Wednesday December 14 Ag News

 Nebraska Cattlemen Announces Winners of the 2022 Industry Service and Hall of Fame Awards

Last week, Nebraska Cattlemen honored three recipients’ contributions to Nebraska’s beef industry at the Annual Awards Banquet during the 2022 Nebraska Cattlemen Annual Convention.

The Nebraska Cattlemen Industry Service award recognizes the contribution of individuals who work outside the cattle industry and go above and beyond to support the agriculture community. The Nebraska Cattlemen Nominations Committee selected Governor Pete Ricketts as this year’s Industry Service award recipient.

“I’m honored to be the recipient of this year’s Nebraska Cattlemen Industry Service Award,” said Governor Ricketts. “Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our state. It’s been an honor working alongside them to Grow Nebraska agriculture—and of course, our beef industry! Thank you to Nebraska Cattlemen for all you do each year to support our beef producers, from pasture to plate.”

While congratulating Governor Ricketts on his well-deserved honor, Executive Vice President Pete McClymont stated, “Governor Ricketts has played an instrumental role over the past eight years in keeping the Nebraska beef industry strong. From landmark tax relief to impactful, lasting trade promotion of beef, we cannot thank Governor Ricketts enough for his partnership and continuous support of the cattle community.”

Following the presentation of the Industry Service award was the Nebraska Cattlemen Hall of Fame award. The Hall of Fame award is the highest honor Nebraska Cattlemen can give one of its members. Selection is based on contributions to the beef industry, contributions to Nebraska Cattlemen, community and civic contributions, and cattle business accomplishments. After serving as former presidents of Nebraska Cattlemen, George and Barbra Cooksley were named as the 2022 Hall of Fame recipients. The Cooksleys own and operate Cooksley Ranch in Anselmo, Nebraska, and have dedicated their lives to strengthening and shaping the beef industry.

While thanking Nebraska Cattlemen, George and Barb Cooksley said, "This award belongs to all those who went before us, encouraged us to be involved in the industry. To all those folks who took a chance on us, to speak our minds, make a motion during a meeting, and take a leadership role, we say, 'thank you'. We have stayed involved and active because of the many friends we’ve made in the industry."

Pete McClymont, Executive Vice President of Nebraska Cattlemen, stated, “There is no couple more deserving of this prestigious award than George and Barb Cooksley. These two have spent countless hours away from their ranch to travel across Nebraska and help propel the beef community forward. While their work is not over, their dedication inspires those around them to become involved and make a difference. Nebraska Cattlemen congratulates the Cooksley on their well-earned award.”



Truterra and Soil and Water Conservation Society-led research demonstrates value of cover crops for the environment

Truterra, LLC, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes, Inc., and the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) announced preliminary findings from the first of a three-year on-farm trial to evaluate the field-scale benefits of cover crops to build soil health, reduce erosion, sequester carbon and improve return on investment. Initial findings across over 2,400 acres in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska demonstrate positive trends for the implementation of cover crops at field scale as compared to conventional management practices.
 
This trial, which is part of a $1.5 million USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant On-Farm Trials (CIG-OFT) awarded in 2019, is being conducted in partnership with Truterra-aligned retailer cooperatives Alliance Ag and Grain, Frontier Cooperative and Heartland Cooperative. Participating farmers and retailers use the Truterra™ sustainability tool to measure the performance of trial acres that implemented cover crops against the performance of a non-cover cropped control group. Participating farmers are also receiving scientific support through SWCS to help evaluate environmental outcomes, giving them the information needed to consider adopting these regenerative practices more widely across their operations in the future.
 
 Key findings from the first year of the trial include:
 · Trial acres were net carbon negative, sequestering nearly three times as much greenhouse gas than check fields without cover crops emitted, on average;
·  Sheet and rill erosion was cut in half and wind erosion was reduced by nearly three quarters (72%); and
·  Analytics from the Truterra sustainability tool, which quantifies trial participants’ stewardship actions, found that cover-cropped fields showed an average improvement of 8 points to their sustainability score. The 0-100 scale looks at overall sustainability of the field; the higher the number the better.
 
“I’m really happy with the improvement in soil health I’ve seen so far while maintaining my fields’ overall profitability,” said Clint Luellen, an Iowa farmer participating in the cover crop trials. “There can be a lot of unknowns in the cover crop world, so it’s been very valuable to work closely with the conservation agronomists at my ag retailer Heartland Cooperative to evaluate all of the data from the trials to see what’s going to work for our operations and make changes to continue to improve the performance of my fields with both the environment and profitability in mind.”
 
Farmers are also participating in nutrient management trials over multiple growing seasons through this program. Participating farmers will continue to work with their ag retailer, using the Truterra sustainability tool, to evaluate the performance of the trials for the remaining two years of the program.
 
“Truterra is committed to creating opportunities for farmers to better feed a growing world through climate-smart practices. The results from this three-year trial will give farmers the resources and agronomic support to test drive cover crops and see how they can help build soil health, reduce erosion and sequester carbon,” said Tom Ryan, president of Truterra. “We’re encouraged by these preliminary results, which indicate that cover crops can provide environmental and economic benefits to a farm’s operations, the environment and the community.”
 
