborative research with breeders and geneticists to identify QTL* for important traits, including FHB resistance; to develop markers for the QTL; and to transfer the QTL to locally adapted breeding lines using marker-assisted backcross and double-haploid technology to quickly improve wheat (or barley) resistance to FHB and other traits.  They additionally train students and technical personnel from various institutes and breeding programs in high-throughput genotyping.

(*QTL stands for “quantitative trait loci.”  QTL are stretches of DNA that are linked to, or contain, the genes that underlie a particular quantitative trait, such as FHB resistance.)

With demand for their services continually expanding — and with ARS operating budgets under increased pressure — the genotyping labs rely strongly upon support from stakeholder entities like the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI).

Their work is very technical and specialized.  It’s cutting-edge technology immersed within the complex world of DNA, chromosomes, genetic mapping and sequencing — a world that’s basic to plant and animal life, but simultaneously one that’s foreign to most laymen.  But the core reason for these small grains genotyping labs’ existence — and the motivation behind all their endeavors — is pretty straightforward: It’s all about helping breeders find and utilize important traits — like stronger resistance to Fusarium Head Blight — more quickly than they could strictly through phenotypic evaluations.  The ultimate result is the faster development and release of improved cultivars to the farmer.