Friday May 15 Ag News

SDS Research Cooperators Needed
Keith Glewen, UNL Extension Educator

The Nebraska On-Farm Research Network is seeking growers interested in testing a new seed treatment for Sudden Death Syndrome or SDS.  SDS can be severe when soybeans are planted into cool, wet soils.  This disease was first identified in Nebraska in 2004 and has been more widespread in recent years.  To be eligible to participate in this on-farm research study, growers must have a field that will be planted to soybeans this year and has a history of wide-spread SDS.  For more information please visit cropwatch.unl.edu/farmresearch or call Laura Thompson 402-624-8033.



CLIMATE ASSESSMENT RESPONSE COMMITTEE TO MEET

Bobbie Kriz-Wickham, assistant director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, has scheduled a meeting of the Climate Assessment Response Committee (CARC) for Wednesday, May 20.  The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in room 901, Hardin Hall on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus.

Climate officials will brief CARC members on existing, as well as predicted, weather conditions and provide a water availability outlook.  Mitigation activities will be discussed.

For more details, call the Nebraska Department of Agriculture at (402) 471-2341.



USDA to Survey Pork Producers for Inventories, Farrowing Intentions

Beginning in late May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will contact pork producers and contractors nationwide for the June Hogs and Pigs survey. The agency will survey pork producers for detailed information on market hog and breeding stock inventories as well as farrowing intentions.

Producers who receive the survey questionnaire in the mail can respond via the Internet, mail or fax. Producers who don't respond in one of those ways will have the opportunity for a telephone or personal interview.

As is the case with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.

By responding to the June Hogs and Pigs Survey, producers make sure that NASS can provide timely, accurate and objective data that all sectors of the U.S. pork industry, including producers themselves, depend on to help make sound business decisions.

Survey results are published in NASS' Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, scheduled to be released June 26.



Registration Open for USGC Summer Meeting in Montreal

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) encourages farmers, members and other industry representatives to register soon for its 55th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting, scheduled for Montreal, Canada, from July 27 to 29, 2015. Registration is available online here.

Meeting attendees will learn about emerging opportunities and competitive challenges in the global grains marketplace while setting priorities for the Council’s work to increase U.S. market share.

“There is much to discuss, from the industry’s new ethanol export initiative and the two multilateral trade agreements currently being negotiated to challenges surrounding biotechnology and the United States’ rebounding market share around the world,” said USGC Chairman Ron Gray.

“After hearing from expert speakers on these topics and more, we hope our members and guests leave the meeting with a renewed focus on the global awareness and global connections that make the Council an effective advocate for expanded grain trade.”

USGC delegates will also have the opportunity to learn about the United States’ northern neighbor, the host country of the summer meeting.

“We share the world’s longest undefended border, so it comes as no surprise that Canada is the top export market for 35 U.S. states,” Gray said. “Our meeting in Montreal will be a great opportunity to create and build connections with this customer and partner.”

The meeting in Montreal will be the Council’s annual business meeting, with the Board of Delegates set to elect new officers and directors. Also, USGC’s Advisory Teams (A-Teams) will review the Council’s operation plan, known as the Unified Export Strategy (UES), as well as priorities and strategies for the upcoming year.

“Attendees will take home an informed and innovative vision about the work necessary to keep the United States at the forefront of global agricultural trade,” Gray said. “Come to Montreal this summer to build connections with both new and old friends and become more aware of the Council’s impact.”

All potential attendees of the USGC meeting should have up-to-date passports. Passport information for those who do not hold a current passport or who hold a passport that expires before January 2016 is available via the U.S. State Department at http://www.state.gov.

More about the meeting is available online at www.grains.org or on social media using the hashtag #grains15.






US Hosts OECD International Conference on Rural Development with Leaders from 34 Countries

NEXT WEEK, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will host the 10th rural conference of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Conference will focus on international strategies to address rural development in the 21st century, including job creation, rural service delivery, urban-rural linkages and diversified rural economic investments.  The theme of this year's conference is National Prosperity Through Modern Rural Policy: Competitiveness and Well Being in Rural Regions. The conference is supported by the United States, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Mexico’s Secretariat for Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development.

Secretary Vilsack will join OECD Deputy Secretary-General Mari Kiviniemi, ministers from many of the 34 OECD countries, and over 300 leading international policymakers and rural stakeholders.  As part of the Conference proceedings, Secretary Vilsack will deliver a keynote speech at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn., and will participate in panel discussions about successful and emerging strategies to invest in rural communities for the 21 century. Since 2009, the Obama Administration with Secretary Vilsack’s leadership has invested in affordable housing, energy efficiency, roads and bridges, internet access, and provided financial support to rural businesses, helping to attract and retain a talented rural labor force, improve connectivity and access to information, move products to market, and make rural communities competitive. Vilsack’s rural strategy, called the Four Pillars of Agriculture and Rural Economic Development, will be discussed at the conference.



