Tuesday October 12 Crop Progress, Crop Production, & Ag News

 NEBRASKA CROP PROGRESS AND CONDITION

For the week ending October 10, 2021, there were 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 7% very short, 38% short, 54% adequate, and 1% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 12% very short, 44% short, 43% adequate, and 1% surplus.

Field Crops Report:
Corn condition rated 5% very poor, 7% poor, 18% fair, 44% good, and 26% excellent. Corn mature was 93%, near 95% last year and 89% for the five-year average. Harvested was 29%, near 32% last year, but ahead of 22% average.

Soybean condition rated 2% very poor, 5% poor, 18% fair, 52% good, and 23% excellent. Soybeans harvested was 60%, behind 78% last year, but ahead of 42% average.

Winter wheat planted was 88%, equal to last year, and near 89% average. Emerged was 60%, near 56% last year and 63% average.

Sorghum condition rated 6% very poor, 14% poor, 28% fair, 38% good, and 14% excellent. Sorghum mature was 90%, near 94% last year and 89% average. Harvested was 38%, ahead of 29% last year and 24% average.

Dry edible beans harvested was 81%, behind 86% last year.

Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and range conditions rated 12% very poor, 14% poor, 57% fair, 16% good, and 1% excellent.



IOWA Crop Progress Report

Scattered precipitation slowed harvest in some areas, but statewide Iowa’s farmers had 5.3 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 10, 2021, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities included harvesting soybeans and corn, fall tillage and applying fertilizer.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 12 percent very short, 31 percent short, 55 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 18 percent very short, 36 percent short, 45 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus.

Ninety-five percent of the corn crop has reached maturity, 8 days ahead of the 5-year average. Close to onethird of corn for grain has been harvested at 30 percent complete statewide, also 8 days ahead of normal. Moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain was 19 percent. Iowa’s corn condition rated 62 percent good to excellent.

Soybeans dropping leaves or beyond reached 96 percent, one week ahead of normal. More than half of Iowa’s soybean crop has been harvested at 56 percent, 9 days ahead of the five-year average. Soybean condition was rated 63 percent good to excellent.

Pasture condition rated 32 percent good to excellent. Overall, livestock were faring well, although conditions varied with some reports of muddy feedlots but also water shortage issues for cattle on pasture.



USDA: Soybean Harvest About Halfway Done; Corn 41% Harvested

Farmers made good headway harvesting their corn and soybeans last week, pushing harvest progress for both crops to near the halfway point by Sunday, Oct. 10, USDA NASS said in its weekly national Crop Progress report Tuesday. The report is normally released on Mondays but was delayed this week due to the holiday.

Corn harvest maintained a steady pace last week, moving ahead 12 percentage points to reach 41% complete as of Sunday. That is 2 percentage points ahead of 39% last year and 10 points ahead of the five-year average of 31%. For the remainder of corn in fields, NASS estimated 94% of corn is mature, 8 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 86%.

Soybean harvest also moved ahead at a steady pace last week, progressing 15 percentage points to reach 49% complete as of Sunday. That is 9 percentage points behind last year's 58% but 9 percentage points ahead of the average pace of 40%. For the remainder of the crop, NASS estimated that 91% of soybeans were dropping leaves as of Sunday, 2 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 89%.  Soybean condition also improved 1 percentage point, from 58% good to excellent the previous week to 59% as of Sunday, Oct. 10.

Winter wheat planting continued at an average pace, reaching 60% as of Sunday, equal to the five-year average. Winter wheat emerged was pegged at 31%, 4 percentage points behind of the five-year average of 35%.

Sorghum mature was 88%, 9 percentage points ahead of average. Sorghum harvested was 49%, 7 percentage points ahead of average.

Cotton bolls opening was 78%, 4 percentage points behind the average. Cotton harvested was 20%, 6 percentage points behind the average. Cotton condition was rated 64% good to excellent, up 2 percentage points from the previous week.

Rice harvested was 81%, 4 percentage points behind the average pace.



NEBRASKA CROP PRODUCTION REPORT

Based on October 1 conditions, Nebraska's 2021 corn production is forecast at a record 1.82 billion bushels, up 2% from last year's production, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Area to be harvested for grain, at 9.60 million acres, is down 3% from a year ago. Yield is forecast at 190 bushels per acre, up 10 bushels from last year.

Soybean production is forecast at a record 339 million bushels, up 13% from last year. Area for harvest, at 5.55 million acres, is up 8% from 2020. Yield is forecast at a record 61 bushels per acre, up 3.0 bushels from last year.

Sorghum for grain is forecast at 21.5 million bushels, up 57% from last year. Area for harvest, at 265,000 acres, is up 77% from 2020. Yield is forecast at 81 bushels per acre, down 10 bushels from last year.

