Friday February 26 Ag News

Nebraska Ag Water Management Network Conference Offered on March 10th

Updates on irrigation engineering tools and research on new irrigation technologies, variable rate irrigation and fertigation fundamentals and cover crops will be the focus of the Nebraska Ag Water Management Network Conference that will be held on Thursday, March 10th.  It will be at the Holthus Convention Center, located at 3130 Holen Avenue in York.  The conference will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., with registration beginning at 9:15 a.m.

Producers, crop consultants, NRD, DNR, NRCS, irrigation districts and other professionals are invited to attend.  Participants are encouraged to share their experiences that have helped make the Nebraska Ag Water Management Network (NAWMN) successful and any ideas they have for growing the network.

Topics that will be covered include:
 ·    Update on status of the NAWMN
 ·    Water-related smart phone apps
 ·    Z-Mag Ag Water Management Guide
 ·    Automated Water Use Database Project
 ·    Cover Crop Research
 ·    NRD Update
 ·    Update from the Upper Big Blue NRD CropTip
 ·    Underground Wireless Sensor Update
 ·    Soil Moisture Sensor Research Update
 ·    Variable Rate Irrigation Science and Engineering and Variable Rate Fertigation Research

A total of 4 continuing education units have been applied for in Soil/Water Management.
The  NAWMN goal is to transfer high quality research information to producers to use water and energy resources more efficiently for crop production and to enhance crop water productivity.

Started in 2005 with 15 collaborators, NAWMN has now grown to nearly 1400 collaborators who implement cutting-edge water management technologies/practices taught in the Network. Many of them regularly contribute water use database to a central NAWMN website. In turn, this information is used by growers across the state to fine-tune their irrigation management and application timing to current plant water needs. The fundamental objective of the NAWMN has been to integrate science, research and education/outreach principles to provide citizens best information available to help them to make better informed decisions in their irrigation management practices, which contributes to the Land-Grant Mission of UNL. The practices/procedures taught in the NAWMN have been based on the scientific and research-based information led by UNL-IANR professor Dr. Suat Irmak.

There is no cost to attend.  Lunch will be provided but we ask participants to RSVP for planning purposes by March 7th to Jenny Rees at the Clay County Office Extension Office at 402-762-3644 or jenny.rees@unl.edu.



NASDA President Talks Land Ownership, Future of Ag at USDA Ag Outlook Forum

NASDA President and Nebraska Director of Agriculture Greg Ibach spoke today to attendees of the 92nd Annual USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum on a panel focusing on Land Tenure & Transition.

During his remarks, Ibach focused on NASDA’s policy calling for sound financial security and land ownership policies.

“Agricultural lands are America’s legacy and access to these lands is the biggest hurdle to our next generation of farmers and ranchers. As the chief promoters of agriculture in our states, NASDA Members are all too familiar with the need to provide the next generation with access to affordable credit and easily accessible programs provided by the Farm Service Agency. One way Nebraska is complementing USDA’s efforts is by providing tax exemptions to beginning farmers and tax credits to agricultural asset owners as they partner through our NExtGen Program.”

“There is also a critical need to help our farm and ranch families gain access to farm succession planning services. If we do not help our farm families plan their future, farms will continue to be carved up and sold to the highest bidder causing even higher levels of consolidation in the industry.”

Ibach was joined by Neil Hamilton, Professor of Law and Director of the Agricultural Law Center, Drake University, Damona Doye, Regents Professor and Rainbolt Chair of Agricultural Finance, Oklahoma State University, and Randall Hildreth, a landowner from Georgia.

NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories. Ibach will host the 2016 NASDA Annual Meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska on September 21- 24.



Bill Advances to Ease Farm Equipment Weight Restrictions

A bill that would relax weight and load restrictions for farm equipment on Nebraska’s roads has advanced out of a legislative committee.

The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee voted 7-0 on Thursday to send the measure to the full Legislature for debate.

The newest version of the bill would exempt tractors, combines, fertilizer spreaders and other heavy farm implements from the restrictions on Nebraska’s highways. Some producers have complained that the current rules haven’t kept pace with modern farm equipment, which is larger and heavier than in the past.

