Friday February 11 Ag News

Webinar: Getting Your Start on the Farm or Ranch with USDA Farm Service Agency
Time: Feb 17, 2022 12:00 PM in Central Time

Kim Buchheit, USDA Farm Service Agency (Chadron, Neb.)
Jessica Groskopf, Agricultural Economist, Nebraska Extension
Presented by the Center for Agricultural Profitability at the University of Nebraska

USDA Farm Service Agency sometimes is called the first lender of opportunity because it can often make loans that other commercial lenders cannot. This is especially important for beginning farmers and ranchers, who for FSA purposes are those who have not operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years. While folks still need some experience and a business plan in order to get a loan, FSA may have some flexibility where others do not. USDA Farm Service Agency has a variety of loan options, from direct loans for operating expenses or ownership dreams, to guaranteed loans where FSA works with a local lending institution to guarantee up to 95% of a loan the lender makes. FSA’s Down Payment Loan, which is reserved for beginners, offers a special low interest rate. Learn about these programs and more during this one-hour webinar.

Register and get more information at https://cap.unl.edu/webinars.  



NSDA Trade Show & Annual Meeting

The Nebraska State Dairy Association Trade Show & Annual Meeting will take place on February 22nd in Columbus, Nebraska at the Ramada Inn & Conference Center. Dave Ellis, UNL’s Director of Performance Nutrition, will be keynoting the conference.

Other highlights of the day include the NE Dairy Industry Review Board meeting, NE Holstein Assoc. annual meeting, the future of robotics in agriculture with Tami Brown-Brandl at US MARC - Clay Center, UNL's Dr, Terry Howell on recent dairy processor recruiting, a Grow Nebraska Dairy update, the NE State Dairy Assoc. annual meeting, Midwest Dairy checkoff update, NE Dairy Industry Development board update, Dairy Girl Network event, and the evening banquet featuring Ellis' presentation. There's also a large trade show with vendors up most of the day.  

If you are interested in attending please RSVP online at www.nebraskamilk.org, email mindyr@a-fan.org or call the office at 402.421.4472.  RSVP's are due by Monday, February 14th so they can ensure an accurate headcount for meals.



Ag land management webinar to offer updates on cash rents, leasing for 2022

The Center for Agricultural Profitability at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will cover the latest trends in Nebraska cash rental rates, new leasing considerations and more during its Land Management Quarterly webinar at 10 a.m. on Feb. 21.

Offered since 2019, the quarterly webinars address common management issues for Nebraska landowners, agricultural operators and related stakeholders interested in the latest insight on trends in real estate, managing agricultural land and solutions for addressing challenges in the upcoming growing season.

The February webinar will examine methods for setting cash rents, flex lease alternatives and considerations for updating agricultural rental arrangements for 2022. It will include an “Ask the Experts” session, offering participants the chance to get answers to their land or lease questions.

The webinar will be led by Jim Jansen and Allan Vyhnalek, who are both in the Department of Agricultural Economics. Jansen focuses on agricultural finance and land economics, as well as the direction of the annual Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey and Report. Vyhnalek is a farm succession and farmland management extension educator.

“This webinar will help anyone with a vested interest in land to better understand the financial and human forces that are reshaping the rural agricultural landscape,” Jansen said.

The webinar is free and will be recorded. Past recordings can be viewed the day after each session, along with recordings from the entire series.

Registration is free at https://cap.unl.edu/landmanagement.



Livestock Master Matrix Adopted in 86 Iowa Counties

Most of Iowa's 99 counties notified DNR in January that they plan to evaluate construction permit applications and proposed animal confinement locations by using the master matrix.

With few exceptions, most counties will use the matrix during the next 12 months. The following counties will not use the matrix in 2021: Benton, Davis, Des Moines, Guthrie, Grundy, Keokuk, Lee, Mahaska, Osceola, Plymouth, Wapello, Warren and Washington.

Additional requirements are required for animal confinement producers who need a construction permit before they can build in counties using the matrix. Producers qualify by choosing a site and using practices that reduce impacts on air, water and the community.

When a county adopts the master matrix, the board of supervisors can provide more input to producers on site selection, and proposed structures and facility management. Participating counties score each master matrix submitted in their county and can recommend DNR approve or deny the construction permit. They can also join in DNR visits to a proposed confinement site.

While all counties may submit comments to DNR during the permitting process, counties that adopt the master matrix can also appeal a preliminary permit to the state Environmental Protection Commission.

