Thursday March 3 Ag News

Farmers Pride Announces Earnings and Dividends Distribution

Farmers Pride an area leading farmer cooperative, today reported earnings of $3.8 million for its 2015 fiscal year at their annual meeting held in Norfolk.  Earnings attributed to Farmers Pride operations for fiscal 2014 (Dec 1, 2014 – Nov 30, 2015) decreased 7% over the $4.1 million earnings for fiscal 2014. Revenues for fiscal 2015 reached $158 million, reflecting higher volumes for the energy, grain and crop nutrients products. 

"Despite lower grain prices during the fall 2015, we are proud of our financial results for fiscal 2015.  Our strong balance sheet and overall financial strength has allowed us to make substantial upgrades to equipment and facilities all designed to help our farmer-owners with their operations.  We are happy to continue a long history of bringing value for our producer owners who count on Famers Pride for their agronomic, grain, energy and feed needs," said Dean Thernes, President of Farmers Pride.

Farmers Pride customers will share a $547,000 cash patronage disbursement in addition to $802,000 of retired equities this past summer from the 2014 fiscal earnings.  This brings the total cash returned to Farmers Pride customers over the past six years of over $11 million.

"This cash distribution represents the value of being a cooperative owner and customer," said Jerry Dolesh, Farmers Pride board chairman and a Tilden, NE farmer. "Not only do Farmers Pride customers benefit from our services and facilities, they also share in our profits. This allows Farmers Pride’s customers to invest in the future of a local businesses and their rural community."

Patronage is based on business done with Farmers Pride by individual farmers and ranchers during fiscal 2015, while equity redemptions represent retirement of ownership in Farmers Pride earned in past years.

Farmers Pride is a leading cooperative, owned by 6,000 farmers and ranchers across northeast Nebraska with locations in Battle Creek, Bloomfield, Ewing, Madison, Newman Grove, Neligh, O’Neill, Oakdale, Oakland, Osmond, Pierce, Plainview and Snyder. 



IANR to host Twitter Town Hall with AgisAmerica

Extension specialists and researchers at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln will partner with Agriculture is America (AgisAmerica), a national communications initiative aimed at highlighting the nation’s land grant institutions, to host a Twitter Town Hall on Friday March 4 from 1 – 2 p.m. CST.

Scientists, researchers and extension educators will answer questions regarding IANR’s role in the advancement of agricultural science and agricultural technological innovation. Specifically, experts will discuss the role of unmanned aerial systems in agriculture, water management, and nutrient management; how technology can be used to track foodborne illnesses; how consumers can reduce food waste; and groundwater availability and quality.

A Twitter Town Hall, like a pubic meeting or seminar, gives the opportunity for a live question and answer period. To follow the conversation or submit a question, include the hashtag, “#agischat” in a tweet. All agriculture-related organizations, industry leaders, friends and supporters are invited to join the discussion. Participating Twitter handles include @UNL_IANR and @agisamerica.



USDA Officially Repeals COOL Requirements for Beef & Pork

The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is issuing a final rule that amends the Country of Origin Labeling regulations by removing the requirements for muscle cuts of beef and pork, and ground beef and pork.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 repealed these COOL requirements and immediately after the legislation was passed, USDA stopped enforcing the COOL requirements for beef and pork effective Dec. 18, 2015.

COOL is a labeling law that for marketing purposes requires retailers to provide their customers with information regarding the country of origin of regulated commodities. AMS is responsible for the administration and enforcement of COOL regulations.

Under this final rule, beef and pork muscle cuts and ground beef and pork are removed from the list of covered commodities subject to the COOL regulation. Retailers are no longer required to provide this information for beef and pork at the point of sale. COOL regulatory requirements for chicken, lamb, goat, farm-raised and wild caught fish and shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, and ginseng are still in effect.

All imported and domestic meat products continue to be subject to rigorous inspections by USDA to ensure food safety.

The final rule will be published in the Federal Register and is effective upon publication.



Pig Farmers from Across the U.S. Get Updates on Changing Antibiotic Guidance

Nearly 300 National Pork Industry Forum delegates, pig farmers and U.S. pork industry staff assembled in Indianapolis today to learn more about the upcoming regulatory changes to on-farm antibiotic use. The producer update session – an annual activity at Forum – included case studies and tips on how farmers can be ready when new Federal Drug Administration regulations take effect Jan. 1, 2017.