Alfalfa hay production, at 3.74 million tons, is up 15% from last year. Area for harvest, at 960,000 acres, is up 12% from a year ago. Yield of 3.90 tons per acre is up 0.10 ton per acre from 2020. All other hay production, at 2.48 million tons, is down 20% from last year. Area for harvest, at 1.55 million acres, is down 18% from a year ago. Yield of 1.60 tons per acre is down 0.05 ton from 2020.

Dry edible bean production is forecast at 2.79 million cwt, down 23% from 2020. Area for harvest, at 108,000 acres, is down 32% from last year. Yield is estimated at 2,580 pounds, up 310 pounds per acre from last year.

Sugarbeet production is forecast at 1.30 million tons, down 9% from 2020. Area for harvest, at 43,600 acres, is down 5% from last year. Yield is estimated at 29.7 tons per acre, down 1.3 tons per acre from a year ago.

All sunflower production is forecast at 26.9 million pounds, down 50% from last year. Acreage for harvest, at 39,000 acres, is down 9,000 acres from 2020. Yield is forecast at 688 pounds per acre, down 441 pounds per acre from a year ago. Of the acres for harvest, non-oil sunflowers account for 6,000 acres and oil sunflowers account for 33,000 acres.



IOWA CROP PRODUCTION FORECAST

Iowa corn production is forecast at 2.50 billion bushels according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service - Crop Production report. Based on conditions as of October 1, yields are expected to average 201.0 bushels per acre, up 3.0 bushels per acre from the September 1 forecast, and up 24.0 bushels per acre from last year. Corn planted acreage is estimated at 12.9 million acres, with an estimated 12.5 million of the acres planted to be harvested for grain.

Soybean production is forecast at 611 million bushels. The yield is forecast at 61.0 bushels per acre, up 2.0 bushels per acre from the September 1 forecast, and up 7 bushels per acre from 2020. Soybean planted acreage is estimated at 10.1 million acres with 10.0 million acres to be harvested.

Production of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures for hay is forecast at 2.84 million tons, down 2 percent from the previous year. Yield is expected to average 3.60 tons per acre, up 0.10 ton from last year. Harvested area is forecast at 790,000 acres, down 40,000 acres from 2020. Production of other hay is forecast at 828,000 tons, up 5 percent from last year. Yields are expected to average 2.30 tons per acre, down 0.10 ton from last year. Harvested area is forecast at 360,000 acres, up 30,000 acres from last year.

The forecasts in this report are based on October 1 conditions and do not reflect weather effects since that time. The next corn and soybean production forecasts, based on conditions as of November 1, will be released on November 9.



USDA:  Corn Production Up Slightly from September Forecast; Soybean Production Up 2 Percent

Corn production for grain is forecast at 15.0 billion bushels, up slightly from the previous forecast and up 6 percent from 2020. Based on conditions as of October 1, yields are expected to average 176.5 bushels per harvested acre, up 0.2 bushel from the previous forecast and up 5.1 bushels from last year. After a thorough review of all available data, acreage estimates are unchanged from last month. Total planted area, at 93.3 million acres, is unchanged from the previous estimate, but up 3 percent from the previous year. Area harvested for grain, forecast at 85.1 million acres, is unchanged from the previous forecast but up 3 percent from the previous year.

Soybean production for beans is forecast at a record 4.45 billion bushels, up 2 percent from the previous forecast and up 5 percent from 2020. Based on conditions as of October 1, yields are expected to average 51.5 bushels per harvested acre, up 0.9 bushel from the previous forecast and up 0.5 bushel from 2020. After a thorough review of all available data acreage estimates are unchanged from last month. Total planted area, at 87.2 million acres, is unchanged from the previous estimate, but up 5 percent from the previous year. Area harvested for beans, forecast at 86.4 million acres, is unchanged from the previous forecast but up 5 percent from the previous year.

All cotton production is forecast at 18.0 million 480-pound bales, down 3 percent from the previous forecast, but up 23 percent from 2020. Based on conditions as of October 1, yields are expected to average 871 pounds per harvested acre, down 24 pounds from the previous forecast but up 24 pounds
from 2020. Upland cotton production is forecast at 17.7 million 480-pound bales, down 3 percent from the previous forecast but up 26 percent from 2020. Pima cotton production is forecast at 353,000 bales, up 5 percent from the previous forecast but down 35 percent from 2020. All cotton area harvested is forecast at 9.92 million acres, unchanged from the previous forecast, but up 20 percent from 2020.



UNL's Van Tassell to Step Down as Ag Economics Department Head

Larry Van Tassell, who has led the agricultural economics department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln through a decade of growth and innovation, has announced he will step down from the department head position next June.

When Van Tassell joined the department as head in 2010, the department had 19 faculty members. Over the next few years, as several faculty members retired, the count dipped to 16. Van Tassell worked to attract talented new faculty members to the department, eventually bringing to total number of faculty to 25. At the same time, he led the department through the launch of several new programs designed to better serve both students and Nebraska's agricultural producers.

