Wednesday April 15 Ag News

Ambassador Hosts First U.S. Beef Promotion
On the evening of April 8, the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Gene A. Cretz, hosted a cross section of politicians, business people, and diplomats at the first-ever promotional dinner in Accra for U.S. beef.

The Urban Grill Restaurant, located at the Airport City, provided a spectacular venue to celebrate “U.S. beef proudly produced in the great State of Nebraska.”

“We thank Governor Pete Ricketts of Nebraska for his support of this event, and recognize the Nebraska Beef Council and Greater Omaha for providing the star ingredient. The United States is strongly committed to delivering high quality, safe, healthy food products to consumers all around the world, and U.S. beef is one of our “super stars.” Sharing our cultural diversity remains just one of the bonds, which form the close friendship between Ghana and the United States,” proclaimed Ambassador Cretz.

U.S. beef is a high-quality product that is readily available for the new, exciting restaurant scene in Ghana and neighboring West Africa countries.



Nebraska Cooperative Council President Announces Retirement

Robert C. Andersen, President of the Nebraska Cooperative Council (NCC), has announced his intention to retire on March 1, 2016.  Andersen’s retirement will bring to a close a distinguished NCC career of 42 years.

As Andersen transitions into retirement, he leaves a legacy of financial strength, an outstanding and effective association, and a state association known nationally for excellence.

The Nebraska Cooperative Council Board of Directors will begin the process immediately in selecting the new President.

“The leadership Bob has provided the cooperatives in Nebraska during his career is outstanding,” stated David Briggs, NCC Board Chairperson and General Manager of WESTCO in Alliance. “Over his four decades of service, Bob has worked hard to bring a unified voice regarding cooperative issues to the Legislature.  In addition Bob has built strong relationships with institutions and agencies all across the nation.”

“Over the past 40 years, the Nebraska cooperative system has experienced both responsible and excellent leadership from Bob,” stated Bruce Favinger, NCC Board Secretary and Board Chairman to Cooperative Producers Inc in Hastings.  “Under Bob’s direction the Council has provided exceptional educational opportunities for both the directors and the employees of co-ops in Nebraska and surrounding states.”

Mike Hechtner, a NCC Board Director and Central Region Manager to CoBank, stated “Through Bob's leadership, the Nebraska Co-op Council has delivered value to cooperatives in Nebraska, as well as to the cooperative network everywhere.  Bob’s dedication and contributions are greatly appreciated.  Bob’s traditional signoff was ‘In the cooperative spirit, I remain…’ Indeed he will.”

“It has been a wonderful experience and career,” Andersen stated. “I have been very fortunate to have worked with some of the most honorable and dedicated farmer/rancher directors, cooperative managers, and cooperative stakeholders in Nebraska and the Midwest.  It has been my privilege to work closely with these leaders who are committed to fulfilling the needs of their farmer/rancher members, coupled with creating a positive economic impact upon their community and our state.”



Husker Food Connection to be Held at UNL Thursday

Students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will have the opportunity to discover where their food comes from in a unique and exciting event this week, according to the vice president of programming for Collegiate Farm Bureau and Husker Food Connection Organizer, Lukas Fricke.

“The Alliance for the Future of Agriculture (AFAN) and Collegiate Farm Bureau are working together to bridge the gap between East Campus producers and City Campus consumers by bringing in educational displays to showcase modern agriculture” Fricke said.

Husker Food Connection: Fact or Fiction, will be held on the downtown campus of UNL from 10 am-2 pm on Thursday, April 16.

Education displays will showcase farm animals, equipment, and information about modern agriculture. A free lunch catered by Skeeter Barnes will be provided to all in attendance.

The Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (A-FAN) is a non-profit organization formed by leading agricultural membership groups. These groups understand that livestock production is a critical component to Nebraska's future providing vitality and opportunity for rural communities, adding value to Nebraska's agricultural output and energizing the economy of the entire state. To learn more about A-FAN visit their website (http://www.becomeafan.org/).

The Collegiate Farm Bureau is a student organization that is dedicated to serving as the ‘Voice of Agriculture on Campus’ through a wide variety of education, service, and advocacy efforts. For more information about Collegiate Farm Bureau, visit our Facebook page...  www.facebook.com/UNLCollegiateFarmBureau.



NDA DIRECTOR IBACH RECOMMENDS CHANGES TO DIETARY GUIDELINES DRAFT DOCUMENT

Nebraska Agriculture Director Greg Ibach today sent a letter to two federal officials expressing his concerns with draft recommendations regarding national dietary guidelines.

