Thursday September 15 Ag News

Rural Mainstreet Index Below Growth-Neutral for September:
The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index sank for September and remained below growth neutral for the 13th straight month, according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.  

Overall: The index, which ranges between 0 and 100 fell to 37.3 from 41.1 in August.  This month’s reading is well off the index for September 2015 when it stood at 49.0. 

“According to the USDA, 2016 net farm income is expected to decline by almost 12 percent from 2015 levels. Even with an anticipated 25 percent increase in government support payments for 2016, the Rural Mainstreet economy continues to falter according to our surveys of bankers,” said Ernie Goss, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University's Heider College of Business.

“Even though loan defaults have changed little over the past year, downturns in farm income over the past three years are pushing bankers to change the terms of farm loans.  According to Creighton’s September survey, almost four of five, or 79.1 percent, of bank CEOs reported a significant upturn in loan restructuring due to weak farm income,” said Goss.

Farming and ranching: The farmland and ranchland-price index for September expanded to a frail 30.3 from 25.6 in August. This is the 34th straight month the index has languished below growth neutral 50.0.

The September farm equipment-sales index sank to 14.3 from August’s 14.8. “Weakness in farm income and low agricultural commodity prices continue to restrain the sale of agriculture equipment across the region. This is having a significant and negative impact on both farm equipment dealers and agricultural equipment manufacturers across the region,” said Goss.

Nebraska: The Nebraska RMI for September sank to 61.2 from August’s regional high of 64.5. The state’s farmland-price index climbed to 46.9 from August’s 43.5. Nebraska’s new-hiring index grew to 64.9 from 59.2 in August. Nebraska job growth over the last 12 months; Rural Mainstreet, 2 percent; Urban Nebraska, 1.0 percent.

Iowa: The September RMI for Iowa fell to a solid 56.2 from August’s 58.3. Iowa’s farmland-price index for September increased to 47.2 from 40.5 in August. Iowa’s new-hiring index for September expanded to 65.1 from August’s 58.1. Iowa job growth over the last 12 months; Rural Mainstreet, 1.9 percent; Urban Iowa, 1.5 percent.

Each month, community bank presidents and CEOs in nonurban agriculturally and energy-dependent portions of a 10-state area are surveyed regarding current economic conditions in their communities and their projected economic outlooks six months down the road. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming are included. The survey is supported by a grant from Security State Bank in Ansley, Nebraska.

This survey represents an early snapshot of the economy of rural agriculturally and energy-dependent portions of the nation. The Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) is a unique index covering 10 regional states, focusing on approximately 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300. It gives the most current real-time analysis of the rural economy. Goss and Bill McQuillan, former chairman of the Independent Community Banks of America, created the monthly economic survey in 2005.




“Agriculture Amplified”: NASDA’s 100th Anniversary Celebration to Culminate in Lincoln

The nation’s elected and appointed state commissioners, secretaries, and directors of agriculture will gather in Lincoln, Nebraska September 21 to 24 for the 100th anniversary Annual Meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).

“We are thrilled to celebrate our 100th anniversary in America’s Heartland under the leadership of our President, Nebraska Director of Agriculture Greg Ibach,” said NASDA CEO Dr. Barbara P. Glenn. “At the conference we will reflect on the past, but our members always look forward to agriculture’s future. With a new Federal administration, the next Farm Bill looming, and a host of economic and regulatory challenges facing producers, there will be no shortage of critical policy discussions to be had by our state agriculture officials.”

NASDA Members will discuss and vote on a number of policy amendments and action items that address topics such as the need for an enhanced role for states in federal policymaking, agricultural labor, food safety, agriculture education, and more. NASDA offers an influential line-up of speakers that includes voices of American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall, University of Nebraska – Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green, Hershey Transparency Lead Deb Arcoleo, and Dr. John Goldberg, formerly of the House Agriculture Committee. In a featured partnership event, on September 23, NASDA and the AKSARBEN Foundation will co-host the Global Leaders Forum on Agriculture and Trade featuring U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, New Zealand Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy, and Argentina Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Ricardo Negri.



