Tuesday July 25 Ag News

ACE welcomes Governor Ricketts to 30th annual conference

The 30th annual American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference will host Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts as the keynote speaker during the general session on Wednesday, Aug. 16 of the upcoming Aug. 15-17 event being held at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Omaha.

“Ethanol has been a great success story in Nebraska communities and communities all across the heartland,” said Governor Pete Ricketts. “We look forward to hosting the 30th annual conference of the American Coalition for Ethanol in Omaha this year.”

 “We’re thrilled Governor Ricketts can join us as we gather together in his home state of Nebraska to discuss pressing industry issues,” said Brian Jennings, executive vice president of ACE. “The governor has served as a great advocate for Nebraska’s ethanol industry, and we look forward to hearing his perspective from recent meetings he’s had with President Trump and EPA Administrator Pruitt on the energy and policy issues impacting this industry.”

The 2017 ACE conference general session will kick off on Wednesday, Aug. 16 with an update from ACE leadership. The successes of last year and highlights of upcoming projects and opportunities for ACE members will be provided by Duane Kristensen, ACE board vice president representing Chief Ethanol Fuels; Brian Jennings, ACE executive vice president; and Ron Lamberty, ACE senior vice president. Gov. Ricketts keynote address will follow these updates.

Next on the agenda lineup is a presentation from Jim Galvin, the appointed leader of the U.S. Grains Council Advisory Team for Ethanol and director and CEO of Lakeview Energy. Galvin will provide an update on the industry’s export market development strategy—market trends, global demand factors and implications of Trump administration trade policy reform on the U.S. ethanol industry. 

The general session on Wednesday will conclude by taking a deeper dive into market development efforts here at home. Fuel marketers Charlie Bosselman, owner of Bosselman Enterprises, and Bob O’Connor, owner of JETZ Convenience Centers, will share lessons learned from making the switch to offer higher ethanol blends at their stations and provide an update on how E15 and flex fuels are impacting their bottom line.

An award ceremony and lunch will follow the general session panels. Prospective attendees are being urged to register online and make hotel reservations now before registration rates rise Aug. 1 and the conference room block closes tomorrow, July 26.



Rohwer Testifies at Senate Hearing on 2018 Farm Bill

Crop insurance and commodity title programs have been critical for helping farmers survive sustained low commodity prices, and they should be maintained in the next farm bill, National Corn Growers Association Board member Bruce Rohwer testified today at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on risk management tools and the 2018 Farm Bill.

“Crop insurance and commodity title programs are particularly important to family farmers who earn a majority of their household income from the farm. Without crop insurance and commodity title payments, the financial wherewithal of these farms would likely face serious erosion in the current environment,” said Rohwer, who raises corn and soybeans and runs a sow farrow-to-finish operation in Paullina, Iowa.

Rohwer noted that corn prices have averaged below $4.00 per bushel since 2013, and are projected to average $3.35 this marketing year. The annual crop value of corn fell from nearly $77 billion in 2011 to just over $51 billion in 2016, the effects of which have been felt throughout the agriculture industry. Restoring a strong farm economy is good not only for farmers, but also the businesses they support, Rohwer testified.

“The sharp drop in farm income increases the financial stress for farmers, as well as employees of agriculture-related businesses, such as equipment manufacturers. Everyone tied to the ag economy is affected,” said Rohwer.

“That’s why it is more important than ever to strengthen our position in current markets and develop new uses to increase demand for our crop. A robust livestock industry, expanding exports, and a growing renewable fuels industry are central to corn farmers achieving more profitable and resilient farm operations.”

In the meantime, Rohwer testified, commodity title programs and the federal crop insurance program are essential risk management tools for farmers, and they must be maintained in the 2018 Farm Bill.

“Overall, the commodity program reforms authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill have performed as they were designed. They are delivering assistance when it’s needed, and only when it’s needed.”



ASA’s Scott Testifies on Farm Bill Risk Management Programs

Soybean farmer Kevin Scott testified on the importance of risk management programs within the nation’s farm legislation at a hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee this morning in Washington. Scott, who serves on the Board of Directors of the American Soybean Association (ASA) and as an at-large ASA Governing Committee member, detailed for the Committee the ways that programs within the commodities and crop insurance titles of the farm bill work together and may be improved moving forward to help producers in a time of economic uncertainty on the farm. Scott also testified on positive changes the Committee could make with regard to wetlands conservation, an important issue in his home state of South Dakota.

