Friday August 21 Cattle on Feed + Ag News

NEBRASKA CATTLE ON FEED UP 3 PERCENT

Nebraska feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head,contained 2.20 million cattle on feed on August 1, according to the USDA’s NationalAgricultural Statistics Service. This inventory was up 3 percent from last year.Placements during July totaled 390,000 head, up 4 percent from 2014.Fed cattle marketings for the month of July totaled 455,000 head, down 2 percent from last year.Other disappearance during July totaled 15,000 head, up 5,000 from last year.



Iowa Cattle on Feed Report

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in Iowa for all feedlots totaled 1,170,000 on August 1, 2015, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Cattle on Feed report. The inventory is down 3 percent from July 1, 2015, but up 8 percent from August 1, 2014. Feedlots with a capacity greater than 1,000 head had 630,000 head on feed, down 2 percent from last month but up 5 percent from last year. Feedlots with a capacity less than 1,000 head had 540,000 head on feed, down 4 percent from last month but up 13 percent from last year.

Placements during July totaled 97,000 head, a decrease of 16 percent from last month but up 2 percent from last year.  Feedlots with a capacity greater than 1,000 head placed 71,000 head, up 6 percent from last month and up 27 percent from last year. Feedlots with a capacity less than 1,000 head placed 26,000 head. This is down 47 percent from last month and down 33 percent from last year.

Marketings for July were 129,000 head, down 22 percent from last month and down 19 percent from last year. Feedlots with a capacity greater than 1,000 head marketed 80,000 head, up 5 percent from last month and up 8 percent from last year. Feedlots with a capacity less than 1,000 head marketed 49,000 head, down 46 percent from last month and down 43 percent from last year. Other disappearance totaled 3,000 head.



United States Cattle on Feed Up 3 Percent
   
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.0 million head on August 1, 2015. The inventory was 3 percent above August 1, 2014.

Placements in feedlots during July totaled 1.55 million head, 1 percent below 2014. Net placements were 1.49 million head. During July, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 365,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 235,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 327,000 head, and 800 pounds and greater were 620,000 head. Placements are the lowest for July since the series began in 1996.

Marketings of fed cattle during July totaled 1.73 million head, 3 percent below 2014. Marketings are the lowest for July since the series began in 1996.



NDA PROVIDES STRONG SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURE ACTIVITIES AT THE NEBRASKA STATE FAIR

Attendees at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island will see a strong presence from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) as they visit the numerous sites on the fairgrounds. NDA staff members will be assisting in a variety of duties and activities ranging from animal care to ag education.

“The State Fair is a great platform for us to support and promote the state’s number one industry,” NDA Director Greg Ibach said. “Many of our highly trained and expert staff members provide numerous services during the fair as one way to put agriculture center-stage during this great event.”

Protecting animal health is one of the department’s biggest responsibilities at the State Fair. NDA Animal Health Protection staff inspects livestock entries before they enter the fairgrounds to ensure compliance with health regulations.  Staff also will be onsite to address consumers and producers questions about Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) and avian flu (AI) These two viruses have impacted Nebraska’s swine and poultry industries and raised consumer interest. One of the major goals of consumer education is to maintain consumer confidence in the food system.

NDA staff members will also be assisting at the “Raising Nebraska” exhibit in the Nebraska building during the ten-day fair run. The exhibit, which made its debut at the fair last year, is open year round. A recipient of a merit award from the Agriculture Relations Council (ARC), “Raising Nebraska” offers several interactive opportunities to learn more about agriculture and the farmers and ranchers who grow our food.

The Grain Bin theatre within the “Raising Nebraska” exhibit will include showings of the Golden ARC winning video “Nebraska Agriculture”. Commissioned by NDA, the six-minute video has received more than 18,000 views on YouTube.

Other fair duties carried out by NDA staffers include coordination of the Elite Showmanship Competition, inspections of any weight or measuring devices on the grounds and inspections of the dairy parlor

The State Fair begins August 28 and ends September 7.



Top Five Named in Nebraska’s Best Burger Contest

Online voting for the fifth annual Nebraska’s Best Burger contest has closed resulting in the following top five nominees (in alphabetical order):
  - Cellar Bar & Grill – Kearney, NE
  - Goonie’s Kozy Keno Bar – Terrytown, NE
  - Sozo American Cuisine – Kearney, NE
  - Stella’s Bar & Grill – Bellevue, NE
  - Union Bar – Gering, NE

Over 6,000 nominations were received through the online voting system on the Nebraska Beef Council website during the first portion of the contest. The five finalists will now move on to compete for the top prize during a judging event at the Nebraska State Fair on September 4th.  A panel of judges will evaluate each hamburger and score them based on taste, proper cooking temperature and appearance.

“Each year we enjoy seeing all the nominations for the great hamburgers served across the state,” said Adam Wegner, Director of Marketing for the Nebraska Beef Council. “While there are some familiar faces in the finals this year, it’s also great to have some new restaurants in the mix. It will be a lot of fun to showcase the contestants during the live judging event at the Nebraska State Fair.”

The overall winner will be determined based on the combined scores from the judges. All finalists will be awarded cash prizes with the top burger receiving $1,000 and the award for Nebraska’s Best Burger.

For more information on the finalists and their contest hamburgers, visit www.nebeef.org.