Iowa Corn Announces PAC Endorsements

The Iowa Corn Growers Association's (ICGA) Political Action Committee (PAC) endorsed 67 candidates for the 2016 election cycle. Established with bipartisan support of Iowa's corn farmers more than a decade ago, the ICGA PAC ensures members have a voice and a seat at the table on issues impacting Iowa's farmers.

"Each new legislative session brings with it policy changes which can impact our farm businesses," said Iowa Corn Growers Association PAC Chair Mark Recker, a farmer from Arlington. "The ICGA PAC endorsements provide our members another voice in the process to educate and influence policy decisions made at the state and federal level. The voluntary ICGA PAC is an essential tool we use to help select political leaders who have demonstrated their support to the Iowa Corn Growers Association's policy priorities."

The Iowa Corn Growers Association PAC Committee, includes six farmer-members appointed by the ICGA President comprised of three democrats and three republicans. They objectively evaluate all candidates regardless of party affiliation. ICGA PAC decisions are made through an objective analysis including candidate responses to a survey and their voting record on ICGA's policy priorities such as biotechnology, conservation and water quality funding, ethanol, farm bill, taxes, trade, transportation funding, research, and value-added agriculture, including livestock.

The success of ICGA's legislative policy efforts hinges on a bi-partisan approach to achieving its policy objectives, bringing both sides together for the best interest of Iowa's corn farmers. This is why the priorities of ICGA are the only criteria the PAC uses to make candidate endorsements. All decisions must be supported by a majority vote which ensures endorsements are non-partisan. The committee is recognized and respected for its bipartisan approach to achieving the policy objectives of Iowa corn growers by supporting lawmakers who work to implement ICGA member priorities.

Endorsements for the 2016 federal election cycle include the following (in alphabetical order):

U.S. Senate: Chuck Grassley

U.S. House of Representatives: Rod Blum, Steve King, Dave Loebsack, David Young

Iowa Senate: Chris Brase, Michael Breitbach, Mark Costello, Tom Courtney, Jeff Danielson, Mike Gronstal, Tim Kapucian, Liz Mathis, Ken Rozenboom, Brian Schoenjahn, Mark Segebart, Amy Sinclair, Steve Sodders, Mary Jo Wilhelm, Dan Zumbach

Iowa House of Representatives: Chip Baltimore, Clel Baudler, Bruce Bearinger, Brian Best, Gary Carlson, Dennis Cohoon, Peter Cownie, Dave Deyoe, Cecil Dolecheck, Dean Fisher, John Forbes, Joel Fry, Mary Gaskill, Tedd Gassman, Pat Grassley, Chris Hagenow, Chris Hall, Mary Ann Hanusa, Greg Heartsill, Lee Hein, Chuck Holz, Dan Huseman, Dave Jacoby, Megan Jones, Bobby Kaufmann, Jerry Kearns, Jarad Klein, John Landon, Jim Lykam, Dave Maxwell, Brian Meyer, Helen Miller, Norlin Mommsen, Scott Ourth, Ross Paustian, Todd Prichard, Walt Rogers, Patti Ruff, Sandy Salmon, Mike Sexton, Dave Sieck, Mark Smith, Linda Upmeyer, Guy Vander Linden, John Wills, Matt Windschitl, Gary Worthan.



Major Water Infrastructure Bill Passes Senate

Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016 by a vote of 95 to 3. The bill will help ensure safe and reliable water infrastructure for communities in Nebraska and across the country. It also includes a bipartisan provision, negotiated by U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), which would modify costly EPA regulations that could negatively affect agriculture producers with on-farm fuel storage.

Senator Fischer, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), released the following statement:

“This legislation will provide communities in Nebraska with increased flexibility as they work to protect our state’s precious water resources. During the legislative process, I worked closely with my colleagues on the EPW Committee to eliminate unnecessary burdens affecting our state’s agriculture producers who use on-farm fuel storage. I was firm on providing exemptions that would limit harmful federal regulations on our farmers and ranchers who feed a hungry world. I am pleased to see this language included in the final bill.”