The deadline for enrolling in the program is Jan. 31 of each year.

Find more information, including a map of participating counties, on DNR's AFO webpages under Master Matrix.

The master matrix applies only to producers who must get a construction permit to build, expand or modify a totally roofed facility. Generally, these are confinement (totally roofed) feeding operations with at least 2,500 finishing hogs, 1,000 beef cattle or 715 mature dairy cows.



Growth Energy Awards U.S. Senator Grassley with America’s Fuel Award at 13th Annual ELC

Today at its annual Executive Leadership Conference (ELC), Growth Energy awarded U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa with its higher honor, America’s Fuel Award. America’s Fuel Award is presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty as a champion for the renewable fuels industry. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor congratulated Senator Grassley on his award and thanked him for his years of service to the biofuels industry:

“In Washington, when you think of ethanol, you think of Senator Chuck Grassley,” said Skor. “An Iowa farmer with first-hand knowledge of the biofuels industry, Senator Grassley is a constant source of support and offers us a strong and storied voice on Capitol Hill on our key issues. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who works harder for this industry than Senator Grassley. We are fortunate to have such a revered member of the U.S. Senate in our corner, particularly in light of recent political gridlock in Washington. I can’t think of a better person to receive the 2022 America’s Fuel Award than Senator Grassley. Congratulations.”

Past winners of America’s Fuel Award include USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, former Iowa Governor and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, retired four-star General Wesley Clark, and Richard Childress of Richard Childress Racing.



Febuary discovery for Crop Insurance - Spring Price

The month of February is important for growers in the key Corn Belt states who purchase revenue-based crop insurance policies. It's when the projected prices for those policies are set. As of February 11, 2022, (nine trading days into the month) the averages sit like this:
  - $5.80 per bushel for corn
  - $14.11 per bushel for soybeans

Last year's spring price for corn was $4.58/bu, and the harvest price was set at $5.37/bu.  Last year's spring price for soybeans was set at $11.87/bu, and the harvest price established at $12.30/bu.  

There are 10 more trading days in the month to fully discover the spring crop insurance projected price.  



Statement by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Following Swearing in of Homer Wilkes, Ph.D. to Serve as Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment

Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement after the swearing in of Dr. Homer Wilkes to serve as Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at USDA.

“I am pleased with the Senate’s confirmation of Dr. Homer Wilkes to serve as Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment. An incredible public servant, Dr. Wilkes has worked with USDA for more than 41 years heavily contributing to engineering, natural resource, and watershed projects, as well as forestry and working lands. His leadership as the Director of the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Restoration Division, where he was responsible for the restoration of the coastal ecosystem after the BP oil spill of 2010, has prepared him well for this role. Dr. Wilkes’ confirmation is also historic, as he will be the first African American to hold the position of Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at USDA. I look forward to working alongside him as we continue to work to increase climate resilience and advance climate-smart practices in agriculture and forestry.”



NCGA Leader Appointed to MAIZALL Board

John Linder, a past president and current chairperson of the National Corn Growers Association, has been appointed to serve as a director on the board of MAIZALL, the international alliance of maize growers and exporters from Argentina, Brazil and the United States.

Linder is a fifth-generation farmer. Together with his wife and his brother, Linder grows corn, soybeans, soft red winter wheat and soybeans for seed. In addition to traditional row crop farming, he also has experience raising livestock.

“I am humbled and honored to serve on behalf of U.S. corn farmers as a director for MAIZALL,” said Linder. “I look forward to collaborating with my family farmer counterparts in Brazil and Argentina to tell our farming story and advance the adoption of agricultural innovation to provide safe and abundant food and fuel for the world.”

As of January 1, 2022, John Linder replaced Pamela Johnson as the NCGA’s representative on the MAIZALL Board. Pam Johnson was a founding director of MAIZALL in 2013 and served as its president from 2017-18.

MAIZALL, the International Maize Alliance, is a coalition of maize farmer associations from Argentina, Brazil and the United States who are working together to share expertise and information and to address trade barriers to agricultural innovation. Together, MAIZALL’s farmers grow 50 percent of all corn in the world and 70 percent of the world’s exportable surplus. Member organizations represent farming operations of all sizes, a majority of which are family farms.

MAIZALL was created to bring the unique voice and insights of North American and South American maize farmers to address these obstacles. Based on their on-the-ground, individual experiences, MAIZALL’s farmers provide data and information about the use and benefits of innovative agricultural production methods and technologies.