Wednesday November 18 Ag News

Nebraska Farm Bureau Says NRDC is Late to the Party

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is expected to release a new study, Thur. Nov.19, that will inform Midwestern farmers that they could cut crop losses and save water by shifting to more “climate-resilient” soil conservation methods. But Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson says the NRDC’s study won’t provide much insight for the vast majority of Nebraska farmers and ranchers who’ve been working to conserve soil and water resources for generations.

“This is an environmental activist organization that’s lead by celebrities such as Robert Redford, Leonardo DiCaprio and James Taylor. If they’re just figuring out conserving soil and water on Midwestern farms is an important conservation measure, they’re about a century too late to the party. This is more about them pushing an extreme environmental agenda, than providing helpful insight to farmers,” said Nelson.

“While adopting on-ground practices to conserve soil and water might be revolutionary to a New York City headquartered environmental group, Nebraska farmers and ranchers are more than familiar with the day-to-day responsibilities and challenges that come from working to conserve the soil and water in the face of Mother Nature,” said Nelson.

NRDC’s report is expected to point out to farmers how cover crops can make farms more resilient to extreme weather risks, a practice many farmers are familiar with and already use on their operations.

“For nearly 80 years farmers have partnered with interests like the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to keep soil on the land and conserve water. In Nebraska, we’ve experienced the most severe of droughts and the harshest of rainfall events. Through it all we do our best to keep soil in place and use water as efficiently as possible,” said Nelson. “If you’re not about conserving soil and water, you just don’t last in farming very long. It’s the self-regulator in agriculture.”

According to Nelson, farmers and ranchers have worked diligently adopting new practices and new technologies on the farm through generations, particularly in Nebraska where water management is critical to farmers and ranchers ability to stay in business.

“Farmers and ranchers are always looking to do better, whether that’s in how we care for our natural resources or our livestock animals. We’re more than willing to work beside those who share our commitment to those efforts, but it’s insulting to Nebraska farm and ranch families to have national activist groups pretend they’re looking out for our best interests, when it’s clear they have little insight into what’s really happening on farms and ranches,” said Nelson



Dec. 4 Workshop Focuses on Windbreaks

Nebraska Extension is partnering with the Nebraska Forest Service and the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District to provide helpful information on how to put the right plan in place at a windbreak workshop on Dec. 4 at the University of Nebraska Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, NE.  Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the workshop from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

According to Nebraska Extension Educator Keith Glewen, many of the windbreaks in Eastern Nebraska have outlived their usefulness and are in desperate need of renovation and replacement in some cases. This workshop will provide participants with information on how to start the process.

Topics and presenters include:  Windbreak Renovations - Steve Karloff, Nebraska Forest Service District Forester; Planting New Windbreaks - Jay Seaton, Lower Platte South NRD Forester; Current Tree Health Issues - Jennifer Morris, Nebraska Forest Service, Forest Health Specialist; Lower Platte North NRD Tree Planting Program - Bob Heimann, Operations & Maintenance Manager; and Bag Trees for Windbreaks - Heather Byers, Horticulturist, Nebraska Certified Nurseryman (NCN), Weston, Nebraska.

Pre-register by Dec. 2 to reserve a seat and to ensure workshop materials are available the day of the workshop.  To register, contact Nebraska Extension at (402)624-8000 or cdunbar2@unl.edu.  For questions about the program, contact Glewen at the above phone number or kglewen1@unl.edu.

Nebraska Extension is in the University of Nebraska's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.



National Biodiesel Board Members Elect Governing Board

National Biodiesel Board members selected their trade association leadership this week, electing four returning governing board members and four new members to serve in leadership roles.

“Biodiesel faces many challenges but we have strong leadership from among all sectors of the industry and we are in a position as an organization to face those challenges head on,” said NBB CEO Joe Jobe. “This industry has reached nearly two billion gallons for a third consecutive year and will continue to grow into the future under the direction of the board.”

NBB members voted to fill eight board member spots:
    Kent Engelbrecht, ADM
    Ron Heck, Iowa Soybean Association
    Ed Hegland, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council
    Ron Marr, Minnesota Soybean Processors
    Steve Nogel, AGP
    Amy Sigg Davis, Ohio Soybean Council
    Robert Stobaugh, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board
    Chad Stone, Renewable Energy Group

Steven Levy, Mike Cunningham, Greg Anderson, Jennifer Case, Timothy Keaveney, Robert Morton, and Ben Wootton also continue to serve on the Governing Board. Four long-time board members retired their positions this year including two past chairs Bob Metz, South Dakota Soybean, and Gary Haer, Renewable Energy Group. Also retiring their positions were Ed Ulch, Iowa Soybean Association, and Todd Ellis, Imperium Renewables.

