Friday August 14 Ag News

Election Results for Nebraska Soybean Board

The Nebraska Soybean Board held an election in July for the Director Seats in District 1, 3 and 6. Nebraska soybean farmers in those districts voted with the following results:

District 1: Counties of Antelope, Boyd, Cedar, Holt, Knox, Madison and Pierce.
Anne Meis – Elgin, NE – Antelope County – 133 – Elected
Ed Lammers – Hartington, NE – Cedar County – 112

District 3: Counties of Butler, Colfax, Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders and Washington.
Richard Bartek – Ithaca, NE – Saunders County – 271 – Elected
Rebecca Kreikemeier – Bellwood, NE – Butler County – 169
Jason Arp – Kennard, NE – Washington County – 96
The re-elected Director, Richard Bartek, will begin his third term on the Board.

District 6: Counties of Fillmore, Jefferson, Gage, Saline, Seward and Thayer.
Larry Tonniges – Utica, NE – Seward County – 117 – Elected
Mike Tomes – Utica, NE – Seward County – 115
Terry Hackbart – Seward, NE – Seward County – 84

These newly elected board members will bring with them a wealth of experience from local leadership roles. “We commend these farmer-leaders for the commitment of their time, energy and effort to help increase demand for Nebraska soybeans,” said Victor Bohuslavsky, Nebraska Soybean Board, executive director.

The elected directors will serve a three-year term beginning October 1, 2015 and ending September 30, 2018.



Tyson Foods ends beef production at Iowa plant

(AP) _ Tyson Foods said Friday it will end beef production at a plant in Denison, Iowa, laying off about 400 workers as it cuts back on its capacity.

There is too much beef production capacity in the region and cattle supplies remain low, the company said.

Tyson Foods said its Denison plant employees will be able to apply for jobs at other Tyson locations, and it plans to offer financial incentives to hourly workers who qualify for openings at a facility in Lexington, Nebraska. Tyson Foods Inc. has six other beef plants in the U.S.

The Springdale, Arizona-based company said it won’t close the plant entirely: It will continue to render by-products from other locations and around 20 people will work there.

Tyson Foods said its beef business lost money in its latest fiscal quarter because cattle costs were up and supplies decreased, which meant it couldn’t sell as much beef.

“Unless beef market conditions improve rapidly, we will not achieve our previous guidance,” CEO Donnie Smith said.

High feed costs and lower production of beef cattle have been a continuing problem. In its last fiscal year, Tyson’s beef business processed fewer cattle than it had the year before, and it was the only Tyson Foods division that didn’t report an increase in sales volume.

Tyson Foods said several years ago that it might close the 54-year-old Denison plant, but said in March 2014 that it would stay open.



New Beginning Farmers Guide Has In-Depth Training Resources

“A Resource Guide for Beginning Farmers” (LF 0006) compiles dozens of existing training resources on everything from soil and composting to small farm equipment and whole farm planning, including information on food safety and seed saving. The guide is available from the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Online Store or the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture website.

The beginning farmer guide was prepared by Alice Topaloff, a Leopold Center program assistant, with support from the ISU Extension and Outreach Local Foods Team.

“The goal of highlighting and organizing these existing resources was to provide a starting point for beginning farmer training across Iowa,” Toplaoff said. “Organizations and nonprofit groups interested in hosting an incubator farm training program for ‘want-to-be’ farmers will find this publication useful to assist farmers in starting a small business selling food products in Iowa.”

The 48-page guide is divided into three parts: production practices, post-harvest handling, and business planning and basic farm finances. Each of the three segments contains modules covering different agriculture topics and is organized by learning objectives and includes a narrative, hands-on activities and links to worksheets and additional resources.

“Young farming professionals find it hard to take that first step without guidance,” said David Baker, farm transition specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach. “However, this powerful tool has descriptions of in-depth training efforts for helping families make decisions and begin their farm operation plans.”

The publication also includes appendices listing useful organizations and programs that support beginning farmers and helpful contacts.

“In the future, the Local Foods team would love to see interest in gathering a statewide group of stakeholders that would design and implement an accredited farmer apprenticeship program,” Topaloff said.



SDSU Planning First-of-Kind Agriculture Degree

A first-of-its-kind agriculture major may be in the offing for South Dakota State University. The South Dakota Board of Regents gave its approval for SDSU to develop plans for an undergraduate degree in precision agriculture.

University officials say the program would prepare students for careers involving diverse work in agronomy, agricultural machinery management, and data sciences, as well as learning to use data in agronomic decision-making processes. "Precision agriculture is a quickly growing field, yet no other university currently offers the major," SDSU officials wrote in their planning request. "Approval of the program would give SDSU a first-to-market advantage."

The program being discussed involves strong collaboration on the SDSU campus among the departments of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Plant Science, Mathematics and Statistics, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

SDSU will return to the Board of Regents later for official approval of the B.S. degree in precision agriculture, once plans for the new program are completed. If approved, the university estimates it will graduate about a dozen students a year in the new major, after full implementation.

In other action, the regents approved a new certificate program in criminal justice for Black Hills State University to create more professional development opportunities for law enforcement personnel in western South Dakota. Certificate programs package a small set of courses that allow students to develop expertise in a focused area of study, based on identified market and workforce development needs. This new certificate requires 12 credit hours of study and will be available through distance delivery.



Growth Energy Responds to Flawed Study Funded by Big Oil
In response to the recent study funded by the American Petroleum Institute and the University of Michigan Energy Institute, Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, released the following statement:

“We can add this study to the ever growing pile of flawed research funded by Big Oil, who has a vested interest in protecting its monopoly on our nation’s fuel and ensuring that America stays addicted to oil. The standard life-cycle assessment tool accepted by the scientific community, Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model, shows that ethanol reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 34 percent compared to gasoline. No amount of self-serving science will change the fact that in addition to reducing GHG emissions, ethanol also reduces our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and the price of gasoline for America’s drivers.”



USDA to Measure Small Grain Production

During the first two weeks of September, growers of small grains around the country will receive survey forms from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The agency is taking a comprehensive look into the 2015 production and supply of wheat, oats, and barley.

"The small grains industry is an important part of Kentucky agriculture and it is crucial for us to have accurate data about this sector," said NASS Statistician David Knopf. "We will contact a sample of producers to accurately measure 2015 acreage, yield, and production. The data collected from this survey will also help set small grain acreage and production estimates at the county level."

NASS will contact survey participants to gather information on their 2015 production and the quantities of small grains stored on farm. As an alternative to mailing the survey back and to help save both time and money, growers will have the option to respond to the survey securely online. Farmers who have not responded by Aug. 29 may receive a phone call from a NASS representative who will help them fill out the survey form.

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