WRDA 2016 included language Senator Fischer advocated that provides producers with a limited exemption from the EPA’s Spill, Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule. These EPA regulations, which were originally designed for major oil refineries, would have required farmers and ranchers who have on-farm fuel storage to make costly structural upgrades to their facilities. These mandates would have been in effect regardless of the threats posed to water quality.

The WRDA 2016 bill rolls back these regulations by:

·         Fully exempting animal feed storage tanks from the SPCC rule, both in terms of aggregate storage and single-tank storage.

·         Providing greater flexibility by exempting up to 2,000 gallons of capacity on remote or separate parcels of land (as long as these tanks are not larger than 1,000 gallons each).

In addition to providing regulatory relief for Nebraska producers, WRDA includes several other important provisions that empower local communities to manage and protect water by:

·         Including reform for state municipalities, like those in Omaha, that are struggling with unfunded combined sewer overflow mandates.

·         Providing greater flexibility for local, non-federal stakeholders. For example, Natural Resource Districts will be allowed to fund feasibility studies and receive reimbursement during project construction, instead of waiting until a project is completed.

·         Eliminating the EPA’s flawed Median Household Income affordability measurement, which hurts fixed and low-income families.



Beef Checkoff Approves FY17 Plan of Work

After being forced to make cuts of more than $5 million from proposed programs, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board will invest about $40.7 million into development and implementation of programs of beef promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications in fiscal 2017, subject to approval by USDA.

In action concluding its Sept. 13-14 meeting in Denver, the Operating Committee — 10 members of the Beef Board and 10 members of the Federation of State Beef Councils — approved checkoff funding for a total of 12 “Authorization Requests,” or proposals for checkoff funding, in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2016. The committee also recommended full Beef Board approval of a budget amendment to reflect the split of funding between budget categories affected by their decisions.

The fiscal 2017 budget represents a decrease of more than 9 percent from the $44.8 million fy16 budget. Six contractors brought a total of $43.2 million worth of funding requests to the Operating Committee this week, $5.3 million more than what is available from the CBB budget to fund them.

"This was one of the most challenging years ever, in terms of the gap between the value of proposals before us and the budget we had to invest,” said Beef Board and Operating Committee Chairman Anne Anderson, a cattle producer from Texas. “I’m extremely proud of how all committee members worked together through this extremely difficult situation to make the best possible decisions about how to invest our checkoff dollars in the coming year.

“There were so many great proposals, but not nearly enough money to fund them,” Anderson said, “so we had to make some pretty substantial cuts, and I can’t overemphasize how well the committee members worked together to do what we had to do to meet budget requirements. I feel confident that the plan of work we created for fiscal 2017 will put us in a position to continue increasing consumer confidence in and preference for beef.”

In the end, the Operating Committee approved proposals from six national beef organizations for funding through the FY17 Cattlemen’s Beef Board budget, as follows:
-    National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (four proposals for $27.5 million)
-    U.S. Meat Export Federation, a subcontractor to NCBA (one proposal for $7.2 million)
-    Cattlemen’s Beef Board (one proposal for $1.5 million)
-    North American Meat Institute (three proposals for $860,000)
-    Meat Import Council of America (one proposal for $350,800)
-    American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (one proposal for $370,178)
-    National Livestock Producers Association (one proposal for $66,500)

Broken out by budget component, the Fiscal Year 2017 Plan of Work for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board budget includes:

    $8.1 million for promotion programs, including continuation of the checkoff’s consumer digital advertising program, as well as veal promotion.

    $9.5 million for research programs, focusing on a variety of critical issues, including pre- and post-harvest beef safety research, product quality research, human nutrition research and scientific affairs, market research, and beef and culinary innovations.

    $7.6 million for consumer information programs, including a Northeast public relations initiative, national consumer public relations, including, nutrition-influencer relations, and work with primary- and secondary-school curriculum directors nationwide to get accurate information about the beef industry into classrooms of today’s youth.

