Friday February 10 Ag News

Progress and Promise in the Pork Industry - Nebraska Pork Producers to Hold Annual Meeting

The Nebraska Pork Producers Association’s (NPPA) will hold their Annual Meeting at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center on Tuesday, February 14, 2017. Local Government Officials, County Commissioners, and other interested individuals are invited to breakfast to learn about the progress and promise in the pork industry. Panel members representing the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, UNL, The Maschhoffs, and Thomas Livestock will discuss the benefits of pork production and the added value to farms, local communities, as well as the state economy.

Mike Brumm, owner of Brumm Swine Consultancy, Inc. of North Mankato, Minnesota will share his “Pearls of Wisdom” with attendees. Bringing an update from the Nation’s Capital will be Bill Davis, Senior Director of Governmental Relations for the National Pork Producers Council in Washington, D.C.

Hiring good employees is always a challenge. When and where to look for the skilled employees your operation needs, wages, worker training, employee safety, benefits and chance of advancement will all be discussed during the “Employee Hiring 911” panel. Panel members will present varying options and then open up the discussion to answer questions from the audience.

Election of new officers and board members will take place during the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Nebraska Pork Producers beginning at 10:30 a.m. Also on the agenda is recognition of the 2016 NPPA Mentors, Allied Partners, Pork Leadership Participants, and announcement of the 2016 Outstanding Pork Service Award recipients. The 2017 NPPA Mentors and Pork Leadership Participants will also be announced.

There are no registration fees. Register at: nepork.org Email: dee@nepork.org or Call (888) 627-7675



GROWERS STATEWIDE TO SHARE ON-FARM RESEARCH

Farm operators and agronomists from across the state are invited to attend the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network research update program at five locations across the state. Producers will obtain valuable crop production-related information from over 70 on-farm research projects conducted on Nebraska farms by Nebraska farmers in partnership with University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty.

These programs will provide an opportunity to hear growers who conducted on-farm research share their results from the 2016 growing season. Field length replicated treatment comparisons were completed in growers’ fields, using their equipment.

Locations and times include:
·       Feb. 20 at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center located at the ARDC near Mead
·       Feb. 21 at the Lifelong Learning Cntr, NE Comm. College, 701 E. Benjamin Ave., Norfolk
·       Feb. 23 at the West Central Research and Extension Center, 402 W. State Farm Rd., North Platte
·       Feb. 24 at the Knight Museum Sandhills Center, 908 Yellowstone Ave., Alliance
·       Feb. 27 at the Hall County Ext. Office, College Park Campus, 3180 W. Hwy 34, Grand Island

Research projects to be discussed will include:  cover crops, variable rate seeding, planting populations, multi-hybrid planting, starter fertilizer, fungicide applications, alternate crop rotations, multi-hybrid planting uses, seed treatments (including treatment for Sudden Death Syndrome), and sidedress nitrogen management technologies including commercially available models and Project SENSE which uses crop canopy sensors for in-season, variable-rate nitrogen management.  Certified Crop Advisor Credits are applied for and pending upon approval.

The Nebraska On-Farm Research Network is a statewide, on-farm research program that addresses critical farmer production, profitability and natural resources questions. Growers take an active role in the on-farm research project sponsored by Nebraska Extension in partnership with the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, the Nebraska Corn Board, the Nebraska Soybean Board, and the Nebraska Dry Bean Commission.

Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and the program is from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CDT at Mead, Norfolk, and Grand Island. North Platte is noon – 4:30 p.m. with 11:30 registration.  Alliance is 9 a.m.-2 p.m. MDT with 8:30 registration.  Lunch will be served at all locations.

There is no fee to attend.  Preregistration is requested for meal planning purposes. Call (402)624-8030 or e-mail onfarm@unl.edu to register for any of the five sites. To learn more about the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network and how to participate, visit http://cropwatch.unl.edu/farmresearch.



