Thursday October 14 Ag News

Husker agronomist co-developing global agriculture platform

How do you feed a growing population while protecting the environment? Using global data, Nebraska agronomist Patricio Grassini is helping agricultural stakeholders find common ground.

The data is known as the Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas, an online platform that estimates water productivity, crop nutrient requirements and yield gaps — the difference between current and potential yields — for major crops in 70 countries.

Developed in collaboration with Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the international team aims to help stakeholders increase production on existing cropland.

“Currently, we are expanding cropland areas at a rate of 13 million hectares every year and destroying fragile ecosystems,” Grassini said. “We need to understand how much more food we can produce on existing cropland — and where. The places with the biggest yield gaps have the biggest opportunities.”

NUtech’s Jeewan Jyot has worked with the team to develop a licensing strategy for the platform’s data, which has been downloaded by more than 40,000 people worldwide. Companies pay to use the data for commercial purposes, but government users and nonprofits can access it for free.

Jyot and the team have also developed a corporate sponsorship model for the platform. Participating companies select a level of financial commitment, which enables them to access the platform and offer feedback on new features and future directions. The sponsorship program was implemented in February 2021 and is already helping the project become financially self-sustaining.

“Our goal was to reach a sponsorship level that allows us to update and expand the platform — and in the first year, we’ve already exceeded that goal,” Grassini said. “With this support, our team can think big and continue addressing important demands in agriculture.”



Frenchman Valley Coop Launches CARBON CYCLE to help High-yield Farmers Break Down Residue

CARBON CYCLE™, a new biological designed to break down tough crop residue, speed up planting and make the most of fertilizer, was announced here today by Frenchman Valley Coop (FVC). A unique collection of bacteria and amino acids, CARBON CYCLE stimulates biological activity that speeds residue decay and releases nutrients faster.

“CARBON CYCLE springs from our effort to test, refine and make available new biologicals at a price point that can improve every farmer’s ROI (return on investment),” says Ben Sauder, Vice President of Agronomy at FVC. “We are in a time of rapid advances with new biologicals, and we are happy to now provide this proven, beneficial technology to our growers.”

Carbon Cycle is a biological that breaks down residue and releases nutrients.

CARBON CYCLE, sourced from Platte Peak Crop Performance, is geared to solving consequences of better genetics, faster planters, and higher yields. Since 1991, average corn yields in America have increased from 108.6 bushel per acre (BPA) in 1991 to 172 BPA in 2020 according to USDA. To grow and fill out heavier ears, corn stalks got stronger. To gain yield, plant populations went up, creating more residue. Meanwhile, planter speeds have doubled in recent years and 10-mph is now common. All these issues converge into a big challenge for high-yield growers: How do I get the crop in the ground quickly, while avoiding skips and gaining the consistent stand crucial to high yields?1

“New planting systems are designed to get the crop planted inside tight weather windows,” explains Sauder. “Anything that helps us move faster and still get even germination is key, and the added benefit is freeing up more nutrients in a timely way for the next crop.” He says there are several other advantages CARBON CYCLE offers farmers.

“Lighter residue means less fuel needed for tillage and easier planting,” he says, “and there’s a big impact on fertility that’s really important when we are seeing increases in fertilizer prices.” Sauder says the blend of six proprietary microbes in CARBON CYCLE™ boosts natural biological activity that releases field-available nutrients from crop residue faster. Initial data indicates increases of up to 30-40 lbs. nitrogen, 5-10 lbs. phosphorus and 35-40 lbs. potassium per acre in the crop following CARBON CYCLE™ application.

“Economic viability is the key component of sustainable crop production and that’s behind our development of these innovative biologicals,” Sauder says. He went on to outline other efforts illustrating FVC’s increased focus on better stewardship and sustainability.

Strategic Sourcing, Concentrated Inputs and Local Manufacturing
With the Platte Peak brand, Sauder explains that FVC has studied all aspects of sourcing, formulating, blending and transporting crop inputs to bring more aspects of the distribution chain closer to home.