In his comments on Title I, Scott stated that the two main programs within that title—the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs--have worked as intended. “(ASA) supports reauthorizing ARC and PLC as choices on a farm-by-farm and crop-by-crop basis,” he stated. “We also support offering an option to reallocate crop acreage bases or to update bases to reflect recent planting history, and to update program payment yields, if funding is available to do so.”

Scott suggested that the more accurate yield data generated by USDA’s Risk Management Agency should be used to calculate payments, instead of the current policy of using yields reported to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and further recommended that payments under Title I should continue to be based on average planting of covered commodities in recent years, rather than on current-year plantings. “Decoupling encourages farmers to follow market signals rather than prospects for receiving government payments,” Scott said.

Regarding crop insurance, Scott noted the strong support of ASA for strengthening the program, calling it an essential tool for managing risk. “Crop insurance is now widely acknowledged as the most valuable part of the farm safety net,” Scott said.

Scott also took the opportunity to discuss the need for changes to the way USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service determines wetlands for the purposes of farm bill conservation programs. “Ensuring that, as farmers, we are good stewards of our environment is paramount to ASA. One of the ways we do so is by conserving our wetlands,” Scott said. “However, the process at NRCS for determining the existence of wetlands has become slow and burdensome to producers … There is such a backlog of applications waiting on NRCS in our area that producers can wait years before they know what they can or cannot do on their land.”

Scott suggested several fixes, including third-party determinations, deadlines for NRCS determinations, establishment of a determination as a final action that would allow for an immediate appeal in District Court, and reallocation of NRCS resources to states where the wetland determination backlog is largest.



ICBA Proposes Five Goals for New Farm Bill & Ways to Prevent Next Farm Crisis

The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) today urged Congress to adopt a new long-term farm bill incorporating five broad goals and offered enhancements to USDA programs to prevent a farm credit crisis. Testifying before the Senate Agriculture Committee’s “Commodities, Crop Insurance & Credit” hearing, ICBA witness Brenda Kluesner, a loan officer and crop insurance manager for Royal Bank in Cassville, Wis., advocated for Congress to adopt a dynamic new multi-year farm bill upon expiration of the current bill to provide continuity and enable agricultural producers and their lenders to engage in multi-year business decision making.

Kluesner urged Congress to authorize permanent funding mechanisms for USDA farm loan programs and USDA’s Business and Industry program in years where demand for program loans exceed appropriated funds. She also noted more robust and better-financed USDA guaranteed lending programs through the 2018 farm bill will help avoid a farm credit crunch and prevent an exodus of producers from the agricultural sector.

ICBA’s five principles for consideration in the next farm bill include:
-    providing producers ample funds for commodities, crop insurance and credit programs to help them weather a potential farm income or farm credit crisis,
-    considering any program changes, including outside the current farm bill, that benefit producers and their community banks,
-    directing agencies to reduce regulatory burdens and prohibit regulations not based on statutory language or that add unnecessary regulatory burdens,
-    requiring federal agencies’ rules to treat all categories of program participants fairly, and
-    requiring direct loan programs to compliment, not undercut, private sector lending.

To meet the growing demand for these programs, Kluesner encouraged Congress to provide adequate funding, raise loan limits, minimize origination fees and paperwork requirements, and provide uniform financing requirements for USDA loans across state lines in addition to other recommendations.

“Congress has the power to help avoid a farm credit crisis,” Kluesner said. “A strong farm safety net for commodities, and a strong crop insurance program, are both vital to producers and community banks. By enhancing, streamlining and adjusting the USDA guaranteed lending programs in the next farm bill, we will ensure that they fulfill their potential to be a key component of the farm safety net and help prevent the next farm credit crisis.”



 NFU President Urges Senate Agriculture Committee to Strengthen Farm Safety Net

Family farmers and ranchers are enduring a severely depressed farm economy, with projections pointing to a prolonged period of depressed commodity prices. To ensure the growth and success of family farm agriculture, Congress must strengthen the overall farm safety net, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson told the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture today.

In his oral testimony to the Committee’s hearing on “Commodities, Credit, and Crop Insurance: Perspectives on Risk Management Tools and Trends for the 2018 Farm Bill,” Johnson urged senators to improve the farm bill safety net, protect crop insurance, and improve access to credit.