In his letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Ibach said he objected to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s inclusion of a section on “agriculture sustainability” in the nutritional guidelines.  He cited it as an example of overreach, far beyond the Committee’s mission.

“As a representative of one of the largest livestock producing states in the United States, I can tell you our ranchers and farmers implement and support sustainable agricultural practices every day. It is a necessity for operations that want to continue to be viable long into the future.  But regardless of this fact, sustainability has no place in a report that should be solely directed at providing consumers with scientific-based dietary information,” said Ibach in the submitted letter.

In addition, Ibach strongly urged the secretaries to highlight lean meat as part of the healthy diet plan recommendations in the final Dietary Guidelines.  The Committee draft downplays the role of lean meat in a healthy diet by mentioning it in the executive summary as a footnote.

“Understanding that the thousands of dietitians and nutritionists who will review the final Dietary Guidelines will likely focus on the executive summary, it is critical that lean meat is appropriately positioned as an essential part of a daily diet,” concluded Ibach.



Federal and State Partners Provide Information on Avian Influenza

The USDA confirmed the first Iowa case of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County this week. The flock is located within the Mississippi flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified.

Iowa State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has posted links to general information and factsheets about avian influenza and directions for submitting samples. The factsheets available on the College of Veterinary Medicine website http://vetmed.iastate.edu/aiv-background-and-resources include:
-    Avian Influenza Fact Sheet
-    How to protect your birds
-    Keeping your birds healthy
-    Keeping your birds healthy: Key Steps
-    Keeping your birds healthy: Q and A

All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard flock owners, should continue to practice good biosecurity, prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to either the state veterinarian at 515-281-5321 or through USDA’s toll-free number at 866-536-7593.

Additional questions about avian influenza should be directed to Dr. Dave Schmitt, state veterinarian.

Samples from the Iowa turkey flock were tested at Iowa State’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames confirmed the findings. The Centers for Disease Control consider the risk to people to be low, whether from wild birds, backyard flocks or commercial poultry. Human infections are rare, and none have been linked to the virus at this time.



Iowa Food & Family Project cooks up new conversations about food and farming

There’s no such thing as “too many cooks in the kitchen” when it comes to sharing first-hand information about the safe and wholesome food raised sustainably by Iowa farmers.

It’s a story the Iowa Food & Family Project (Iowa FFP) takes pride in telling. And new this year, the Iowa FFP is adding a few ingredients to its unique offering of consumer-focused activities with the goal of building greater confidence in today’s farm and food system.

Cristen Clark, a farmer and competitive baker will join Iowa Girl Eats blogger Kristin Porter in an effort to spark conversations among Iowans about today’s farm and food system.

“Some of my most-treasured childhood memories stem from time in the kitchen,” said Clark, a blogger and mother of two who raises hogs with her husband Mike near Runnells, just south of Des Moines. “Learning about food is so engrained in how I was raised that I often take for granted my ability to be trusting — not fearful — in the food choices I make.”

The sixth-generation farmer joins Porter, who, despite being raised in Iowa, had never stepped foot on a farm until she partnered with the Iowa FFP on her inaugural journey into agriculture in 2013.

“I’m an Iowa girl through and through but until I teamed up with Iowa FFP, my ‘farm visits’ were limited to seasonal trips to the farmers’ market, an apple orchard or a pumpkin patch,” said Porter. “While I’ve learned a lot about agriculture along the way, I think perhaps the biggest takeaway I had from each visit was the assurance that the farmer I just met does everything he or she can to raise quality food for their families, neighbors, communities and state.”

Starting this month, Clark and Porter will team up in a quest to connect food-minded Iowans with the people who provide, prepare and serve food, including retailers. The duo will partner with farmers and a dedicated team of Hy-Vee, Inc. chefs and dietitians throughout the state to share background on production methods, health information, food preparation and more.

“People are having these conversations and it’s important for Hy-Vee to be involved in the dialogue,” said Randy Edeker, chairman, CEO and president of Hy-Vee. “We’re dedicated to making our customers’ lives easier, healthier and happier and are pleased to join the Iowa Food & Family Project to provide consumers a greater understanding of their food so they can be informed and empowered.”

Together, Porter, Clark and Hy-Vee will be involved in a variety of events and activities including:

·         Iowa Food and Family Cookbook: a compilation of nearly 60 recipes from Porter, Clark, Hy-Vee dietitians, farmers and Iowa FFP partners. Iowans can receive their complimentary copies at events where the Iowa FFP will have a presence including in-store events at Hy-Vee, the Des Moines and Beaverdale Farmers’ Markets and Iowa State Fair.