“Producers have been preparing the past 18 months for the very real and substantive changes that are occurring on pig farms across the country in regard to responsible antibiotic use. Producers are very aware of the challenge of antibiotic resistance and are working hard to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics, both on the farm and in human medicine,” said Derrick Sleezer, National Pork Board president and a pig farmer from Cherokee, Iowa. “Our industry is committed to continuous improvement, and these sessions today ensure that we all have the latest information to apply to our operations when we return home.”

The new FDA guidelines define how medically important feed-grade antibiotics will be used to treat, control and prevent disease, as well as remove medically important antibiotic use for growth promotion. Also, the new regulations define the importance of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR), establish a veterinary feed directive (VFD) requirement for many more antibiotics and establish a higher standard for on-farm record-keeping.

Moderated by National Pork Producer Council Chief Veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom, update session presenters covered all aspects of on-farm antibiotic use, including:
-    Dr. Lonnie King, Ohio State University, focused broadly on the subject of antibiotic resistance.
-    Dr. Tom Burkgren, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, detailed the importance of establishing a VCPR and how the new requirements for feed directives will work.
-    Randy Spronk of Spronk Brothers Farms, Minnesota, shared real-life challenges and opportunities facing pig farmers as they improve practices to reduce the need for antibiotics.“The bottom-line message to pork producers is act now – do not wait until January of next year to make these important changes in how you raise pigs,” Spronk said. “This is a defining moment for our industry, and change will not come without some sacrifice. But preserving the effectiveness of medically important antibiotics is critical in our commitment to ensure a safe food supply and to build consumer trust.”As part of the education session, the National Pork Board introduced its new Pork Industry Guide to Responsible Antibiotic Use. The 12-page guide expands on the industry’s Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus®) program, supports the industry’s stewardship plan and defines a six-point checklist for success that will help pork producers best prepare for the regulatory changes. -more-

The PQA Plus supplement is just one element of a nearly $2 million investment that the Pork Checkoff is making in 2016 to support antibiotic awareness and education among the industry’s 60,000 pork producers. Other activities include facilitating five distinct research projects, developing producer education materials and advertising in national farm trade publications. Also, the Pork Checkoff will host special events to ensure that packers, processors, foodservice and retail customers fully understand how seriously the U.S. pork industry is addressing this production change.



Survey: Producers Aware and Many Ready for Antibiotic Use Changes

In a recent survey, 82 percent of pig farmers say they are aware of the upcoming regulatory changes regarding on-farm antibiotic use. And of those surveyed, on average, 71 percent have a defined record-keeping protocol in place that they follow. That number grows to 83 percent among the country’s largest pork operations, or those that market more than 80,000 hogs per year.

“This level of awareness underscores the real and substantive changes occurring today on how pig farmers use antibiotics on the farm,” said National Pork Board President Derrick Sleezer, Cherokee, Iowa. “The high level of awareness of the changing regulation is encouraging, but not surprising. The U.S. pork industry is working hard to educate its pork producers about the upcoming deadline.”

Sleezer added that the Pork Checkoff has developed and is sharing many new materials with pig farmers to make certain packers, processors and foodservice and retail customers understand how seriously the pork Industry is taking the impending regulation changes.

In the past 18 months, the National Pork Board has taken steps to educate pork producers on the details of Food and Drug Administration guidance 209 and 213. The rules define how medically important feed-grade antibiotics should be used to treat, control and prevent disease, as well as the importance of farmers establishing a veterinarian-client-patient relationship. The guidance also mandates that medically important antibiotics can no longer be used to promote animal growth and sets a higher standard for on-farm record keeping. The regulatory changes take effect Jan. 1, 2017.

“Consumers can have confidence that the U.S. pork industry is doing the right thing in regard to antibiotic stewardship,” Sleezer said. “Understanding the role responsible antibiotic use plays on a farm is one of our top priorities and why we introduced the U.S. pork industry antibiotic stewardship plan in June.”

These results, among others designed to take the pulse of U.S. pork production, are from the annual survey of pork producers conducted by the National Pork Board late last year. In other findings, for the sixth consecutive year, pork producer support for the Pork Checkoff increased and is now at a record 90 percent – up 1 percent from last year. Meanwhile, opposition to the Checkoff declined one percent to a record low of just 4 percent. These results are the most positive in survey history.

Other highlights include:
-    Right direction/wrong track: 70 percent of producers feel the industry is heading “in the right direction,” dropping from a 2015 score of 83 percent. Of those surveyed, 23 percent feel the industry is “on the wrong track.” This decline in optimism is largely due to changing market dynamics outside of a producer’s individual control, according to those surveyed.
-    Managing hog health and disease: This continues to be the No. 1 challenge facing pig farmers. The Pork Checkoff’s investment in the Swine Health Information Center and plans to understand foreign animal disease risk and create readiness plans directly address this concern.
-    Single most important request: Producers’ No. 1 request of the Checkoff is to educate consumers about the safety of pork. This was followed by advertising and promoting pork and opening new markets.

