Tuesday April 18 Ag News

Ag Sack Lunch Program Concludes Seventh Year of Reaching Nebraska Fourth-graders with Free Lunches and Farm Facts

The popular Ag Sack Lunch Program, which serves up free sack lunches to Nebraska fourth-graders and teaches them about where their food comes from, wraps up its seventh year in May. Nearly 5,000 students from 95 schools will have participated in the program this school year.

    The Ag Sack Lunch program is designed to educate Nebraska fourth-graders—and by extension their parents–in a fun way about how important agriculture is to the state’s economy. Since its inception in 2010, the program has provided over 35,000 students with free lunches and an introduction to the state’s No.1 industry. Sponsors of this popular program include the Nebraska Soybean Board, the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, the Nebraska Beef Council and the Nebraska Corn Board.

    Each year, over 20,000 fourth-graders visit the State Capitol Building in Lincoln as part of their curriculum. The Ag Sack Lunch Program ties into these visits by inviting teachers to participate in the free program, which educates youth on how their food is grown and produced.

    Program sponsors budget for 5,000 free lunches a year, which consist of Nebraska-produced foods.

    Each 20 minute presentation teaches students about the importance of agriculture to the state’s economy. Presenters are “Ag Ambassadors,” which consist of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students trained specifically to conduct these lunchtime sessions. 

    Through the Ag Sack Lunch Program curriculum, Ag Ambassadors inform students that one in four jobs in Nebraska has some connection to agriculture, beyond farming itself, such as equipment manufacturing and sales, building construction, transportation and supermarket retailers. They also explain the state ranks first in the country for cattle and calves, sixth in pork production, and that over one-third of Nebraska-produced grain is fed to livestock within the state.

    All Ag Ambassadors come from farming families in Nebraska. Not only do they enjoying telling the students about where their food comes from, but they’re also able to provide examples of what life is like on the farm. Many of the fourth-grade students are from the state’s larger cities and towns, so may have little understanding about what farming and food production.

    Two Ag Ambassadors are finishing their fourth years with the program. Morgan Zumpfe from Friend, and Emily Long from Springfield, said their experiences living and working on their family farms catch the attention of the students.

     “It isn't uncommon for many of these students to have never even been to a farm before,” Zumpfe said. “This is what motivates me to speak with the fourth-graders about Nebraska agriculture.”

    Zumpfe believes it is important for students to understand how agriculture impacts their daily lives and that it is vital for a strong Nebraska economy. “I like to start my presentations by asking the students what agriculture is,” she said. The students often don't know what the word means. “My favorite reactions from the students usually comes at the very end when they start to realize not only what agriculture is, but that it is so important to their daily lives,” said Zumpfe.

    “I enjoy telling students about my career path and about all of the different opportunities for a career in agriculture. Hopefully this will spark some interest in them,” Zumpfe said. She will graduate in May with a B.S. in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication and will begin her career this summer with Cargill Animal Nutrition as a business management associate.

    Emily Long agreed that growing up on a farm helps her tell the story of agriculture. “Students love hearing about what happens on farms,” she said. “It grabs their attention when I share what my family is currently doing back home on the farm. You can see them light up.”

    She enjoys being able to teach students about an industry she’s so passionate about and that has such a huge impact on their lives and the state of Nebraska. “It's a good feeling to know they'll start to think about where their food came from as they’re eating or strolling through the grocery store with their families,” Long said.

    One eye opener for the students is when Long talked about how many beef cattle there are in the state. “To put it in perspective for them, we always say we have a four-to-one ratio of beef to people in our state, then we'll ask them if they could imagine having to take care of four cows and feed them every day before and after school. This is when you can see their realization and an appreciation growing in them for the need for farmers and ranchers.”

    Long also graduates in May with a degree in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication. She’ll join Dow AgroSciences this summer as a seed sales trainee.

