Wednesday August 30 Ag News

DON’T FEED FRESH SILAGE TOO SOON
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               You chopped that silage, packed it into the bunker, bag, or pile and now you finally have some feed for your cows.  But what if it’s poisonous?

               Silage is an important part of the feeding program for many livestock operations.  And it often becomes available when grazing resources often begin to run out, especially if it has been dry.

               Be patient, though.  Don’t be in a hurry to feed it.  It could be poisonous!

               Many times, crops stressed by drought or other factors will contain high levels of nitrates.  Making these crops into silage is one good way to safen these feeds because the fermentation process usually reduces the nitrate content of this feed.

               However, during the first few days of early fermentation the chopped forage begins to heat, converting those nitrates first into nitrites.  And, nitrites are as much as ten times more poisonous to cattle than nitrates.  As the fermentation process continues later on, these nitrites are neutralized and converted into other compounds that make them less toxic.

               So, if you feed your freshly chopped forage before it has completed its full fermentation cycle, you risk giving your cattle highly poisonous forage filled with nitrites.

               Avoid this problem.  First, wait three or four weeks after chopping before feeding fresh silage.  Then, test your silage for nitrates before feeding.  And use the results of the test to feed accordingly.

               Having crops and pastures damaged by dry weather is bad enough.  Don’t make it worse by feeding toxic silage to your cattle.



NEW ONLINE EXCHANGE TO BENEFIT FARMERS, CATTLE PRODUCERS

A new online tool from Nebraska Extension aims to connect farmers and cattle producers to encourage mutually beneficial agreements to use crop residue for grazing. The Crop Residue Exchange tool provides a searchable database of cropland available for grazing.

After creating an account, farmers can list available cropland by drawing their plot on an interactive map and entering information on the type of residue, fencing, water availability and dates available.

"While the primary objective of this exchange is to assist in the development of farmer-cattlemen relationships, we plan to add educational materials and tools that support these relationships in the near future," said Jay Parsons, associate professor of agricultural economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Items in development include a lease agreement template; links to tools and guidelines to help farmers and cattle owners correctly stock crop-residue fields; and information on crop-residue grazing rates.

The Crop Residue Exchange is available at http://cropresidueexchange.unl.edu.

IANR Media developed the tool with funding from a Nebraska Extension innovation grant.



ICGA's Contribution to Drainage Districts

In the best interests of Iowa’s corn farmers, the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) has consistently and transparently sought to provide funds in the defense of the drainage districts who were sued in the Des Moines Water Works lawsuit. With the lawsuit’s dismissal, ICGA President Kurt Hora says they must keep progressing forward.

To this end, Hora says ICGA has contributed $20,000 to the County Boards of Supervisors in Calhoun, Sac and Buena Vista Counties. He says by settling the remaining financial obligations of the impacted drainage districts, they can focus on the important task of continuing to improve water quality.

Hora says as farmers, they want the safest, best quality water for Iowa. A positive, collaborative approach is key to improving our state’s water quality. ICGA and farmer-members will continue to use cooperation and collaboration in proactively solving our water quality issues.

For more information on ICGA’s water quality efforts, go to www.iowacorn.org/water.



Upturn in Farm Sector Profits Expected in 2017

After 3 consecutive years of decline, farm sector profits are forecast to increase in 2017. According to USDA's Economic Research Service, net cash farm income for 2017 is forecast at $100.4 billion, up $11.2 billion (12.6 percent) from 2016. Net farm income, a broader measure of profits, is forecast at $63.4 billion, up $1.9 billion (3.1 percent) relative to 2016. The stronger forecast growth in net cash income is largely due to an additional $9.7 billion in cash receipts from the sale of crop inventories. The net cash farm income measure counts those sales as part of current-year income while the net farm income measure counted the value of those inventories as part of prior-year income. Despite the forecast upturn in these profit measures relative to 2016, levels would be below all other years since 2010 (net farm income) and since 2011 (net cash farm income).