Weight and load restrictions would remain in place for bridges.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation and the Nebraska Cattlemen Association have identified the bill as one of their top priorities in this year’s session.



Current National Drought Summary
droughtmonitor.unl.edu

Increasingly warm weather prevailed across much of the nation, with beneficial rain observed from Texas to the central and northern Atlantic Coast. Seasonable dryness over the Great Plains accompanied temperatures averaging 10 to 15°F above normal, with numerous daily record highs noted over southern portions of the region. Out west, progressively warmer weather heightened concerns of early snow melt, with early-week rain and mountain snow falling short of weekly normals and doing little to ease long-term drought.

Central Plains
Sunny skies and above-normal temperatures prevailed across this drought-free region, with daytime highs reaching 90°F in central and southwestern Kansas and upper 70s to lower 80s elsewhere. While still within the central Plains’ climatologically dry season, the recent abnormal warmth hastened winter wheat out of dormancy and will heighten the need for topsoil moisture over the upcoming weeks.

Looking Ahead
Stormy, occasionally cold weather in the East will contrast with warmth and dryness across much of the west. A potent winter storm will march northeastward across the Great Lakes, producing additional locally heavy showers across the Atlantic Coast States as well as moderate to heavy rain and snow in the Midwest. In the storm’s wake, briefly chilly conditions east of the Mississippi will give way to a rapid warm up by early next week. Generally tranquil weather will prevail from the Plains into the upper Midwest, though here, too, increasingly warm conditions will develop into next week. Unfavorably warm, dry weather will persist from California and the Great Basin into the lower Four Corners Region, while periods of rain and mountain snow continue farther north from the Northwest into the northern and central Rockies. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for March 1 – 5 calls for above-normal temperatures across western and central U.S. as well as much of the Northeast, with cooler-than-normal conditions confined to the upper Midwest. Meanwhile, below-normal precipitation is anticipated from the central and southern Pacific Coast eastward onto the High Plains and upper Midwest.



PREPARE NOW TO BEAT THE DROUGHT
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

Winter will be over soon and another grazing season will begin. Who knows how much moisture lies ahead.  Today I’ll suggest some ways you can limit the forage problems drought could cause.

Drought is likely to be a problem again this summer, at least somewhere.  Because hay can be costly when pastures are short, we need to consider ways to minimize damages if we receive less than average rainfall.  Fortunately, early spring is a time you can take action that can minimize some of drought’s problems.

For starters, prepare a strategy for using any remaining hay.  One of the better options is to feed hay a bit longer into spring before turning cows out to permanent pasture.  I know this action is exactly opposite of my usual recommendation to graze more and feed less hay. But, allowing pastures to accumulate a bit more growth before grazing begins will provide more total grazable forage if drought prevents much regrowth later on.  Leftover hay also can be used later during the grazing season to give pastures more time to recover between grazings.

Another strategy is planting annual forages for pasture or hay.  Some excellent choices are oats planted as early as possible or summer annual grasses like sudangrass, sorghum-sudan hybrids, and pearl millet planted once soils are good and warm.  Late May or early June usually is best for these grasses.  So reserve some ground now for these drought-insurance grasses, before you plant everything to corn, beans, and other crops.  And don’t forget about possibly planting these grasses or even some fall cover crop forages into wheat stubble as a double crop after harvest.

If the rains don’t come, planning and acting now to reduce potential forage losses from drought will pay big dividends.



Senior Execs Replaced at Grain Firm Gavilon

A shake-up is taking place atop Omaha, Nebraska-based grain trading firm Gavilon, making good on promises of big changes from Marubeni, the Japanese trading house and Gavilon's owner, following struggles in its food division.

Gavilon Group is replacing CEO Jim Anderson with Lew Batchelder, a veteran Archer Daniels Midland executive who oversaw ADM's international operations. Gavilon Chief Operations Officer John Neppl and North American grain boss Greg Konsor are stepping down as well, with Chris Faust promoted to vice president and general manager of Gavilon's North American grain division. Faust was formerly regional vice president for its grain division.