“We deal directly with ingredient providers and formulate high quality crop inputs to meet the unique needs of farmers in our five-state service area,” says Sauder. “With timely shipping and fewer warehouses, we create economic value by removing waste in the system. We can then pass along those savings to our members.” The simple act of shipping concentrated ingredients and formulating their own products is better for farmers and the environment, he says.

“Moving water is expensive and fuel intensive,” explains Sauder. “When we can move concentrated active ingredients and blend them closer to their end use on the farm, not only do we save money, but we have a fresher, better, more potent product for use in the field.”

Computerized, Autonomous Application
FVC recently took delivery of a Raven OmniPower™ autonomous dry spreader that has been covering acres in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska. While automatic steering is common in today’s farm equipment, those rigs still require a driver to turn the equipment at field’s edge. The OmniPower has no cab.

“Our new computer-guided applicator means we can cover more acres safely in a given day with fewer people,” he explains. “Having a driverless rig means being able to reallocate human resources in a way that’s safer and more efficient. It will actually help us cover more acres with less fuel while reducing the potential for accidents day and night.”

In today’s ag climate, says Sauder, his team is tasked with first making the most of every acre, controlling weeds that are resistant to chemicals, and conserving soil, water, and air. All elements of the Platte Peak Crop Performance brand initiative are being undertaken with the same rigor FVC applies to any new offering.

“We have a very thorough evaluation process that we run all chemicals and enhancement products through before we sell them. If something does not work” says Sauder, “we want to find that out in our evaluations, not on one of our customer’s acres.”

Figuring out what combinations are the most economical and provide the best outcome for the grower, he says, is always the goal at FVC. “I want the staff to be equipped with the best training and knowledge when they step onto a farm.  In the long run, if we do it right the first time, we will save time and money.  It takes a long time to earn trust, we don’t want to lose that over suggesting the wrong solution.”

“These efforts fit well into our long-term strategy of serving members/customers all across our service area,” shares John Bender, CEO of FVC. He sees opportunity in equipping crop producers to tell their stories of good stewardship to their families, absentee landowners and the community at large.

“First and foremost, the economics of crop production is the most important piece of sustainability,” he says. “We are always looking to gain efficiency and provide the best solutions for farmers. We want to help growers make the most out of every dollar they spend with us. But we are helping them be good stewards of the soil, air and water – that’s a story that needs to be told as well.”



RABBIT OWNERS SHOULD TALK WITH VETS ABOUT RHDV VACCINE OPTIONS
 
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) recommends that rabbit owners talk with their veterinarians about vaccine options to protect their rabbits from Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV). RHDV is a highly contagious and often deadly viral disease that affects wild and domestic rabbits.  
 
“Even though RHDV hasn’t been confirmed in Nebraska to date, it has been found in wild and/or domestic rabbits in several states including the bordering states of Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming,” said NDA State Veterinarian Dr. Dennis Hughes. “It’s important for rabbit owners to know about this disease so they can more closely monitor the health of their rabbits and talk with their veterinarians about RHDV vaccine options.”  
 
Symptoms of RHDV include fever, anorexia, wasting, diarrhea, lethargy, seizures, bleeding (from nose, mouth or rectum) and respiratory illness. RHDV can also cause sudden death in rabbits, even if they aren’t showing any other symptoms.  
 
RHDV is not contagious to people, livestock or other animals, but it is spread between rabbits and can also survive for weeks in contaminated environments.  

Enhanced biosecurity helps prevent the introduction and spread of viruses and diseases including RHDV and should always be taken to protect rabbits, even if they are vaccinated. In addition to thorough cleaning and sanitation practices, rabbit owners should consider housing rabbits indoors, restricting visitors to their rabbitries, and isolating new rabbit additions for 30 days.  
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a conditional license to Medgene Labs, located in Brookings, South Dakota, to distribute their RHDV vaccine. As the State Veterinarian, Dr. Hughes has given permission to Medgene Labs to distribute their vaccine to licensed veterinarians in Nebraska who will order and distribute the vaccine to clients.  
 