Brett Morris, Joan Ruskamp and Chuck Coffey Are New CBB Officers

Cattle producers Brett Morris of Ninnekah, Oklahoma, Joan Ruskamp of Dodge, Nebraska, and Chuck Coffey of Springer, Oklahoma are the new leadership team for the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board (CBB), elected unanimously by fellow Beef Board members during the 2017 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville on Feb. 3, 2017. Morris will serve as chairman, Ruskamp as vice chairman and Coffey as secretary/treasurer of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board to lead the national Beef Checkoff Program for the coming year.  The Beef Board also elected members to serve on the Executive Committee and others to fill CBB seats on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee.

NEW BEEF BOARD OFFICER TEAM
Newly elected CBB Chairman Brett Morris is a third-generation dairy farmer and runs a dairy, cow/calf and stocker operation and the Washita Fertilizer Company in partnership with his father. Theirs is a diversified farm operation, including about 1,000 acres of alfalfa, wheat and grassland, 65 registered Holstein cows, 100-125 beef cows and 200 stocker calves. Morris served as chairman of the Oklahoma Dairy Commission, vice chairman of the Oklahoma Johne's Advisory Committee, as a district voting delegate to Dairy Farmers of America, a director of the Federation of State Beef Councils, and as chairman and vice chairman of the Oklahoma Beef Council.

2017 CBB Vice Chairman Joan Ruskamp and her husband, Steve, operate a feedlot and row-crop farm west of Dodge, Nebraska. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Curtis, where she earned an associate degree in veterinary medicine in 1980. Joan has been very active in the beef industry, with service to numerous producer organizations. In addition, she has been a 4-H leader for about 20 years, an EMT for more than a decade, and a religious education teacher for nearly 30 years.

2017 CBB Secretary/Treasurer Chuck Coffey is a fifth-generation rancher who grew up on a ranch in the hill country of Harper, Texas. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in range science from Texas A&M. Chuck taught agriculture at Murray State College in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, after completing his master's in 1985, eventually chairing the department there, until he joined the Noble Foundation as a pasture and range consultant in 1993. He is extremely passionate about ranching and feels blessed to be able to work on the ranch every day.

CBB EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The 12-member CBB Executive Committee includes the Board’s three officers and eight members elected at-large. The CBB elected the following members to its 2017 Executive committee: Jared Brackett of Idaho, Amelia Kent of Louisiana, Bill King of New Mexico, Gary Sharp of South Dakota, Paul Moss of Tennessee, Don Smith of Texas, Richard Winter of Texas and Barbara Jacques of Oklahoma. CBB Vice Chairman Joan Ruskamp will serve as chairman of the Executive Committee, and CBB officers Brett Morris and Chuck Coffey will also be on the committee, As immediate past CBB Chairman, Anne Anderson of Texas will serve as an advisor to the committee.

The Executive Committee operates under the direction of, and within the policies established by, the full Board and is responsible for carrying out Beef Board policies and conducting business and making decisions necessary to administer the terms and provisions of the Act and Order between meetings of the full Board.

OPERATING COMMITTEE
The Beef Promotion Operating Committee was created by the Beef Promotion Research Act to help coordinate state and national beef checkoff programs. The 20-person committee includes 10 members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, among them the Board’s three officers and seven others elected directly by Beef Board members. The other 10 members are appointed from the Federation of State Beef Councils.

CBB members elected to the 2017 Beef Promotion Operating Committee during the annual meeting in Nashville include: Chairman Brett Morris; Vice Chairman Joan Ruskamp; Secretary/Treasurer Chuck Coffey; Michael Smith of California, Robert Mitchell of Wisconsin, Hugh Sanburg of Colorado, Stacy McClintock of Kansas, Sarah Childs of Florida, Tammy Basel of South Dakota and Janna Stubbs of Texas.



Corn Farmers Travel to Learn About Competitor Brazil’s Role in the Global Ag Economy

Understanding the complexities of a global market has become an ever-challenging endeavor, but one four state corn checkoffs have set out to tackle with a three-year competitive study of the top corn exporting countries.

As part of this work, a delegation including representatives from the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Iowa Corn, the Nebraska Corn Board, Ohio Corn & Wheat traveled to Brazil last month to better understand the country’s role in the global agricultural economy.

“During this mission, we had an amazing opportunity to see a good portion of the country, giving us a nice perspective of Brazil’s farming capabilities,” said Mark Wilson, Illinois Corn Marketing Board Export Committee Chairman. “I felt fortunate and grateful to have learned more about this key competitor.”

