Wednesday May 10 Ag News

Ricketts Proclaims May as Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska
Today, Governor Pete Ricketts designated the month of May as Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska during a proclamation ceremony at the State Capitol.

“The biofuels industry has been a key part of growing Nebraska agriculture,” said Governor Ricketts.  “Corn-based ethanol and soy biodiesel not only make our air cleaner, but also create jobs, encourage investment in rural communities, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help consumers save their hard-earned dollars when filling up at the pump.  Filling up with biofuels is not only a financially smart decision, but it is also an investment in Nebraska and our state’s number one industry.”

Currently, ethanol is blended with 90 percent of all fuel in Nebraska, and this number continues to increase each year.  There are over 227,000 flex fuel vehicles in the state, which equates to 1 in 7 Nebraska vehicles.  The 25 ethanol plants in Nebraska produced 2.1 billion gallons of ethanol in 2016.  The industry directly employs over 1,300 people in the state with an average salary of more than $50,000.  The economic strength of Nebraska’s corn and ethanol industry also spills into the livestock sector.

“Nebraska is often referred to as the ‘Golden Triangle,’” said Nebraska Corn Board Chairman David Merrell of St. Edward.  “Due to their proximity to each other coupled with Nebraska’s ample resources, our crop, livestock, and ethanol industries are able to thrive.  Each of these industries support and strengthen each other.  For example, from the ethanol production process, we not only get a renewable fuel, but we also get distillers grains, which are great feed resources for livestock domestically and internationally.”

The biodiesel and livestock industries also work synergistically to benefit Nebraska farmers and ranchers.  A healthy biodiesel industry provides nearly $58.5 million a year in aggregate benefits to beef and pork production due to decreased meal expenses and the use of inedible tallow and white grease as a biodiesel feedstock.

“It’s really amazing to see how well our ag sectors work together,” said Nebraska Soybean Board Chairman Tony Johanson of Oakland.  “As a farmer, it’s encouraging to see the value biodiesel has added to soybeans.  For example, biodiesel adds roughly $0.74 per bushel, and the industry helps support more than 60,000 jobs in the United States.”

Because renewable fuels are produced domestically, they greatly reduce our reliance on imported oil.  In 2016, ethanol replaced the need for 540 million barrels of imported crude oil and biodiesel displaced 2.9 billion gallons of imported petroleum diesel.

Renewable Fuels Month has been coordinated through the Nebraska Corn Board, the Nebraska Ethanol Board, and the Nebraska Soybean Board.  Several promotional events are being held throughout the month through the organizations’ social media platforms.

Additionally, the corn and ethanol boards are partnering together with ethanol producer Green Plains and Kum & Go at its Gretna location (I-80 Exit 439).  During this promotion on May 19 from 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m., American Ethanol blends will be sold at a steep discount.  E15 and E85 will each sell for $0.99 per gallon.



Sasse and McCain Announce Opposition to President's Nominee for Trade Representative

Tonight, U.S. Senators Ben Sasse (R-NE) and John McCain (R-AZ) wrote to Robert Lighthizer, announcing their intent to oppose his nomination to be United States Trade Representative (USTR).

The full text of the letter is available below.

Dear Mr. Lighthizer,

We write to explain our intent to oppose your nomination to be United States Trade Representative (USTR). Unfortunately, your confirmation process has failed to reassure us that you understand the North American Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) positive economic benefits to our respective States and the nation as a whole. We fear that you do not have an appreciation for the millions of jobs created by this free trade deal, and that you would not champion agriculture during your time as USTR. Furthermore, we worry that you would not negotiate trade deals that would protect the American consumer and expand economic growth.  These concerns, along with the need for Congress to grant you a waiver to serve in the Trump Administration in a must-pass omnibus spending bill is troubling.

Beyond your vocal advocacy for protectionist shifts in our trade policies, the Administration’s ongoing, incoherent, and inconsistent trade message has compounded our concern.  This is especially troubling because confirming a USTR grants the Administration additional legal authority to negotiate trade deals that Congress must consider under “fast track” procedures.  Given these circumstances, granting the Trump Administration additional legal powers through your confirmation without understanding how you or the Administration intend to use those powers would be irresponsible.

A constant theme throughout your confirmation process has been your failure to grasp the importance of protecting agriculture in trade negotiations. Your meeting with one of us (Senator Sasse) did nothing to disabuse of us this notion. America needs a USTR who will effectively defend agriculture during trade negotiations and fight to expand agricultural export markets, not let America’s farmers and ranchers become collateral damage in a trade war.