"Dr. Van Tassell's steady, insightful and empathetic leadership has transformed the department over the past decade," said Mike Boehm, NU Vice President and Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. "He is a commensurate team player whose contributions to collaborations always elevated the whole, and I've appreciated his well-reasoned perspective and sage advice on matters of importance to the Institute and the department."

In 2016, the department established the Commodity Trading Room, which was designed to provide students real-time access to commodity markets and advanced training in market, marketing, merchandising, and futures and options markets. Combined with classroom courses, the trading room experience helps students to be more successful as they enter the competitive job market. The Commodity Trading Room also provides a vehicle for both students and faculty to conduct research in these areas.

In early 2021, the department launched the Center for Agricultural Profitability, which works to improve the economic viability of the agricultural sector in Nebraska and beyond. The center focuses on research, extension outreach and education related to profitability and supporting informed decision-making and management choices to keep farmers and ranchers financially healthy. It also offers educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students while facilitating collaboration with other units in IANR and across the University of Nebraska system. Van Tassell currently serves as the center's director.

Van Tassell is proud of these tools, as well as of practical successes such as renovating all of the department's facilities and classrooms. But his favorite part about leading the department was cheering on its people.

"My greatest joy was to see the number of faculty and staff recognized with internal and national awards for their efforts and successes," he said.

After he steps down as department head in June, Van Tassell will remain on faculty as a professor of agricultural economics. A national search for his successor as department head will launch later this year.



NEBRASKA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE DEVELOPS WEATHER SENSOR CALIBRATION LAB

To provide people with accurate data about rainfall, temperature, wind speed and more, climatologists in states across the nation lead strategic installations of research-grade weather stations across their states. Weather stations are finely tuned machines, expected to record key data within finite margins of error. But even high-tech systems need a tune-up once in a while, Nebraska State Climatologist Martha Shulski observes.

This past summer, the State Climate Office in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s School of Natural Resources began offering weather station sensor calibration services for research-grade equipment used in other states.

The State Climate Office stepped in to consolidate and streamline a calibration process that is often time-consuming, Shulski said. Four different companies manufacture the sensors on a typical U.S. weather station, she said, meaning a state office must send parts to multiple companies that often have backlogs.

The Nebraska program began with a shipment from the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network, which sent a set of 17 temperature and humidity sensors from weather stations to Hardin Hall. There, in a basement lab, senior Nebraska Mesonet technician Glen Roebke ran the meteorological instruments through a battery of tests with instruments that can calibrate air temperature, humidity, barometric pressure readings and more.

The calibration center is an extension of the work the Nebraska State Climate Office has long performed for weather station sensors in its statewide Nebraska Mesonet weather-monitoring network, Shulski said.

“We’ve always calibrated our instrumentation in house,” Shulski said. “Now we’re opening up this service to other state weather networks. We’ve got the expertise. Glen has been doing this for roughly 20 years. He looked at what manufacturers do when you ship sensors to them for calibration tests and determined what we could replicate here in the lab. He looked at what other weather networks use for their sensors and equipment and developed techniques based on that.”

That effort led to the development of, among other tools, an indoor solar calibration table that is now located in the basement lab. Roebke previously only had a finite window of time to test the solar readings of the Nebraska State Climate Office’s pyranometers, which measure solar radiation.

“We’ve done a study in the past on when the best time of year to calibrate is, and the magic month is May,” Roebke said. “There are a lot of things that go into it. We want clear days, but there are a lot of clouds in the month of May, so it limits the number of days we can use it. And the other thing that's a huge variable is temperature. Temperature affects how these instruments work. So we don't want to do it in late July or the middle of August, because temperature changes the output. We want to stabilize it.”

Before the table was installed, Roebke could be found in the Hardin Hall elevators every spring, bringing pyranometers up to be tested on a platform on the 10-story building’s roof, where a precision spectral pyranometer was installed.

The indoor solar calibration table allows any time in the basement lab to simulate a sunny day in May, as far as a weather station’s pyranometer is concerned.

The lab also features equipment that can test each of the typical sensors that would have normally been sent to a manufacturer when they required calibration, Shulski added.

A weather station in Nebraska observes air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, solar radiation, warm-season liquid precipitation every minute, and soil temperature and soil moisture at five depths every hour. Checking equipment yearly, Roebke said, helps the Nebraska Mesonet sensors stay within a half-percent margin of error, rather than drifting 2% to 4% off, as equipment can when it’s not checked over two- or three-year stretches.

“It's a huge difference in the world of meteorology,” he said.

It costs about $2,600 a year, per weather station, to run and calibrate the equipment, Shulski said. The stations are often sponsored by natural resource districts, and the equipment is in service for about a decade before its components are all replaced.

Some maintenance still requires field trips, she said. Lightning, gophers and coyotes are among a weather station’s natural enemies. If rain is measured in an area surrounding another weather station but not at that particular station, for instance, there’s a good chance that a spider web has been constructed atop its precipitation gauge. (Shulski said they spray vinegar on the gauges to prevent that.) Nebraska Mesonet’s 63 stations get inspected, and the grass around them mowed, at least four times a year.

