Wednesday June 17 Ag News

Nebraska Extension Provides Crop Management Clinics

Agribusiness professionals and crop producers will take a close-up look at field conditions, research and techniques at the University of Nebraska’s Crop Management Diagnostic Clinics.  The 2015 clinics include: July 14 – precision ag, July 15 – mid-summer diagnostic clinic, Aug. 26 – physical, chemical and biological properties of soil, and Aug. 27 – late season.

The Nebraska Extension clinics begin with 7:15 a.m. registration at the Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead and starts at 8 a.m. Participants will meet at the August N. Christenson Research and Education Building.

Keith Glewen, Nebraska Extension educator said, “Benefits of the crop management and diagnostic clinics include one-on-one attention, on-site plot demonstrations, interaction with other participants, discussions about cutting edge research and an opportunity to earn continuing education credits through Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program."

July 14 topics include: Thermal Infrared Imaging for High Spatial and Temporal Resolution of Crop Water Stress Monitoring of Corn; Mobile Apps for Crop Production; Project SENSE, Demonstrating In-Season Crop Canopy Sensor Based N Application; Pesticide Spray Application Considerations; Technologies for Improving In-Season Applications; Technologies for In-Season Crop Scouting; and Future Agricultural Data Collection, Management, and Usage. 7.5 CCA credits have been applied for.

July 15 topics include:  Weed Control; Insect Scouting in Traited and Untraited Corn; Nematodes and Diseases of Corn and Soybean; How Water Quality Issues Could Change the Nebraska Landscape; The Herbicide Mode of Action Challenge; and Early Season Hail Damage in Corn.  8.5 CCA credits have been applied for.

Aug. 26 topics include:  Management Considerations to Improve the Physical, Chemical and Biological Properties of Soil; Measuring Bulk Density, Porosity and Infiltration; Physical Soil Properties; Cover Crops for Improving the Soil; What is Soil Biology?; Soil Characteristics, Productivity and Landscape Position; and Chemical Soil Properties.  7.5 CCA credits have been applied for.

Aug. 27 topics include:  Late Season Disease Diagnosis and Update; Double Duty Cover Crops: Improving the Soil and Producing Forage; Applied Soybean Physiology: Why Soybeans Do What They Do!; The Future of Row Spacing and Corn Plant Populations; Evaluating Hail Damage in Corn; and Crop Scene Investigation (CSI). 9 CCA credits have been applied for.

Early registration is recommended to reserve a seat and resource materials. Cost for one clinic is $170 for those registering one week in advance and $220 after.

For more information or to register, contact Nebraska Extension CMDC Programs, 1071 County Road G, Ithaca, NE 68033, call (800) 529-8030, fax (402) 624-8010, e-mail cdunbar2@unl.edu or visit the Web at http://ardc.unl.edu/training.shtml.



Livestock Development Coordinator Joins the AFAN team

Emily Skillett has been promoted to the newly created position of Livestock Development Coordinator at the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (AFAN), effective immediately. Skillett has been the administrative assistant to AFAN’s Executive Director Willow Houlobek since 2012, managing the AFAN office and handling membership responsibilities for over 250 members. In her new position, Skillett will coordinate and help to develop and implement livestock programs designed to help farmers and ranchers who are seeking to modernize, expand or locate livestock operations in Nebraska. She will also facilitate community support for these operations.

The change from consumer education to livestock development within AFAN has produced new opportunities for growth within the organization. The refocus on livestock has been a positive move for Nebraska’s rural economies and the move for Skillett has come at a pivotal time of growth for AFAN. “Our first priority in AFAN is to help grow animal agriculture in Nebraska. We are here to help strengthen sustainable relations between rural communities and farmers and ranchers to their mutual benefit,” according to Holoubek. “Emily’s background in agriculture and with AFAN puts her in a position to make an immediate impact on our efforts,” she says.

As the fourth generation to grow up on her family’s diversified crop farm near Blair, Nebraska, Skillett’s love for agriculture runs deep and it continued into her education. In 2011, she graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a degree in Animal Science.  Skillett says she looks forward to meeting more of Nebraska’s producers, “I am really looking forward to not only meeting producers and learning more about their operations, but how AFAN can help them expand or bring the next generation back to the farm. Bringing young men and women back to their family farms is really near and dear to my heart. These beginning and expanding producers are what keeps their rural communities vibrant.”



June is Dairy Month

Nebraska's dairy farm families work tirelessly, 365 days a year, to deliver wholesome foods - and it all really starts with the cows. It's a lifestyle more than a job, and the farmers who choose this life find value in the cows going far beyond their ability to provide milk. Dairy farmers spend too much time with them not to!