During the annual fall membership meeting NBB members discussed a number of important topics including the current state of federal policies impacting the industry, held meetings of standing committees, and began the annual program planning process.



Ancient Soybeans Could Hold Key to Improving Modern Varieties

Looking across this soybean-research plot in eastern North Carolina, the ancient ancestors of modern soybeans are nearly unrecognizable to the human eye.

More akin to a ground cover, weed or vine, the primitive plants that have lived for millennia in China bear little resemblance to today’s lush, upright plants to which they’re technically related. These soybean ancestors cling to the ground as if afraid of the sun. Skinny-stemmed and narrow-leaved, they produce multi-colored beans a fraction of the size of today’s commodity soybeans.

Yet, it’s the diverse genetics in these runts of the soybean litter that a team of researchers working on a multi-state soy-checkoff-funded project believe hold the key to improving today’s commercial soybean varieties in some of the most important ways.

“Our attraction to wild soybeans is that they’re much more diverse than the cultivated soybeans,” says Earl Taliercio, a U.S. Department of Agriculture plant molecular geneticist working on the project. “We are finding a lot of interesting traits – protein and amino acid composition, disease resistance, stress resistance, and we have some initial evidence that we’ll find some good yield genes as well.”

Left to grow uncontrolled in China, these viny wild soybeans have maintained a much more diverse set of genes compared with commercialized varieties. The breeding process got the plants to stand upright, but it also eliminated other beneficial traits.

“Wild soybeans haven’t gone through the bottleneck of having genes selected for agriculture,” says Taliercio. “We’ve lost valuable genetic diversity in selecting plants for cultivation. By some estimates, the wild plants are as much as seven times more diverse than a cultivated soybean.”

Taliercio and the team use both traditional breeding methods and state-of-the-art techniquesto breed wild soybean lines for public and commercial breeders to use, which could result in more diverse varieties for farmers to plant.



NPPC Statement On Antibiotics Use In Food-Animal Production

Like others, America’s pork farmers are very concerned about the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the ability of doctors to treat patients. That’s why they have taken steps over the past 30 years to ensure they’re using antibiotics strategically and responsibly to keep animals healthy and to produce safe food. They are embracing a new FDA regulation that’s eliminating the use for promoting animal growth of antibiotics important to human medicine (this addresses a concern of critics of antibiotics use in food-animal production) and that’s requiring the feed and water use of those same antibiotics to be under a veterinary prescription. They also participate in pork industry-developed programs that include responsible antibiotics use and support federal efforts to track antibiotic resistance in foodborne bacteria from humans, retail meats and food animals.

But contrary to critics, such as Consumer Reports, which today published a very misleading article on antibiotics use in food-animal production, pork farmers do not use antibiotics indiscriminately. Furthermore, there is no conclusive scientific evidence linking antibiotics use in food-animal production with antibiotic treatment failures in people. Numerous peer-reviewed risk assessments, including at least one from FDA, have shown a “negligible” risk to human health of antibiotics use in livestock and poultry production. At best, the science on antibiotic resistance is incomplete, and a recent CDC report on the subject focused on overuse of antibiotics in human medicine, mentioning animal use of antibiotics only six times in its 113 pages.

Finally, calls for food-animal farmers to stop using antibiotics to prevent diseases are ill-advised and wrong. Denying pigs, cows and chickens necessary antibiotics would be unethical and immoral, leading to animal suffering and possibly death, and could compromise the nation’s food system.

[For information about antibiotics use in pork production, visit http://www.porkcares.org/antibiotics]



Commodity Classic Registration and Housing Now Open

The 2016 Commodity Classic website is now open for event registration and housing reservations. Rooms at the first-time venue city of New Orleans are expected to book quickly, so those interested should register as soon as possible.

The 21st annual farmer-focused, farmer-led event is scheduled for March 3-5, 2016, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Commodity Classic hotels are within easy walking distance or provide complimentary shuttle service to and from the convention center.