The information collected from the sensors feeds into critical weather information systems, such as the National Weather Service. It is used to determine when to issue flood warnings and when to declare drought emergencies. It helps ag producers make irrigation decisions and parents decide whether their kids need coats at recess. It helps track the changing climate over time. Shulski said it’s imperative to make sure the weather stations are providing readings that are as accurate as possible.

Shulski said the University of Nebraska has the people, knowledge and gear to offer calibration services to states that don’t have similar in-house setups. The services help augment operational funding for the Nebraska Mesonet, she said, and could help contribute to continued expansion of the network.

Currently, 47 of the state’s 93 counties have weather stations, a strong spatial representation of what’s going on with Nebraska weather, Shulski said. However, she hopes to install at least one weather station in each of the remaining counties without one.

As more states utilize Nebraska’s calibration lab, the revenue that the project brings in will allow for students to learn on-the-job calibration training in the lab, while also testing new equipment and sensors as weather station technology evolves.

“The calibration facility is part of our long-term vision for the (Nebraska) Mesonet, and it’s quite exciting to see it come to fruition in such a short time,” Shulski said.



Rural Nebraskans Selected as Lead for America Fellows

A Nebraska organization, the Rural Impact Hub, is partnering with the nationally recognized nonprofit Lead for America (LFA) and Nebraska’s AmeriCorps Service Commission, ServeNebraska, to recruit, train and place recent college graduates into paid two-year fellowships in rural Nebraska communities.

Brent Comstock, founder, and CEO of BCom Solutions, a Nebraska-based digital consulting agency, and its community-driven impact organization the Rural Impact Hub, and Rebecca Johnson, Director of Rural Partnerships are leading the affiliate program.

“By partnering with Lead for America, a nationwide leader for rural empowerment to establish Lead for Nebraska (LFNE), we plan to provide communities a path to bring back their homegrown young leaders. This adds transformative capacity so that communities can address their most significant challenges and build the next generation of leadership,” Comstock said.

During the two-year term, fellows are addressing everything from public health, to workforce development and closing the digital divide by expanding broadband access in unserved and underserved areas.

“We are challenging the narrative that success means leaving your hometown and never coming back. In the short term, our fellows will tackle challenges for their communities and in the long term they will catalyze a movement to grow the bench of changemakers in Nebraska communities,” Comstock said.

LFNE has already placed five fellows in communities across the state, including
Breanna Wirth (Mead, NE), Valentine Economic Development Board
Oliver Borchers-Williams (Nebraska City, NE), Southeast Nebraska Development District
Michael Dwiggins (Lincoln, NE), Southeast Nebraska Development District
Ken Edwards (Table Rock, NE), Auburn Development Council, Auburn, NE
Erika Akers (Rapid City, SD) – Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

“Our vision at the Rural Impact Hub is rooted in using community engagement and entrepreneurial thinking for the betterment of all rural Nebraska communities. Our mission has been led by two principles – engage people for community growth and give young people in the state a path back to their communities where they can make an impact. Lead for Nebraska fellows will take those initiatives statewide.”

To learn more including the application to apply for a fellowship or to inquire about hosting a fellow, please visit: https://ruralimpacthub.com/lfne/.



Mark Putney joins ChopLocal
 
ChopLocal announced today that Mark Putney has been hired as the Director of Business Development for the Iowa-based company. Putney is an experienced farmer and project manager from Elgin, Iowa. He will be focused on expanding ChopLocal’s network of farmers and butcher shops in order to provide local meat to customers across the country.

Putney’s professional background includes positions related to Software as a Service (SaaS),  project management and account management. He also has an extensive background in regenerative agriculture and has served on the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association’s board of directors since 2014.

Putney joins other members of ChopLocal’s leadership team, Chief Executive Officer Jared Achen and Chief Operating Officer Katie Olthoff.

“As ChopLocal has continued to grow, we needed a team member who understands agriculture and the challenges faced by livestock farmers and small processors,” says Achen. “Mark has a unique combination of agriculture and software expertise.”

ChopLocal, an online marketplace focused on helping farmers and butchers increase their direct-to-consumer sales, was founded by Achen and Olthoff in 2020.

“I have been fortunate enough to witness Mark’s leadership and problem-solving skills in action many times, and I’m excited to have him on board as a key member of our team,” says Olthoff. “Mark cares deeply about the success of livestock farmers and rural communities, and excels at getting to know people and finding solutions for their needs.”

“The American consumer has lost the connection to the farm and farmer. ChopLocal is the solution to reunite consumers with the best quality meat, raised by local farmers. I am excited to join the ChopLocal team and look forward to helping farmers and butchers connect to market-ready consumers and bring back more dollars to the farmgate,” says Putney.

Putney lives on a farm near Elgin, Iowa with his wife, Kari, and four children. He can be reached at mark.putney@choplocal.com or 515-326-5694.