“Marketing is always top of mind for producers, and it starts with building trust by educating consumers about pork’s safety and nutritional value,” Sleezer said. “Pig farmers want to see their investment at work to build U.S. consumer demand and take tangible steps to expand international trade.” In response to specific questions about the National Pork Board’s new strategic plan that was implemented early in 2015, the awareness and importance of each goal increased. On a 10-point scale:
-    Build Consumer Trust rated a mean score of 9.04, which was the highest result and up from 8.85 in the previous survey. Nearly three out of four producers (73 percent) surveyed ranked this as the No. 1 priority.
-    Grow Consumer Demand rated a mean score of 8.63, up from 8.39 a year ago.
-    Drive Sustainable Production rated a mean score of 7.96, up from 7.86 a year ago. “This tells the Board that the development of our strategic plan is aligned with the concerns, interests and thoughts of producers,” Sleezer said. “We have 17 defined objectives that directly support each of the three goals.”

The national survey, based on phone interviews with 550 producers, was conducted in November.



Cost To Developing Nations Of Opposing GMOs Is $1.5 Trillion, Study Indicates

A recently-released Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) study estimates that current activism against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has created significant obstacles for its adoption in the world’s poorest nations and will cost them $1.5 trillion by 2050. These campaigns have also created significant challenges for the development and adoption of genetically modified crops in general, according to the study.

“There are a lot of misperceptions about GMO technology around the globe that are leading to barriers to adoption and trade for biotechnology,” said Dean Taylor, an Iowa farmer who leads the U.S. Grains Council’s Biotechnology Advisory Team.

“The Council is committed to working with policy makers and policy influencers to remove these barriers and develop policies that are science-based, risk-appropriate and consistent. These strong policy guidelines make it easier to originate grain from more sources, ensuring a reliable supply for feed and food uses, lower costs and enhanced diets.”

Smallholder farmers in developing countries are among the biggest beneficiaries of agricultural biotechnology, which continues to offer yield and environmental benefits around the globe. However, the African continent in particular has lagged in GM adoption, according to the study, with just three of 54 countries in Africa currently growing any biotech-improved crops.

The ITIF report said that the two greatest barriers in these countries were regulations limiting GMO use and export limits, which have largely been driven by the Europe Union. The EU purchases six times as many goods from Africa’s farms as the United States does, which means that African farmers are more likely to adjust their production to fit EU regulations.

While the EU has approved some varieties of GM soybeans, corn and corn co-products for feed and food uses, many African farmers and their government officials assume the EU is 100 percent non-GM because of differences between the European media’s reporting on biotechnology and the reality of biotech use within the EU’s feed and livestock industries.

“In the past, the Council worked with select Sub-Saharan African countries to advance the acceptance of biotechnology,” Taylor said. “Today, we are once again examining the region as Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a severe drought and needs to import corn and/or corn co-products.”

For example, in the midst of the worst drought in two decades and reports that only eight weeks of corn remain in the country, Zimbabwe’s Grain Millers Association asked for permission to import GMO corn in December. Despite the country’s needs, its Agricultural Minister Joseph Made told lawmakers in February that all corn imported as food aid will be inspected to ensure it does not contain GMOs.

Since this announcement, local crop researchers and scientists have been pushing for a policy change to ensure the country’s food security. Zimbabwe consumes around 1.7 million metric tons (66.9 million bushels) of corn annually and will likely need to import corn before the harvest in March 2016.



American Farm Bureau Federation Joins Initiative To Give Farmers Control of Data They Collect

The American Farm Bureau Federation and a host of other agricultural stakeholders today revealed a ground-breaking data repository that supporters say will give farmers ultimate control over the ever-increasing business data gathered and transmitted by high-tech farm machinery.

Tractors, tilling equipment, planters, sprayers, harvesters and agricultural drones are increasingly connected to the Internet. Farmers don’t always have the ability to precisely control where that data goes, nor transfer it from one data processor to another. The newly formed Agricultural Data Coalition (ADC) will empower farmers to better control, manage and maximize the value of the data they collect every day in the fields.

“Farmers must retain ownership and control of the private agricultural data that originates from the work they do in their fields,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. “Harnessing that proprietary information for field-level efficiency and effectiveness is the key that will unlock more profitability and the greater adoption of precision agriculture. That’s good for business and the environment, too.”