RHDV is a notifiable Foreign Animal Disease, and practitioners who suspect RHDV in their domestic rabbits should contact the Nebraska Department of Agriculture at 402-471-2351. People concerned about unusual deaths of wild rabbit and hare populations in Nebraska are encouraged to contact Nebraska Game and Parks at 308-763-2940.  

All rabbits entering Nebraska must be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI, or health certificate). If you are considering moving an animal into Nebraska from an affected state, please call 402-471-2351 to learn more. Nebraska rabbit owners wanting to ship rabbits out of state should consult the State Veterinarians of the destination states for import requirements.   
 
Additional information on RHDV can be found on NDA’s website at:
https://nda.nebraska.gov/animal/diseases/rhd/index.html.  



Swine Air Filtration Guide Helps Producers Determine Filter Needs

Swine producers have used air filtration technology for a decade or more, in an effort to reduce disease outbreaks attributed to airborne disease transmission.

Until recently, however, the industry lacked a publicly available, evidence-based reference that addresses the proper amount of filtration per facility.

“Air Filtration Sizing Worksheet for Swine Facilities” is a new publication and worksheet from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach that walks producers through the process of determining the number and configuration of air filters for a facility – whether new or renovated.

Written by Benjamin Smith, former graduate research student at Iowa State University, and Brett Ramirez, assistant professor in agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State, the publication explains the animal health benefits of good filtration – and the way in which buildings should be sized to determine the optimal filtration requirement.

According to Ramirez, most facilities filter the air year-round, and base their filtration requirements on the peak demand season, which in Iowa is summer. Filtration requirements also depend on the number of swine in the facility and the life-stage of the swine.

Over-filtering the air results in unnecessary expenses for filters and labor, while under-filtering can result in a high pressure drop in the ventilation system, while reducing ventilation capacity and effectiveness.

“It’s important to get it right,” said Ramirez. “The publication and worksheet allow producers to enter their own numbers and determine what their needs may be.”

Ramirez said most filtered ventilated systems rely on a primary filter, and a much larger, secondary filter. The primary filter is the one that gets changed most often, usually on an annual basis. The secondary filter is usually changed every three to five years.

For more information, Ramirez can be reached at 515-294-0468 or bramirez@iastate.edu.



Iowa's Artisanal Butchery Task Force Meeting
Wednesday, October 20, 2021  - 1:00 pm

Second Floor Conference Room
Wallace State Office Building
502 E 9th St
Des Moines, IA 50309

Virtual option: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/453740133

Dial-in option:
    Phone: 872-240-3212
    Access Code: 453-740-133
 
Agenda
Review stakeholder survey
Presentations:
    Higher education opportunities
    Work-based and apprenticeship opportunities
    Butchery Innovation grant program
    Choose Iowa Marketing and Promotion grant program
Discussion items:
    Review programs from presentations
    Potential task force recommendations
Adjourn



Weekly Ethanol Production for 10/8/2021

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending October 8, ethanol production scaled up by 54,000 barrels per day (b/d), or 5.5%, to a 13-week high of 1.032 million b/d, equivalent to 43.34 million gallons daily. Production was 10.1% above the same week last year, which was affected by the pandemic, and 6.3% above the same week in 2019. The four-week average ethanol production volume increased 2.6% to 962,000 b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 14.75 billion gallons (bg).

Ethanol stocks shrank 0.4% to 19.8 million barrels, the lowest weekly reserves since May. Stocks were 0.8% below the year-ago level and 10.0% below the same week in 2019. Inventories declined across all regions except the Midwest (PADD 2) and Gulf Coast (PADD 3).

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, declined 2.6% to 9.19 million b/d (140.82 bg annualized). Gasoline demand was 7.1% above a year ago but 1.8% less than the same week in 2019.

Refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol decreased 0.8% to 904,000 b/d, equivalent to 13.86 bg annualized. Net inputs were 4.6% above a year ago but 4.0% less than the same week in 2019.

There were zero imports of ethanol recorded for the third consecutive week. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of August 2021.)