    $3.9 million for industry information programs, comprising dissemination of accurate information about the beef industry to counter misinformation from anti-beef groups and others, as well as funding for checkoff participation in a fifth annual national industrywide symposium focused on discussion and dissemination of information about antibiotic use.

    $7.2 million for foreign marketing and education in some 80 countries in the following: ASEAN region; Caribbean; Central America/Dominican Republic; China/Hong Kong; Europe; Japan; Korea; Mexico; Middle East; Russia/Greater Russian Region; South America; Taiwan; and new markets.

    $1.5 million for producer communications, which includes investor outreach using national communications and direct communications to producers and importers about checkoff results; as well as development and utilization of information conduits, such as auction markets; maintenance of a seamless partnership with state beef council producer-communication efforts; and producer attitude research to determine producer attitudes about and desires of their checkoff program.

Beef Board and Operating Committee member Chuck Kiker has served on the Beef Board for a total of 12 years – two terms of three years each on two separate occasions – and said of his final Operating Committee meeting as a CBB member: “Even though we had a tough job to do, this is the best meeting of this committee that I’ve ever participated in, because everyone worked together in a bipartisan manner and for the good of producers at large.”

Separate from the authorization requests, other expenses funded through the total $40.7 million 2017 CBB budget include $221,000 for evaluation, $290,000 for program development, $325,000 for USDA oversight; and about $2 million for administration, which includes costs for Board meetings, legal fees, travel costs, office rental, supplies, equipment, and administrative staff compensation. Fiscal Year 2017 begins Oct. 1, 2016.

Operating Committee Member and Federation Director Austin Brown might have summed it up best in his final comment of the difficult meeting: “For the record, this was NOT fun.”

For details about the proposals considered by the Operating Committee this week, visit the Meeting Center on www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.



BQA Free Certification Period Announced

The countdown has begun once again for beef and dairy producers to become Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)-certified for free online through Nov. 13. And, as an added bonus, anyone who becomes certified during this period is eligible to win a prize package, courtesy of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. and the BQA program, funded in part by the beef checkoff.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. will pick up the $25-$50 online training fee for every person completing BQA training through Nov. 13. That includes anyone who works with cattle – whether it is beef or dairy. Visit www.bqa.org to take advantage of the open certification period.

The BQA program is important to the cattle industry because it is a producer's consumer-friendly story to tell, helping them talk about using BQA Protocols for producing a safe and high quality beef product. The BQA training modules are customized to fit the specific needs of each segment of the cattle industry – cow-calf, stocker, feedyard and dairy operations. The program covers production practices such as proper handling and administration of animal health products, reducing injection site blemishes, and low stress cattle-handling principles.

For dairy producers, the DACQA online modules satisfies the employee stockmanship training requirement included in the new FARM 3.0 program, which will be active in 2017.

More than 2,000 producers across the country became Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)-certified during the last campaign thanks to the program support by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). And, of those who signed up during the free certification window, 65 percent completed their certification, the highest percentage in the program’s six-year history. Through its sponsorship of the BQA certification program, BIVI provides financial support for the Beef Cattle Institute, which developed the training modules.

To become BQA-certified, or learn more about the program, visit www.bqa.org.



Earn Free Beef Quality Assurance Certification This Fall

From now through Nov. 13, producers and those affiliated with the cattle industry can take advantage of free Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) online certification at www.BIVI-BQA.com. This opportunity is possible through a partnership between Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) and the check-off funded BQA program.

BQA helps those handling cattle learn better techniques and practices to make transporting, vaccinating and other on-farm practices go more smoothly. These practices help producers provide a higher quality product while minimizing stressful situations.

BQA also helps increase consumer confidence in the beef industry. By demonstrating that farmers care about the well-being of their animals, producers can show consumers that the industry responsibly raises a safe, wholesome and healthy beef supply.