The ADC is the result of years of planning and coordination by AFBF, Auburn University, Ohio State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, AGCO, CNH Industrial, Crop IMS, Raven Industries, Mississippi State University and Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.

The goal of the ADC, a non-profit venture, is to build a national online repository where farmers can securely store and control the information collected by their tractors, harvesters, aerial drones and other devices. Over time, that data can then be scrubbed, synced and transmitted in an efficient and uniform way to third parties — whether researchers, crop insurance agents, government officials, farm managers, input providers or any trusted advisor the farmer chooses.

“The key is that farmers are in complete control, and they decide who is allowed access to their data,” ADC Interim Executive Director Matt Bechdol said. “That’s what sets ADC apart. This is not about profit for others; it’s about streamlining data management, establishing clear lines of control, and helping growers utilize their data in ways that ultimately benefit them.”

Farmers interested in learning more about data collection, and organizations interested in joining ADC’s efforts, should visit www.AgDataCoalition.org.



Democratic Senators Introduce Bill to Require Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods

Manufacturers would be required to label genetically modified foods on their packages under a bill introduced by four Democratic senators on Wednesday. The move is a sign of the difficulties Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., will face in getting 60 votes for his bill to ban state labeling of genetically modified foods and to establish federal voluntary labeling.

The new bill was introduced by Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Jon Tester of Montana and Diane Feinstein of California.

In a joint statement, the senators said their legislation "presents an alternative to a Senate Agriculture Committee bill that would hide ingredient information from consumers by overturning state GMO labeling laws."

The Senate Agriculture Committee passed the bill written by Roberts on Tuesday. The vote was 14-6, and three Democratic senators -- Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- voted with all the committee Republicans to advance.

Specifically, the Biotechnology Food Labeling Uniformity Act would amend the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act to require manufacturers to disclose the presence of GM ingredients on the Nutrition Fact Panel in one of four ways:

1. Manufacturers could use a parenthesis following an ingredient to indicate that the ingredient is "genetically engineered."

2. Manufacturers could identify GM ingredients with an asterisk and provide an explanation at the bottom of the ingredients list.

3. Manufacturers could apply a catch-all statement at the end of the ingredient list stating the product was "produced with genetic engineering."

4. The FDA would have the authority to develop a symbol, in consultation with food manufacturers that would clearly disclose the presence of GM ingredients on packaging.

None of these options would require front-panel disclosures or "warning" statements intending to disparage GM ingredients, the senators noted.



Farm Leaders Discuss Still-Needed Cuba Reforms at Classic

At a press conference held Wednesday in association with the 2016 Commodity Classic, farm leaders representing producers of crops including corn and sorghum called for removal of trade barriers with Cuba so U.S. producers can capture sales there and in the region.

The event, sponsored by the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, was a pitch at one of the nation's largest farm shows to “allow agriculture to be the engine that helps us down this road toward reconciliation,” as Coalition Co-Chair Paul Johnson said in his opening remarks.

U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight spoke at the event, offering figures to show how drastically U.S. grain farmers have been affected by remaining Cuba trade restrictions.

In marketing year 2015, just $4 million of $160 million worth of corn sold to Cuba was sourced from the United States. An estimated $240 million of additional business was lost by U.S. farmers with Cuba’s neighbors because once sales to the island nation are on the books, South American competitors can find efficiencies delivering to others in the region.

Sleight said that trade has the opportunity to bridge political and financial divides between Cuba and the United States, with this time of challenging farm prices offering opportunities to redevelop relationships with Cuban leaders and meet this competition.

“I’ve seen it time and again - trade creates relationships between two countries. Trade fills that basic need,” he said. “It’s time for us to address this.”

USGC activities in Cuba, which are entirely funded by state checkoff organizations, would work to both promote near-term sales and pave the way for long-term demand growth. Sleight said the strongest market development needs in Cuba right now are education on grain handling and storage and production technology in livestock.

Wayne Cleveland, executive director of the Texas Sorghum Producers, also spoke at the conference, outlining work his industry has done to help Cubans learn to feed sorghum.

He said education like what the Grains Council provides, starting with how to create compound feed efficiently, is a first step in building feed and livestock markets that can support the nutritional needs of the Cuban people and meet demand from consumers who come to the country as tourists.

“It’s time we move on, do away with trade barriers and open up the market," he said.



New NAWG Officer Team Installed at Commodity Classic

Gordon Stoner, a wheat grower from Montana, was elected to serve as the new President of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) at the Association’s Board of Directors meeting at Commodity Classic.