Marubeni CEO Fumiya Kokubu said on an earnings call this month "we will be taking dramatic measures" at Gavilon as the company, which Marubeni acquired in 2013, "continues to experience difficulty."



Last Chance for Landowners to Order Trees for Spring Planting

Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) announces more than 700,000 trees and shrubs have been ordered for Nebraskans across the state so far, with plant to plant them in the spring of 2016. Each seedling does its part in enhancing the state’s beauty and conserving our natural resources.

Since the Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) creation in 1972, more than 95 million trees and shrubs have been planted across the state with the help of the NRDs.

“The value of these trees is priceless,” said Terry Martin, President of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts. “Trees and shrubs offer landowners dozens of benefits many people may not even realize.”

For less than a dollar a tree, conservation trees can shade and shelter homes, reduce energy costs, protect and increase crop yields, reduce soil erosion caused by water and wind, improve water quality, control snow and preserve winter moisture, protect livestock, provide food and cover for wildlife, control noise, capture atmospheric carbon, raise property values, and add beauty to our landscape.

Each of the 23 Natural Resources Districts administer their own tree program, so available species and tree and shrub options may differ from district to district.

“Our forestry staff know their trees,” said Martin. “We help hundreds of landowners every year select good trees and shrubs to plant for their region, and offer assistance with designing and planting windbreaks.”

The Natural Resources Districts thank the state’s landowners for doing their part in conserving Nebraska’s natural resources.

Many NRD Conservation Tree Program order deadlines are coming up. Some are due as soon as March 1st! Contact your local Natural Resources District to put your tree orders in today. You can go to www.nrdnet.org to locate your local NRD.

To learn about the wide variety of trees each NRD offers, go to www.nrdtrees.org.



 ANNUAL NEBRASKA CHICKEN AND EGGS

Nebraska's layer numbers during 2015 averaged 7.70 million, down 19 percent from the year earlier, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The annual average production per layer on hand in 2015 was 298 eggs, down 1 percent from 2014.

Nebraska egg production during the year ending November 30, 2015 totaled 2.29 billion eggs, down 20 percent from 2014.

Total number of chickens on hand on December 1, 2015 (excluding commercial broilers) was 9.44 million birds, down 18 percent from last year.

The total value of all chickens in Nebraska on December 1, 2015 was $35.9 million, up slightly from December 1, 2014. The average value increased from $3.10 per bird on December 1, 2014, to $3.80 per bird on December 1, 2015.

US Highlights - Chicken and Egg Annual Summary
United States Average Number of Layers Down 4 Percent: Layer numbers during 2015 averaged 350 million, down 4 percent from the year earlier. The annual average production per layer on hand in 2015 was 276 eggs, down slightly from 2014.

United States Egg Production Down 4 Percent: Egg production during the year ending November 30, 2015 totaled 96.4 billion eggs, down 4 percent from 2014. Table egg production, at 83.1 billion eggs, was down 6 percent from the previous year. Hatching egg production, at 13.3 billion eggs, was up 4 percent from 2014.

United States December 1 Inventory Numbers: The total number of chickens on hand on December 1, 2015 (excluding commercial broilers) was 471 million birds, down 3 percent from last year.

United States Total Value: The total value of all chickens on December 1, 2015 was $2.06 billion, up 3 percent from December 1, 2014. The average value increased from $4.11 per bird on December 1, 2014, to $4.36 per bird on December 1, 2015.



New Software Developed to Monitor Sheep Feedlots

Iowa Beef Center has developed software to assist sheep feedlot managers with both detailed monitoring of animal performance along with business transactions involving the sheep feeding enterprise.

The ISU Sheep Feedlot Monitor Software (AS 7) is now available for purchase in the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Store and ensures sheep feedlots are efficient and monitored properly.

The software program was developed by Garland Dahlke, assistant scientist with the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University.

“This new software will provide sheep feedlot managers the same information cattle feedlots have to monitor their operation and stay efficient throughout the year," Dahlke said.