    Fourteen UNL students served as Ag Ambassadors throughout the 2016-2017 school year. All are working toward agriculture-related degrees: Morgan Zumpfe, Friend; Kate Likens, Swanton; Sarah Wollenburg, Beatrice; Breann Zimmer, Pleasanton; Emily Long, Springfield; Claire Dressman, Superior; Savannah Schafer, Nehawka; Catherine Jones, Bellevue; Abby Steffen, Crofton; Emily Bergstrom, Wilcox; Morgan Schilling, McCook; Megan Murdoch, Murray; Megan Hamling, Garland; and Jordan Bothern, Lincoln.



MANAGING SPRING GRAZING
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               Spring pastures are growing fast and early.  Effective spring management can help pastures and cattle be more productive all year.

               Grazing cool-season grasses in spring should be easy.  You have lots of grass that’s high quality so the animals should do well.  One problem though, is the grass may be almost too good.  Cows get washy and sometimes even lose weight.  So what’s wrong?

               Much of the problem can be with the grass itself.  Early spring grass contains lots of moisture.  Usually it’s more than eighty percent water and often approaches ninety percent.  It also tends to be high in protein, well over twenty percent.  While that sounds good, most of that protein is very soluble in the animal’s rumen, much more than the rumen microbes can use.  That protein gets broken down into ammonia and nitrogen that passes into the blood stream and simply gets excreted.

               When you combine high moisture grass with excess protein or nitrogen, forage passes through the digestive system very rapidly and becomes washy manure.  Many of the nutrients originally in the grass never get digested and absorbed by the animal.

               These cows need dry matter.  Something to absorb some of the excess moisture, slow down the passage rate through the digestive system, and create a more effective rumen environment.

               Putting some palatable grass hay out on spring pasture for cows to eat free choice might be the easiest, cheapest, and most effective way to overcome the spring grass problem.  Limiting access to pasture to force more hay consumption might also help.  If you don’t have hay, feeding three to five pounds of grain per one thousand pounds of animal per day can do just as well.

               Spring grass can almost be too good.  Add a little dry feed to it to get better performance from your animals.



WALLER CELEBRATES 17 YEARS AS CASNR DEAN, LOOKS TO FUTURE

Steven Waller will transition to a new role this summer after 17 years as dean of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. He will become interim director of the Center for Grassland Studies on July 1.

Tiffany Heng-Moss, the college's associate dean, will become interim dean on July 1. A search committee will be assembled in the fall to begin the search for a permanent leader.

Waller has much to be proud of during his tenure as CASNR dean, and while the academic accomplishments are significant, it's the essence of the college that he says is most special.

"CASNR is so much more than an academic college, and I think everyone here would tell you that," he said. "The students, faculty and staff within CASNR are part of a true community and that's something to be proud of."

That community is one that is growing at a rate the university has never seen. CASNR is experiencing 12 consecutive years of enrollment growth. Waller has been instrumental in that growth.

"CASNR's unprecedented enrollment growth is a bright spot for the university and can be directly attributed to the outstanding vision that Steve has used to guide the college over the years," said Michael Boehm, Harlan Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. "With his expertise in range management and superior leadership skills, the Center for Grassland Studies has a bright future ahead."

Under Waller's leadership, CASNR has doubled the number of academic programs offered; increased the number of faculty and staff engaged in outcomes-based student success programming; developed innovative, partnership-driven global engagement programs; and expanded the college's global network through online and distance education. The college's focus on preparing the world's future leaders, innovators and difference-makers has led to several innovative programs for students including Justin Smith Morrill Scholars, CASNR CARES, Dean’s Scholars in Experiential Leadership, the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship program and Ensuring Your Future.

Waller, a Midwest native, received an associate of science degree in 1967 from Vincennes University, where he studied pre-forestry; a bachelor of science degree in conservation in 1970 from Purdue University; and a doctorate in range science in 1975 from Texas A&M University. Waller was a faculty member in the animal science department at South Dakota State University before coming to the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at Nebraska in 1978.

Until 2000, Waller held joint administrative appointments with CASNR and the Agriculture Research Division, while continuing his affiliation with the agronomy department. His research and teaching responsibilities at the university emphasized range management and improvement, livestock management on range and pasture, and forage evaluation.