“We continue to witness pressure in the countryside as commodity prices remain low and farmers and ranchers struggle to adjust,” Johnson told members of the Committee. “We are three years into this downturn, and forecasts by USDA point to a prolonged period of depressed prices. Given this scenario, NFU believes that the farm bill safety net should provide meaningful assistance in two fundamental circumstances: when disaster strikes and when prices are low and remain below the cost of production for extended periods of time. These two scenarios have separate solutions, the first is crop insurance and the second is commodity programs.”

Johnson noted that much discussion and debate around the 2018 Farm Bill has centered on programs that fit a particular budget. “Using the budget as a starting and ending point for the nation’s agriculture safety net is problematic from our perspective,” he said. “Feeding the nation is a national security priority and should be treated as such.”

To that end, Johnson urged the Committee to raise reference prices under the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, improve the operability of Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), return cotton as a covered commodity, and rework the dairy safety net.

Johnson also stressed the vital importance of crop insurance, an essential risk management tool for family farmers, which is constantly under threat of budget cuts in Congress. He applauded changes contained in the 2014 Farm Bill pertaining to the policies such as the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP), which have proven an important springboard for farmers, especially beginning farmers, into crop insurance.

“We should continue to look for ways to incentivize wider adoption of risk management tools through the Farm Bill,” he added.

Finally, Johnson emphasized the need to provide producers with access to credit, especially during times of financial strife. He noted that in fiscal year 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) set a new record across its loan portfolio, with obligations of direct and guaranteed operating and farm ownership loan funds reaching $6.3 billion.

“At the same time servicing metrics associated with the program got worse as delinquencies rose across the portfolio and debt restructuring increased,” Johnson said. “Among private sector lending, confidence is down and stress on portfolios are up according to both public and private reports. Nearly 90 percent of agricultural lenders have seen an overall decline in farm profitability in the last 12 months.”

“There are many challenges facing agriculture today,” Johnson concluded. “This committee has a challenging task ahead of it as it begins to grapple with these problems. The farm bill safety net needs to be improved, crop insurance needs to be protected, and access to credit needs to be increased all for the benefit of family farmers. Our collective challenge is to continue working to provide help when and where needed – and to encourage the continued growth and success of our most vital industry – agriculture.”



NPPC Supports Legislation To Stop States From Dictating Production Practices In Other States

Stating that “pork producers, not animal-right activists, lawmakers or regulators, should make the decisions about what production practices are best for their animals and for producing safe food,” Neil Dierks, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council, today in congressional testimony pledged the organization’s support for legislation that would prohibit a state from imposing tax or regulatory burdens on businesses, including pork operations, that are not physically present in the state.

The ‘‘No Regulation Without Representation Act of 2017,’’ H.R. 2887, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., would stop states from adopting laws and regulations that ban the sale of out-of-state products that don’t meet their criteria.

Massachusetts, for example, last year approved a ballot initiative that outlaws in the state the use of gestation stalls for housing sows, battery cages for egg-laying hens and crates for veal calves and prohibits the sale of out-of-state pork, eggs and veal from animals kept in the banned housing. The California Legislature in 2010 adopted a similar sales prohibition after voters in the state in 2008 approved a nearly identical ban on animal housing.

NPPC has fought such bans, which have been pushed by animal-rights groups. Nine states have banned, through legislation or ballot measures, gestation stalls, battery cages and veal crates, but only California and Massachusetts extended the bans to sales in their state of products produced anywhere in the country that don’t comply with their housing standards.

“Changes in production practices should be driven by the marketplace, not government fiats or even ballot initiatives,” Dierks told the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, during its hearing on the growing problem of states regulating beyond their borders.

He pointed out that, while states have the prerogative – however ill-advised or uninformed – to ban certain agriculture production practices for their farmers, they shouldn’t be allowed to adopt laws or regulations that dictate the practices of farmers in the other 49 states.

That restraint of interstate commerce, Dierks told the panel, would appear to be a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which gives absolute power to Congress to regulate such trade.

The Sensenbrenner bill would prohibit state intrusions on the sovereignty of other states, limiting state taxation and regulation to persons and entities that have a “physical presence” in the state.



Farm Bureau Presents Farm Bill Goals to Congress

Congress must counter a steep, four-year drop in commodity prices that has left farmers and ranchers in worse shape than any time since the farm depression of the 1980s, Kentucky Farm Bureau President Mark Haney told the Senate Agriculture Committee today.                                                                                                    

Haney’s testimony cited growing losses in farm country that increasingly threaten the livelihoods of millions of Americans.

