Friday March 11 Ag News

WP Ag Appreciation Dinner March 21st

KTIC and The Bull are going to be one of the sponsors for this years' West Point Chamber Ag Appreciation Dinner.  It's on Monday, March 21st at 6PM at the Nielsen Community Center in West Point.  KTIC Farm Director Chad Moyer is going to be  the emcee.  The Peterson Farm Brothers will be the entertainment.  The doors will open at 6pm. Free Tickets are available from these sponsors:  Advanced Consulting & Engineering Services, BankFirst, Beed Transportation, CharterWest Bank, Citizens State Bank, CCED, CC Farm Bureau, CCPPD, F&M Bank, FCS of America, First Community Bank-Beemer, FCS, Grain States Soya, Graybeal’s Foods, Harry Knobbe Feedyards, Hugo’s, INSPRO, Kaup Seed & Fertilizer, KTIC, Lincoln Street Market, NE Vet Services, Prinz Grain, Producers Livestock, Sapp Brothers, State Farm, Valmont, Wells Fargo Bank. West Point Implement and WP News.  Hope to see you there.... it'll be a great banquet!



Dodge Co Cattlemen Meet on March 22nd

The monthly meeting of the Dodge County Cattlemen will be on Tuesday March 22nd, 2016 at Z's Bar and Grill in Scribner.  Cattlemen, this will be a great opportunity to treat your wife or significant other to a great evening out!  The social starts at 6:30pm, which includes a wine tasting, and is sponsored by Platte Valley Equipment.  Then dinner is at 7:30pm, followed by a cooking demonstration by Mitch Rippe of the NE Beef Council.  He will also talk about some of the work and goals of the NE Beef Council.  Again, cattlemen, cattlewomen, and their spouses are certainly encouraged to attend.  For more information, call Cory at 402-720-8791. 



Saunders County Livestock Monthly meeting

The Saunders County Livestock Feeders will be meeting next on Tuesay March 22, 2016 at the Colon Parish Hall.  Social is at 6pm, with the meal at 7pm and the business meeting to follow.  Sponsors are Zoetis - Ron Kulwicki, who will discuss animal health;  Pioneer Hi-Bred International - reps will be on hand with an update on products;  and All Metals Market of Fremont talking about their 3rd generation family business.  Hope to see you there! 



NE Extension Chemigation Training

A chemigation certification training has been scheduled at the ARDC/Saunders County Extension Office on Wednesday, March 23 starting at 9:00 a.m. Aaron Nygren, Nebraska Extension Educator, will provide the instruction. If you need initial or recertification, attending will provide training for both. If you wish to study training materials in advance, please contact your local Extension office. No preregistration is required. However, please bring a calculator to the training. 



PLANTING ALFALFA BEFORE THE END OF MARCH
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               Spring seems to be coming early this year.  You might be getting anxious to plant alfalfa but may be asking yourself – is this too early?

               Sunny, warm weather makes it feel like the middle of spring instead of mid-March.  Everything is ready to go for planting alfalfa but should you go ahead and plant it this early?  Or should you wait to plant during a more typical time?

               Frankly, I think the risk is greater than the benefits for most situations right now.  If a mid-March planting is successful, alfalfa yield this year will be only a half ton higher at best compared to planting in mid-April.  Failing to get a stand, however, will cost several hundred dollars per acre when you consider both the reseeding cost and the value of your lost production.

               Stand failure could be caused by a couple factors.  A return to more average temperatures would result in very slow germination and weak emergence of the alfalfa seedlings.  Seedling diseases can thin stands quickly under these conditions, even when using seed that has been treated with a fungicide.

               And w hat about freezing?  Very young alfalfa seedlings can tolerate temperatures maybe as low as 20 degrees.  So freezing usually isn’t a problem early on.  The danger of freezing actually is greater after alfalfa reaches the third or fourth trifoliate leaf stage, or about 4 inches tall, which it is likely to do by late April or early May.  At this stage, alfalfa loses its cold tolerance and becomes more susceptible to freezing.  Late spring freezes then could injure early plantings.  Waiting to plant until April minimizes this risk.

               Stand failures are expensive.  Planting during recommended times reduces that risk.



FDA responds to industry questions on Guidance #213, revised VFD rule 

Farm Foundation, NFP hosted 12 workshops across the nation last fall on the new policies and requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concerning the use of medically-important antimicrobial drugs in food animals.

The workshops provided more than 500 livestock producers, veterinarians and feed suppliers the opportunity to learn about the new policies directly from senior officials of FDA and USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Participants also were able to voice their opinions and ask questions about the management challenges of implementation.

During the workshops, FDA officials were not able to respond to all the implementation questions. FDA has now responded to all those questions. Review the responses on the Farm Foundation website.