“BQA certification gives producers an opportunity to talk about their commitment to raising a better quality product,” said Dr. Scott King, director of marketing for the U.S. Cattle Business Segment at BIVI. “We are consistently hearing that consumers want more facts on how their food gets to the grocery store, so now is a critical time to share our BQA story.”

All segments of the industry can benefit from becoming BQA certified, including producers from cow-calf, dairy, stocker and feedlot operations, and anyone affiliated with those segments. With an overall focus on animal handling and disease treatment and prevention, online certification modules are customized to meet each segment’s needs. The Dairy Animal Care & Quality Assurance (DACQA) online modules satisfy the employee stockmanship training requirement included in the new FARM 3.0 program, which will be active in 2017.

Nearly 34,000 have enrolled in the BQA free certification program since BIVI partnered with BQA in 2013 — an impressive number that reflects both beef and dairy producers’ commitment to producing a quality beef product.



TPP Pork Producers’ No. 1 Priority During Fly-In

Getting a vote this year on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was the top issue on which pork producers from around the country lobbied their congressional lawmakers this week during the biannual legislative fly-in of the National Pork Producers Council.

In addition to the TPP, more than 130 producers from 20 states Wednesday and Thursday urged their senators and representatives to include funding in the next Farm Bill for a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank and to oppose a U.S. Department of Agriculture regulation – the so-called GIPSA rule – that would restrict the buying and selling of livestock.

“TPP, the FMD vaccine bank and the GIPSA rule are critically important issues for our industry,” said NPPC President John Weber, a pork producer from Dysart, Iowa. “But getting the TPP approved and implemented is the No. 1 pork industry priority.”

The TPP includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which combined have 800 million consumers and account for nearly 40 percent of global GDP.

“NPPC has been a strong, consistent supporter of free trade agreements (FTAs),” Weber said. “On average the past 10 years, the United States has been the top global exporter of pork because of FTAs. In fact, we now ship more pork to the 20 U.S. FTA partner nations than to the rest of the world combined.

“But as good as the past FTAs have been, the TPP represents our biggest commercial opportunity ever,” said Weber. “This is a landscape-changing deal that will significantly affect the future of my family and pork-producing families throughout the country. The TPP will cause U.S. pork exports to increase exponentially, and we’ll see at least 10,000 new U.S. jobs created because of that increase.”

During their Capitol Hill visits, pork producers pointed out the significant negative financial impact that failing to pass the TPP will have on their bottom line. Sales and market share will be lost to competitor countries, such as the European Union, that are negotiating FTAs with the TPP nations.

“We cannot walk away from this deal,” Weber said. “Not only would we – and I mean the entire U.S. economy – lose the benefits of expanded exports to the fastest-growing region of the world, we would lose existing market share in the 11 TPP countries, and that would mean lost U.S. jobs. The impact on the American economy would be devastating.”

Additionally, Weber pointed out, the United States, which led the TPP negotiations, would lose credibility in the region.

“If the United States abandons this agreement, which country would want to expend energy negotiating with us on a future trade agreement?” asked Weber. “Never mind the serious economic damage we would inflict on ourselves, if Congress fails to pass the TPP, we signal to the world that geopolitically Asia is not important.”



NFU Honors 44 Congressional Champions of Agriculture with Golden Triangle Award

Having champions in Congress to ensure Americans have strong food and farm policies is important, and National Farmers Union (NFU) proudly recognized 44 outstanding Senators and Representatives who have demonstrated leadership and support for family farmers and ranchers and their rural communities.

The Golden Triangle Award, NFU’s highest legislative honor, was presented to each recipient at an awards reception last night, during NFU’s Annual Legislative Fly-In.

“The Golden Triangle Award represents outstanding leadership and tireless effort on the issues that are important to our industry and organization. It is our honor to recognize the efforts of these Congressional champions and friends of family farming and ranching,” said NFU President Roger Johnson.

The Golden Triangle, first presented in 1988, symbolizes the core principles of the Farmers Union organization: education, cooperation, and legislation. This year’s Golden Triangle honorees were selected for their leadership and contribution to several issues important to family farmers and ranchers, including Trade Promotion Authority, currency manipulation enforcement, and the estate tax.