Full Commodity Classic registration includes:
-    Access to the largest-ever Trade Show, including lunch on Thursday and Friday and a mid-morning snack on Saturday
-    Main Stage presentations in the Trade Show
-    A General Session Friday morning that will be enlightening and entertaining
-    A full schedule of educational sessions, including Learning Centers, What's New Sessions, Mini What's New Sessions and Early Risers
-    Complimentary access to video recordings of the 2016 Learning Centers, Early Risers and What's New Sessions (keep your badge for access)
-    ASA or NCGA banquet (based on space availability, and not guaranteed)
-    An Evening of Entertainment on Saturday to close out the week, featuring the country music of Sawyer Brown

For growers and their families, as well as media and state or national commodity organization staff, full registration also includes the Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening.

The 2016 Commodity Classic trade show currently has 47 percent more exhibit space than 2015, with additional space available. Visit the event website for information on being a part of Commodity Classic, where America's best farmers come to see what's new.

Established in 1996, Commodity Classic is America's largest farmer-led, farmer-focused convention and trade show, produced by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Sorghum Producers and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.



Iowa Cattlemen applaud Branstad, Ernst’s efforts to halt WOTUS

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association is appreciative of Governor Branstad and Senator Ernst’s efforts to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule.

Earlier this month, Senator Ernst’s resolution of disapproval (S.J. Res. 22) to put an end to the expanded definition of the WOTUS rule passed the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support. Senator Ernst has been very vocal and active in her work to stop WOTUS, saying that the resolution was “a major win for our hardworking farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small business who are continuously ignored by the EPA.”

Governor Branstad showed his support for Iowa farmers yesterday when he joined a lawsuit filed by 13 other states challenging WOTUS.  “The WOTUS rule is a federal overreach that imposes significant barriers and impairs Iowa’s ability to advance innovative, water quality practices that would actually advance our common goal of water quality,” Branstad said. “I ran for governor in 2010 to return predictability and stability to Iowa and this federal rule increases, rather than decreases uncertainty for Iowa farmers and small businesses.”

Dr. Phil Reemtsma, president of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, praised the governor’s move. “We are glad that Governor Branstad seems to have a good understanding of how WOTUS could hurt Iowa agriculture. We appreciate his support on this.”

The WOTUS rule is currently not in effect in Iowa, due to a temporary stay issued by the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Appeals in October. This action prevents implementation of the rule until the Court can determine jurisdiction over the many pending lawsuits. The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association strongly supports a full repeal of the WOTUS language.



NCBA and PLC Keep the Pressure on WOTUS
 
Today, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council along with 34 state affiliates and stakeholders sent a letter to 11 democratic members of the Senate encouraging Congress to act in a bi-partisan manner to withdraw the EPA and Army Corps’ of Engineers’ “waters of the United States” rule. Despite the recent action by the Senate, NCBA President Philip Ellis and PLC President Brenda Richards said withdrawal of WOTUS remains a top priority for both associations.

“We have a clear opportunity at the end of this year for Congress to withdraw the WOTUS rule and save cattle producers and the states, millions of dollars in litigation expense and years of delay,” said Ellis. “Both chambers of Congress have acted in a bi-partisan way to stop this toxic regulation, the Corps’ and the Courts have pointed out significant defects with the regulation, and the rulemaking process was clearly flawed. This regulation is disastrous for America’s cattlemen and women and all stakeholders. Worse yet, it will do nothing to clarify the Clean Water Act or safeguard our nation’s resources.”

The letter was sent to 11 Senators who voted against WOTUS legislation in the Senate, stressing the concerns of cattle producers and other agricultural stakeholders. It was signed by NCBA, PLC and each of the NCBA affiliates representing cattle producers in those 11 states. While these Senators did not ultimately support legislation which would have halted WOTUS, they did send a letter to the EPA expressing that they could not support the WOTUS rule.

“While these Senators did not support legislation to withdraw the WOTUS rule, the concerns they expressed echo those of cattle producers across the nation,” said Richards. “We are fortunate the Courts have acted to stay implementation of the rule across the country, however, that is only temporary and time is running out for Congress to act this year.”

The letter notes that the lack of clarity and the risk associated with the WOTUS rule cannot be corrected by further guidance from the EPA. It asks these Senators to support their constituents by supporting legislation in the Senate, like the Federal Water Quality Protection Act (S. 1140) which directs the agencies to withdraw this rule.

Additionally, as part of a coalition of 42 stakeholders, NCBA and PLC sent a separate letter to the full Congress urging support for bi-partisan legislative action to withdraw the rule.



WOTUS Guidance Would Result in Continued Confusion, Chaos

If federal agencies are left the task of developing implementation guidance for the Waters of the U.S. rule, the result will be a continuation of the rule's "liabilities, confusion and chaos." Issuing guidance can't fix a broken rule, according to a letter the American Farm Bureau Federation and other farm groups sent to members of the Senate who voted to oppose bipartisan legislation (S. 1140) seeking to revise the rule.