The Center for Grassland Studies was formed in 1994. Its mission is to implement focused, interdisciplinary research, educational and service programs and activities that emphasize the role of grasslands as a natural resource and conservation measure to enhance the efficiency, profitability, sustainability and aesthetic value of grasslands, wetlands and turfs. The center administers two multi-disciplinary undergraduate majors – grazing livestock systems and PGA golf management. It also organizes the annual Nebraska Grazing Conference and provides support for multi-disciplinary and multi-state research projects.

To celebrate Waller's accomplishments during his time as dean, CASNR is planning two special events. CASNR students are invited to "Dead Week Doughnuts with the Dean" from 3 to 5 p.m. April 27 in the Nebraska East Union. The public is invited to an open house celebration from 2 to 4 p.m. June 23 at the Nebraska East Union. Further details will be posted at http://casnr.unl.edu.



Midwest Dairy Elects New Leadership

Allen Merrill, a dairy farmer from Parker, South Dakota, is the new chairman of Midwest Dairy Association, elected during the organization’s annual meeting held in conjunction with the Western Dairy Forum in Phoenix, Arizona. Merrill previously served as first vice chairman. He replaces Jerry Messer of Richardton, North Dakota, who stepped down after serving as chairman for nine years.

New members of the Corporate board officer team are Charles Krause, Buffalo, Minnesota, first vice chairman; and Lowell Mueller, Hooper, Nebraska, secretary. Bill Siebenborn, Trenton, Missouri, was re-elected second vice chairman while Dan Grunhovd, Gary, Minnesota, was re-elected treasurer.

New members elected by their Divisions to the Midwest Dairy Corporate board include:
    Alan Feuerhelm, Le Mars, Iowa;
    Lloyd Gunter, Conway, Missouri;
    Corrine Lieser, Belgrade, Minnesota;
    Larry Shover, Delhi, Iowa; and
    Kristine Spadgenske, Menahga, Minnesota.


Division board officers and new members are as follows:

Nebraska Division
    Chairman – Lowell Mueller, Hooper;
    Vice Chairman – Joyce Racicky, Mason City; and
    Secretary/Treasurer – Dean Engelman, Jansen.
Neil Hochstein, Wynot, was seated as a new member of the Nebraska Division board. Marshall Reece, Associated Milk Producers Inc., was appointed as a new ex officio member.
    
Iowa Division
    Chairman – Dan Hotvedt, Mabel, Minnesota;
    Vice Chairman – Bruce Brockshus, Ocheyedan;
    Secretary – Pam Bolin, Clarksville; and
    Treasurer – Larry Shover, Delhi.
Ken Birker, Vinton, and Melissa Blood, State Center, were seated as new members of the Iowa Division board.
 
Mo-Kan Division
    Chairman – Byron Lehman, Newton, Kansas;
    Vice Chairman – Alex Peterson, Trenton, Missouri;
    Secretary – Donna Telle, Uniontown, Missouri; and
    Treasurer – Curtis Steenbock, Longford, Kansas.

South Dakota Division
    Chairman – Jim Neugebauer, Dimock;
    Vice Chairman – Mike Frey, Claremont;
    Secretary – Allen Merrill, Parker; and
    Treasurer – Gary Jarding, Alexandria.
Kim Maher of Davisco Foods International was appointed as an ex officio member of the South Dakota Division board.

Minnesota Division
    Chairman – Barb Liebenstein, Dundas;
    Vice Chairman – Charles Krause, Buffalo;
    Secretary -- Suzanne Vold, Glenwood; and
    Treasurer – Tom Walsh, Murdock.
The Minnesota Dairy Promotion Council, a quasi-governmental group with the same board members, elected the following:
    Chairman – Kathleen Skiba, North Branch;
    Vice Chairman – Keith Knutson, Pine Island;
    Secretary – Debi Clasemann, Long Prairie;
    Treasurer – Christine Sukalski, LeRoy; and
    Executive member at-large – Peter Ripka, Ogilvie.
Doug Popp, Royalton, and Margaret Johnson, Fountain, were seated as new members of both the Minnesota Division board and the Minnesota Dairy Promotion Council.
 