The 2016 recipients of the Golden Triangle Award are:
Senator Tammy Baldwin
Senator Michael Bennet
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Senator Sherrod Brown
Senator Maria Cantwell
Senator Al Franken
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Senator Charles Grassley
Senator Martin Heinrich
Senator Heidi Heitkamp
Senator Mazie Hirono
Senator John Hoeven
Senator Angus King
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Claire McCaskill
Senator Jeff Merkley
Senator Christopher Murphy
Senator Gary Peters
Senator Brian Schatz
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Jon Tester
Senator John Thune
Representative Joe Courtney
Representative Rosa DeLauro
Representative Jeff Fortenberry
Representative Chris Gibson
Representative Steny Hoyer
Representative Marcy Kaptur
Representative Ann Kirkpatrick
Representative Ann Kuster
Representative Dave Loebsack
Representative Ben Lujan
Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham
Representative Jim McGovern
Representative Dan Newhouse
Representative Rick Nolan
Representative Nancy Pelosi
Representative Collin Peterson
Representative Chellie Pingree
Representative Mark Pocan
Representative Bruce Poliquin
Representative Tim Ryan
Representative Tim Walz



Soy Growers Push for Extension of Biodiesel Tax Credit

The American Soybean Association (ASA) continues its efforts to secure an extension of the biodiesel tax credit, which expires again at the end of 2016.  While a “tax extenders” package had become an annual occurrence in Congress, changing dynamics have made it even more challenging and far less certain than past years. The tax package enacted in 2015 extended the biodiesel tax credit through 2016, but a number of the larger tax credits were made permanent or extended for fiveyears, leaving a group of smaller credits vulnerable to inaction while Congress contemplates comprehensive tax reform.

In an effort to demonstrate the benefits and support for extension of the remaining credits, ASA has joined in coalition with other stakeholders to push Congress to consider a tax package during the lame duck session in 2016.



Total Export Sales Of U.S. Corn Up 1.8 Percent In 2015/2016

The United States exported more than 46.6 million metric tons (1.8 billion bushels) of corn in the 2015/2016 marketing year, a 1.8 percent increase from the prior year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) weekly sales reports.

Mexico, Japan and Colombia ranked in the top three for total accumulated exports of U.S. corn with more than 12.5 million (492.1 million bushels), 10.5 million (413.4 million bushels) and 4.5 million (177.2 million bushels) metric tons, respectively.

Export sales to Mexico rose 16 percent and to Colombia rose 5 percent from the previous year. Both of these markets have benefited from aggressive marketing and long-term development efforts by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), which works globally on behalf of U.S. corn, sorghum, barley and co-products producers and related agribusinesses.

Total accumulated exports of U.S. sorghum totaled 7.8 million metric tons (307 million bushels) in the 2015/2016 marketing year, according to USDA reports.

China, Mexico and Pakistan ranked in the top three for exports of the crop, with 7 million (275.6 million bushels), 301,000 (11.8 million bushels), and 208,000 (8.2 million bushels) metric tons, respectively. Sorghum exports have increased steadily in the last five years, up more than 700 percent from the 2011/2012 marketing year, a product of market forces and market development efforts by USGC and the sorghum industry.

The latest weekly sales report, issued Sept. 15, also showed that the 2016/2017 marketing year is starting off strong for corn with more than 1.4 million metric tons (55.1 million bushels) in sales and carried over sales from the prior marketing year, an increase of 33 percent from a year ago.

For U.S. exports of sorghum, accumulated exports reached 60,600 metric tons (2.4 million bushels) during the first week of the new marketing year.

For the 2016/2017 marketing year for U.S. barley, which started June 1, outstanding exports sales were reported at 6,400 metric tons (293,949 bushels) while cumulative exports were 5,500 metric tons (252,613 bushels) as of the Sept. 15 report.