The groups encouraged the Senators to support any new effort in the Senate "to direct the agencies not to implement this rule and initiate a new, more responsible, balanced and lawful rulemaking."

According to the letter, if the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are allowed to issue guidance for the implementation of the WOTUS rule, such guidance will be of no assistance to address the rules flaws, since many stem directly from the language used by the agencies in the final rule.

The final WOTUS rule contains "flaws and ambiguities that create confusion and uncertainty rather than provide clarity," according to the letter. The rule also includes "vague terms and concepts, despite the numerous comments received" and fails to define a number of key terms that are "critical for determining whether a feature is a regulated 'water of the United States.'"

The letter pointed out that the confusion and inconsistencies will produce similar results in the field and the nation's courts. Already, the rule is has been challenged in multiple district and appeals courts in lawsuits brought by many dozens of states and stakeholders across the country.

The final rule's issues are not superficial, interpretational matters that can be corrected through guidance, the letter states. Guidance "will not stop agency overreach as the rule language itself is what matters; agency personnel now and in the future and the legal system will ultimately rely on what the law says, as it is now stated in the final rule."

The letter is posted at: http://bit.ly/1LlVzUa.



Digging Deeper: High Plains Aquifer Overall Usage Decline

A new Kansas State University study finds that the over-tapping of the High Plains Aquifer's groundwater beyond the aquifer's recharge rate peaked in 2006. Its use is projected to decrease by roughly 50 percent in the next 100 years.

David Steward, professor of civil engineering, and Andrew Allen, civil engineering doctoral student, Manhattan, published those findings in the recent Agricultural Water Management study "Peak groundwater depletion in the High Plains Aquifer, projects from 1930 to 2110." It is the first paper to look at and quantify peak aquifer depletion.

Researchers looked at the historic and projected future groundwater use rates of the eight states comprising the High Plains Aquifer. The aquifer runs under South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas -- eight agriculturally important states. It provides 30 percent of the irrigated water for the nation's agriculture and is pivotal in food production.

This latest study builds on the 2013 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study in which Steward and colleagues forecasted the future of the Ogallala Aquifer in Kansas. Researchers expanded their projections to include wells in Kansas that were both depleted and steady in their historic groundwater levels as well as the eight states that rely on the High Plains Aquifer. A total of 3,200 Kansas wells and 11,000 wells from the other seven states were studied to understand their water depletion processes.

Allen wrote the computer code necessary to analyze massive amounts of geographic information systems data about the more than 14,000 wells using the aquifer. A logistics equation was developed to apply more than 300,000 well measurements to create a historical record of its water level and also its projected water level through 2110.

"When we did the Kansas study, it really focused on those wells in Kansas that were depleting," Steward said. "We came up with a set of projections that looked at how long the water would last and how the depletion process would play out over time. With this study, we wanted to learn how the depletion in various locations plays into a larger picture of the aquifer."

Steward and Allen found that the High Plains Aquifer's depletion followed a south to north progression, with its depletion peaking in 2006 for the entire High Plains Aquifer. Overall, researchers saw that some portions of the aquifer are depleting while others are not. Texas peaked in 1999, New Mexico in 2002, Kansas in 2010, Oklahoma in 2012 and Colorado is projected to peak in 2023. Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming are not projected to reach peaks before 2110.

"We are on a declining trend right now for water use in irrigated agriculture," Steward said. "As we project what happens in the future following the existing water use patterns, the amount of depletion and the amount of water that comes out of the aquifer will decrease by about half over the next 100 years."

Additionally, researchers saw that the water depletion rates for each state in the High Plains Aquifer follow a similar bell-shaped curve pattern as the one for oil depletion in the U.S. modeled by the Hubbert peak theory.

While water is a finite resource, Steward said the intent behind the study is not raise alarm, but rather encourage proactivity to manage and preserve this resource.

"This study helps add to the dialogue of how is it that we manage water and the effects of the choices that we make today," Steward said. "It has the same kind of message of our previous paper, which is that our future is not set; it's not cast. The projections we show are projections based on the data we have available that show the trends based on how we used water. People have the opportunities to make choices about the way that things are done, and the findings from this study help add to the dialogue."

The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded the study. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Kansas Geological Survey contributed decades of information about the High Plains Aquifer and the Ogallala Aquifer for analysis.