Iowa Soybean Association celebrates producers on National Farmers Day

Join the Iowa Soybean Association today, October 12, in recognizing National Farmers Day by reflecting on the invaluable role Iowa farmers play in providing food, fuel and fiber around the world.

As one of the world’s oldest and most vital professions, farmers remain one of the highest contributors to economic growth in Iowa, while consistently providing resources for a growing global population.

In 2021, Iowa soybean farmers planted nearly 10 million acres, up 500,000 acres from the year prior. The state’s soybean industry contributes nearly $9 billion to the state’s economy annually.

Historically known as “Old Farmer’s Day”, the national observance was cultivated to inspire and celebrate the hard work farmers put into growing crops every year.

“Farmers are under a pressure cooker of circumstances,” said ISA President Robb Ewoldt, a farmer near Davenport. “The way ISA takes some of that pressure away is by delivering innovative research and increasing soybean demand.”

As science and technology continue to advance, producers have modernized farming techniques to prolong harvest, increasing yields and profits.

A recent survey of nearly 400 Iowa soybean farmers, respondents identified yield growth, market competition and disease control as issues critical to increasing the profitability of their soybean enterprise:
-    Yield growth – improvement of soybean yields year over year when compared to other commodity yields.
-    Market competition – developments in technology and foreign trade, as well as identifying emerging or alternative markets for food grade and specialty soybeans.
-    Disease control – increasing yield by developing and implementing new genetic enhancements.

Survey respondents also cited marketing biodiesel, enhancing consumer trust in modern agriculture and improving water and soil quality as issues impacting their long-term success.

“Helping farmers find solutions to this growing list of issues is not only critical to the viability and relevance of the soybean industry, but to the rural economy and the families it encompasses,” said Ewoldt.



Merck Animal Health Awards 18 Future Bovine Veterinarians with $90,000 in Scholarships

Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), has awarded $90,000 in scholarships to 18 bovine veterinary students based on their academic achievements, career goals, work experience and interest in veterinary medicine. Selected students received their American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award, and a $5,000 scholarship, at this year’s 2021 AABP Annual Conference, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 7-9.

“At Merck Animal Health, we are passionate about equipping the next generation of veterinarians with the tools and resources to succeed,” stated Justin Welsh, D.V.M., executive director of livestock technical services, Merck Animal Health. “These 18 students exemplify what the future of veterinary medicine needs: leadership, ambition and a devotion to continuously elevating and improving animal health and well-being.”

The following students received the 2021 AABP Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award:
    Kathryne (Day) Blair, Washington State University
    Julia Brigandi, Cornell University
    Alexandra Colton, Oregon State University
    Jordan Cornwall, Washington State University
    Monika Dziuba, Michigan State University
    Lindsey Fenster, University of Georgia
    Juli Henderson, Iowa State University
    Kalene Johnson, The Ohio State University
    Montana Lins, University of Wisconsin
    Jessica Meseck, Iowa State University
    Alexandra Preszler, Iowa State University
    Lexie Reed, Ontario Veterinary College
    Jared Sanderson, Michigan State University
    Artemis Sapountzi, Cornell University
    Jared Schenkels, Atlantic Veterinary College
    Anna Schmidt, University of Pennsylvania
    Isabell Stamm, Western College of Veterinary Medicine
    Kara Valasek, Iowa State University

“Every year, for nearly two decades now, we’ve seen firsthand the outstanding individuals who will soon join our field, and this year’s group of students is no exception,” said AABP executive director Fred Gingrich II, D.V.M. “We’re incredibly grateful to Merck Animal Health for its continued partnership as we support the next generation of bovine veterinarians.”

The scholarships are available to student members of AABP in their second or third year of school who are interested in beef and/or dairy veterinary medicine.



2020/21 Organic Soybean Prices Highlight Shifts in Predictability

Mercaris’ monthly reporting for the 2020/21 marketing year has given a strong focus to organic soybeans. The market that once could have been described as conspicuously stable, has seen a year of supply challenges, and subsequently higher prices. The October Organic Market Update, released today, gives a detailed look at the current conditions surrounding the organic soybean market.

“From the 2015/16 MY through the 2019/20 MY organic soybean prices changed very little, resulting in a fairly predictable market,” says Ryan Koory, Vice President of economics for Mercaris. “That all changed over 2020/21 with organic soybeans gaining $12.56 since the beginning of the marketing year for an average of $32.70/bushel over September of this year.”

The changes, Koory notes, were driven by declining imports and tightening supplies. However, this could change as U.S. production expected to increased 15 percent over the previous year.

“U.S. organic soybean production is on pace to reach 9.5 million bushels in 2021,” says Koory. “But, decreased imports from Argentina and pending tariffs for Indian organic soybean meal will likely drive buyers to navigate the unknown even more as we move into 2021/22.”

Mercaris’ analysis notes that while the decline in organic soybean imports is due in part to global shipping issues, other unknown factors have also affected trade. With U.S. prices at record highs, organic soybean imports will likely increase over 2021/22 if global shipping bottlenecks improve and factors impacting Argentine supplies resolve. However, Koory explains, these conditions will still likely cause shifts within the industry.