Midwest Crop Tour Final - National Estimates Released

The 2015 Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour estimates a U.S. corn yield of 164.3 bushels per acre and a soybean yield of 46.5 bpa. Both of these are lower than the USDA's latest estimates, 168.8 bpa and 46.9 bpa, respectively.

These yields equate to 2015 corn production of 13.323 billion bushels and soybean production of 3.887 billion bushels.

The corn estimate has a +/- 1% margin of error, creating a range of 13.456 billion bushels to 13.190 bb, according to Tweets from Chip Flory, manager of the western leg of the tour.

The soybean estimate has a +/- 2% margin of error, creating a range of 3.965 billion bushels to 3.809 billion bushels, Flory tweeted.



USDA Cold Storage Report Highlights

Total red meat supplies in freezers on July 31, 2015 were down 1 percent from the previous month but up 21 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 4 percent from the previous month but up 24 percent from last year. Frozen pork supplies were up slightly from the previous month and up 19 percent from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were down 47 percent from last month and down 63 percent from last year.

Total frozen poultry supplies on July 31, 2015 were up 6 percent from the previous month and up 13 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were up 6 percent from the previous month and up 22 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 7 percent from last month and up 1 percent from July 31, 2014.

Total natural cheese stocks in refrigerated warehouses on July 31, 2015 were up 2 percent from the previous month and up 10 percent from July 31, 2014.  Butter stocks were down 1 percent from last month but up 41 percent from a year ago.

Total frozen fruit stocks were up 26 percent from last month and up 10 percent from a year ago.  Total frozen vegetable stocks were up 11 percent from last month and up 1 percent from a year ago.



Deere Reports Profit Down

Deere & Co. said profit in its latest quarter tumbled 40% as the farm-equipment maker continues to face weaker demand for its farm machinery.

Still, results surpassed analysts' expectations.

The Moline, Ill.-based company -- the world's largest seller of tractors and harvesting combines -- is struggling as lower crop prices in the U.S., weaker demand overseas and reduced U.S. tax incentives have driven down demand for its products. Amid what the company has called the deepest downturn in North American large ag equipment in a quarter-century, Deere has scaled back production of high-horsepower models to whittle inventories of unsold machines.

"John Deere's third-quarter results reflected the continuing impact of the downturn in the farm economy as well as lower demand for construction equipment," said Chief Executive Samuel Allen.

In the latest quarter, overall equipment sales dropped 22% from a year earlier. Profit from equipment operations nearly halved amid lower shipment volumes, a lower-margin product mix and the impact of the stronger dollar. Lower costs partially offset those factors. Sales of farm equipment declined 24%.

In Deere's construction- and forestry-equipment business, which had been helping to counter some of the weakness in farm machinery, revenue fell 13% during the quarter and profit dropped 34% to $129 million. Earnings in Deere's financial services business slipped 5.5% to $153.4 million.

Deere said Friday that it expects full-year world-wide sales of its farm machinery to decrease 25% from last year -- slightly worse than the 24% decline it had forecast in May.

Deere continues to predict lower industrywide sales across nearly all its geographic markets and sees a worsening market in South America, where Deere now expects sales to drop by between 20% and 25% this year because of weak demand in Brazil. Sales in Asia will fall moderately, led by declines in India and China, while sales across Europe will drop about 10% this year. Deere projects a 25% decline in U.S. and Canada equipment sales, but said more positive conditions in the livestock sector will result in U.S. and Canadian turf and utility equipment sales that are flat to up 5%.

Overall, the company reported a profit of $511.6 million, or $1.53 a share, down from $850.7 million, or $2.33, a year earlier.

Revenue slid 20% to $7.59 billion.



John Deere “Gear Up For Fall” promotion set for participating dealerships 

For people looking to purchase lawn, garden and other equipment, fall just got a little greener, thanks to the just-announced John Deere Gear Up For Fall program. The program, which runs from August 15 to the end of October, gives customers who attend Drive Green events an extra $250 off a wide range of turf equipment, in addition to the other Drive Green program product discounts and the sweepstakes.

According to Tom Elliott, product marketing manager for John Deere, customers can get the $250 Gear Up For Fall coupon when they attend a fall Drive Green event and apply it toward the purchase of a new John Deere ZTrak™, EZTrak™, QuikTrak™ mower, Signature or Select Series tractor, or select Gator™ utility vehicle models.

“Fall is a great time for residential and rural property owners, farmers and ranchers and others in the green industry to check out a wide selection of John Deere equipment,” Elliott says. “These fall Drive Green Demo events are the perfect place to compare competitive models and test drive the latest utility tractors, lawn and garden equipment, Gators and more. Plus, the Gear Up For Fall incentives, along with the other Drive Green coupons, make this an especially good time to invest in John Deere equipment.”

In addition to the $250 Gear Up For Fall coupon for turf equipment, event attendees can receive a $500 coupon for the purchase of select John Deere utility tractors and discounts on attachments. Attendees also can register for a chance to win a John Deere 3032E Compact Utility Tractor with loader and rotary cutter package to be given away later this year.

“Along with making the Drive Green events fun and informative experiences, the first 50 people who attend fall events at participating dealerships will receive a special limited-edition John Deere Gear Up For Fall camo cap,” Elliott adds.

At Drive Green events this fall, John Deere dealer experts will be on hand to demonstrate the equipment and answer questions. Admission is free and no pre-registration is required to attend.