Russia Lifts Wheat Export Duty

The Russian government on Friday said it has lifted the duty on wheat exports nearly 1.5 months ahead of schedule, with domestic supplies plentiful and local prices in decline.

The price paid by foreign buyers for Russian wheat plunged late last year and early this year after the collapse in the value of the ruble. Exports soared, leading the government to slap a tax of at least EUR35 per ton on exports to ensure supplies to the local market and to prevent domestic prices from leaping.

Inflation in Russia is running at around 16%, and the government had been concerned that a shortage of wheat in the local market could further stoke price increases.

Nonetheless, the government has come under pressure from farmers who wanted the tax abolished, as they were losing money because of the plunge in prices.



Don’t let the summer heat spoil your herd’s milking potential

With milk prices on a downward slope this spring, it’s more important than ever not to dump money down the drain this summer.

Keeping cattle healthy and protected from the threat of mastitis can be extremely difficult, especially during the summer months.  Heat, humidity and other factors can make managing the potential for pathogenic bacteria even more difficult. Poor practices that might be tolerated during cooler parts of the year hold minimal to no forgiveness during the warmer months.

Roger Scaletti, one of Alltech’s dairy experts in milk quality, provides five areas that can keep dairy herds on the right path for peak productivity and assist in preventing instances of mastitis:

    Parlor routine can be very often overlooked, as simply getting cows milked two to three times a day can be a feat in itself.  Wearing gloves, making sure there is adequate predip coverage and keeping in mind the contact time of predip before it is wiped off can have a significant impact.  Milking clean, dry teats is the name of the game, and all employees should be working toward that common goal.

    The environment cattle are housed in can also be a factor that can play a role in poor milk quality.  Are cows housed in a mastitis infection yard, or are they in a well ventilated, dry area, with minimal contact to some of the key mastitis-causing bacteria?

    When purchasing cattle, what kind of screening takes place before allowing these animals into your herd?  Assessing milk culture and production records, as well as quarantining the animals before allowing them the ability to infect your entire herd, can help to minimize instances of introducing a new infection to your herd.

    Teat end health is critical when it comes to avoiding mastitis causing bacteria.  Milking equipment should be serviced routinely, as equipment not performing properly can cause teat end problems.  Using a five- point scoring system can help to analyze the condition of teat ends, as well as ensuring that the bacteria-blocking keratin plug is able to fulfill its responsibilities.  Teat ends should maintain a smooth structure, avoiding any lesions or fraying, as these rough surfaces can more easily allow bacteria to enter the gland.

    Nutrition and the use of organic trace minerals can also play a key role in milk quality and a huge part in managing infections before they even occur.  Manganese and zinc have shown to help herds maintain a low somatic cell and bacteria count. Copper supplementation is effective in reducing the severity of an already commenced infection and returning the animal more quickly to normal. Organic selenium acts on a cellular level increasing the defense efficiency of immune cells even in non-immunocompromised animals, positively impacting ongoing infections and helping to prevent new ones. Recent field research shows that producers can feed substantially lower amounts of organic trace minerals than the inorganic alternative and get a similar, if not better, performance in dairy cows.

This year, Alltech has continued their Milk Quality and Udder Health workshop series across North America, with recent stops held in New York and Vermont as well as at Alltech’s Alexandria mineral plant in Ontario, Canada. The workshop includes informative presentations, guided plant tours and an udder dissection demonstration as well as the latest information on technologies to improve herd health, milk production and quality while reducing environmental impact. The workshops have also been held in Latin America and Europe.



Kubota Tractor to Move Headquarters to Texas

Kubota Tractor Corporation and Kubota Credit Corporation announced that they will relocate their headquarters to Grapevine, Texas. Both companies are U.S. subsidiaries of Kubota Corporation, based in Osaka, Japan, and have been planning for increased efficiencies on the heels of recent expansions and an aggressive growth strategy.

The move will affect about 180 employees and is expected to happen within the next 18 months.

"This restructuring and relocation to Texas aligns with our strategic business objectives to strengthen Kubota's brand in the U.S. marketplace, enter new industry segments, and to position our company for long term, sustainable growth in North America," stated Mr. Masato Yoshikawa, President & CEO of KTC.

The move of Kubota's entire Torrance Corporate Headquarters to Texas will put Kubota's leadership and professional staff closer to Kubota's major markets and its manufacturing, assembly, and distribution facilities in Georgia and Kansas.

By centrally locating more of its operations, Kubota will be able to respond more quickly to changes in markets and the industry, and streamline its operations for both dealer and customer benefit.

The move will be conducted in stages to avoid disruption to Kubota's daily operations. Kubota's finance business, Kubota Credit Corporation, will move from its current locations in Torrance, California, and Ft. Worth, Texas, to the new facility. "This move does not affect the majority of our employees located at our Divisional Offices," stated Yoshikawa.