USDA Helping U.S. Exporters Gain Access to Valuable Overseas Markets

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Japan and China this week, to meet with agricultural counterparts. The United States recently concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with Japan and 10 other nations. Countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership currently account for up to 42 percent of all U.S. agricultural exports, totaling $63 billion. The Administration continues to work with Congress to secure the passage of the agreement into law so that American agriculture can take full advantage of unprecedented new market access in some of the fastest-growing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The past seven years have represented the strongest period for American agricultural exports in the history of our country, with U.S. agricultural product exports totaling $911.3 billion between Fiscal Years 2009 and 2015. In fiscal year 2015, American farmers and ranchers exported $139.7 billion of food and agricultural goods to consumers worldwide. Not only that, U.S. agricultural exports supported more than 1 million American jobs both on and off the farm, a substantial part of the estimated 11.7 million jobs supported by exports all across our country.

Opening New Markets for Farmers, Ranchers, and Rural Businesses
USDA continuously seeks opportunities for U.S. agricultural producers to expand overseas markets that contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs, and boost economic growth.

-    USDA's Market Development Programs have provided funding to help approximately 70 U.S. agricultural producer associations, each representing hundreds or thousands of producers, expand commercial export markets for their goods. An independent study demonstrated that U.S. agricultural exports increased by $6.1 billion as a result of the increased joint investment in foreign market development by government and industry during the 2002-09 timeframe studied. Overall, U.S. agricultural exports increase $35 for every additional market development dollar expended by government and industry.

-    When implemented, the TPP agreement with 11 Pacific Rim countries will provide new market access across the board for America's farmers and ranchers by lowering tariffs and eliminating other barriers, and will boost exports and support jobs in our rural economies. The agreement will advance U.S. economic interests in a critical region that accounts for nearly 40 percent of global GDP. The TPP is a partnership between the United States and Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

-    Since 2009, the United States has entered into free trade agreements with Colombia, Jordan, Oman, Panama, Peru, and South Korea. And through organic equivalency agreements established by USDA with Canada, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, and Korea, U.S. organic farmers and businesses have streamlined access to over $35 billion international organic markets.

-    Through the Administration's Made in Rural America Export and Investment Initiative, USDA is working to help farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses access federal export programs, connect with new customers and markets abroad, and bring new opportunity to rural America.

-    Since 2009, USDA has led more than 225 U.S. agribusinesses and more than 20 State Departments of Agriculture on agricultural trade missions to China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, India, Iraq, Malaysia, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam. These businesses reported on-the-spot and short- term follow-up sales of more than $94 million. That number will grow exponentially over the next several years as a direct result of the partnerships forged and contacts established during USDA trade missions.

-    USDA opened international market outlets for American farmers and ranchers by successfully negotiating and issuing thousands of export certificates for food products valued at more than $800 million.

Removing Unfair Barriers to Trade
USDA works on behalf of agricultural exporters to resolve trade related to animal and plant health concerns and to ensure that trade decisions are based on science. In FY2015, USDA resolved more than 150 trade-related issues involving U.S. agricultural exports valued at $2.4 billion.

-    In FY2015, USDA engaged trading partners to eliminate all remaining animal health barriers related to BSE for U.S. export markets. The following 14 countries removed all BSE restrictions and granted access to U.S. beef and beef products: Australia; Macau; Philippines; New Zealand; Singapore; Ukraine; Vietnam; Egypt; Lebanon; Turkey; Costa Rica; Guatemala; St. Lucia; Iraq. The total value of U.S. beef and beef products exported to the 14 countries that lifted their BSE restrictions is in excess of $180 million.

-    In FY 2015, USDA retained the poultry market to the European Union worth $111 million.

-    When shipments are held up at foreign ports, USDA negotiates the overseas process to get products moving again. In FY 2015 USDA successfully secured the release of 250 detained shipments worth $45 million. The shipments ranged from apples to Taiwan to horses to Mexico.

-    The USDA successfully negotiated continuation of "on-arrival" fumigation for California citrus for the 2015/2016 season. Korea remains the number one market for California citrus estimated to be worth $225 million.

-    USDA successfully negotiated with Australia to open the Australian market to California Japanese plums in time for the 2015 shipping season. With the addition of California Japanese plums, the U.S. stone fruit market to Australia is now valued at $12 million per year.

-    In FY 2015 USDA secured access for U.S. pork to Peru, a market valued at $5 million per year.

-    USDA expanded market access for all apple varieties from all states of the U.S. to China in FY2015; the estimated value of this market is $100 million.