So for dairy farmers, there's something special about June. June is Dairy Month, and across our state and country, we celebrate. On many dairy farms, there is the pleasure of seeing cattle on newly green pastures, doing what cows do - converting things we humans can't eat into something that nurtures us from childhood through old age.

There's also the ritual for many dairy farm families of selecting a calf or dairy heifer and teaching her to lead on a halter so she can be taken to a show or a fair and compete for a prize. Nothing cements the pride in dairy cattle quite as much as taking on the challenge of getting an animal ready for the fair. It's not unusual for a dairy farm child to be completely responsible for the animal's well-being, just like the farm family is completely responsible for the entire herd.

Healthy, well cared-for dairy cows give abundant, healthy and wholesome milk. It's what they do. They're unique animals; some dairy farmers compare them to an athlete because when they receive optimal care, the right nutrition and the right environment, they are at their very best. And that's exactly what the dairy farm family provides.

It's rather amazing to walk into a barn that might contain 50, 250 or even 1,500 cows and see the same thing - cows with access to feed and water 24/7, laying contently on comfortable bedding, chewing their cuds. A day that looks boring to us is the perfect one to a cow.

No matter where you live, you can also be part of celebrating June Dairy Month, simply by enjoying what dairy farm families (and the cows) provide. One way is to check out the new book that celebrates the hardworking families who bring dairy foods to our table, and the unique tastes and versatility of dairy with all the ways dairy makes recipes dairy good. The Dairy Good Cookbook: Everyday Comfort Food from America's Dairy Farm Families, is more than a collection of recipes. It's a storybook that gives you a sneak peek into life on today's dairy farms. Each chapter profiles dairy farm families, with recipes organized around a "typical" dairy farmer's day. More than 100 delicious recipes are directly from or inspired by America's nearly 47,000 dairy farm families. Find it on Amazon.com, or read more about it at MidwestDairy.com.




Nebraska Intensifies Dairy Expansion Efforts

The Grow Nebraska Dairy Team announced that they want to increase Nebraska’s dairy herd by 30,000 cows in the next five years. But in order to grow those cow numbers, the state will need more dairy processing.

That was the main message coming out of the recent Grow Nebraska Dairy Summit in Lincoln.

Bill Thiele, a dairy farmer from Clearwater and president of the Nebraska State Dairy Association, says more competition for milk will benefit all producers. “Unfortunately, we have very few choices as producers as to where to sell our milk in Nebraska,” Thiele says. “We do need processors here to create the competition.”

According to Nebraska director of agriculture Greg Ibach, “Dairy industry leaders and state officials are actively working to recruit milk processors to the state and they are making progress and I think we’re at a point where we’re an attractive alternative to a processor here in Nebraska now,” Ibach says, “In working with the Department of Economic Development, I think it’s just a matter of time before we find that right processor to step forward and declare their intentions and we have some excitement around that.”

Rod Johnson, Executive Director of the Nebraska State Dairy Association and Industry Relations staff member with Midwest Dairy, says the industry is poised for growth in the state. “There are a lot of people out there looking for opportunities to move, particularly out of the California area with the drought and the situation out there,” Johnson says.  “A lot of their feed comes from the Midwest, so they’re looking to move closer to their feed source. This is a big opportunity over the next few years. The biggest challenge is making sure that we have the processor capacity to match any increased production.”

Most of Nebraska’s dairy cows and milk processing is concentrated in the eastern third of the state.  Officials say they would like to see the industry expand into central Nebraska. “We are truly a unique place to add value for livestock,” said Willow Holoubek, Executive Director of AFAN, “There are few places that have the feedstuffs and co-products we do. I am hopeful that we can expand into central Nebraska and create the I-80 corridor and make a name for ourselves in the dairy industry.”



Nebraska Confirms Avian Flu in Dixon County Flock
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) issued its weekly updates on its response to HPAI and reported one new positive case. The case is the existing Dixon 4 location which was reported last week as voluntarily depopulating birds due to epidemiological connections with the other Dixon operations. The current number of farms impacted (confirmed to have HPAI) totals five. The number of counties impacted is two (6 farms in Dixon County and one 1 farm in Knox County.)

NDA is coordinating the state response, with staff in the area daily enforcing the quarantines of affected farms; overseeing the depopulation, composting and cleaning / disinfection efforts; monitoring quarantined poultry farms within a 6.2 mile radius of the affected farms and coordinating testing efforts on those farms; and issuing permits for movement of materials such as supplies and egg and egg products outside of the 6.2 mile perimeter.

Dixon 4 was in progress of being voluntarily depopulated over the past week, when ongoing testing showed the remaining birds in that facility as positive for the disease. Depopulation is ongoing.