The software provides animal performance evaluations based on real time feed consumption and financial information that can be tied to health data. This creates a basis for the estimation of current growth and subsequent performance.

The business components include day to day costs, income accounting and a built in option to track feed and drug inventory and generate billing statements for custom feeding operations.

For more information on the downloadable software visit the Store at: store.extension.iastate.edu/Product/ISU-Sheep-Feedlot-Monitor-Software. 



New Specialty License Plate for Iowa Agriculture

A new specialty license plate is now available throughout Iowa for passenger vehicles, trucks and trailers. The license plate recognizes the important role that agriculture plays in the state economy.

Revenue from the sale of the plate will support three youth organizations that help students learn about agriculture, leadership, and life skills. The three organizations are the Iowa FFA Foundation, Iowa 4-H Foundation and Iowa Agriculture in the Classroom.

The Iowa FFA Foundation serves the 14,800 student member organization in 225 chapters across Iowa. It helps students develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success.



South Africa Now Taking U.S. Pork

South Africa now is accepting U.S. pork exports. The National Pork Producers Council, which worked with the Obama administration to convince Pretoria to lift a de facto ban on U.S. pork, welcomed the news.

The United States can ship to South Africa a variety of raw, frozen pork, including bellies, hams, loins, ribs and shoulders, for unrestricted sale and other pork for further processing.

“NPPC is pleased that South Africa has followed through with a commitment to open its market to U.S. pork. Now, we can sell safe, high-quality and affordable U.S. pork to more than 50 million new consumers,” said NPPC President Dr. Ron Prestage, a veterinarian and pork producer from Camden, S.C. “U.S. pork producers had been on the outside looking in as competitors from Brazil, Canada and the European Union sold pork to South Africa, which banned our product using non-science-based restrictions that didn’t pass the red face test.”

One of those restrictions was to prevent the spread of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) to South African livestock even though the risk of disease transmission from U.S. pork products was negligible. There is no documented scientific case of PRRS being transmitted to domestic livestock through imported pork. (New Zealand, a PRRS-free nation, imported pork for 10 years from PRRS-positive countries without getting the disease.)

In early January, after the Obama administration threatened to suspend its trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act – duty-free access for products exported to the United States – South Africa announced it would partially lift its ban on U.S. pork.

“While we now can sell pork in South Africa,” Prestage said, “there is no scientific reason to restrict any of our pork, so we’ll continue to work with the governments in Washington and Pretoria to get complete access to that market.”



U.S. Should Be Better Prepared For Pests, Diseases

In testimony today, the National Pork Producers Council urged congressional lawmakers to work with the Obama administration to improve the preparedness of the United States to deal with a foreign pest infestation or disease outbreak.

While over the years improvements have been made to the systems that safeguard U.S. agriculture, former USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Bobby Acord, testifying on behalf of NPPC, told a subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security, much more needs to be done to prevent plant and animal pests and diseases from entering the country and devastating U.S. food producers.

Accord, who served as APHIS administrator from 2001 to 2004, told the committee’s Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communication that the introduction of foreign pests and diseases can have severe consequences for agriculture production, consumer prices and, potentially, food availability. They also could adversely affect U.S. exports, with foreign trading partners closing their markets to U.S. goods.

“There seems to be a growing consensus that there are serious flaws in the country’s preparedness to deal with threats to U.S. agriculture and the food supply,” said Acord.

Among actions NPPC suggested the federal government take to be better prepared to address a foreign pest infestation or disease outbreak:
•           A sufficient quantity of vaccine to control and eradicate an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
•           A more robust review of biosecurity measures in each sector of the agriculture industry.
•           More vigorous scrutiny of imports at ports of entry.
•           An animal identification system to better trace the movement of livestock to control the spread of a disease and to determine the origins of an outbreak.
•           More funding for the systems that safeguard U.S. agriculture.
•           Share data, including on animal movements, to improve disease response.

A blue ribbon panel last fall released a report on U.S. bio-defenses that highlighted the need for improvements in the system for protecting the U.S. livestock herd and the nation’s food supply, and concerns about the country’s preparedness to deal with foreign animal diseases were raised in a November hearing of the House Agriculture Committee.