RFA Reminds President: Low-Carbon Fuel Solutions Can Solve Pump Price Concerns

In response to media reports that the White House has been meeting with oil industry officials to discuss solutions to recent higher gas prices, the Renewable Fuels Association has reminded President Biden that efforts to encourage more use of high-carbon fossil fuels, including imported oil, to stem higher gasoline prices are “clearly antithetical to your administration’s objectives regarding clean energy development, climate change resilience, domestic job creation, and energy security.”

“Instead of pursuing actions that will lead to increased crude oil production, we again urge your administration to pursue a real and immediate solution to higher pump prices—increased production and use of low-carbon renewable fuels like ethanol,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper in a letter sent to the President late Wednesday. “Using more domestically produced ethanol would not only result in lower fuel prices for consumers, but it would also support your goals related to clean energy, climate change, and jobs.”

Cooper outlined specific actions the Biden administration could take to increase the nation’s low-carbon renewable fuel supply and use.

“We encourage your administration to expeditiously finalize robust RFS volume requirements for 2021 and 2022, take action to ensure consumers have year-round access to gasoline continuing 15% ethanol (E15), and work with Congress to ensure upcoming legislation includes the incentives necessary to support increased FFV production and expanded infrastructure for higher ethanol blends like E15 and E85.”



Farm Animals Tested for COVID Susceptibility

Scientists and staff at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have been studying Covid-19 for over a year-and-a-half to ensure that America's agricultural system is safe.

"ARS implemented emergency research in February 2020 in response to COVID-19 incursions in the United States," said Cyril Gay, ARS senior national program leader for animal production and protection. "The aim of the research was to confirm that farm animals were not susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and remove potential concerns of farm animals becoming infected and transmitting the virus to people through direct contact or through agricultural products."

ARS has laboratories and personnel dedicated to the research of especially dangerous pathogens, including emerging zoonotic agents such as SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 is the term used for the disease, while SARS-CoV-2 is the acronym for the name of the viruses that causes COVID-19.

"ARS research clearly provided science-based evidence that eggs and live poultry, cattle, swine, and arthropods (mosquitoes, ticks, flies), were not able to replicate the virus and become a source of infection for people," Gay said. Of all the farmed animals studied, only deer were susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. "Interestingly, deer did not get sick, but they quickly spread the virus to other deer."

ARS included white tail deer in its investigation because the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus cell receptor closely aligns with the sequence of the human receptor, and because some white tail deer are farmed.

As the United States and the rest of the world reeled from the effects of a global pandemic, ARS researchers from the National Animal Disease Center, in Ames, Iowa; the National Poultry Research Center, in Athens, Ga.; and the Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit, in Manhattan, Kan., braved the then-unknown dangers of COVID-19. Researchers followed health and safety protocol guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure their safety as well as the safety of ARS support staff and collaborators.

ARS has a long history of implementing emergency research in response to disease outbreaks. Recent examples include the pandemic H1N1 in 2009 and a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus outbreak in 2014-15. USDA is a key contributor to our nation's National Biodefense Strategy, closely with public health agencies to effectively respond and mitigate emerging zoonotic pathogens that pose a threat to the health of people and farm animals.

"A critical aspect of our job is to respond rapidly and implement emergency research on a disease outbreak and quickly test or develop veterinary medical countermeasures to prevent and control the spread of the disease," Gay said. "By mitigating the impact of diseases, we lower the threat it could cause to U.S. agriculture, our economy, and our citizens."



NMPF Statement on President Biden's FDA Commissioner Nomination
President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“Robert Califf will bring a steady hand and proven leadership to FDA at a challenging time for the agency. We expect that, upon his confirmation, he will be able to hit the ground running on critical public health issues, most notably the continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We also expect that, given his experience, he will be able to guide the agency toward the positive resolution of other long-standing concerns, such as the continued mislabeling of non-dairy products that flout FDA’s own standard of identity for milk. We look forward to working with him in resolving that issue, as well as other important matters, and wish him well in his confirmation process.”