“I’m looking forward to the year ahead and the challenges facing the American wheat farmer” says Stoner. “In collaboration with our industry partners, NAWG is developing the National Wheat Action Plan which seeks to chart the path forward in returning profitability to wheat and reversing the long term decline in U.S. wheat acres. I see these challenges as opportunities to make the industry stronger, and am excited to meet them head on.”

Gordon manages a fourth-generation farm near Outlook, Mont., in the northeast part of the state. Stoner Farms is a 100 percent no-till, continuous cropping operation raising durum, peas, corn, oil seeds and lentils, along with a commercial cow/calf operation. Gordon’s farm celebrated its centennial in 2009.

Prior to returning to the family farm in 1980, Gordon received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics, obtained his CPA and continued working winters at a local accounting firm though 2002. Gordon and his high-school sweetheart, Bonnie, have four adult children pursuing careers in the Chicago area and on the East Coast.

Additionally, NAWG gained another new officer, Ben Scholz. Ben is a wheat grower from Lavon, Texas. Upon graduation from college in 1969, he began a career in farming/ranching in partnership with his father that continues today with his wife, Beth, as partner in B Scholz Farms. In 1999, Ben diversified his interests by becoming president/CEO of Producers Compress Inc., a business offering warehouse space for lease and cotton storage. Ben’s farming operation consists of wheat, grain sorghum, corn, cotton, soybeans and hay in various rotations year to year.

Ben has been named Farmer of the Year by the Collin County Soil and Water Conservation District; Alumni Ambassador, the highest award an academic department can bestow upon a graduate, awarded by the Agricultural Department of Texas A&M-Commerce University; and won the Brother of the Century award from the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.

“I’m excited for this new opportunity to serve my fellow farmers and our national association,” said Scholz. “I look forward to getting to know our growers better, so that I can be a stronger voice for our industry. I will strive to assist the officer team to strengthen our association on the local, state and national levels.”

Other NAWG officers elected and installed at the meeting include:
• David Schemm, Kans., vice president
• Jimmie Musick, Okla., treasurer
• Brett Blankenship, Wash., immediate past president

Members of NAWG’s Executive Committee, known as officers, commit to serve five years when they first run for the role of secretary. The NAWG Nominating Committee and NAWG board reaffirm their selection each year as they move into new roles on the officer team.



Applications for America’s Pig Farmer of the Year Due March 13

The deadline to apply to be the next America’s Pig Farmer of the YearSM is quickly approaching. Applications are being accepted through March 13 at americaspigfarmer.com. The award recognizes a U.S. pork producer who demonstrates excellence in raising pigs using the We CareSM ethical principles and in sharing his or her story with the public.

On March 7 at 6 p.m. CST, the 2015 America’s Pig Farmer of the Year, Keith Schoettmer from Tipton, Indiana, will hold a conference call for those interested in applying this year. During the call, Schoettmer will answer questions about the application process and his experience with the award. The information for the call is below and can also be found at americaspigfarmer.com.

“It wasn’t a light decision for me to apply last year. My family and I decided to apply because we felt like it was a great way to give back to an industry that has taken good care of my employees and family over the years,” Schoettmer said. “I encourage all pork producers to apply for this award.”

Any U.S. pig farmer, who is 30 years of age or older on Jan. 1, 2016, can apply through March 13. Anyone that knows of a deserving pig farmer can also nominate a producer for this award. Instructions and frequently asked questions can be found at americaspigfarmer.com or via a link on pork.org.

Third-party judges, along with the American public, will help determine the final award recipient, which will be announced during National Pork Month in October. In early September, videos of the award finalists will be displayed at americaspigfarmer.com and on the Pork Checkoff’s social media outlets for the public to vote.

America’s Pig Farmer of the Year Conference Call Information
(877) 668-4490 Call-in toll-free number. Access code: 807 147 409



USDA Dairy Products January 2016 Production Highlights

Total cheese output (excluding cottage cheese) was 1.00 billion pounds, 2.6 percent above January 2015 but 2.6 percent below December 2015.  Italian type cheese production totaled 435 million pounds, 2.2 percent above January 2015 but 5.4 percent below December 2015.  American type cheese production totaled 400 million pounds, 0.9 percent above January 2015 and 0.3 percent above December 2015.  Butter production was 176 million pounds, 2.1 percent below January 2015 but
1.6 percent above December 2015.

Dry milk powders (comparisons with January 2015)
Nonfat dry milk, human - 136 million pounds, down 17.4 percent.
Skim milk powders - 51.2 million pounds, up 17.3 percent.