“While 2021/22 could see record high U.S. organic soybean supplies and record high organic soybean crush, buyers can likely expect persistently high organic soybean and soybean meal prices,” says Koory. “Markets may shift as organic livestock operations become more dependent on domestically produced organic soybean meal.”

Depending on the pace of imports, Koory acknowledges that organic soybean prices could see some relief. But, organic soybean meal prices may have a harder time finding that same relief if the pending tariff rates come into effect.



USDA Launches First Phase of Soil Carbon Monitoring Efforts through Conservation Reserve Program Initiative

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $10 million in a new initiative to sample, measure, and monitor soil carbon on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres to better quantify the climate outcomes of the program. CRP is an important tool in the Nation’s fight to reduce the worst impacts of climate change facing our farmers, ranchers, and foresters. This initiative will begin implementation in fall 2021 with three partners. Today’s announcement is part of a broader, long-term soil carbon monitoring effort across agricultural lands that supports USDA’s commitment to deliver climate solutions to agricultural producers and rural America through voluntary, incentive-based solutions.    

“These CRP Climate Change Mitigation Assessment Initiative projects will survey, sample and measure the climate benefits of land enrolled in CRP conservation practice types over time,” said Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “This data will help USDA better target CRP practices to achieve continued climate wins across environmentally sensitive lands while strengthening our modeling and conservation planning resources for all producers.”     

These models include the Daily Century Model, or DayCent, which simulates the movement of carbon and nitrogen through agricultural systems and informs the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Data will also be used to strengthen the COMET-Farm and COMET-Planner tools, which enable producers to evaluate potential carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reductions based on specific management scenarios.    

USDA partners will conduct soil carbon sampling on three categories of CRP practice types: perennial grass, trees, and wetlands.    

Perennial grasses: In consultation with USDA, Michigan State University will sample and measure soil carbon and bulk density of CRP grasslands (including native grass plantings, rangelands, and pollinator habitat plantings) at an estimated 600 sites across the U.S. with a focus in the central states during this five-year project. This information will be used to model and compare the climate benefits of CRP. Partners include the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Deveron, an agriculture technology company, and Woods End Laboratories.    

“Our interdisciplinary team is excited to work with FSA on assessing, monitoring, and modeling the climate benefits of CRP,” said Professor Bruno Basso, Michigan State University. “Our proposed integrated system for sampling and modeling soil organic carbon accrual and ecosystem services in CRP lands aims to maximize climate outcomes to mitigate the deleterious effects of climate change on our planet”.  

Trees: Mississippi State University will partner with Alabama A&M University to collect above and below ground data at 162 sites across seven states documenting CRP-related benefits to soil and atmospheric carbon levels. Information will help further calibrate the DayCent model. This five-year project will focus within the Mississippi Delta and Southeast states.    

“There are hundreds of thousands of acres of trees planted under the CRP program in Mississippi and neighboring states that make a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation, but we don’t have a good idea how large that contribution is,” said Austin Himes, assistant professor at Mississippi State University. “This incredible team of partners will use a mix of traditional forestry measurements and state of the art technologies to get an accurate estimate of those benefits, which in turn can help policy makers incentivize tree planting. Additionally, we get to train students to collect all that data, providing them hands-on experience.”    

Wetlands: Ducks Unlimited and its partners will collect data on carbon stocks in wetland soils as well as vegetation carbon levels at 250 wetland sites across a 15-state area in the central U.S. Data will support the DayCent and additional modeling. Partners for this five-year project include: Migratory Bird Joint Venture, Intertribal Research and Resource Center at United Tribes Technical College, Clemson University, Kenyon College, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Texas at Austin.   

“We’ve long known wetlands offer many ecosystem services that have an outsized benefit for wildlife and people” said Dr. Ellen Herbert, DU’s Ecosystem Services Scientist. “This study will help improve our understanding of the potential of CRP restored wetlands to mitigate the effects of climate change, improve water quality and provide habitat. We believe the data gathered from this study will ultimately help demonstrate the effectiveness and overall values of CRP. And, we greatly appreciate USDA for selecting DU to partner in this project.”  

CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation Projects    
 These three Climate Change Mitigation Assessment Initiative projects are funded through FSA’s program to work with partners to identify Monitoring, Assessment and Evaluation (MAE) projects to quantify CRP environmental benefits to water quality and quantity, wildlife, and rural economies.   

Applications for projects were welcome from all organizations, including public, private, nonprofit institutions, and educational institutions including historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions or organizations.    

For more details on the all the awarded MAE projects, visit the FSA Monitoring Assessment & Evaluation webpage https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/economic-and-policy-analysis/natural-resources-analysis/mae-reports-and-articles/index.    