Texas A&M Book Attacking “50/14” Based on Outdated and Non-Representative Data

Two days before last week’s Hearing to Review the State of the U.S. Livestock Industry held by the United States House Committee on Agriculture, Texas A&M University released its The U.S. Beef Supply Chain: Issues and Challenges, a 180-page document Texas A&M refers to as its “book.”

In the wake of unprecedented turmoil within the U.S. cattle and beef supply chains marked by record-high consumer beef prices, beef shortages, record beef packer profits while prices paid to America’s cattle farmers and ranchers remain depressed, numerous antitrust lawsuits against the largest beef packers, and an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Justice, the Texas A&M book urges Congress to be cautious before taking steps to change the current structure of the nation’s cattle and beef markets, a structure the book asserts has “resulted in cattle producers capturing significant value over the last three decades.”     

More poignantly, the Texas A&M book urges Congress to use “extreme caution in making changes to a system that has grown organically over time to reward high-quality beef production in a way that acknowledges regional differences throughout the country.”

The Texas A&M book expressly targets two prominent reforms introduced in Congress to improve the competitive structure of the nation’s cattle and beef markets: mandatory country of origin labeling (M-COOL) for beef, S.2716, and the bill introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to require the largest beef packers to increase participation in the cattle industry’s price discovery market by purchasing at least 50% of their fed cattle in the cash market, S.949.

In addition to deriding M-COOL for beef as a “detrimental policy,” the Texas A&M book claims billions of dollars in losses should Congress enact the Grassley/Tester cattle market protection bill or 50/14, S.949. Specifically, the book states cattle producers would largely bear the brunt of a $2.5 billion short-term and a $16 billion cumulative long-term negative impact if the largest beef packers were required to purchase at least 50% of their cattle needs from the cash market.

But R-CALF USA says rather than to evaluate actual cattle market conditions prevalent during the past decade, Texas A&M chose instead to manipulate outdated and non-representative cattle market data to arrive at what the group characterizes as an outrageously baseless claim.

“While the Texas A&M book admits the underlying data for its claim is over 15 years old, the outdated data itself was acknowledged by previous researchers to be collected during an “unusual time for the cattle and beef industries, rendering that data non-representative of past and present U.S. cattle market conditions,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.

Bullard said the underlying data came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2007 Livestock and Meat Marketing Study and was collected between Oct. 2002 and March 2005. During this period, beginning in May 2003 and continuing through the March 2005 data collection endpoint, the U.S. border was unprecedently closed to imports of live Canadian cattle because of outbreaks of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease) in Canada.

According to Bullard, domestic cattle prices and returns to cow/calf producers reached then record highs during this early 2000s data collection period, the volume of cattle purchased through formula contracts was significantly reduced, the cattle industry was transitioning from the end of its liquidation phase and beginning its expansion phase, and the percentage of fed cattle purchased in the cash market averaged about 60%.

“This is arguably the U.S. cattle industry’s most non-representative period for which to collect data during anytime in the past 40 years, if not longer,” Bullard said.

He explained that today’s marketplace is opposite – cattle prices and returns to cow/calf producers have been depressed for going on seven years, the volume of cattle purchased through formula contracts is historically high, the cattle industry is well into a liquidation phase, and the percentage of cash market sales is well less than half what it was over 15 years ago.

He also said the 2007 study attempted to predict possible outcomes if the cash market were to increase above the 60% level, due to corresponding decreases in non-cash arrangements such as formula contracts that then represented a volume of only about 30%. But, he said, those 15-year-old market conditions are completely inappropriate for use as a basis to extrapolate possible outcomes of raising cash volumes from their current 20% level to only a 50% level.

“It is disappointing that a land grant university would lobby Congress with conclusory assertions attained by conveniently using outdated and non-representative data in an effort to derail what is perhaps the most important reform for correcting the ills of the current marketplace.

“We’ve witnessed this scenario several times during the past two decades. Each time cattle producers have offered meaningful marketplace reforms; a cadre of experts are enlisted to defend the status quo. Congress needs to see through this and take steps to fix our chronically dysfunctional market,” Bullard concluded.