Whey products (comparisons with January 2015)
Dry whey, total - 83.0 million pounds, up 9.8 percent.
Lactose, human and animal - 85.1 million pounds, down 5.5 percent.
Whey protein concentrate, total - 38.8 million pounds, down 17.7 percent.

Frozen products (comparisons with January 2015)
Ice cream, regular (hard) - 57.0 million gallons, up 2.7 percent.
Ice cream, lowfat (total) - 25.8 million gallons, down 10.4 percent.
Sherbet (hard) - 2.43 million gallons, down 19.0 percent.
Frozen yogurt (total) - 4.13 million gallons, down 5.0 percent.



NMPF President Tells Senate Panel about Possibilities, Pitfalls with Past Free Trade Agreements

Even after free trade agreements are negotiated by the U.S. government, the value of the pacts depends greatly on the ability of the United States to make other countries live up to their commitments when the agreements are enforced, according to the National Milk Producers Federation, whose president testified today at a Senate hearing on the lessons from how past trade agreements have been implemented.

Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, told members of the Senate Finance committee Thursday that trade has become critically important to America’s dairy sector, thanks to the Uruguay Round and numerous new U.S. free trade agreements since 1994.  Even as dairy exports have grown, assisted in sizable part by the arduous, careful negotiations of the treaties, in some cases we have “to work almost as hard to ensure that the market access terms of the agreements are not subsequently undermined,” Mulhern said.

Mulhern cited as an example of this dynamic the ongoing challenge to maintain access to the Canadian dairy market through the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Uruguay Round. Canada continues to erect impediments to block dairy imports from the U.S., he said. One of its latest targets “is U.S. exports of ultra-filtered milk. Canada has been considering expanding its restrictions on the use of certain dairy inputs in cheese-making to hinder imports. If Canada is allowed to continue with this pattern of eroding existing U.S. dairy access, it is difficult to see how new trade commitments with them will benefit our dairy industry,” Mulhern said.

Similar post-FTA issues arose with South Korea, but prompt and proactive U.S. government actions were successful in “ensuring that Korean officials worked with our government to resolve most of them,” he said.

Mulhern said that the best window of opportunity for influencing how countries will implement their FTA obligations “is during the period prior to congressional approval of an agreement.  Action during this window not only ensures that Congress has a clear understanding of how the agreement is intended to work in practice, but it utilizes the strongest point of leverage the U.S. possesses: whether or not we will decide to put in place a strengthening of our trade ties with the FTA partner.”

“This becomes especially important now that the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations have concluded, and consideration in Congress will at some point begin. It is also important given that our attention is now turning to intensifying the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the European Union.” He noted that a concrete approach to addressing the serious regulatory and technical barriers to trade with Europe has yet to develop in the TTIP talks. 

“At this stage, given our past experiences, we do not believe TTIP is currently on the right track” for a successful and truly market-opening conclusion, Mulhern said. In addition to the dairy regulatory challenges, another very troubling issue in those negotiations is the EU’s geographical indications strategy, where the EU is seeking to restrict the use of common food names just for European food producers, both in the U.S. and in other nations to which the EU exports food.

“It is essential that we protect our trade rights from the onslaught of EU efforts to bully our trading partners into blocking imports of products from countries that allow the use of product names the EU wishes to reserve for itself through overly broad GI restrictions. This market eroding pattern began in Korea and soon spread to our Latin American FTA partners before impacting others around the world as well,” he said.

The geographical indications text in the pending TransPacific Partnership “was conceived as a direct response to trade restrictions that were threatening to crop up in our FTA markets,” Mulhern said.  “But our experience tells us that we will have to work hard not only to enforce the letter of that agreement, but also to ensure that its intention to help promote robust competition is not undermined as a result of ongoing pressure from the EU.  With the right focus and strategic efforts, positive results in this area are achievable, as this week's good news about a breakthrough on GI issues with Honduras helps to demonstrate.”



DEKALB® DISEASE SHIELD™ TRAITS OFFER INDUSTRY-LEADING PROTECTION AGAINST MAJOR CORN DISEASES

Every year corn farmers face the risk of costly plant diseases that can significantly reduce their yields and profitability. To help combat this issue DEKALB® brand is introducing an advanced new lineup – using predictive analytics and state of the art technology like genome wide selection – called DEKALB® Disease Shield™. These products will be available for the 2017 growing season and will be the latest solution on the market to help farmers maximize yield through industry-leading protection against major corn diseases.