·         Recipe Refresh: the opportunity to win a makeover and shopping experience — with food! Winners of Recipe Refresh events will be chosen from throughout the state and will join Hy-Vee dietitians, area farmers and bloggers as they shop for ingredients to prepare their favorite recipes in-store while also stocking their carts with groceries courtesy of the Iowa FFP.

·         Make it & Take it: An Iowa FFP version of Hy-Vee’s popular “DISH” (Dinner is Solved at Hy-Vee) program, this dinner club event welcomes food-minded Iowans to participate in an informational, hands-on cooking demonstration alongside farm group leaders, a Hy-Vee chef and dietitian.

Porter looks forward to all that this partnership will bring.

“It’s been an awesome journey and I can’t wait to share the next chapter with Cristen, our friends at Hy-Vee and, most importantly, the food-minded Iowans who want to learn more about food and farming.”



America’s Renewable Future thanks Hillary Clinton for meeting with co-chair, discussing RFS

Today, former Sec. of State and presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, met with Democrats to discuss her candidacy and issues important to Iowa. Included in a private meeting in Marshalltown were ARF co-chair Patty Judge and Iowa Corn Growers board member, Bruce Rohwer.

“We had the opportunity to talk about issues facing Iowa—renewable fuels being one of them,” said Judge, “Sec. Clinton was extremely receptive and I feel encouraged by her comments about the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).”

Clinton supported the RFS during her initial run for president and in 2007 called for aggressive investment in renewables. “I was able to thank Sec. Clinton for her past support of the RFS and I am confident future conversations will be just as positive,” said Rohwer.



Ethanol Production Near 6-Month Low

U.S. ethanol inventories edged slightly higher last week, rising 162,000 barrels (bbl) to 20.645 million bbl during the week-ended April 10 despite a drop in domestic production to a near-six-month low, new data from Energy Information Administration showed.

Compared to a year ago, total ethanol supplies are 4.7 million bbl, or 29.4%, higher.

The EIA data showed domestic production falling another 12,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 1.3%, to 924,000 bpd for the week profiled to the lowest level since the week-ended Oct. 17 last year, while down 1.6% year over year.

Blender inputs, a proxy for ethanol demand, rebounded last week, rising 18,000 bpd, or 2.0%, to 885,000 bpd for the week-ended April 10, while up 4.7% year over year.

Implied demand for gasoline also bounced back from the prior week's drop, rising last week by 304,000 bpd to 8.914 million bpd, 3.5% higher than the same week last year.



House Committee Calls for Repeal of WOTUS
 
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council applaud the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for sending a clear message to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers that the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule is an expansion of federal jurisdiction that strips rights from private property owners.

Passing the full Committee today by a vote of 36 to 22, H.R. 1732 Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015 requires the EPA and Army Corps to withdraw the WOTUS proposal within 30 days. NCBA President Philip Ellis said cattlemen and women appreciate the Committee’s efforts for moving legislation forward that addresses the problematic proposed rule.

“The subjective and ambiguous language of the proposed rule would significantly broaden the federal government’s power to regulate waters and adjacent lands that convey water,” said Ellis. “We also appreciate the legislation requiring the federal government to work with state and local governments, further protecting states’ rights.”

The bill also charges the agencies with developing a new proposed rule that must take into consideration all of the comments received and reach consensus with the state and local governments on defining “Waters of the United States.”

“The Administration’s proposed rule is nothing more than regulatory land grab vastly expanding federal authority,” said Brenda Richards, PLC president and rancher from Idaho. “Instead of proactively reaching out to stakeholders before proposing the rule, the Administration pushed forward a rule that didn’t take into account the concerns of agriculture."

NCBA and PLC urge Congress to act on this important piece of legislation without delay.




Identifying and Preventing Neosporosis in Cow Herds

An often-overlooked reason for late-term abortions in gestating beef cows and heifers is neosporosis, which is difficult to prevent. Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations for the Kansas State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said the laboratory has confirmed a handful of cases this spring calving season in Kansas.

Neosporosis, Hanzlicek said, is caused by neospora caninum, a coccidian parasite carried by dogs--wild and domestic. It was first discovered in the United States in 1988, but tests on stored older tissues have confirmed the organism's presence since at least the 1950s.