“2017 and 2018 will be a critical period for farmers and ranchers,” Haney told the committee. “Farmers and ranchers are tightening their belts and paying very close attention to their individual financial situations. Simply put, they are in greater need of strong, secure safety net programs and risk management tools than has been the case for several years.”

To offset the effects of deteriorating farm and ranch conditions, Haney said, Congress should:
-    Protect current farm bill spending.
-    Maintain a unified farm bill that includes nutrition programs and farm programs together.
-    Ensure any changes to current farm legislation be an amendment to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 or the Agricultural Act of 1949.
-    Prioritize top funding concerns -- risk management tools, which include both federal crop insurance and Title I commodity programs.
-    Ensure programs are compliant with World Trade Organization agreements.

Haney also urged Congress to maintain robust funding for conservation programs that encourage environmentally sensitive farming practices as well as the periodic withdrawal of land from active use.



NMPF Urges FDA: Enforce U.S. Standards for Dairy Food Labeling

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) long absence of enforcement of its own food standards has allowed the marketing of hundreds of deceptively labeled dairy imitators – a situation requiring immediate action by the federal government, National Milk Producers Federation officials told the agency during a high-level meeting in Maryland today.

Food policy staff from the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), led by President and CEO Jim Mulhern, met with key FDA regulators to discuss the dairy organization’s concern over the agency’s persistent inaction toward the misleading labeling practices of plant-based food manufacturers. During the last two decades, plant-based “milk” imitators have flooded the market, using dairy terminology and imagery to advertise their products as suitable replacements for cow’s milk, despite the fact that they are nutritionally inferior. While FDA’s own standards of identity clearly stipulate that products labeled as “milk” must come from a lactating animal, the agency has consistently turned a blind eye to violations of these standards, thereby encouraging these imitation dairy manufacturers to inappropriately use that term, as well as other dairy product terms like “cheese,” “yogurt,” and “ice cream.”

“Today’s meeting with FDA allowed us to convey our concern that in the absence of enforcement of existing clear and consistent regulations, well-defined product labels lose their meaning,” said Mulhern. “In the case of imitation milks, these beverages are nothing but a factory-made slurry of ground-up nuts or seeds combined with water, sugar, emulsifiers and thickeners. By comparison, cow’s milk has attracted and nourished generations, and built a reputation as a natural food with a consistent package of nine essential nutrients. It is misleading and deceptive to allow these nutritionally inferior imitators to use our hard-won reputation to their advantage.”

NMPF surveyed imitation dairy beverages in the marketplace and concluded that none of the imitation products matched the nine essential nutrients found in cow’s milk. The strongest discrepancies were noticed in amounts of protein, sodium and potassium. While almond “milk” has become the most popular dairy alternative, it fails to deliver one of real milk’s core nutrients: protein; almond beverages contain just 1 gram per serving, compared to real milk’s 8 grams (other popular milk imitators, including rice- and coconut-based beverages, also offer little to no protein). The survey also highlighted the amount of sodium added to dairy imitators for flavor. About two-thirds of the products surveyed contained more sodium than cow’s milk (which is all naturally occurring), some close to double the amount. A similarly large majority failed to offer the same amount of potassium – one of three nutrients most lacking in Americans’ diets, according to government dietary research.

NMPF executives pointed out that the current federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans admonish consumers that “other products sold as ‘milks’ but made from plants are not included as part of the dairy group [of recommended foods] because their overall nutritional content is not similar to dairy milk.”

“Beyond the wide variation in the presence of many nutrients, not one of these imitators had the same amount of nine essential nutrients in real milk,” said Beth Briczinski, NMPF’s vice president for dairy food and nutrition. “Some may add food-grade calcium salts or a few vitamins, but none matches milk’s complete nutritional profile. This discrepancy is about more than words; it’s a matter of the public being served nutritionally inconsistent, inferior products that desperately want to ride the coattails of and associate themselves with a superior food.”

The meeting also allowed NMPF to highlight the fact that FDA is out of step with its international counterparts, including Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Each country actively polices improper labeling of imitation dairy products; Canada requires U.S.-based companies to change the wording on their labels to comply with the country’s own rules, for example, requiring that the product marketed as “almondmilk” in the United States be labeled as “almond beverage.” Meanwhile, the EU Court of Justice determined last month that products not sourced from an animal cannot bear the terms “milk,” “cheese” and so on.