Congressional Hearing Highlights Importance of Ag Trade with Cuba

Cuba represents an important market for American agriculture, and the time has come to ease trade restrictions, witnesses testified Wednesday at a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee. The hearing focused on U.S. agricultural trade with Cuba as a part of the H.R. 3687, the Agricultural Exports Act, which is sponsored by Arkansas congressman Rick Crawford.

Representatives from Bunge North America and CoBank were among the five witnesses testifying at the hearing.

"Between 2013 and 2015, the Dominican Republic imported $1.3 billion worth of agriculture products from the United States," said Matt Gibson, vice president of agribusiness Bunge North America, pointing out that the two Caribbean islands have similar per capita incomes and populations. "During this same time, Cuba, however, imported only $262 million from the U.S. That is over $1 billion to U.S. agriculture left off the table due to the financing restrictions under which we must currently operate."

Karen Lowe, CoBank Senior Vice President and Divison Manager of Agriculture Export Finance, said that every effort should be made to expand export markets.

"We are in an extended period of low prices on most agricultural commodities. This harsh reality makes every market, no matter the size, important to help move the crop and support prices. At the same time, sovereign risk in many emerging markets is increasing due to economic and geographic risk factors, which increases exporters' need for payment risk mitigation as well as the need for financing," said Lowe.

Wednesday's hearing marked another step forward in efforts to lift the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and normalize relations between the two countries.

The National Corn Growers Association has long called for an end to the Cuban embargo and encourages any efforts to reduce trade barriers and help America build a two-way trade relationship with Cuba. Although Cuba is just 90 miles from the U.S. border, America's corn farmers have seen their market share erode dramatically in the past decade. U.S. corn exports to Cuba have decreased from nearly 800,000 metric tons in 2008 to just 26,000 metric tons in 2015, representing only 2.5 percent market share.

Meanwhile, competitors Argentina and Brazil have taken advantage of their unrestricted trade with Cuba to eat into U.S. market share in other Caribbean countries, such as the Dominican Republic. All told, the embargo is estimated to cost U.S. farmers $234 million annually in lost opportunity.

NCGA is a member of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, a group of more than 30 U.S. agricultural and food organizations committed to building a deeper U.S.-Cuba relationship. NCGA continues to work closely with fellow coalition members to advance a trade relationship with Cuba that benefits both nations.



Working with Livestock Industry to Provide Critical Market Intelligence
Craig A. Morris, AMS Livestock, Poultry, and Seed Program

The Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting (LMR) Program was created to expand pricing information available to the livestock industry. The data is collected and distributed by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) through its USDA Market News division to provide market information for cattle, swine, lamb, and livestock products.

LMR encourages competition in the marketplace by vastly improving price and supply data, bringing transparency, breadth and depth to market reporting. Through LMR, livestock producers and processors, retail food outlets, restaurants, exporters, and many other stakeholders receive critical market intelligence on a daily basis. Literally thousands of business transactions every day rest on the outcome of LMR data.

The program gets its authority through the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, which must be reauthorized by Congress every five years. The 2015 reauthorization required AMS to conduct a comprehensive study of LMR due to Congress by March 1, 2018. In addition to working with USDA's Office of the Chief Economist on the study, we will be engaging cattle, swine, and lamb producers, packers, and other market participants to gather information regarding the marketing practices used for livestock and meat to identify legislative or regulatory recommendations for the next reauthorization in 2020.

As a first step in this process, AMS commissioned Value Ag, Inc., to conduct a baseline analysis of the livestock and meat industry and LMR during this past year. This baseline study provides an overview of the evolving livestock and meat markets to be taken into consideration in the comprehensive final study.

Since enactment of the 1999 Act, major changes have occurred in the livestock and meat industry. The baseline study identified several trends in how livestock and meat production and markets have evolved. For instance, over the past 15 years packers have become larger, more concentrated, and more vertically integrated. Also, the industry has made major investments to improve supply chain management, and the use of LMR information has expanded beyond price discovery. Additionally, consumer preferences have changed, and packers are marketing a wider variety of value-added and specialty products to meet consumer demand.