Cash receipts are forecast to rise $14.1 billion (4.0 percent) in 2017, led by a $13.6-billion (8.4 percent) increase in animal/animal product receipts. Dairy, poultry/egg, and hog receipts are up, reflecting expected increases in both price and quantity sold. Cattle/calf receipts are up, reflecting expected increases in the quantity sold. Overall, cash receipts for crops are forecast to remain mostly unchanged from 2016 as expected increases for some crops are offset by declines in others. Soybean, cotton, and vegetable/melon cash receipts are forecast to rise, while fruit/nut cash receipts are forecast to fall. Direct government payments are forecast to remain at just under $13.0 billion in 2017.

The 2017 forecast for farm business average net cash farm income is up by 5.8 percent, with the largest increases for farms specializing in dairy (up 42 percent), hogs (up 38 percent) and cotton (up 31 percent). The only declines in average net cash income are for farms specializing in specialty crops (down 15 percent) and other livestock (less than 1 percent).

After declining for 2 consecutive years, total production expenses are forecast up $4.6 billion (1.3 percent), led by increases in expenditures on interest, hired labor, and fuels/oil. Partially off-setting these increases are expected drops in feed and fertilizer/lime expenses.

Farm asset values are forecast to increase by 4.0 percent in 2017, and farm debt is forecast to increase by 4.4 percent. Farm sector equity, the net measure of assets and debt, is forecast up by $101.8 billion (3.9 percent) in 2017. The increase in assets reflects a 4.6-percent rise in the value of farm real estate. The rise in farm debt is driven by higher real estate debt (up 7.5 percent).

Median Income of Farm Operator Households Expected To Remain Level in 2017
The total median income of U.S. farm households increased steadily over 2010-14, reaching an estimated $81,637 in 2014. Median household income, which fell 6 percent in 2015, is forecast to remain level at $76,831 in 2017. Median farm income earned by farm households in 2016 is estimated to be negative at -$940 and forecast to dip slightly (to -$1,325) in 2017. In recent years, slightly more than half of farm households have lost money on their farming operations each year. Most of these households earn positive off-farm income—and median off-farm income is forecast to increase 2.3 percent next year, from $66,468 in 2016 to $67,969 in 2017. (Because farm and off-farm income are not distributed identically for every farm, median total income will generally not equal the sum of median off-farm and median farm income.)



2017 America’s Pig Farmer of the Year Finalists Announced

The National Pork Board has announced the four finalists who are vying to be named the 2017 America’s Pig Farmer of the YearSM. The program honors a U.S. pig farmer each year who excels at raising pigs using the We CareSM ethical principles and is committed to sharing his or her farming story with the American public.

“The four finalists represent the diversity of the pork industry in the United States,” said National Pork Board President Terry O’Neel, a pig farmer from Friend, Nebraska. “They exemplify the best in pig farming and in taking the lead on environmental sustainability, animal welfare and continuous improvement.”

The 2017 finalists are:
    Bill Luckey – Columbus, Nebraska
    Leslie McCuiston – Columbus, Nebraska
    Leon Sheets – Ionia, Iowa
    Maria Mauer – Greensburg, Indiana

The four finalists are meeting today with an expert panel of third-party judges in Chicago. The judges will view videos produced at the finalists’ farms and will interview each of them.

Through Sept. 8, the public can vote once a day per person per email address for their favorite finalist at www.americaspigfarmer.com. The winner will be announced Oct. 3 based on the judges’ scores and the online voting.

About the Finalists
Bill Luckey – Columbus, Nebraska  
Farming and raising pigs has been a family tradition for Bill Luckey, who is a fourth-generation farmer. Luckey, along with his wife and three sons, market 10,000 pigs a year. They also raise cattle, corn and soybeans on their farm.

Leslie McCuiston – Columbus, Nebraska  
Focusing on people is Leslie McCuiston’s main goal as a senior production manager for The Maschhoffs, LLC. McCuiston believes in equipping employees with the right tools to provide the best animal care every day. She oversees 70 employees who care for over 18,000 sows in central Nebraska.

Leon Sheets – Ionia, Iowa  
Raising pigs has been a life-long passion for Leon Sheets, who started raising pigs with his grandfather when he was a young child. Sheets raises 33,000 pigs on his farm in northeast Iowa, where he focuses on animal care and environmental sustainability. With the help of his employees, son and wife, Sheets also raises corn, soybeans, hay and cover crops.
 