North Dakota Division
    Chairman – Jerry Messer, Richardton;
    Vice Chairman – Terry Entzminger, Jamestown;
    Secretary – Rita Mosset, Linton; and
    Treasurer – Lilah Krebs, Gladstone.
Sue Kleingartner, Gackle, was seated as a new member of the North Dakota Division board.
 
Illinois Division
    Chairman – Bill Deutsch, Sycamore;
    Vice Chairman – David Jarden, Staunton;
    Secretary – Amy Hildebrandt, South Beloit; and
    Treasurer – Glen Meier, Ridott.
Kevin Geiger, Port Byron, was seated as a new member of the Illinois Division board.
 
Ozarks Division
    Chairman – Nathan Roth, Mountain Grove, Missouri;
    Vice Chairman – Marilyn Calvin, Mt. Vernon, Missouri;
    Secretary – Lloyd Gunter, Conway, Missouri; and
    Treasurer – Mark Fellwock, Monett, Missouri.
Fellwock was also seated as a new member of the Ozarks Division board, along with Charles Coblentz, Chouteau, Oklahoma; Scott Davis, Prairie Grove, Arkansas; Gene Morrison, West Plains, Missouri; and Daniel Scott, Fordland, Missouri.



National Ag Tax Expert Joins Staff of ISU’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation

A national expert on agricultural taxes has joined Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation as a visiting professor.

Phil Harris, an emeritus professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, is serving the center in a part-time role as visiting professor. He retired from the University of Wisconsin last spring.

Harris will augment the center staff’s efforts, assisting with analysis, writing and instruction on tax issues important to Iowa and agriculture. He also will work closely with center staff members Kristine Tidgren and Kristy Maitre to help address tax issues.

Harris has a national reputation among land-grant university agricultural tax specialists. He brings 37 years of experience with the University of Wisconsin in extension and research on business and tax issues important to agricultural producers. His extension program focused on farm income tax issues, farm business arrangements, farm transfer and estate planning.

He has written or coauthored many books on agricultural tax and business issues, including, most recently, the 2016 National Income Tax Workbook published by the Land Grant University Tax Education Foundation. He is a founding — and current — member of the American Agricultural Law Association, serving as its president from 1987 to 1988.

Harris is an Iowa State alumnus, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1973. He earned both a master’s in economics and Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago.

The Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, established by the Iowa Board of Regents in 2006, provides timely, objective information to agricultural producers, professionals and agribusinesses on the application of important developments in agricultural law and taxation, and is a primary source of professional educational training in agricultural law and taxation. One of the center’s programs is the annual farm income tax schools, which Iowa State has conducted for nearly 45 years.



Group Wants USDA to Cut Payments to Those Who Neglect Livestock

The Humane Farming Association has filed a petition with the Trump Administration to cease USDA Livestock Indemnity Program payments to producers who do not protect their livestock from adverse weather. The Farm Service Agency LIP provides compensation to livestock producers who incur death losses from inclement weather. Producers receive compensation in the amount of 75 percent of the animals' market value up to $125,000 per year.

The petition was filed in conjunction with Tax Day 2017, to draw attention to the fact that taxpayers are being bilked out of millions of dollars to pay for this program.

"Instead of providing adequate shelter to vulnerable livestock, producers who do not assure protections from adverse weather are rewarded with a government check," said HFA National Director Bradley Miller. "Compensating producers for dead livestock without ever requiring adequate shelter is actually a disincentive to farmers and ranchers to take the necessary steps to provide their animals with protections from inclement weather. Without this compensation, many producers would no doubt make an effort to provide for their animals. Instead, massive numbers of neglected livestock are dying painfully and needlessly and taxpayers are footing the bill."