Rebecca Waller, DEKALB brand manager, said DEKALB Disease Shield features an exclusive combination of genetics with enhanced disease protection developed by the brand’s breeding program. These new products, she said, provide a broad spectrum of protection against the most common, yield-robbing corn diseases today, including anthracnose stalk rot, gray leaf spot, Goss’s wilt, northern corn leaf blight and, in limited geographies, southern rust.

“Farmers typically experience these diseases every one or two seasons out of every five, but in any given season, they never know whether their fields will be at risk,” Waller noted. “With DEKALB Disease Shield, farmers can grow more confidently, maximizing the potential of their top-yielding DEKALB products on every acre, from field to field.”

Waller said these products also promote enhanced plant health, better standability and improved harvestability. “DEKALB Disease Shield products have shown strong performance in trials and demonstrated an advantage over competitor products,” she said. "On-farm trials are planned for the 2016 season to give farmers the opportunity to experience the comprehensive disease protection firsthand and to provide feedback to help us make future commercialization decisions.”

The DEKALB Disease Shield lineup will be available for purchase this fall for planting in 2017.



Leading Decision Agriculture Nitrogen Management Service Goes Mobile

DuPont Pioneer today launched the Encirca℠ Yield Nitrogen app, a new mobile application that enables additional grower-friendly features as part of the leading Encirca℠ Yield Nitrogen Management Service. The new app allows growers enrolled in the service to view and track the status of their fields’ nitrogen levels anywhere they have a cellular or wireless signal.     Learn More

“Encirca℠ services continues to offer new tools and services to increase grower productivity and sustainability,” said Eric Boeck, DuPont Pioneer Marketing director, Encirca℠ services.  “This mobile app is just the most recent example of that innovation and a clear reason the demand for Encirca℠ services continues to rise.”

With the new mobile app, growers can match nitrogen application rates to variations in productivity that naturally exist within fields, adapt to the impact of ever-changing weather conditions, and be confident in their nitrogen investment. The application provides daily field-by-field weather updates that include crop growth stage, precipitation, temperature and growing degree units. It also gives growers a tool to take geo-location-tagged crop notes that they may reference later or share with their Encirca℠ certified services agent and anyone else they choose.

“Growers can monitor the impact of every weather event, record crop observations, and even have the app follow them to display nitrogen status as they move through the various Decision Zones in their fields,” said Travis Kriegshauser, DuPont Pioneer Agronomy Services manager, Encirca℠ services. 

In more than 80 Pioneer on-farm comparison trials, growers who implemented the Encirca℠ Yield Nitrogen Management Service realized a more profitable result than their traditional practices 77 percent of the time.  The results from winning trials averaged 6 bushels per acre in increased yield while applying 5 pounds less of nitrogen, or about a $30 per acre return-on-investment*.

As a result of the unseasonably warm and wet winter, many growers who applied fall anhydrous are interested in knowing how much nitrogen they may still need to hit their yield targets for the 2016 growing season. “Enrolling fields in the Encirca℠ Yield Nitrogen Management Service, working with a local Encirca℠ certified services agent and utilizing the Encirca℠ Yield Nitrogen app can provide Decision Zone based rate and timing recommendations to help answer that important question,” said Kriegshauser.

The Encirca℠ Yield Nitrogen app is driven by the strong agronomic expertise, proprietary soil analysis and classifications, advanced crop modeling and exclusive hyper-local weather network of DuPont Pioneer and Encirca℠ services.



New Program Assesses Performance of Fertilizer Management Tools

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today launched NutrientStar, a new independent, science-based program that reviews the performance of commercially available nutrient management tools.

Nitrogen fertilizer is one of the most important inputs in agriculture, but up to 50 percent of nutrients applied are not absorbed by crops, leading to air and water pollution and wasted money for farmers, who spend approximately half of their input costs (seed, nutrients, and chemicals) on fertilizer.

Major food companies are launching sustainable sourcing programs to reduce fertilizer runoff, improve air and water quality, and reduce the risk of supply chain disruptions. Precision agriculture tools, in particular those that improve nutrient management, can help farmers meet this demand and reduce fertilizer losses, but little data is publicly available on how these tools work in the field.

“NutrientStar will showcase how well products work in real-world farming scenarios,” said Karen Chapman, agricultural sustainability project manager at EDF and administrator of the NutrientStar program. “NutrientStar’s independent science review panel conducts rigorous assessments of all tools on the market, particularly looking at on-farm field trials, to determine how a tool works in croplands, in different regions, and on different soil types.”