“These countries prove that by actively enforcing standards of identity, dairy-free alternatives and real milk can co-exist without conflict,” said Mulhern. “We are not trying to eliminate the marketing of these foods. We want to end the consumer deception associated with these products and for FDA to enforce its regulations on product integrity. We will continue to push on this issue until FDA acts to ensure dairy standards are enforced.”



New Additive Hands Biodiesel the Win as Cleanest Liquid Fuel in the U.S.

The California Air Resource Board announced on July 20, 2017 that it has certified a biodiesel additive that will make B20 blends in California the cleanest proven and tested diesel fuel with the lowest emissions profile available anywhere in the U.S.

“Biodiesel has been a key to help California meet its intense carbon reduction goals. With this announcement, America’s Advanced Biofuel will continue to deliver a cleaner burning, American made alternative under the state’s low carbon fuel standard,” said Donnell Rehagen, National Biodiesel Board CEO. “Biodiesel will gladly take the role as the cleanest certified diesel fuel available.”

The additive takes already clean-burning biodiesel and ensures it reduces every measurable regulated emission, including NOx, when blended with California’s unique diesel formulation called CARB diesel. NBB led the initial research and development into the additive to maintain biodiesel’s competitive advantage under the state’s low carbon fuel standard.

Branded VESTA™1000, the CARB certified additive ensures compliance with the January 1, 2018 implementation of CARB’s Alternative Diesel Fuel Regulation. A 20 percent blend of biodiesel with VESTA™ 1000 reduced NOx by 1.9 percent and particulate matter by 18 percent compared to CARB diesel fuel. California Fueling, LLC will produce the formula, and Pacific Fuel Resource, LLC will deliver the product to market. The two companies will work cooperatively with NBB members as well as those in the California fuel community to support the ongoing use of biodiesel diesel blends up to B20.

“This impressive NBB-led effort, over the course of the past eighteen months, has resulted in a first-of-a-kind CARB approval, which enables biodiesel to be the renewable fuel of choice to meet California’s stringent LCFS carbon reduction requirements,” said Pat McDuff, CEO, California Fueling, LLC.

“As a result of this effort, biodiesel will continue to play a major role in helping Californians meet their renewable energy and clean air goals,” said Paul Nazzaro, President, Pacific Fuel Resource, LLC. “By increasing biodiesel use up to a B20 blend, estimated to be an additional 600 million gallons of cleaner-burning biodiesel annually, California can now achieve its goals under the LCFS.”



Calf Crop Points Towards Larger Beef Supplies
James Mintert, Purdue University

USDA provided several key updates last week when it released the July Cattle inventory report along with its monthly Cattle on Feed report. The mid-year cattle inventory report provided the first estimate of the 2017 calf crop, which at 36.3 million head was 3.5 percent larger than the 2016 calf crop. The year-over-year increase in the calf crop's size was slightly larger than in 2016, when the U.S. calf crop increased 2.9 percent compared to the prior year. This is the third consecutive year that the calf crop size has increased after bottoming out at 33.5 million head in 2014. The calf crop increase continues to point to larger slaughter cattle supplies in both 2018 and 2019, despite the downturn in profitability experienced by U.S. cow-calf operations.

Year-to-year comparisons of other data included in the cattle inventory report are not possible since USDA did not publish the mid-year report last year because of budget pressure. Despite that shortcoming, the report does provide some key insights into developing changes in the industry. The July 1 all cattle and calves inventory estimate was 102.6 million head, which was the first time the July inventory was above 100 million head since 2011. The beef cow inventory of 32.5 million head was 6.6 percent larger than two years ago and was the largest July inventory since 2008. Both of these estimates are consistent with the expansion observed on the January inventory report.

Although it's not clear from the report that beef industry expansion has come to a grinding halt, it does suggest expansion interest is waning. For example, the number of beef heifers being held by producers for herd replacement on July 1st was 2 percent smaller than in 2015 and, when expressed as a percentage of the beef cow inventory totaled just 14.5 percent. In contrast, when the beef industry was expanding rapidly this ratio climbed above 15 percent. Additionally, the ratio of female (cow and heifer) slaughter relative to steer slaughter has been above a year ago 5 out of the last six months, the exception occurring in February. The increase in female relative to steer slaughter suggests herd expansion has slowed, if it has not actually come to a complete halt.