HFA says records revealed that in the last three years, LIP issued payments of $134 million to farmers and ranchers for animal deaths due primarily to weather-related issues. Total animal deaths included a staggering 202,445 livestock and 2.4 million poultry.



Verifying Losses Requires Experience, Research

One of the hallmarks of crop insurance is that indemnities only cover verified losses – not too much, not too little – which makes crop insurance a helping-hand for famers instead of a profit center.

And key to the verification process is ongoing academic research and decades of industry experience, which helps adjusters accurately account for losses.

The first crop insurance industry research project dates back to the early 1920s. And that began a long tenure of studying how growing crops respond to damage from hail, wind, etc.

Dr. Mark Zarnstorff and Dr. James Houx, of National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS), discussed these crop loss adjustment procedures in a recent article published in Crop Insurance Today.

"Our agriculture researchers are continually striving to define the impacts of crop damage to improve adjustment procedures that more accurately reflect losses in an ever-changing agricultural landscape," wrote Zarnstorff and Houx, who lead the NCIS research program.

NCIS's research team gets ideas from field adjusters, claim supervisors, and academic researchers.  Projects typically last for three years and include several locations, and NCIS usually starts about six new projects each year.

In 2016, researchers started looking into canola pod filling, corn green snap, chickpea pod and seed numbers and cotton node removal and defoliation.

Today, NCIS has 17 ongoing research projects across 13 states from Washington to South Carolina, and from Saskatchewan, Canada, to New Mexico.

All of the research is contracted to local universities – typically extension researchers.

Academic researchers have deep expertise in specific crops across the vast agricultural landscape in the U.S.  And, since most of the researchers are state employees, they are focused on providing good information to producers.

"Having these researchers conduct the experiments means that the research is unbiased and transparent," Zarnstorff and Houx wrote.

The academic separation gives farmers who buy coverage confidence in the insurance products and eliminates the perception that the adjustment procedure is "stacked" against them.

The research is especially important, the authors explained, as technological advances have made new crops more viable in many regions – soybean and canola, for example, have expanded dramatically in North Dakota and Oklahoma respectivley.

In addition, new management practices by farmers have improved expected yields, which must be accounted for.  One example the researchers noted was successful replanting of soybeans after the typical cutoff date of May 15.

Losses cannot be verified properly unless these changes are fully understood.

"Both the insured and insurance provider benefit from accuracy because even a 5 or 10 percent error in adjustment can result in millions of dollars in overpayments or under- payments to [insured farmers]," they concluded.  "The only way to ensure this does not occur is by maintaining a scientific research program that strives for accurate, unbiased data collection and adjustment procedures that are fair to farmers and insurance companies alike."



Poll: A Third of U.S. Farmers Plan to Fly Drones This Season

Drones have been hot talk in agriculture for the past several seasons. But how popular are they, really? According to a recent Farm Journal Media Pulse poll that surveyed more than a thousand farmers and ranchers, use of this technology has definitely gained a firm foothold in the industry.

The Pulse poll simply asked, "Will you use a drone(s) on your operation this year?" Of the nearly 1,100 respondents, a third answered positively, with 21% saying they will operate the drones themselves, and another 12% opting for a retailer or other third-party entity to fly the drones.

Another 31% say they will keep an open mind about using drones on their operation in 2018, but weren't ready to pull the trigger this year. The final 37% say they aren't interested in using this technology.



National Dairy FARM Program Releases Updated Drug Residue Manual

The National Dairy FARM Program has released the 2017 edition of its Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual, the primary educational tool for dairy managers about the judicious, responsible use of antibiotics and how to prevent drug residues in milk and meat.

The Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual serves as a valuable tool to the over 40,000 dairy producers who participate in the FARM Program. It is a convenient resource used by dairy farmers to review the antibiotics approved for use in dairy animals, and to develop comprehensive on-farm best management practices necessary to avoid milk and meat residues. The manual includes the most up-to-date veterinary drug information supplied by manufactures, including appropriate withdrawal times.