Testing continues to indicate that the virus is NOT present in Dixon 5; however as noted in last week's briefing - due to epidemiological connections with the other Dixon operations, the producer has chosen to voluntarily depopulate these birds in an effort to contain the spread of the virus within their operations.

Crews at Dixon 1 and 3 continue to work to clean and disinfect each building and the equipment found in those buildings. To learn more about that process, please read the cleaning and disinfection fact sheet on our website.

Knox 1 remains under quarantine at this time based on a presumptive positive test nearly three weeks ago. Subsequent testing has not confirmed the presumptive positive. This facility remains a suspect flock and will remain under quarantine and continue to undergo regular testing. In consultation with USDA, it has been determined that the site will require 21 days of negative testing before the quarantine can be released. NDA will announce final test results later this week as they become available. Biosecurity protocols will continue to be exercised out of an abundance of caution until further notice.

As part of NDA's surveillance work within the 6.2 mile radius of the affected farms there are currently 16 farms quarantined in Dakota County, 18 farms quarantined in Dixon County, 27 farms quarantined in Knox County and 7 farms quarantined in Wayne County. NDA continues to test the quarantined flocks within a 6.2 mile radius of Dixon 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Testing is on hold at the quarantined farms in Knox County due to the lack of USDA confirmation testing at the Knox 1 facility at this time. These farms will remain under quarantine until further notice.

Additional information on HPAI can be found at www.nda.nebraska.gov.



Branstad Proclamation to Assist with Avian Flu Clean-Up

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed a disaster emergency proclamation for 18 Iowa counties adversely affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which would assist with disposal and clean-up efforts on affects sites. The disaster proclamation can be viewed here.

The state of disaster emergency proclamation temporarily allows impacted chicken and turkey producers to dispose of manure and compost generated at a premise infected with HPAI as a Bulk Dry Animal Nutrient under Chapter 200A of Iowa Code. The material can only be moved off-site if the U.S. Department of Agriculture has certified that the material is virus-free. Normally, only un-manipulated animal manure qualifies for distribution under this code section.

This proclamation only applies to impacted chicken and turkey producers in the 18 counties with confirmed cases of HPAI. Counties included in this proclamation are: Adair, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Hamilton, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Webster and Wright.

The proclamation is effective until July 15.



New Report Shows U.S. Biobased Products Industry Contributes $369 Billion, 4 Million Jobs to American Economy

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the release of a new report that shows the U.S. biobased industry is generating substantial economic activity and American jobs. He also announced changes under the 2014 Farm Bill that will create additional opportunities for growth in renewable plant-based materials, supporting the Obama Administration's efforts to develop a new, rural economy and promote creation of sustainable jobs.

"This report is the first to examine and quantify the effect of the U.S. biobased products industry from an economics and jobs perspective. Before, we could only speculate at the incredible economic impact of the biobased products industry. Now, we know that in 2013 alone, America's biobased industry contributed four million jobs and $369 billion to our economy," Vilsack said. "Today, we are also adding to the number of innovative products carrying USDA's BioPreferred® label and expanding options for our nation's biorefineries. This means small businesses and global companies alike can continue to harness the power of America's farms and forests to create new and innovative biobased products that are used all around the world."

According to the Economic Impact of the Biobased Product Industry report, each job in the biobased products industry is responsible for generating 1.64 jobs in other sectors of the economy. In 2013, 1.5 million jobs directly supported the biobased product industry, resulting in 1.1 million indirect jobs in related industries, and another 1.4 million induced jobs produced from the purchase of goods and services generated by the direct and indirect jobs.

The report builds on the "Why Biobased?" report released by the USDA in October 2014. Estimates are that the use of biobased products currently displaces about 300 million gallons of petroleum per year - equivalent to taking 200,000 cars off the road.

The Secretary also announced changes to include new forest products in the BioPreferred program, along with proposed changes to the former Biorefinery Assistance Program to assist in the development of cutting-edge technologies for advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased product manufacturing.

The final BioPreferred® program rules will no longer exclude mature market products (those that had a significant market share prior to 1972), providing consumers with more innovative wood products and other materials carrying USDA BioPreferred® label. Forest products that meet biobased content requirements, notwithstanding the market share the product holds, the age of the product, or whether the market for the product is new or emerging, also now meet the definition of "biobased product."

The Secretary also said today that USDA is making improvements to its Biorefinery Assistance Program (Section 9003). The program, which was renamed as the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program as part of the program's Farm Bill reauthorization, provides loan guarantees of up to $250 million for the construction and retrofitting of commercial scale biorefineries and biobased product manufacturing facilities. In a rule that will be published in the Federal Register next week, biorefineries that receive funding are allowed to produce more renewable chemicals and other biobased products, and not primarily advanced biofuels. Also, biobased product manufacturing facilities would be eligible to convert renewable chemicals and other biobased outputs of biorefineries into "end-user" products. The new regulations also implement a streamlined application process.