USDA's Cattle on Feed report confirmed that the on feed inventory remains well above last year. Early in 2017 the on feed inventory was very near a year earlier, but net placements on feed have been substantially above the prior year every month except February. The placement build-up means that, despite a good marketing pace throughout 2017, pushed the on feed inventory up with a July 1 inventory that was 4.5 percent above the prior year. The combination of a larger cattle on feed inventory and larger placements both point to fed cattle marketings during the last half of 2017 remaining above 2016's.

Commercial cattle slaughter was 6.5 percent larger during the first half of 2017 than in 2016. But cattle weights were lower than a year earlier, averaging 1.7 percent below the January-June 2016 average. As a result, beef production during 2017's first half increased just 4.8 percent compared to the same period in 2016. The on feed inventory and placement pattern both point to beef production remaining above a year earlier throughout the rest of 2017, although the year-over-year increases are expected to moderate.

Recent eastern Corn Belt calf prices, although based on seasonally small summer calf marketings, have been modestly higher than a year ago. Prices in Kentucky markets reported by USDA for 500-600 pound steers averaged in the mid-$150s during the first half of July, compared to the mid-$140s a year earlier. Prices are likely to remain near that range, with seasonal weakness expected in October when calf marketings increase. Last year prices for 500-600 pound steers in Kentucky dropped into the $112 to $120 range in October and early November. Prices for 500-600 pound Kentucky steers this fall are expected to be somewhat stronger than in fall 2016, but feed grain price movement between now and fall could have an effect on prices. If feed prices remain near recent levels, prices in Kentucky markets for 500-600 pound steers could average in the $120s to the $130s.



New Legislation Would Delay Logging Device Requirements for Drivers

A recently introduced bill would provide a much-needed delay to the problematic electronic logging device mandate for certain drivers, which is set to go into effect in December, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The Farm Bureau-backed ELD Extension Act of 2017 (H.R. 3282) would delay the mandate for two years to allow stakeholders to work with FMCSA to address numerous unresolved issues.

“This delay is necessary to adequately account for costs, allay technology concerns, minimize impacts to livestock and other live animals under our members’ care and allow for the proper training to ensure uniform compliance and enforcement,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall wrote in a letter to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas).

Unless Congress acts, carriers and drivers who are subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s ELD rule must install and use ELDs by Dec. 18. While most farmers and ranchers should be exempt because they can claim covered farm vehicle status, drivers who haul livestock, live fish and insects are likely to fall under the requirements.

Drivers who have to use ELDs would be limited to current hours of service rules, which restrict a driver to only 14 “on duty” hours, with no more than 11 active driving hours. Once a driver hits those maximum hour allotments, he must stop and rest for 10 consecutive hours, which would be problematic when transporting livestock and other live animals.

The requirements imposed by the mandate would be harmful to both small business owners, who could be forced out of the marketplace, and livestock, which could suffer if they were no longer hauled by highly skilled and trained drivers and stockmen, Duvall wrote.

“Time spent on a truck can be stressful for cattle and other live animals. Unnecessary stops or multiple loads and unloads add additional stress resulting in potential livestock weight loss and increased animal sickness and death,” he said.



Now is the time to plan for cover crops

When it comes to growing cover crops, some common advice from the more than 100 farmers enrolled in the Soil Health Partnership is “start small.” The SHP is encouraging farmers new to cover crops to start small, but start now.

A cover crop is a crop planted primarily to reduce soil erosion, improve soil health, and protect water quality, among other benefits. Typical varieties in the Midwest include cereal rye, oats and tillage radish.

David Moose, an Auburn, Ill. farmer enrolled in the SHP program, has grown cover crops on his farm for several years. Kneeling in his black soil at a November field day, Moose pulls up a tiny green plant. The cereal rye’s thin roots extend deeper into the soil than looks possible.

“This root is already nearly 12 inches long,” Moose says. “It will grow to be another one or two feet down in the soil, providing a nice environment for worms, and creating channels for water to go down deep. I don’t have to rip up the soil for this to happen.”