You also have made your skepticism of NAFTA well known, which we find to be alarming. America deserves a USTR who will renegotiate NAFTA in order to build on its successes, not as a pretext for unraveling it. Mexico and Canada are two of our largest export markets and the free movement of goods is essential to the growth of our national economy. For example, Mexico is Arizona’s number one trading partner, accounting for 40 percent of the State’s exports to foreign markets. This is due to the free trade policies in NAFTA that create fewer trade barriers with Canada and Mexico, which makes it easier for Americans to make a living and provide for their families. Further, according to the Nebraska Farm Bureau, a withdraw from NAFTA could cost Nebraska farmers and ranchers more than $2.6 billion per year in agricultural exports. Increasing trade barriers with Canada and Mexico, and risking a trade war, only hurts American families and small businesses.

The Trump Administration’s incoherent and inconsistent trade posture to date makes it impossible for us to overlook our concerns with your nomination. On April 29, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order that required the Secretary of Commerce and the USTR, in consultation with several federal agencies, to “conduct comprehensive performance reviews” of all of the United States’ free trade agreements and “renegotiate or terminate” policies that the Administration believes are harmful to the United States. This executive order was signed only days after the release of troubling reports of the Trump Administration’s preparations to withdraw from NAFTA. Reports that the Administration is even considering withdrawal from NAFTA is contrary to previous statements from key Administration officials - including Dr. Peter Navarro, Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Secretary Steve Mnuchin, - that NAFTA would only be up for re-negotiation, not withdrawal. These disjointed positions are causing great uncertainty over the Administration’s trade objectives.

Moreover, this incoherent and protectionist message on trade has caused serious uncertainty for export markets, and has harmed our valuable relationships with Canada and Mexico. The Administration’s actions may also encourage our trading partners to move their markets elsewhere, especially if they believe that future negotiations will hurt their interests. For example, Mexican officials have cited the possible re-negotiation of NAFTA as a major reason why they are currently pursuing actions to import less corn from the U.S. and more from other nations, including Argentina and Brazil.

Other countries may follow Mexico’s suit. For example, China continues to advance the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a regional multilateral trade agreement in the Pacific that includes our current FTA partners, South Korea and Australia, as well as Japan, a potential FTA partner. According to the Congressional Research Service, should the RCEP move forward in its current form, the “United States would face higher tariffs in RCEP markets”[4] and thus many of our trading partners could run to RCEP markets under trade rules set by China.

Confirming your nomination would allow the Trump Administration to negotiate “fast track” trade agreements, a power that Congress granted the executive branch in the 2015 reauthorization of TPA.  For us to consider the complete implications of confirming you, the Administration would need to provide Congress with clear trade objectives with respect to: 1) the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as well as a timeline for upcoming negotiations; 2) other free trade agreements (FTA); and 3) future FTAs, including which countries the Administration intends to pursue trade negotiations and timelines on those intended negotiations.

We hope the future actions and the Administration’s future actions will prove us wrong. The economic well-being of consumers, small businesses, farmers, and ranchers across our country depend upon it.

Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Ben Sasse
U.S. Senator John McCain      


Farmers Surveyed on Efforts to Stop Monarch Butterfly Decline

Research has shown a steep decline in North America’s monarch butterfly population. The 2016 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll examined ways farmers might help reverse that decline through habitat restoration. The survey’s questions examined farmer awareness, concern and willingness to support monarch habitat improvement.Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll logo

“The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium is really ramping up activities to help the species in a number of ways, including working with farmers and others in the agricultural community,” said J. Gordon Arbuckle, associate professor of sociology at Iowa State University and director of the Farm Poll. “We needed to know if farmers were aware of and concerned about population declines, and whether they might lend a hand by improving habitat.”

Eighty-one percent of survey respondents reported they were aware of the monarch butterfly’s population decline. About 65 percent were concerned about the decline, and 18 percent checked the “don’t know” box. Similarly, 42 percent indicated they would like to learn how to improve monarch habitat, while 23 percent weren’t sure.

Farmers were asked if they might be willing to establish and maintain a small amount (1/3-1 acre) of monarch habitat on their farmland. Of the farmers who responded, 38 percent said they would be willing to establish and maintain habitat if they could receive 100 percent of the cost of planting and management. Twenty-one percent said they would participate if they could receive 50 percent cost-share and 14 percent would be willing to establish habitat with their own money. Between a quarter and a third indicated that they did not know whether they would be interested or not.

The poll also asked farmers how many acres they would be willing to plant if they could receive 100 percent of the costs of planting and management. Fifty-one percent of respondents selected “don’t know,” 13 percent wrote “0” and 11 percent did not answer the question.  Among the 25 percent who provided an estimate, the average response was 4.8 acres.

“In general, farmers have a lot more capacity to help monarchs than the rest of us, because they have land,” said Arbuckle. “The results show that many farmers are interested in taking steps to help improve habitat. But the results also suggest a lot of farmers want to learn more before committing land to the effort. So that points to a need for more outreach.”

The Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll has been in existence since 1982, surveying Iowa farmers on issues of importance to agricultural stakeholders. It is the longest-running survey of its kind in the nation.



AgGateway to Hold Ag Retail eConnectivity Seminar at Upcoming Mid-Year Meeting in Altoona, Iowa

As part of its Mid-Year Meeting next month in Altoona, Iowa, June 12-15, AgGateway will be holding a half-day Ag Retail eConnectivity Seminar designed to introduce the many benefits of electronic connectivity to agricultural retailers and service providers. The session will be held Tuesday, June 13, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Ag retailers are encouraged to register now for this one-time event.

The session will include a new video on eConnectivity that features ag retailers Co-Alliance, The Equity and Ceres Solutions, as well as Monsanto, WinField United and Mycogen, manufacturers that are all using eConnectivity to boost productivity, efficiency and accuracy in their businesses.

"This seminar is an excellent opportunity for ag retailers and business system providers who have not yet committed to electronic connectivity to find out more about the tremendous value and competitive advantages," said AgGateway Executive Vice President and COO Brent Kemp. "The seminar will focus on the efficiencies as retailers, manufacturers and distributors move to seamless electronic data exchange."

Some of the topics and speakers will include:
-    Networked Agriculture - Jeremy Wilson, Crop IMS
-    What is eConnectivity and Why Should I Care? - Randy Beard, River Valley Cooperative; Jeff Griffeth, Co-Alliance LLP
-    What Does it Take to Achieve Connectivity? - Randy Fry, Ceres Solutions
-    Ability and Flexibility - Knowing Your Needs and Limits - Brian Gates, Key Cooperative;  Scott Meredith and Eric Hoefing, ACS
-    Who Can Help Me? - Jody Costa, Barcoding Inc.
-    eConnectivity Matters Now - Daren Coppock, President & CEO, Agricultural Retailers Association
-    Panel Discussion: Why My Company Chose Connectivity - Natasha Lily, The Equity; Ann Vande Lune, Key Cooperative; Chuck Bohanon, AgVantage Software; Pat Johnson, Crop Production Services

To register for the seminar, go to the "Events" section of www.AgGateway.org and click on registration for the Mid-Year Meeting. In the registration process you can choose whether to attend the entire Mid-Year Meeting for a registration fee of $150, or only the Ag Retail Seminar for a $50 registration fee.



NAWG and USW Submit Joint Comments on Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associations (USW) today submitted comments for the public hearing on an Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits, pursuant to a request for comments from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Commerce.

“NAWG and USW strongly support efforts to correct policy barriers that reduce potential wheat exports to foreign markets. Open markets and fair trade are critical to the U.S. wheat industry as roughly half of U.S. wheat production is exported on average,” stated NAWG President and Kansas farmer David Schemm.

In the comments, NAWG and USW identified policy barriers erected by various countries that limit wheat export opportunities from the United States. If these barriers were removed, U.S. wheat exports would likely grow as a result.

“Our strong policy preference has been for trade agreements – whether at the World Trade Organization (WTO), regional, or bilateral – to reduce barriers to trade and let the individual players in those markets drive trade and investment decisions,” stated USW Chairman and Maryland farmer Jason Scott.

U.S. wheat farmers have a competitive advantage in producing wheat and the United States is one of the largest exporters of wheat in the world. Ensuring a fair playing field for U.S. producers facilitates wheat exports, resulting in reduced trade deficits and increased revenue and jobs in rural America.



Livestock Industry Shines Spotlight on the Use of Grazing to Prevent Wildfires

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council today kicked off a media and advertising campaign that will shine a spotlight on how grazing on public lands helps to mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires – the leading threat to species like the greater sage grouse. The campaign will be centered around a new website, GrazingPreventsWildfires.com, and will run through May.

“Coming off the wet winter we had across much of the west, ranchers are on the sidelines as new spring growth explodes and adds to residual grasses from prior grazing reductions," said Ethan Lane, executive director of the Public Lands Council and NCBA's Federal Lands. "These fuel loads are building at the same time that livestock numbers on federal grazing permits continue to shrink due to misplaced priorities, political pressure, and a lack of regulatory flexibility for BLM and Forest Service staff to make the right management decisions on the ground.”  

In addition to the launch of the new website, the campaign kicked off with a two-minute video that will be heavily promoted on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. The video features Darcy Helmick, Land Manager for Simplot Livestock Company in southern Idaho. In the kickoff video, Helmick walks through a vast, dense Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grass field in rural Owyhee County, Idaho, which she explains will turn into wildfire fuel as it dries out in the summer months.

“What’s unfortunate is we’ve already grazed this allotment,” Helmick points out. “So no more of this forage will be removed prior to fire season. If we have the ability and the flexibility to bring cows out and stay long enough to remove some of this forage, we’re literally reducing the fuel load in these areas.”