"We talk a lot about it on the dairy side, but this organism is also present in beef cow-calf operations," Hanzlicek said.

Dogs, coyotes, gray wolves and dingoes are the definitive hosts of neospora, and they become infected by eating bovine contaminated tissues such as muscle, placenta and aborted fetuses, Hanzlicek explained.

"(Neospora) goes into the intestine of these canines, undergoes some changes and then is shed in the feces," he said. "It goes through another life cycle on the ground. The cow ingests the contaminated feces, or ingests water or feed that contains the contaminated feces. It then moves to multiple tissues in the bovine: for example, muscles, brain and neurologic tissues, and the liver."

Hanzlicek said neospora does not transmit from bovine to bovine, just canine to bovine and back to canine. The main effect of a neospora infection is an abortion, which typically happens after three months of gestation. The most common time for abortion to occur is during the fifth or sixth month.

"Research shows (neospora) has no effect on pregnancies less than 90 days," Hanzlicek said. "For a newly infected herd, a lot of times we'll see an epidemic, an abortion storm."

He defines an "abortion storm" as more than 10 percent of the animals abort within a month to five-week period. Herds that have been infected for a long time typically show no visible negative effects, other than possibly an abortion rate slightly higher than expected but not considered an abortion storm.

"Once this organism is in a pregnant animal, it gets into the placenta and causes a disruption of the oxygen transport system," Hanzlicek said. "The fetus dies and is aborted. Sometimes the organism enters the placenta, and the cow herself will set up an inflammatory response that will abort the fetus. The other thing that can happen is the organism can enter the fetus and cause organ shutdown. The fetus dies, and again, we have an abortion."

For those calves born to infected cows or heifers, but are not aborted, they have about a 90 percent likelihood of being born with the disease, he said. Most of these calves appear and act normally. The only time they might show problems is if they abort after becoming pregnant.

Once a cow is infected, she is persistently infected throughout life, but the risk of abortion tends to decrease as a cow ages, Hanzlicek said. "We think (the cows), through time, set up some type of an immunity that holds the organism in check."

Hanzlicek said to help prevent the spread of neospora, keep dogs from eating aborted fetuses, placentas, or deceased cows or heifers that could be infected.

"A study completed some years ago indicated that a low percentage of domestic dogs in Kansas were carriers of this organism," he said. "Understandably, contamination through coyotes may be more difficult to control than domestic canines."

Cow-calf producers who don't feed silage, ground hay or don't feed in bunks are at a lesser risk, Hanzlicek said, because the likelihood of widespread feed or feeding-area fecal contamination is unlikely. But, producers still have the danger of feces contaminating a water source.

"This disease is difficult to prevent, and testing replacements before purchase may be warranted," Hanzilcek added. "If your herd is experiencing an abortion issue, always call your local practitioner, and let them decide if neospora fits the pattern of abortion in your herd. If there is an abortion storm going on, sample the aborted fetus and placenta, and also take a blood sample from the dam."

For more information, contact the K-State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at 785-532-5650 or log on to http://www.ksvdl.org.



USDA Announces Record Number of Organic Producers in U.S.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that the organic industry continues to show remarkable growth domestically and globally, with 19,474 certified organic operations in the United States and a total of 27,814 certified organic operations around the world.

According to data released by the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP), the number of domestic certified organic operations increased by more than 5 percent over the last year. Since the count began in 2002, the number of domestic organic operations has increased by over 250 percent. The certified operations list is available at apps.ams.usda.gov/nop.

"As demand for organic products continues to soar, more and more producers are entering the organic market," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "USDA tools and resources have created opportunities for organic farmers and more options for organic consumers. Growing demand for organic goods can be especially helpful to smaller family operations. The more diverse type of operations and the more growing market sectors we have in American agriculture, the better off our country's rural economy will be."

USDA is committed to connecting organic farmers and businesses with resources to ensure the continued growth of the organic industry. Along with programs to support conservation, provide access to loans and grants, fund organic research and education, and integrated pest management, USDA administers organic certification cost share programs to offset the costs of organic certification for U.S. producers and handlers nationwide.

Now, USDA is using funding from the 2014 Farm Bill to develop the Organic Integrity Database, a modernized certified organic operations database that will provide accurate information about all certified operations that is updated on a regular basis. The modernized system will allow anyone to confirm organic certification status using the online tool, support market research and supply chain connections, allow international verification of operator status to streamline import and export certificates, and establish technology connections with certifiers to provide more accurate and timely data. The initial launch is planned for September 2015.