Growing cover crops, usually in fall and winter, can provide striking benefits to soil health, including:
-    Erosion Prevention. Reducing the soil’s exposure to wind and water can help keep precious topsoil in place.
-    Restoring Organic Matter.  Some components of organic matter can help bind soil together, store water and nutrients that plants need, and sustain helpful bacteria and fungi.
-    Improved Soil Structure and Soil Pores. Compacted soils do not have enough room for the plant roots to grow. Improving soil structure and pores helps hold soil in place and retains water for plants to use.
-    Weed Suppression. Cover crop residue left between rows can help prevent weeds from growing. Vigorous cover crops also show promise for suppressing difficult-to-kill weeds.
-    Nutrient Storage. After the corn and soybean harvest, cover crops take up extra nutrients, like nitrogen, preventing losses to air and water. When cover crops decompose, these nutrients get re-released over time back to the next cash crop.
-    Biodiversity. Each plant brings its own set of characteristics which make the farm’s “ecosystem” more diverse. They can also provide wildlife habitat.

“If you have been on the fence about cover crops, you still have time this year to try it! Late July through August is the time to buy cover crop seed and get the seeding method lined up,” said Elyssa McFarland, Eastern Iowa SHP field manager. “You don’t have to cover your entire farm. Just start small in an area that you feel your soils could be most improved. Have a goal!”

McFarland says there are usually several local resources to help farmers get started, including seed companies and other ag retailers, state commodity groups, extension offices and local Natural Resources Conservation Service offices. The SHP is also hosting or partnering on a series of Field Days this summer and fall.

An initiative of the National Corn Growers Association, the goal of the Soil Health Partnership is to quantify the benefits of sustainable ag practices, including cover crops, from an economic standpoint.

“Through our long-term data collection on real working farms, we hope to demonstrate to farmers that healthy soil is also more productive soil, and can do things like improve yields over time,” McFarland says.

Moose looks forward to seeing data, but he says he already knows the combination of cover crops and no-till has been good for his business.

“I am not losing soil; I’m building soil,” Moose says. “I’m getting by with less labor, less equipment. And with the research of the Soil Health Partnership, I expect we’ll see more proof of the benefits of cover crops.”



 New NK® Corn and Soybeans offer growers science-driven boost to seed portfolios

The NK® seeds portfolio is expanding to offer growers more cutting-edge options in 2018, with Syngenta announcing the release of 31 new hybrids and 21 new varieties.

They reflect a continued investment by Syngenta in advancing the retail seeds industry. All NK Corn and Soybeans are driven by the latest scientific advances, with researchers using a complex system of analytics that helps to pinpoint and develop the characteristics most likely to help growers maximize yields. The result is a range of hybrids and varieties that delivers results.

“As with all our products, the new NK hybrids and varieties originated from our proprietary pool of genetics – meaning that when growers add them to their seed portfolios, they’re adding something truly different,” said Scott Erickson, head of product marketing, soybean seed at Syngenta. “With NK, growers can plant the seeds of change. It’s a great recipe to help spread risk while maximizing opportunity.”

The 2018 class of NK Soybean varieties delivers elite genetics to protect against a range of diseases and pests including sudden death syndrome (SDS) and soybean cyst nematodes (SCN). NK Soybean varieties offer growers the industry’s best SDS ratings when compared to major competitors’ varieties, with an average 1.3-point advantage for relative maturities – a critical benefit given that there are no in-season options currently available to combat this yield-robbing disease.

In addition, 18 of the new varieties include Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® trait technology, offering growers another tool to manage against weed resistance.

Many of the new NK Corn hybrids are similarly backed by advanced, high-performing traits and technologies. The Agrisure® traits portfolio offers best-in-class insect control, water optimization and herbicide tolerance to protect genetic yield potential. For the 2018 season, growers will have access to eight new Agrisure Artesian® hybrids and 15 new hybrids featuring the Agrisure Viptera® trait. Additionally, five new hybrids featuring the Agrisure Duracade® trait will be available in select geographies under a Syngenta grain-use marketing program.

“Introducing 10 new genetic families, the 2018 NK hybrids will continue to enable growers to diversify genetics across their fields,” said Joe Bollman, corn product marketing manager at Syngenta. “With greater genetic choice and proven performance, NK Corn is a worthy investment.”

All 2018 NK Corn hybrids will follow the new naming system introduced earlier this year that clearly identifies hybrid relative maturity.

In select locations, NK retailers will also offer nine new Enogen® hybrids, featuring an in-seed innovation that benefits growers marketing grain to ethanol plants and those producing grain or silage for livestock feed. In the ethanol market, Enogen grain enhances the ethanol production process by improving process efficiency, while the same technology helps increase the value of corn as feed for dairy or beef cattle due to improved digestibility.