Maria Mauer – Greensburg, Indiana  
Providing sows with a clean, comfortable environment is step No. 1 for Maria Mauer at Smiley Brothers, Inc., where they market 18,000 pigs a year from the farrow-to-finish farm. Mauer believes in the importance of teaching her six-year-old son life lessons by bringing him to the barn with her to care for the sows.

About the Expert Judging Panel
Members of the five-member panel include Brittni Furrow, Walmart’s senior director of sustainability; Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane; Kari Underly, a third-generation butcher, author and principal of Range®, Inc., a meat marketing and education firm; Dr. J. Scott Vernon, professor, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Cal Poly; and Brad Greenway, the 2016 America’s Pig Farmer of the Year and chairman of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance.

About the Contest
The National Pork Board created the America’s Pig Farmer of the Year program to recognize the best in pig farming. This honor is awarded annually to a pig farmer who demonstrates and lives by the We Care ethical principles.



Academic Study: Biodiesel Benefits Under-Valued for Years

A new academic paper published in Biotechnology for Biofuels shows biodiesel’s benefits are even better than previous models suggest. Updated modeling from Purdue University suggests the advantage of using biodiesel has been underestimated by 10 percent.

“This latest research verifies biodiesel is an ideal option to support American-made energy and renewable fuels,” said Don Scott, National Biodiesel Board Director of Sustainability. “The more accurate the models become, the more clearly they show biodiesel’s benefits.”

Research has long supported the benefits of biodiesel in reducing wastes, supporting domestic jobs, and reducing harmful emissions. With all these proven advantages, the remaining question has become: How much biodiesel can we make and maintain each of these benefits? For nearly a decade, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and a handful of scientific institutions have been trying to determine how major biofuel policies might impact land use around the world.

One theory had suggested that policies promoting biofuels will produce economic incentives that encourage farmers to plant more crops.  Since federal policy does not allow biofuels from new cropland to participate in incentive programs, it is assumed that these additional crops add food and livestock feed to global markets.  EPA and CARB have used computer models to predict this additional production in response to the economic signal from biofuels.  If there are carbon emissions associated with creating new farmland, EPA and CARB follow this theory to add those estimated carbon emissions to the lifecycle of biofuels.

This conservative approach ensures no unintended ill-effects from biofuel production, but holding biodiesel accountable for the carbon emissions from putting more food and feed in the world has impacted biodiesel’s carbon score when compared to petroleum fuel.  Without these indirect effects, biodiesel reduces greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 85 percent compared to fossil fuels.  Including predicted indirect emissions estimates has lowered biodiesel’s advantage to just more than 50 percent cleaner than diesel fuel.  That is, according to modeling done by EPA in 2010 and CARB in 2014.   Purdue University’s latest research shows these measures underestimate the carbon benefit of biodiesel by 10 percent.

“Biodiesel is already recognized as the commercial biofuel with the lowest net GHG emissions. The power in these new findings is that science is improving.  The prediction of economic impacts and land use change is becoming more reliable.  More data has been analyzed today than has ever been available in the past.  The data shows that farmers all around the world are becoming more efficient.  We are feeding better food to more people, and we are doing it using less land,” Scott said. “This is great news, because agriculture is our most powerful tool to turn solar energy and carbon dioxide into things like food and biodiesel.  This is a powerful formula, because sunshine is free, and farming turns the liability of excess carbon dioxide into an asset when we use it to support American jobs. Biodiesel is a powerful driver to create jobs and help our environment. As these models look more and more like the real world, biodiesel’s extensive real-world benefits come into focus.”



Perdue Statement on President Trump’s Tax Reform Agenda

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today expressed his strong support for President Trump’s tax reform agenda as a great benefit to the American agriculture community. Perdue issued the following statement:

“Just as he has done with excessive and costly regulations, President Trump has focused on the problem of onerous and burdensome taxes. Most agricultural operations are, in fact, small businesses, and the time and costs associated with merely complying with the tax code are impeding American prosperity. Farming is a complex enterprise, as even the smallest operations know, so the attention and financial resources that are diverted to handling taxes are an extra barrier to success.

“People should be able to keep more of what they have earned through the sweat of their brows, which will also invigorate the entire United States economy. The Death Tax is one section of the code that is particularly offensive to agriculture, as too many family farms have had to be broken up or sold off to pay the tax bill. The president’s tax reform package will be of great benefit to agriculture and help improve rural prosperity.”