The mission included visiting Brazilian farms to learn about cropping and production practices; meeting with local transportation officials and touring infrastructure like ports; and learning more about local ethanol production.

“We traveled to a large farm where we learned how Brazilian farmers triple crop in some areas,” Wilson said. “Soybeans are planted first, followed by planting of corn and grass. The grass comes up first and gets a good start then the corn takes over. After corn harvest, the grass begins to regrow at which time cattle are turned out for three months and the cycle starts over. Corn production in Brazil has nearly doubled in the past ten years due to this cropping system.”

The team visited the Harbor Secretary of the Docks Company of Para state to the north of Belem and toured the new Porto de Vila do Conde which is located on the Amazon River. This port has been strategically located so that Brazil can export to the world. There, the group met with the administrator and the operational supervisor and learned about future infrastructure projects.

“They have several improvements underway they hope to be done with in the next five years,” Wilson said. “These include finishing the north south railroad, building a final lock on one the Amazon rivers and building a 25-mile canal to carry barges to the dock. When these projects are completed, government officials estimate it will decrease transportation costs to the port by 30 percent and will allow them to export three times as much product from this port.”  

In the United States, ethanol plants can produce ethanol all year due to corn’s storability. Sugarcane cannot be stored, so Brazilian plants only produce ethanol for the short time around the sugarcane harvest. When the plant is operating, the waste from the ethanol process is called bagasse. The bagasse is burnt at the plant to produce the energy needed to run it.  So, when the plant is not producing ethanol, it is selling electricity to the grid.

“Ethanol plants there are currently doing research on utilizing corn during the off season so that the plants could run year-round,” Wilson stated.

The Brazil mission was one of the first of such learning journeys planned in the next two years to help farmer organizations better understand the competitive pressures facing American agriculture. Additional investigations are tentatively planned for Argentina, Ukraine, South Africa, China, Australia and Central Africa.

“These missions allow participants to better understand the internal advantages and disadvantages of each area of the world. By asking questions around broad issues such as biofuels, transportation infrastructure, policy and livestock we will get a grasp of their internal supply and export demand potential –  essentially better understanding the competition,” explained Wilson.



Humid Fall Will Cause Moldy Corn Sightings this Spring

Ethanol plants need to be especially cautious of moldy corn this spring due to a humid fall and excessive amounts of corn stored in outdoor piles. According to Charles Hurburgh, grain quality and handling specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, mid-February will bring reports of moldy corn, hot spots and blue eye mold – a fungus turning the germ a bluish color, especially if temperatures do not decrease.

“Ethanol plants are going to have to be careful,” said Hurburgh, who also serves as director of the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative. “Contrary to popular belief, moldy corn is the worst thing that can be put in an ethanol plant. The fungi that grow on the corn produce lactic acids. These acids react with the enzymes, the yeast is not happy and the fix is to add antibiotics to the fermenter.”

Ethanol coproducts, known as distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGs), are typically used in livestock feed. The presence of antibiotic residues in ethanol coproducts has been difficult to detect, but the issue is important as society becomes more interested in the production of food.

“Ethanol plants don’t like antibiotics or having to alter the fermentation process,” said Hurburgh. “At the same time, processors don’t want to dump a fermenter after only getting two gallons of ethanol per bushel when they’re used to yielding almost three. The best fix for those kinds of problems is better quality corn. Then ethanol producers are not in that situation in the first place.”

September and October 2016 brought only three days of dew points below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, grain supplies did not reach suitable temperature levels before being placed into storage, which can negatively impact grain quality.

“The issue going forward, will be to get all corn properly cooled and aerated before spoilage worsens,” said Hurburgh.

The Iowa Grain Quality Initiative has developed a set of online learning modules to help producers learn proper grain storage practices. The Iowa Grain Quality Aeration Module (CROP 3083B), produced in cooperation with the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative and Crop Advisor Institute explains how moisture, temperature and time interact to cause grain spoilage. Learn to establish a grain quality monitoring system with frequent temperature checks to prevent spoilage.

Other available modules address grain storage economics, food safety and animal nutrition, supply chain analysis and processing. The modules are free and can be accessed on the Extension Store.