The baseline study identified several key implications of these trends. With greater vertical integration and concentration in the industry, the negotiated markets have become thinner, and consequently, the LMR confidentiality requirements have limited the depth of market information provided in some markets that the industry needs. In addition, there is a greater variety of meat products in the marketplace today than ever before, which also needs to be assessed for the reauthorization. These are just some of the highlights from the study. You can access the full report at: Baseline Study of Livestock and Meat Marketing Trends and Implications for LMR.

As we prepare for the comprehensive study, AMS will be inviting industry representatives from National livestock and meat trade associations and organizations to participate in a series of stakeholder meetings to discuss the marketing methods, the current challenges with reporting livestock and meat markets, and the needs of the industry regarding future revisions to LMR. The goal of these meetings is to reach consensus on what each commodity area needs changed in the next reauthorization. AMS has tentatively scheduled the first meeting for mid-November. AMS will share more information when the schedule is finalized.

We are looking forward to working together as we complete the comprehensive LMR study and the report for Congress to serve as the basis to inform the next reauthorization.



Oats breeder seeks to improve milling, nutritional qualities

Most of the oats American milling companies use comes from Canada—that’s something South Dakota State University oats breeder Melanie Caffé-Treml wants to change. Her research seeks to increase the quality of locally-grown oats.

Through a two-year, $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she and her collaborators are developing ways to improve the nutritional and milling quality of new oat varieties. She works with associate plant science professors Jixiang Wu and Jose Gonzalez, as well as cereals chemist professor Padu Krishnan.

Last year, South Dakota was the No. 2 oats producer in the nation, Caffé-Treml explained. The state’s farmers produced 12.3 million bushels of oats, according to the USDA 2015 Small Grains Summary. “In 2014, we were No. 1,” she added.

“This is a fine crop to work with because it can be used either as a healthy food ingredient or livestock feed,” she said. Oats requires fewer inputs than other crops and when integrated into a corn-soybean rotation, oats can improve soil health and break pest cycles.

Less than 5 percent of the oats produced in this country is used as food, according to the Center for New Crops and Plants Products at Purdue University.

Using genetic markers to identify desired traits      
The researchers are developing methods to speed up selection of breeding material. “We are developing genomic selection models,” Caffé-Treml explained. The researchers are developing models to predict milling and nutritional quality based on genetic markers through collaboration with research geneticist Shiaoman Chao of the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Fargo, North Dakota, Jean-Luc Jannink at the USDA-ARS in Ithaca, New York, and scientists at a laboratory in Canada.

For instance, the hull must be easily removed for milling and the oat variety should yield a high percentage of kernels, known as groat, Caffé-Treml explained. In addition to yield, the test weight is very important,” she noted. “Millers want a 38 test weight. If it’s higher, it’s better. If it’s lower, then the price is docked.”

During the two-year project, the researchers will genotype and test 450 lines of oats at four locations—Volga, Winner, South Shore and Beresford. The resulting model will be used to predict the phenotype, the way in which those traits will be expressed within the plant, for untested breeding lines based on their genotype, or DNA makeup. One graduate student and several undergraduates work on this project.

Focusing on nutrition
In terms of nutritional quality, the team will also look at using near infrared reflectance spectrometry to determine the beta-glucan content of individual seeds. Beta-glucan is the soluble fiber in oats that helps decrease blood cholesterol levels.

For this portion of the project, the SDSU researchers are working with scientists at a USDA lab in Kansas. “Developing a calibration for beta-glucan on single kernels will be challenging, but it’s worth trying,” Caffé-Treml said.

“By segregating those seeds with higher beta-glucan content, we can remove those least likely to perform well at an earlier stage,” she explained. “That allows us to focus more on evaluating those with the highest chance of performing well—that’s more efficient.”

Comparing the performance of the higher beta-glucan lines with those that have not been sorted will indicate whether this selection process will help increase the nutritional value of oat varieties.