UAN Fertilizers Continue Lower

Average retail prices for most fertilizers were lower again the fourth week of August 2017 compared to the previous month, according to fertilizer retailers surveyed by DTN.

Prices for seven of the eight major fertilizers were lower compared to last month, though only two were down significantly. UAN32 was 7% lower compared to the previous month and had an average price of $248 per ton. UAN28 was also lower, down 6% compared to last month. UAN28 had an average price of $216/ton.

The remaining five fertilizers were just slightly lower in price compared to last month. MAP had an average price of $458/ton, potash $338/ton, urea $304/ton, 10-34-0 $419/ton and anhydrous $417/ton.

One fertilizer was unchanged in price compared to a month ago. DAP had an average price of $434 per ton, the same as the fourth week of July 2017.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.33/lb.N, anhydrous $0.25/lb.N, UAN28 $0.38/lb.N and UAN32 $0.39/lb.N.

All but one retail fertilizer are lower compared to a year earlier. Three of the eight major fertilizers are double digits lower.

Anhydrous is now 19% lower from a year ago while 10-34-0 is 17% less expensive and UAN32 is 11% lower. Both urea and UAN28 are 8% less expensive, DAP is 4% lower and MAP is 2%. The one fertilizer higher compared to last year is potash, which is now 2% more expensive.



Reba McEntire Named Farm Bureau Keynote Speaker

Iconic entertainer Reba McEntire will join AFBF President Zippy Duvall during the Closing General Session of the 2018 AFBF Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show on Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, for a Q&A keynote touching on her rural roots, family, career and, of course, country music.

Reba is no stranger to agriculture—she grew up in rural Oklahoma on her family’s 8,000-acre ranch. Now, this multimedia mogul and mom is a household name with a successful career that spans across music, television, film, theater and retail.

Registration opens Oct. 2, 2017, so mark your calendars for Music City!

Reba McEntire’s latest album, a two-disc inspirational collection called “Sing it Now: Songs of Faith and Hope” (Nash Icon Records / Capitol Christian Music Group), topped both the Billboard Country & Christian/Gospel charts and marked her 13th summit to reaching a No. 1- selling album. Her iconic career has achieved a rare pinnacle with 35 No. 1 singles and over 56 million albums sold worldwide.

 The Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member has won 15 American Music Awards, 14 ACM Awards, nine People’s Choice Awards, seven CMA Awards and two Grammy Awards, in addition to other prestigious accolades for her philanthropic endeavors and leadership.

The Oklahoma native is an acclaimed actress with 11 movie credits and her own six-season television sitcom, “Reba.” In 2001, she received critical acclaim for her Broadway debut starring in Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun.”



Elevore™ Herbicide Receives Federal EPA Registration

Innovation to fall and spring burndown programs is now reality with the announcement by Dow AgroSciences that Elevore™ herbicide has received federal registration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Elevore Arylex.jpg

When tank-mixed with glyphosate and/or 2,4-D, Elevore can be applied up to 14 days before planting in corn and soybeans for thorough control of high-anxiety weeds, including marestail up to 8 inches tall. Labeled for use prior to planting soybeans, corn and cotton, Elevore is now available for farmers to use in the 2018 spring burndown season.

“Unlike many other burndown herbicides, Elevore elevates a farmer’s program by preventing regrowth of emerged weeds,” says Jon Doran, portfolio marketing leader, Dow AgroSciences. “In field trials conducted by Dow AgroSciences over several years, Elevore provided excellent activity on marestail at various heights, including 8 inch tall marestail.  We have also seen consistent control across a wide range of geographies.”

Powered by Arylex™ active, a new Group 4 growth regulator, field trials show Elevore™ herbicide effectively controls labeled broadleaf weeds, including glyphosate- and ALS-resistant marestail, lambsquarters, cutleaf evening primrose and henbit.

The low use rate of one ounce per acre makes Elevore an excellent fit in reduced- and no-till production systems for burndown applications before planting. Elevore can be applied with a farmer’s current burndown program in spring or fall in various climate conditions, including cooler temperatures.

Matt Stagg, a farmer from Bunkie, Louisiana, is impressed with the weed control he experienced in a 5-acre field trial using Elevore conducted on his farm in 2016.