The 2017 edition now identifies drugs subject to the newly implemented Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), and contains updated industry data on the declining presence of antibiotic residues found in milk. It also contains newly approved products released in calendar year 2016. A Spanish version and smaller, pocket-size version will be released in summer 2017.

According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report, only 1 out of 8,800 milk tankers – or 0.011 percent – tested positive for antibiotics in 2016, an 89 percent decrease since 1995.  Any tanker of milk that tests positive when it arrives at a processing plant must be destroyed. Additionally, none of the 38,563 retail-ready milk products sampled tested positive for drug residues.

“In the last two decades, the stewardship efforts of farmers and veterinarians is demonstrated by the continuing decline in traces of antibiotic residues in milk leaving the farm,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “This data demonstrates the dairy industry’s never-ending commitment to producing safe, abundant, and affordable milk and dairy beef, due in part to efforts like FARM.”

“The responsible use of antibiotics has a positive impact on animal health while maintaining a safe milk supply for the public,” said Jamie Jonker, NMPF’s vice president of sustainability and scientific affairs. “The 2017 manual is another step in the U.S. dairy industry’s continued commitment to the judicious use of antimicrobials.”

NMPF and the FARM Program thanked the following sponsors of the 2017 manual: Merck Animal Health, Elanco, Zoetis, Merial and Charm Sciences.

The FARM Program, created by NMPF in 2009, demonstrates that U.S. milk producers are committed to providing the best in animal care, residue prevention and environmental stewardship.

The 2017 edition is now available for purchase in the FARM Program store. Any questions about the manual can be directed to dairyfarm@nmpf.org.



NMPF Statement on President Trump’s Comments on Dairy Trade Dispute with Canada
From Jim Mulhern, President and CEO, National Milk Producers Federation

“We thank President Donald Trump for speaking out today in Wisconsin against the harmful pricing policy Canada implemented in an effort to stifle competition with the United States. We have repeatedly stressed that trade must be fair and that all countries should be held accountable when they break the rules. Canada’s repeated disregard for its dairy trade commitments to the United States has left American dairy farmers enduring the severe and unfair consequences.

“America’s dairy farmers will continue to work with the Trump Administration, Speaker Paul Ryan and other congressional leaders, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, as well as elected officials across the country to resolve this issue as soon as possible. We outlined the issue for the Trump Administration in a letter we sent last Thursday to the White House.”



NMPF Recognizes Members of Congress for Focusing Attention on Dairy Workforce Needs

As discussions over immigration policy continue on Capitol Hill, the National Milk Producers Federation today thanked members of both the House and Senate for working to address the unique labor challenges faced by dairy producers. NMPF has called on legislators to address this dilemma for more than a decade.

“We welcome these bipartisan efforts to shine a light on an issue so critical to dairy producers,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “Dairy farming is a physically demanding, 24-7, 365-day job. Without the help of foreign labor, many American dairy operations face the threat of closure. We appreciate that members of both parties are building awareness of the need for action on this challenge.”

Two bills introduced recently would modify the existing H-2A agricultural visa program to make it easier for dairy farmers to hire the foreign labor they need to run their operations. Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Chris Collins (R-NY) co-authored the Farm Family Relief Act in January. Rep. Sean Duffy’s (R-WI) introduced the Defending the Agricultural Industry’s Requirements Year-round (DAIRY) Act this month.

Separately, during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing to confirm the next USDA Secretary, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) questioned nominee Sonny Perdue about finding a solution to the industry’s immigration concerns. Perdue said he supports an exemption to the H-2A program so that dairy farms can hire workers year-round.

In addition to working closely with these and other members of Congress, NMPF remains engaged on the issue of immigration through its leadership in the Agriculture Workforce Coalition (AWC). The AWC continues to raise awareness with officials on Capitol Hill about the challenges facing the agriculture industry, specifically that of labor shortages and the role of immigrants in filling those jobs.

NMPF and the AWC have long supported immigration security and reform measures with the caveat that any proposal also includes avenues to protect current workers and enable a smooth transition to a visa program for future ones.