Commitment of Traders
Matthew Diersen, Risk & Business Management Specialist, South Dakota State University

When looking at trading activity in recent weeks, the volume and open interest is quite similar for live cattle and feeder cattle futures compared to a year ago. Live cattle option open interest stands out more, as the put option open interest is much higher than last year. With slightly fewer cattle on feed perhaps a few more are hedged (or protected by put option coverage) compared to last year. However, feedlots are not the only market participants, and the overall scope of traders may give some insights into prices.

Most of the observations that follow focus on the settlements on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. Trade activity and positions from that date would be reflected in the Commitment of Traders (COT) reports on Friday, October 8, 2021. Trading volume for futures that day totaled 48,450 live cattle contracts and 14,623 feeder cattle contracts. Live cattle had greater volume, more listed contract months and likely more market segments that use the contracts for hedging compared to feeder cattle. Differences in open interest are even more pronounced, as there were 290,019 live cattle and 41,756 feeder cattle contracts in ending open interest. Extrapolating the number of contracts out to a number of head, they are not too dissimilar to the number on feed and placements at the national level.

In live cattle, the open interest held by producers (very large feedlots and processors) has been declining by those with short positions and increasing by those with long positions. The opposite has been happening with managed money; with more shorts and fewer longs. In feeder cattle, the largest share of open interest is held by managed money. In recent weeks they have reduced long positions and added short positions. The next largest segment are non-reportable holders, which would encompass smaller producer-hedgers. As a group, they have had fewer short positions in recent weeks that would not be inconsistent with seasonally lifting hedges.

Options volume was much smaller with 8,674 live cattle and 1,200 feeder cattle options trading. The open interest totaled 141,228 live cattle and 19,152 feeder cattle options, both about half of the open interest of the underlying respective futures open interest. Hedgers may use puts for output risk and use calls for input risk. Some insights can be gained by comparing the open interest directly reported by the CME Group to the COT. In the COT, the options are reported on a futures-equivalent basis. Technically the open interest for options is weighted by the delta for specific types of options, their maturities and strike prices. Thus, when a hedger holds an out-of-the-money put option, it’s delta could be 0.25 and it would be equivalent to 25% of a futures contract. In the COT, the two main reports give either the futures totals or the combined futures and options. Thus, you must back out the options open interest and then know that it is the delta-weighted version of the full open interest. The CME Group website has a tool that provides this breakout and isolates options.

The combined open interest for live cattle was 334,237 contracts, leaving delta-adjusted open interest for options of 44,218 contracts. For feeder cattle the combined open interest was 47,981 contracts, giving a delta-adjusted open interest for options of 6,225 contracts. In general, the delta is about 0.3 across all options. Just using the COT figures would miss any delta-related effects. Both open interest amounts are informative. A hedger using put options would typically add to open interest when initiating a hedge. Then, should the price increase, the delta value would fall influencing its COT value, but not its effectiveness as a hedging instrument.

Many commodity indexes include live cattle and some include feeder cattle. The COT includes a supplement with a breakdown of index traders that includes futures and options. For live cattle, about one-third of open interest is long positions of index traders. Generally, these would be fund managers that buy and hold futures, then repeatedly roll to new contracts, always maintaining some exposure to cattle. Their net exposure is about opposite that of commercial traders at this time. For feeder cattle, the contracts held by index traders is much smaller compared to live cattle contracts and the balance is more evenly split between long and short positions (though they are still net long).



Statement by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the Confirmation of Representative Xochitl Torres Small to Serve as Under Secretary for Rural Development

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement after the successful confirmation of Xochitl Torres Small to serve as Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture.
 
“Representative Xochitl Torres Small’s confirmation to serve as Under Secretary for Rural Development is a victory for small towns and rural communities. As the daughter of migrant farm workers and a native of rural New Mexico, Representative Torres Small represents the heart and soul of rural communities. In this role, she will serve as an unwavering voice for millions of rural Americans and drive the effort to revitalize rural economies by implementing President Biden’s aggressive plans under Build Back Better. I look forward to working with Representative Torres Small to further USDA’s mission to advance equity and opportunity in and for rural America and I am fully confident in her ability to excel in this essential role at the Department.”



BLACK FARMERS FILE INTERVENTION IN TEXAS COURT DISPUTING INITIAL RULING AGAINST $4 BILLION IN ARPA RELIEF

After decades of longstanding racism in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) loan programs, Black farmers stand to lose their farms, land and livelihoods after a temporary injunction halted an estimated $4 billion in debt relief passed by Congress as part of the American Rescue Act. Today the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Public Counsel, and pro bono counsel Winston & Strawn LLP, filed an intervention motion on behalf of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund (the Federation). The motion was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Miller v. Vilsack.

Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan, signed into law on March 11, 2021, was designed to provide debt relief to Black farmers and other farmers of color who have long suffered at the hands of the USDA’s harmful discrimination. The USDA’s long-documented and acknowledged racist policies of denying and delaying loans prevented Black farmers from operating successful farm businesses, forcing foreclosures and continuing the shameful legacy of Black land loss in the United States.