Excellence in Ag Education Nominations Open

The Iowa Council on Agricultural Education is seeking nominees to recognize for excellence in agriculture education.

The Iowa Council on Agricultural Education is a bipartisan effort that is charged to review, develop, and recommend standards for secondary and postsecondary agriculture education in Iowa. One of the projects of the group is to recognize those agriculture education school programs that are doing exemplary work in the areas of program promotion and marketing, agriculture career awareness, integration of science, adult education, and curriculum review and revision.

The award nomination form can be completed by students, alumni, parents, administrators, or other supporters of the local agriculture education program. The nominations will be reviewed and selected by the Council on Agricultural Education. One winner will be selected in each of the award areas and an overall winner will also be recognized. Award winners will be recognized at the Iowa FFA Leadership Conference to be held at Iowa State University in Ames April 10-12.

"The purpose of the award is to identify what makes a highly successful agriculture education program in schools and recognize those who model that success," said Will Fett, chair of the council. "We hope that other schools will be inspired to implement some of the best practices that are highlighted."

Agriculture education is offered in 232 high schools across Iowa. Agriculture education employs a three component model to deliver teaching through classroom instruction, supervised agricultural experience programs, and leadership development through FFA. Students who take an agriculture education class are eligible to join FFA. There are more than 14,000 FFA members in Iowa.

The award nomination form can be completed online at https://form.jotform.com/wfett/excellence-in-agriculture. Applications are due March 1.

The Council will review, develop, and recommend standards for secondary and postsecondary agricultural education. Established in 1988 by legislative act of the 72nd Iowa General Assembly, the Council is appointed by the Governor annually and made up of nine voting member. The Council members represent all areas of agriculture and diverse geographical areas. The Council includes representation from secondary schools, postsecondary schools, and a teacher educator. Ex officio members include representatives from Iowa FFA, Iowa FFA Alumni, the Postsecondary Agriculture Student Organization of Iowa, the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and members of the Iowa general assembly.



PHILIPPINES WANTS FTA WITH U.S.; COUNTRY WILL KEEP LOW TARIFFS ON PORK IMPORTS

The Philippines this week expressed interest in pursuing a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. The country’s trade and industry secretary, Ramon Lopez, said the government is open to negotiating an FTA with its third largest trading partner.

The National Pork Producers Council commented on the concept, saying they would strongly support a trade deal with the Pacific island nation, which is a top 10 market for U.S. pork. (The U.S. pork industry last year shipped nearly $79 million of pork to the Philippines.)

The Philippines already enjoys preferential treatment for most of its exports to the United States under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a trade program for developing countries. In a related matter, the Philippines will maintain its existing low tariffs on pork offal and mechanically deboned meat even after the expiration of a World Trade Organization-sanctioned restriction on rice imports. The government’s Committee on Tariff and Related Matters abandoned plans to extend the rice import quota, which is set to expire June. 30. In exchange for the quotas, the WTO required the Philippines to lower tariffs on mechanically deboned meat to 5 percent from 40 percent and on offal to a range of 5 to 10 percent from 40 percent.

While the decision to keep tariffs low is welcomed news for U.S. pork producers, the Philippines has a number of non-tariff barriers that restrict U.S. pork exports. NPPC Vice President and Counsel Nick Giordano recently was in Manila discussing trade issues with industry and government officials. Food prices in the Philippines are high relative to many other southeast Asian nations. NPPC believes the new administration in the Philippines is serious about lowering consumer food prices, which bodes well for removing unnecessary impediments to trade.



Another Strain of FMD Confirmed in South Korea

South Korea raised the country's foot-and-mouth disease alert status to the highest level as a second strain of the disease was confirmed three days after a first outbreak was reported, Seoul's agriculture ministry said on Thursday.

According to Reuters, the A-type strain of the disease was discovered at a dairy farm in Yeoncheon, less than 50 miles north of the capital, said Kim Kyeong-kyu, deputy minister for food industry policy. Reacting shortly after an outbreak of the O-type strain was confirmed in southeast Korea, the ministry raised the alert status one notch to the maximum.