"The conversations at the workshops provided the FDA staff with detailed insights into industry questions on how to implement the VFD final rule," said William T. Flynn, deputy director for science policy at FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. "We can create regulations, but the on-the-ground insights we heard in the workshops provided us with a terrific opportunity to help producers, distributors and others get the information they need to comply with this important regulation. This helps us shape policies to achieve the most successful outcomes."

"This direct interaction of stakeholders with FDA and APHIS was one of the most valued elements of the workshops," says Farm Foundation Trustee Joe Swedberg, who chairs the Foundation's Antimicrobial Education Project Advisory Committee. The volume and diversity of the questions "highlights the complexity and diversity of the nation's livestock industry, and the importance of a continuing dialogue between industry and state and federal regulators," Swedberg adds.

The questions and the workshop findings also highlight the need for additional educational work to reach all the critical industry segments, Swedberg said.

Farm Foundation's report of the workshops--Stewardship of Antimicrobial Drug Use in Food-Producing Animals--cites a lack of knowledge about the new policies and requirements, as well as concerns about the availability of veterinary services, as critical barriers to the successful implementation of changes resulting from FDA's Guidance for Industry #213, which are expected to take full effect Jan. 1, 2017.

"Much work has been done by industry organizations, agencies and media outlets, but many stakeholders lack a full understanding of the policies. We need to continue the education push," Swedberg emphasized. Farm Foundation is working to track educational work in progress and identify gaps where additional attention may be needed.

FDA has issued Guidance for Industry (GFIs) #209 and #213 regarding the use of medically-important antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals, as well as a revised Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) rule. Once fully implemented, these guidance documents  will result in medically-important antimicrobial drugs seeing label changes allowing only therapeutic uses (prevention, control or treatment of disease), and use of the drugs in feed or water will require a veterinarian's order. 

Farm Foundation initiated this project in its role as an objective convener, explains Swedberg, a retired executive of Hormel Foods. "Farm Foundation is uniquely positioned to provide leadership in this type of project. We bring diverse stakeholders to the table to address issues shaping the future--in this case farmers and ranchers, veterinarians, feed suppliers and federal and state regulators," he adds.




Soy Growers Express Support for Waterways Funding

The American Soybean Association (ASA) and other agricultural groups this week sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees to express support for a continuation of the strong and growing funding levels for inland waterways infrastructure functions performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The past two years have seen increased funding to record levels for both the construction and operations and maintenance accounts of the USACE.

For Fiscal Year 2017 the industry supports full funding (the amount supported by revenue derived from the barge fuel fee) of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which is expected to be $390 million as well as a minimum of $3.1 billion for Operations & Maintenance.

As the letter indicates, from an agricultural perspective, having access to a modern and efficient inland waterways transportation system is vital to the efficient production, marketing and shipment of agricultural products in international commerce. In 2014, 73 percent of the volume of U.S. agricultural exports and 65 percent of imports were transported via our waterways. Having access to competitive barge transportation also helps discipline rates for other modes of transportation- an important factor given current depressed agricultural commodity values. The full letter can be viewed here.

ASA and state soybean associations continue to be active leaders in the efforts to improve inland waterways infrastructure. In addition to the ag coalition letter, ASA, several state soybean associations and multiple soybean industry partners signed a letter led by the Waterways Council urging support for the Navigation Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP), which encompasses the planned upgrades to locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River System. Those letters can be viewed here.

The FY2017 waterways funding requests will be among the priorities advocated during the Hill visits on March 15 in Washington, D.C.



Vilsack to Join Obama and Cabinet Delegation on Travel to Cuba

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will join President Obama when he travels to Cuba later this month. This historic visit - the first by a sitting U.S. President in nearly 90 years - is another demonstration of the President's commitment to chart a new course for U.S.-Cuban relations and connect U.S. and Cuban citizens through expanded travel, commerce, and access to information.

This will be Secretary Vilsack's second trip to Cuba. In November 2015, Vilsack led a delegation of U.S. Government officials traveling to Havana for a series of meetings in the interest of strengthening bilateral agricultural engagement. During his visit in November, the Secretary met with Cuba's vice-president Ricardo Cabrisas, Minister of Agriculture Gustavo Rodríguez Rollero, and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, as well as with Cuban farmers, producers and operators of agricultural cooperatives and markets.

Secretary Vilsack will use this second trip to Cuba to discuss opportunities for collaboration in agriculture among the United States and Cuba, better understand how climate change is affecting agricultural production in Cuba, and continue to help American businesses interested in exporting to Cuba form and strengthen ties to the Cuban people and culture.

"Throughout history, agriculture has served as a bridge to foster cooperation, and I have no doubt that agriculture will continue to play a powerful role as we expand our relationship with the Cuban people in the coming years," said Secretary Vilsack.