Created by the 2002 Farm Bill and reauthorized and expanded as part of the 2014 Farm Bill, the USDA BioPreferred program's purpose is to spur economic development, create new jobs and provide new markets for farm commodities. The BioPreferred program commissioned the independent Economic Impact of the Biobased Product Industry report, which is primarily authored by Dr. Jay Golden, Director of Duke University's Center for Sustainability & Commerce, and Dr. Robert Handfield, Professor of Supply Chain Management at North Carolina State University's Poole College of Management.

The report found that the seven major overarching sectors that represent the U.S. biobased products industry's contribution to the U.S. economy are: agriculture and forestry, biorefining, biobased chemicals, enzymes, bioplastic bottles and packaging, forest products, and textiles.

The study also includes location quotients by state to show the impact of the industry on individual states. Seven case studies are presented from stakeholders such as The Coca-Cola Company and PlantBottle packaging, Patagonia, and Ford.



Weekly EIA Ethanol Supply Data

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported ethanol stocks rose 500,000 bbl or 2.3% to 20.7 million bbl last week. 

EIA also reported domestic production fell 12,000 bpd or 1.2% to 980,000 bpd and implied ethanol demand rose 28,000 bpd or 3.2% week-on-week to 912,000 bpd.



Retail Fertilizer Prices Remain Stable

Fertilizer prices continue to remain fairly steady, according to retailers tracked by DTN for the second week of June 2015. As has been the case in recent months, no fertilizers were substantially lower or higher in price compared to a month earlier.

Five of the eight major fertilizers were lower in price compared to a month prior, but these moves to the low side were fairly small. Potash averaged $491 per ton, 10-34-0 $649/ton, anhydrous $709/ton, UAN28 $331/ton and UAN32 $371/ton.

Three fertilizers were higher compared to the previous month, but again, the move was slight. DAP averaged $571/ton, MAP $598/ton and urea $461/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.50/lb.N, anhydrous $0.43/lb.N, UAN28 $0.59/lb.N and UAN32 $0.58/lb.N.

Only one of the eight major fertilizers is double digits higher in price compared to June 2014, all while commodity prices are significantly lower from a year ago. 10-34-0 is still 16% higher compared to last year.

Two fertilizers are slightly more expensive compared to a year earlier. Potash is 2% more expensive while anhydrous is 1% higher compared to last year.

The remaining five nutrients are now lower compared to retail prices from a year ago. DAP is 4% less expensive, MAP is 5% lower, UAN28 is down 7%, UAN32 is now 8% less expensive and urea is 15% less expensive from a year previous.



Farmers Union Delegation to Participate at World Farmers’ Organisation Assembly Panel Discussions in Milan, Italy

Three Farmers Union officials will participate in panel discussions during the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) General Assembly meeting later this month in Milan, Italy.

“We are thrilled and honored as an organization that three Farmers Union delegates have been asked to participate in this global discussion to share their knowledge about sustainable, precision farming, agriculture contract issues and credit issues in ranching and farming,” said Roger Johnson, National Farmers Union (NFU) president.

The WFO General Assembly will take place June 24-27 at the Politecnico of Milan and feature sessions on stainable and equitable solutions for feeding the world’s increasing population, facing climate evolution, and responding to the agricultural social mandate. Dave Velde, NFU vice president of international relations, will discuss managing farmers’ rights in contract issues and the UNIDROIT program.

“A key component to ensuring global food security is the capacity of all parties in the food system to build stable, fair relationships with one another,” said Velde. “In order to do so, reasonable protection for each party needs to be explicit,” he said. “As there are clear protections for food processors and distributors, there also needs to be clear protections for farmers and ranchers.”

Mark Watne, North Dakota Farmers Union president, will be discussing smart use of nutrients for soils, a solution he notes is both essential to agricultural sustainability and beneficial to both farmers and the environment.

“New nutrient management systems have the potential to enhance the sustainability of our agricultural and environmental systems,” said Watne. “When farmers utilize precision nutrient applications, they have the ability to benefit both their own operation and the surrounding environment. There is incredible opportunity to protect soil health, water quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time increasing yields while decreasing input costs.”

Robert Carlson, former North Dakota Farmers Union president and first president of the WFO, will discuss farmers’ access to finance, from traditional to innovative agrocredit systems.

“Providing farmers and ranchers access to credit is vital to the success of current and future agricultural systems,” said Carlson. “Beginning and lifelong farmers alike rely on equal access to affordable financing for their operations, and there are new and inventive systems for doing just that on the horizon.”