Fertilizer management tools reviewed through NutrientStar include enhanced efficiency fertilizer compounds, such as nitrogen stabilizers, and decision support tools, such as optical sensor technologies or models used to aid nutrient applications in the field. Tools and products already assessed or soon to be assessed include:
-    Adapt-N (made by Agronomic Technology Corp.), an online software program that uses a linked crop model and soil model to estimate nitrogen rates for individual fields or areas within fields.
-    Fertilizer management products including N-Serve® (made by Dow AgroSciences); AGROTAIN®, AGROTAIN PLUS®, and SUPER U® (made by Koch Agronomic Services).
-    Reviews being made public this spring include: Nutrisphere N (made by Verdesian); Instinct II, ESN (made by Agrium); DCD; Thiosulfate; and, Slow Release Foliar N products made from methylene urea.

Assessments later in 2016 will focus on Fieldview Pro Nitrogen Advisor (made by Climate Corporation) and Encirca (made by DuPont Pioneer).

“NutrientStar is the first-ever review program to provide famers, their advisors, and agricultural supply chain companies with reliable data on the performance of these popular tools,” added John McGuire, EDF advisor and precision agriculture expert. “Farmers need certainty that the tools they purchase will work as advertised.”

An independent review panel, composed of leading soil and agronomy scientists from across the country, establishes the criteria for NutrientStar review. The panel assesses tools based upon available data demonstrating their ability to improve nutrient use efficiency, defined as unit of yield over unit of applied nutrient, in the field. NutrientStar review will also show yield impacts from use of a tool and summarize key characteristics important to farmers and advisors such as cost/benefit, ease of use, and required data inputs.

The NutrientStar program also establishes guidelines for field testing nutrient-use efficiency tools, setting standards and providing a geographical framework that can substantially advance the research agenda in ways that will benefit the entire agriculture industry.  

NutrientStar assessments provide numerous other benefits, including:
-    Farmers gain confidence by knowing that the nutrient management tools they purchase will work as advertised to reduce fertilizer losses, improve soil health, lower input costs, and maintain yields. Farmers can also showcase their stewardship to food companies and suppliers by using the NutrientStar review to inform their decisions.
-    Ag retailers and crop advisors earn a competitive advantage by offering field-tested and geographically relevant products to their grower customers.
-    Food companies improve transparency with customers, more easily navigate the fertilizer management world, and can now directly support farmers in implementing on-farm conservation practices.
-    Agribusinesses ensure they are offering the most competitive, farm-tested products to growers, thereby earning customer loyalty.

“As food companies’ demand for sustainably produced ingredients continues to skyrocket, they’ll need to support farmers and the entire supply chain in implementing on-farm conservation practices,” added Chapman. “NutrientStar will help food companies navigate the fertilizer management world, and will spark further innovation, research and development for better nutrient management tools.”

“NutrientStar also enables farmers to more easily execute the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship, which include applying fertilizer at the right source, the right rate, the right time, and the right place,” noted McGuire. “NutrientStar complements the 4Rs by informing farmers on tools that will most effectively help implement these important practices.”

For more information on NutrientStar, including scientific assessment criteria, visit www.nutrientstar.org.



MICHELIN AG Launches New CerexBib Tire for Large Harvesting Equipment

Today at the 2016 Commodity Classic, MICHELIN® Agricultural Tires introduced the new MICHELIN® VF520/85R42 CFO 177A8 CerexBib™ tire. Michelin’s Very High Flexion (VF) tires include a class of agricultural tires designed to handle bigger and heavier farm equipment that has a greater ability to flex under increased loads than standard radials. Designed expressly for large combines and grain carts, the new CerexBib is one of the first true VF tires for today’s heaviest harvesting equipment.

CerexBib, now available at Michelin Ag tire dealers in the Unites States and Canada, offers a more comfortable ride because it:
•    functions at a lower pressure,
•    provides improved traction in all conditions because of the larger tread footprint,
•    delivers excellent service life (even at low pressure) because of a casing with reinforced sidewalls and
•    is better for on-road travel because it enables farmers to use a narrower tire to carry the load.

“This new CerexBib offers a massive load capacity, up to21,960 pounds, and has a giant footprint of approximately 486 square inches,” said James Crouch, Michelin farm segment marketing manager. “It is built with Michelin Ultraflex Technology, which enables tires to operate at up to 40 percent lower air pressure than standard radial tires. This results in a considerable reduction of ruts and compaction, and higher yield potential.”

The new MICHELIN® BibLoad™ Hard Surface backhoe tire for use on asphalt and other hard surfaces, introduced last season, will also be showcased in Booth #2408 at the show which is scheduled for March 3-6. This tire features a non-directional tread design to provide superior tread life when used in hard surface applications.