“We had a range of weeds and various sizes of marestail present in the field trial,” says Stagg. “Adding Elevore to our current protocols definitely gave the other products an edge on knocking it down. I also see incorporating a burndown protocol using Elevore and coming back with a preemerge herbicide application as a strong resistance management program. Every year, preemerge herbicides are becoming more of a need as resistance continues increasing.”

Elevore herbicide contains Arylex active and is a novel class of herbicides that acts through a synthetic auxin mechanism to control broadleaf weeds in burndown. Absorbed mainly through leaves, shoots and roots of plants, Arylex active is translocated through the plant for effective control. Although Arylex active is not considered a new mode of action, it does have unique binding affinity that is different from other auxin herbicides such as 2,4-D.

“Visual signs of control aren’t immediately apparent because Arylex active is absorbed by the plant’s cells where the herbicide binds with specific auxin receptors in the cell’s nucleus,” says Jeff Ellis, Ph.D., field scientist, Dow AgroSciences. “The delayed response is due to the gradual, albeit complete, absorption process. Once absorbed by the plant’s nucleus, Arylex active halts growth and the plant dies, providing complete control.”



CLAAS OF AMERICA AND THE CLIMATE CORPORATION ANNOUNCE COLLABORATION EFFORTS

CLAAS of America and The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company, announced today at the Farm Progress Show that they are in discussions to implement data connectivity capabilities that will enable farmers to seamlessly flow data from CLAAS machinery into Climate’s industry-leading Climate FieldView™ digital agriculture platform using the Climate FieldView™ Drive device.

The Climate Corporation’s FieldView Drive is a device that connects to the CAN diagnostic port of compatible equipment, such as a tractor, sprayer or combine, and wirelessly maps field data into a farmer’s Climate FieldView account. The companies expect that beginning in Fall 2017, the FieldView Drive will be compatible with CLAAS LEXION combines and CLAAS JAGUAR forage harvesters, providing more farmers the ability to experience simple data collection and storage, as well as enhanced field map visualization and harvest data analysis, through one connected digital ag platform.

“We are delighted with the co-development that has been taking place between The Climate Corporation and CLAAS of America in our efforts to enable field data compatibility,” said Brandon Olstad, platform manager for Efficient Agriculture Systems by CLAAS. “We look forward to delivering near real-time, in-cab harvest data to the Climate FieldView platform, where our customers can benefit from all of Climate’s powerful digital tools for optimized decision-making.”

Data is generated from the CLAAS Quantimeter yield and moisture measurement systems, and a simple in-cab plug and play architecture allows for the data flow to take place. In turn, the FieldView Drive will seamlessly transfer field data into a farmer’s Climate FieldView account, where they can easily visualize and analyze their yield data, right in the field.

“Helping farmers get all their data in one place, including the data generated from their farming equipment, is a core focus at Climate,” said Max Dougherty, business development account lead for The Climate Corporation. “We are committed to helping every farmer connect their data, across equipment brands, to the Climate FieldView platform so they can experience deeper field insights. We’re pleased to collaborate with CLAAS of America to help even more farmers gain a better understanding of their fields and enhance their productivity through transformative digital tools.”

In August 2016, The Climate Corporation announced that it would extend the Climate FieldView platform to enable other ag innovators to build upon and complement Climate’s digital tools with additional data layers. Through this collaboration with CLAAS of America, farmers will be able to experience even greater value from one centralized digital ag platform.

In less than two growing seasons, the Climate FieldView platform has quickly become the most broadly connected platform in the United States and has continued to expand into new global regions, including expansion into Canada and Brazil. Officially launched in 2015, the Climate FieldView platform is on more than 100 million acres across the United States, Canada and Brazil, with more than 100,000 users engaging in Climate's digital tools. Backed by the most powerful data science engine and most extensive field research network in the agriculture industry, the Climate FieldView platform delivers customized insights that help farmers make data-driven decisions with confidence to maximize yield potential, improve efficiency and manage risk.

CLAAS constantly strives to ensure a better harvest with premium products designed for maximum throughput, efficiency and reliability. The smart technologies offered on CLAAS harvesting equipment dynamically accommodate changing harvest conditions and monitor field performance for greater farming intelligence. Their open platforms make it easy to share data with the Climate FieldView platform and other precision farming technology providers.