NCBA and PLC this week also released a Beltway Beef podcast with Lane discussing the lack of flexibility within federal agencies to allow more grazing after unusually wet spells. Over the coming weeks, NCBA and PLC will release additional videos, infographics, op-eds, and other materials aimed at educating policy makers, reporters, and other industry stakeholders in Washington and around the country.

“The time to address this threat is now, while we still have a chance to get ahead of the game," Lane said. "Congress and the Administration need to provide staff on the ground with the flexibility to use grazing as a tool to protect sagebrush and native forage before a fire, and make sure ranchers can get back into those burned areas quickly after a fire to prevent the spread of invasive weeds like cheatgrass.”



BASF Strengthens Partnership with National FFA Organization

For more than 60 years, BASF has worked with the National FFA Organization to ensure the future of agriculture and agricultural education. Through a generous donation, BASF has worked with FFA to provide FFA members the opportunity to grow into leaders, build their communities and strengthen agriculture.

In 2017, BASF will serve as a Silver sponsor. They currently support state officer programs, delegate programs, the grain production-placement proficiency as well as the Teach Ag program.

“We appreciate that the goals and values of BASF align with FFA and that they see agricultural education and FFA as a critical part of their industry and company success,” said Molly Ball, National FFA Foundation president.  “We are thankful for their increased support to become a Silver sponsor.”

"It is our responsibility to help prepare our future leaders in agriculture and provide students and educators with the understanding of how their curriculum is relevant to the work being accomplished in the business community,” said BASF North America Crop Protection Senior Vice President Paul Rea. “This helps them better understand what skills are needed for various careers and learn more about current industry practices. The BASF team is committed to financially supporting FFA and to contributing employee time and expertise. It takes both resources to yield success.”

At the local, state and national levels, FFA brings their mission to life for student members. Members gain experience in the areas of agricultural literacy and advocacy, agricultural knowledge, career exploration, leadership development, food security and service engagement.




New Children's Book, Busy on the Farm Serves as  Ag Literacy Tool

Busy on the Farm: with Casey & Friends, the sixth in a series of books for children ages four through eight, is a fun and entertaining yet educational story about caring for livestock. It helps children understand the connection between agriculture and food production, highlighting the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) used every day in farming. With its entertaining and whimsical cartoon characters and educational content, Busy on the Farm can help both farm and non-farm children learn about modern agriculture.

“Science and technology are at the heart of today's agriculture,” says Holly Dufek, author of the Casey & Friends series. “Including STEM aspects of agriculture was a natural fit, and the book exposes young children to agriculture and science with the hope of exciting them about both.”

Dufek has spent nearly 15 years writing and editing educational curriculum, including helping to develop content to enrich the National Common Core Standards for elementary through high school classrooms. She has authored six Casey & Friends educational books and believes the series can serve as a beginning-level ag literacy tool for young children.

“Even though the number of farms continues to decline, the agricultural industry has many programs promoting the wide range of career opportunities available in STEM and agriculture,” notes Dufek. “Since there currently aren’t National Common Core Standards in science for children before middle school, the series can help fill that gap for this age group.”

Science and Women in Ag Featured
Casey the Farmer, a woman, is the narrator in all the books. “During library readings, it’s amazing how many boys remark that girls can’t be farmers,” says Dufek. “We didn’t initially cast the farmer as female, but as the first book evolved it became a way to show boys, and especially girls, that anyone can be a farmer or work in agriculture.”

The Casey & Friends book series combines real action photographs with bright illustrations and a cast of cartoon characters that were created by Pixar Cars artist Paul Nunn. This book was illustrated by veteran children’s book artist Mike Kasun. Characters in the book include Bailey the Baler, Fern the Farmall and Tillus the Worm, who deliver fun facts about farming and STEM throughout the book.

Educational sidebars, a glossary of ag terms and fun farm facts provide additional learning opportunities. In Busy on the Farm, children learn how weather affects crops and what farmers do to protect their crops, that one cow produces about 6.5 gallons of milk each day, an acre of land produces about 10,000 pounds of alfalfa each year and cows are part of the Bovine subfamily, which includes buffalo.

Other Casey & Friends books from Octane Press, include A Year on the Farm: with Casey & Friends, Big Tractors: with Casey & Friends, Planters & Cultivators: with Casey & Friends, Combines: with Casey & Friends and Casey’s Bright Red Christmas. Each book highlights the science and technology associated with different farming practices and the equipment used. To learn more about the Casey & Friends books, visit octanepress.com/caseyandfriends. 

Dufek concludes, “Agricultural Science is one of the top fields to study in college today. Yet fewer and fewer people either live on a farm or have a direct connection to agriculture. We hope Casey & Friends books can help pique kids’ interests at an early age, so later they will consider careers in STEM and agriculture.”