South Korea last raised the country's foot-and-mouth disease alert status to the highest level in 2010, when the country grappled with its worst-ever outbreak.

Since the first outbreak was discovered on Monday, Korea has taken emergency measures including a nationwide vaccination and a movement control order designed to contain the spread of the virus.

The ministry had re-vaccinated all cattle in the country against the O-type virus, and the country's livestock would need to be inoculated again against the A-type strain, Kim said.



Researchers Create TB-Resistant Cattle

Researchers in China have reported creating tuberculosis-resistant cattle using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing.

Led by senior author Yong Zhang of Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University, the team used a single Cas9 nickase - a single-strand cutting Cas9 variant - to induce genome editing using the homology-directed repair pathway, inserting a gene for natural resistance-associated macrophage protein-1 (NRAMP1) into bovine fetal fibroblasts. As the researchers reported today in Genome Biology, they used somatic nuclear transfer to get the edit into an egg cell, creating 11 cows in vitro with NRAMP1 (nine using Cas9 nickase) and demonstrating that the gene provided increased resistance to tuberculosis.

Moreover, they said that while the Cas9 nickase did not completely eliminate off-target edits, it did reduce them, especially when compared to standard Cas9 which creates double-strand breaks and is much more likely to create indel mutations via the non-homologous end-joining DNA repair pathway.

While the team said that this was the first instance of gene insertion into cattle using a single nicking Cas9, it was far from the first application of genome editing to livestock, or even cows. In May 2016, researchers led by Minnesota-based gene editing firm Recombinetics reported substituting an allele in dairy cattle to eliminate horns, using transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) to induce HDR. And last fall, another team of scientists from Northwest A&F University reported editing cashmere goats using CRISPR to produce more of the fine hairs used in wool production.



Growth Energy Awards Sec. Tom Vilsack with America’s Fuel Award at 8th Annual Executive Leadership Conference

Today, Growth Energy awarded former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack with its highest honor, the America’s Fuel Award, at its eighth annual Executive Leadership Conference. The America’s Fuel Award is presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to act as a champion for the renewable fuels industry. Past winners include Growth Energy Co-chairman Tom Buis, Gov. Terry Branstad, retired Four Star General, Wesley Clark, and Richard Childress of Richard Childress Racing.

“We are thrilled to recognize Secretary Vilsack with the America’s Fuel Award for his remarkable commitment to the nation’s most successful energy policy, the Renewable Fuel Standard. We thank Secretary Vilsack for his unwavering dedication to the growth and success of the American ethanol industry throughout his time as Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa,” said Emily Skor, Growth Energy CEO, “We are forever grateful for his leadership and present this award as a token of our appreciation.”

Growth Energy also presented the following individuals with “TOBI” awards, given each year to Growth Energy members who go above and beyond exhibiting innovation, fortitude, perseverance, and leadership within the ethanol industry:
  - Mick Miller, DENCO II
  - Amanda Huber, Front Range Energy
  - Amy Davis, Novozymes
  - Matt Merritt, POET
  - Jeff Gallick, Thorntons
  - Doug Berven, POET

The ethanol industry is an American success story contributing to our energy security and growing American jobs. Growth Energy’s Executive Leadership Conference brings together leaders of the biofuels industry and provides them with the most current insights affecting the ethanol industry and celebrates the achievements of the industry in moving America forward.



Agrium's Profit Drops Amid Slump in Fertilizer Market

Fertilizer firm Agrium Inc.'s quarterly profit dropped sharply on lower nutrient prices.

Calgary, Alberta-based Agrium, which agreed to merge with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., has been hit hard by a market slump.

This year Agrium expects to make $4.50 to $6 a share, compared with the $4.29 a share it made in 2016. Analysts were projecting $5.83 in per-share earnings for 2017, according to Thomson Reuters.

Over all, fourth-quarter profit dropped two-thirds to $67 million, or 49 cents a share. Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, profit fell to 60 cents a share from $1.52 a share a year earlier.

Sales rose 5.3% to $2.28 billion.

In the latest period, crop nutrient sales fell 8% from a year earlier, while crop-protection product sales rose 15%.

Agrium noted that realized selling prices for potash, a key fertilizer ingredient, fell 33% internationally and 25% in North America.