TWO TOP OFFICIALS TO LEAVE FDA

Michael Taylor, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s deputy commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, will leave his post as of June 1. Since his arrival in 2009, Taylor has lead the FDA's implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act and overseen the move to eliminate the use in food animal production of certain antibiotics the agency claims can contribute to the development of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Dr. Stephen Ostroff, who had been leading FDA on an interim basis until the recent confirmation of Dr. Robert Califf as commissioner, will succeed Taylor.

The announcement on Taylor comes after news that Dr. Bernadette Dunham, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), will leave the FDA in April. Since joining the agency in 2002, Dunham’s service and leadership have been vital in addressing issues such as antimicrobial resistance, genetically engineered animals and food safety. Tracey Forfa, who has served as CVM deputy director since 2008, will be acting center director while the agency conducts a nationwide search for a new leader.




ASA Writes Senate About Plant Genetics Treaty

American Soybean Association (ASA) President Richard Wilkins wrote to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker and Ranking Member Ben Cardin to support ratification of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).

“ASA is a strong supporter of innovation and research,” the letter states.  “As the world’s leading producer of soybeans, the U.S. is at the forefront of plant breeding. Ratification of the ITPGRFA will guarantee our plant breeders and researchers access to germplasm from around the world, which is key to breeding new varieties and ensuring the soybean industry continues to meet a growing global demand.”

Currently, soybeans are not covered under the ITPGRFA. It is one of the commodities subject to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Nagoya Protocol. Many countries require a benefit sharing arrangement for the exchange of germplasm. Under Nagoya, these are negotiated on a bilateral basis, which creates significant uncertainty. Not only do bilateral agreements pose significant logistical problems, the compliance issues raised are both cumbersome and costly. There have been instances where public researchers have been unable to access germplasm due to the high cost of compliance. By delaying ratification, the U.S. is missing out on the opportunity to negotiate a place for soybeans.

The U.S. signed the treaty in 2002 during the Bush administration, but ratification is still pending in the Senate. In December 2010, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recommended ratification on a voice vote.  It was placed on the Senate calendar but not voted on.  The last committee hearing to consider the treaty was in November 2009.

The 131 countries that have ratified the treaty include the EU28, which includes France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, India. Most of Africa and Central America have ratified.

ASA encourages the Foreign Relations Committee to consider the treaty as soon as possible.



The Truth Behind Marine Engines and Ethanol
Keith Holmes, Certified Marine Technician
President/Owner - CK Motorsports      

The gasoline used by more than 95 percent of Americans, E10, contains 10 percent ethanol and is safe to use in marine engines. All current boat engines are warrantied for E10 and have been for nearly two decades. Yet for some reason, BoatUS has chosen to ignore this information and the countless owner’s manuals expressly approving the use of E10. They are preying on people’s fears instead of looking at the facts.

Proper care and maintenance are the best and easiest ways to protect boat engines. While E10 is a safe, reliable fueling option for both marine engines and automobiles, higher ethanol blends, such as E15, are not approved for use in marine engines.

Furthermore, no consumer is required to fill up with an ethanol blend, but E10, E15 and other fuels do give consumers the sorely needed ability to choose a fuel that meets their price and performance needs.

As the owner of CK Motorsports, a premier certified Mercury Marine Engine & Racing service dealer that services 400-500 boats annually, and has for over 20 years in Nunica, Mich., I believe it is important to set the record straight when it comes to ethanol and marine engines.

Here are just a few facts and observations I have made over my 20 years servicing marine engines:
·       CK Motorsports does not see these phase separations with E10 ethanol as claimed in several boating industry articles, or special interest hit pieces.
·       Certain companies are rather far-reaching in making claims; knowingly or unknowingly creating consumer confusion surrounding ethanol and its use in marine engines
·       Ethanol is a clean burning fuel, which is much better for our environment. Put simply, CLEAN AIR, CLEAN WATER, CLEAN BOATING creates less carbon dioxide.
·       CK Motorsports has found ethanol fuels help marine engines run cooler, run longer and make better horsepower gains. 
·       E10 ethanol absolutely IS an acceptable fuel for everyday use in marine engines.
·       When E10 comes into contact with water, the ethanol will allow the fuel to absorb some or all of that water. Additionally, E10 ethanol also eliminates the need for freeze preventers.
·       The primary cause of water collecting in fuel tanks is condensation from humid air. 
·       An engine running on E10 engine can ingest small amounts of water in the fuel without harming the engine.
·       All Mercury Marine engines are warrantied for E10 Fuel. 

Finally, it is important that all marine engine owners follow the instructions for normal storage preparation found in the operation, maintenance and warranty manuals. Failure to follow the proper operating procedures is the number one reason why boaters have fuel issues.

The bottom line is that if you have engine troubles, there are many possible causes, and you should not immediately assume E10 is the problem because the facts and my 20 years of experience show that ethanol is not to blame.

It’s time to stop the misinformation and scare tactics – it’s time for consumer choice, cleaner air and improved conservation efforts. That is what CK Motorsports believes in, because ethanol delivers.