BASF Crop Protection pipeline valued at €3 billion

BASF now projects its crop protection pipeline to achieve peak sales of €3 billion for products launched between 2015 and 2025. Following its strategy to bring comprehensive solutions to farmers, the company will launch new products for all crop protection indications in row and specialty crops. This promising pipeline is the result of continuous investments in research and development. In 2015 alone, BASF spent €514 million on R&D in the Crop Protection division.

“We have been very successful in translating ideas and challenges into best-in-class products and services for growers across the globe,” said Markus Heldt, President of BASF’s Crop Protection division. “Innovation remains a crucial component of agriculture today. It is a dynamic market, with ever-changing needs and new challenges, and we are happy that we can contribute with new solutions and technologies,” Heldt added.

In the fungicide area, BASF is making great progress in bringing a new blockbuster compound to farmers across the globe starting from 2019 on. Already at an advanced phase of development, the new fungicide has demonstrated outstanding biological performance and is expected to become a key tool for effective disease control. Extensive research on this proprietary compound shows a high potential for broad spectrum activity against a wide range of pathogens in many crops, such as corn, cereals, soy, and specialty crops.

BASF is a leading provider of both novel active ingredients and new formulations for herbicides. A new advanced dicamba formulation is a leading forthcoming innovation in the herbicide field. Engenia™ is designed for use in dicamba/glyphosate-tolerant cropping systems and is a highly efficient tool for the control of resistant weeds in row crops. Pending registration, Engenia™ is anticipated to be available first in the Americas later this year.

The herbicide pipeline also includes innovations in herbicide tolerance and weed resistance management technologies. BASF is developing compounds targeting novel sites of action that have shown outstanding control of resistant weeds, such as black grass, in a range of crops. These new introductions should reach markets by the beginning of the next decade. In addition, a new herbicide tolerant system for rice, Provisia™ Rice System, is targeted to enter the market in 2017. These new members of BASF’s herbicide family complement a very attractive portfolio that already offers such star products as Kixor® and the Clearfield® Production System to farmers around the globe.

BASF’s insecticide portfolio is also expanding with two new compounds increasing the number of tools for insect control and resistance management by the end of the decade. The compounds show strong commercial potential and are the result of successful collaboration with other partners. The active ingredient broflanilide, brings a new mode of action that has demonstrated excellent levels of control for chewing pests – the biggest insecticide market segment – for use in row and specialty crops as well as the professional pest management market. The other novel active ingredient, Inscalis™, is effective against piercing-sucking insects, providing long-lasting control of aphids, whiteflies, and certain leafhoppers, psyllids and scales for use in specialty crops, row crops and ornamentals. Both products will be launched in several markets across the globe.

“For us, innovation goes beyond the discovery of new molecules and agrochemical compounds,” said Heldt. “We are investing in areas such as IT, formulation technologies, biological crop protection and new business models as well.” In 2015, Functional Crop Care, the business area in BASF that offers solutions for healthier plants and higher yields to supplement conventional crop protection, launched Limus® nitrogen management. Limus® is a patented product that helps crops maintain optimal nitrogen availability through the most critical growth stages of plant development, which leads to more consistent yields. Other solutions from the Functional Crop Care segment are in the market introduction phase and, in total, should generate more than €500 million in sales for BASF by 2020.

“Although commodity prices have been lower and the agrochemical sector has slowed down, we have full confidence in the long-term global trends,” said Heldt. “We need a robust agriculture sector as the basis for our planet’s future growth. We can only support farmers’ success in delivering healthy and affordable food if we continue to invest in new sustainable solutions to increase their yields. So that is what we will continue to do,” concluded Heldt.

BASF’s track record in successfully commercializing new products has proven to be a key growth pillar for the Crop Protection unit. Recently, more than 40% of the business sales were generated by products launched in the past five years. To further expand its market success with innovations, BASF Crop Protection will continue to invest approximately 9% of its sales in R&D.