-    The USDA minimized the trade impact of 2015 flag smut detection in Kansas which protected approximately $800 million in annual sales of Hard Red Winter wheat to the sixteen countries that regulate for this disease.

USDA believes that American agriculture will always succeed if competition is fair. USDA remains a strong partner and advocate in the international marketplace, working with foreign governments and international regulatory or standard-setting organizations to ensure the smooth and safe flow of international trade. USDA will continue to strike down foreign barriers to American products that can't be justified by science-while helping exporters identify and gain access to new overseas markets.



NFU Releases Special Thanksgiving Version of Farmer’s Share

National Farmers Union (NFU) today released a special Thanksgiving version of its popular Farmer’s Share of the Retail Food Dollar publication. The Thanksgiving version compares the retail value of traditional Thanksgiving food items to the amount the farmer receives for each item.

“Farmers and ranchers today are receiving only 15.8 cents for every dollar spent on retail food items,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “Thanksgiving is the perfect time to raise awareness of this fact and give thanks to farmers for what they do every day to put food on your dinner table.”

Johnson noted that the 15 food items of the Thanksgiving Farmers Share averaged just 19.4 cents out of every food dollar for the American farmer. “It’s easy to forget the true value of our farmers and ranchers, who in some cases are only making pennies to the dollar on the goods we buy at our local supermarket,” he said.

Among some of the more startling statistics in the Thanksgiving Farmers Share:
- Wheat farmers receive just 7 cents from the $3.39 consumers spend on a 15-ounce box of stuffing.
- Turkey farmers net just over half (93 cents) of the retail value for a pound of turkey ($1.78).
- Pumpkin farmers receive 25 cents, a mere 6.4 percent, of the $3.89 spent for canned pumpkin pie mix.

The report is based on calculations derived from the monthly Agriculture Prices report produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and compared to price points of common grocery food items at Safeway supermarket.

Find and download the Thanksgiving Farmers Share on the NFU website, and visit www.NFU.org/farmers-share monthly to find the latest version of the NFU Farmer’s Share publication.



Syngenta Rejects ChemChina Offer

Syngenta has reportedly rejected a $42 billion takeover offer by state-owned China National Chemical Corp, Bloomberg reported.

The company has been under pressure to boost shareholder returns after turning down a $47 billion takeover offer from Monsanto Co. this year. Its chief executive stepped down two months later.

Citing unidentified sources, Bloomberg said the Swiss-based company was still in talks with ChemChina as well as other suitors, and that a deal could be reached within weeks.

ChemChina has a 5 percent share of the global crop chemicals through its ownership of Israeli generic pesticides maker Adama. Syngenta's 19 percent market share would catapult it to the industry leader position.



BarnVista Centralizes and Simplifies Resource/Effort Management

Animal agriculture businesses have many choices for production and financial record keeping, including web-based solutions. Often times, these businesses do not have a practical tool for resource management. BarnVistaTM was developed for animal agriculture businesses to manage the energy and effort required to meet their specific and increasing demands. An example of a BarnVista solution provided to meet these demands is the platform designed to collect and prepare information for requirements of the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) and others.

In addition to audit documentation and reporting, the system also provides for work order, protocol and policy, and asset management as many of these functions may be interrelated. The web-based design and reporting capabilities provide effective access for management and personnel from remote locations.

“We developed BarnVista to be easy to use, simplify growing documentation and reporting needs and make it verifiable,” remarked Derrick Sleezer, BarnVista product manager. “With BarnVista, time and effort to meet these growing demands is reduced with tools provided for management and staff to streamline and access information, manage and report on increasing compliance requirements efficiently, and improve visibility and effectiveness of the resources engaged in the activities of the business.”

In some cases, resource/effort management is a strange compilation of clipboards, spread sheets, sticky notes, phone calls and voices mails, emails, and paper which is easy to lose and hard to manage. BarnVista eliminates the mess and brings many physical asset and operational management tasks into focus.

“With BarnVista, information is shared, communication improved, and all activities in the enterprise are recorded in a structure appropriate for reporting, review, and action,” Sleezer explained. “Everyone in the enterprise can use BarnVista – from owner to managers to staff, vendors, and consultants. With all information centralized and shared, resources can be assigned and directed to complete tasks in a timely fashion, clarity and confidence is achieved, and productivity rises.”

BarnVista is effective, affordable, and now available. To learn more about BarnVista and explore implementing this program within your livestock production enterprise, go to www.barnvista.com or call Sleezer at 712-261-5684.