In Miller v. Vilsack, five white Texas farmers filed a lawsuit against the USDA alleging that loan forgiveness payments violate the U.S. Constitution. This case is one of many ongoing lawsuits involving Section 1005 in other jurisdictions, including Florida, where a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the program. Plaintiffs specifically argued that Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (“ARPA”) violates the equal protection rights promised under the Constitution for farmers and ranchers who stand eligible for USDA loans but do not qualify for debt relief under the program.

“The USDA has a documented history of discriminating against Black people and communities of color. The federal government’s attempt to rectify this injustice should be applauded, not stopped,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “If this critical assistance is not provided soon, Black farmers and other farmers of color who have struggled to overcome decades of discrimination and the economic impacts of the global pandemic will face the threat of losing their land and their livelihoods.”

Farmer declarations included in the intervention cite multiple instances of discrimination, including:
-    Misplaced loan paperwork and approval delays of more than two years;
-    Inability to sell equipment to repay loans due to vandalism at the auction house in the form of racist graffiti on the tractors up for bid;
-    Loan paperwork being filed on time but funds chronically arriving too late for planting season;
-    Inaccurate advice about whether FSA loans could be restructured; and
-    Receiving loan funds weeks later in the season than white farmers in the same area, providing them with an unfair advantage in planting and harvesting a profitable crop.

Encountering years of unfair loan terms, mistreatment by the USDA and discrimination at every turn, Black farmers are now currently less than 1% of all farmers in the country. This has not always been the case. In 1920, one out of every seven farms were owned by a Black farmer, but the number of Black farmers in America has dropped significantly — plummeting by 98% over the past century.  

“The Federation was encouraged by USDA’s and Congress’s attempt to address the disproportionate impact of the debt burden that farmers of color face because of historic and ongoing race-based discrimination in agricultural credit,” said Cornelius Blanding, executive director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund. “Black farmers have always honored their commitments to their communities and our nation; our hope is that the Department will be allowed to honor its commitment to our farmers and other farmers of color.”

A temporary injunction against the program stands in the way of critical debt relief for those who need it the most. Without debt relief, these farmers face losing their land, livelihoods and equipment, while also bearing the additional financial burden of the farming costs they’ve taken on in anticipation of debt forgiveness. Today’s intervention positions the Federation to vigorously defend Section 1005 and ensure that the narratives of Black farmers are heard as this debt relief is critical to their survival.

“Federal farm policy has been cruelly discriminatory to Black farmers, operating in conjunction with private discrimination in bank loan policies to threaten their very existence,” said Mark Rosenbaum, opportunity under law director at Public Counsel. “The loan forgiveness legislation at risk in this litigation is a lifeline that is the difference between existence and extinction of the Black farmer. We bring this action so that the narratives of the discrimination still confronted by those few remaining Black farmers will not be silenced and that some measure of recompense for the racism experienced will not be denied to individuals who seek only equal opportunity to work their land, to provide for their families and serve all of us.”

Read the intervention here: https://www.lawyerscommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-12-D93-1-Memo-ISO-Motion-to-Intervene.pdf.



Warmer Temperatures May Decrease Yields of Densely Planted Corn

Higher temperatures could have detrimental effects on yields when corn plants are planted more closely together, according to a study from North Carolina State University. Corn yields in densely planted areas drop by about 1.86 percent with every 1 degree Celsius rise in monthly minimum and maximum temperatures through the planting season, the study’s models show.

Interestingly, reduced yields may be higher in conventionally bred corn than in genetically modified corn, the study models predict, suggesting that GM plants may have less need to fight for nutrients and moisture when stressed by higher temperatures.

The study’s findings could help farmers make better decisions about crop density and variety – whether conventional hybrid or GM crops – before planting season, based on forecasted temperatures.

“We wanted to learn more about how crop yield response to planting density is influenced by higher temperatures,” said Rod M. Rejesus, professor of agricultural and resource economics at NC State and the corresponding author of the study, which appears in the journal Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. “The models show that the yield benefits of crop density begin to diminish for conventional hybrid corn when temperatures rise, but GM corn yields remain relatively stable.”

To understand the relationships between crop density, crop yields and higher temperatures, the researchers examined experimental corn field trial data from Wisconsin between 1990 and 2010; weather data that included minimum and maximum temperatures for the field-trial areas in Wisconsin; and county-level data that tracks drought severity in the studied areas.

The study showed that corn yield response to planting density varied with temperature; that variation is influenced by the type of corn planted.

“The study has a few limitations, including that the area studied was in the so-called ‘northern corn belt’ and that it relied on field-trial data rather than the actual fields that produced corn,” Rejesus said. “Performing a similar study in warmer areas and in production crop plots can be a further direction for this type of work.”
    
Former NC State Ph.D. student Ruixue Wang is the paper’s first author. NC State postdoctoral researcher Serkan Aglassan also co-authored paper, as did Jesse B. Tack from Kansas State University. Support for the work was provided in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s NIFA Hatch Project No. NC02696.