“Through this partnership, SWCS is connecting its extensive network of professionals in the public and private sector to demonstrate to farmers the environmental and economic benefits of implementing conservation on the land,” said Clare Lindahl, CEO of SWCS. “We look forward to continuing these conservation trials and applying learnings to provide the agriculture industry with the best tools and strategies to protect our natural resources for years to come.”



Iowa Farmland Values Hit All-Time High despite Concerns about Higher Inflation, Interest Rates

One year after skyrocketing 29%, the average value of an acre of Iowa farmland jumped another 17%, or $1,660, to $11,411 per acre. The nominal value of an acre of farmland is again higher this year than at any point since Iowa State University began surveying values in 1941. When adjusting for inflation, the 2022 average value surpasses the previous inflation-adjusted record value set in 2013 for the first time.

Farmland values in Iowa have increased more than 15% in a year a handful of times since 1941, most notably in 2011, when values rose 32.5%, and last year, when values rose 29%.

While inflation was a major factor that drove the increase last year, Wendong Zhang, an associate professor of economics and faculty affiliate of Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University, said that it did not play as much of a factor as commodity prices, limited land supply, and low interest rates through summer 2022 did this year.

Zhang, who is responsible for conducting the annual survey, said that inflation rates this year are similar to those from last year, but the Federal Reserve has used aggressive rate hikes since this summer to curb the problem. “The Federal Reserve seems to be determined to keep raising interest rates until they get a firm control on inflation. This is a tricky balance because larger and quicker interest rate hikes run the risk of slowing down the economy, potentially to a recession,” Zhang said. While he noted that higher interest rates put downward pressure on the land market, the effects typically don’t show up in land prices for one or two years.

While the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates, Zhang said that 81% of Iowa farmland is fully paid for, so the higher interest rates don’t always affect farmers’ land purchasing decisions. This is especially true when high inflation makes the real interest rates negative or low, which tends to incentivize more borrowing and investment. Furthermore, a significant portion of respondents said that cash on hand was a positive factor influencing land values. “Farmers have a lot more cash on hand and supply chain issues led to a shortage of equipment, so the money that farmers normally spend on equipment is now devoted to land,” he said.

As for commodity prices, Zhang said they have been strong this year and yields have been higher than expected, despite the weather challenges. “Not only are crop prices much higher, livestock and poultry prices are also significantly higher, translating into higher farm income and profits,”  he said.

For the first time, this year’s survey asked respondents’ views of current farmland values. Zhang said that 70% of respondents feel that current land values are too high or way too high.

“The higher land values do create an even higher entry barrier for beginning farmers, and the following increase in cash rents along with higher input costs could negatively affect producers, especially those with a lot of rented ground,” he said.

Zhang said that 48% of respondents forecasted an increase in farmland values one year from now, while 24% forecasted no change and 28% expected lower values. He said that most respondents expect the one-year value to either be the same or increase roughly 5–10%.

Looking five years ahead, Zhang said that 60% of respondents believe land values will increase 10–20% from current values, while about 24% forecast a decline in prices.

Land Values by County
For the second year in a row, all 99 of Iowa’s counties showed an increase in land values. However, for the first time in almost a decade, Scott County did not report the highest overall value. O’Brien County topped the list this year, reporting a 20.6% increase, or $2,818 per acre, to $16,531. Decatur County again reported the lowest value, though land values there increased 10%, or $505 per acre, to $5,566.

Mills, Fremont, Page and Montgomery counties reported the largest percentage increase, 21.6%, while O’Brien County saw the largest dollar increase, $2,818 per acre. Wayne, Lucas, Appanoose, and Decatur counties saw the smallest percentage increase, 10%, while Decatur County saw the smallest dollar increase, $505 per acre.

Land Values by District
Land values increased across all crop reporting districts. The Northwest district reported the highest overall value, $14,878 per acre, the largest percentage increase, 22.3%, and the largest dollar increase, $2,714 per acre.

The South Central district reported the lowest values, $6,824 per acre, and the lowest dollar change, $790 per acre, while the Southeast district saw the smallest percentage increase, 9.8%.

Land Values by Quality
Statewide, low-quality land now averages $7,369 per acre, an increase of 15.2% or $972 per acre. Medium-quality land now averages $10,673 per acre, an increase of 17.7% or $1,602 per acre. High-quality land now averages $13,817 per acre, an increase of 16.8% or $1,983 per acre.

The Northwest district reported the highest values for low-, medium-, and high-quality land at $9,569, $13,710, and $17,121 per acre, respectively. The South Central district reported the lowest values for low-, medium-, and high-quality land at $4,379, $6,872, and $9,478 per acre, respectively.

Low-quality land saw the largest percent increase in the Northeast district, 19.8%, while the Northwest district saw the largest dollar increase, $1,481 per acre. Low-quality land saw the smallest percent increase, 7.9%, and the lowest dollar increase, $321 per acre, in the South Central district.

Medium-quality land saw increases of more than 20% in the West Central, Northeast, Southwest, and Northwest districts, which respectively showed increases of 20.1%, 21.9%, 22.7%, and 24.2%. The Northwest district also saw the largest dollar increase in medium-quality land, $2,688 per acre. The Southeast district showed the lowest percent increase in medium-quality land, 6.2%, and the lowest dollar increase, $508 per acre.

High-quality land in the West Central, Southwest, and Northwest districts all saw increases of more than 20% — 20.6%, 21.2%, and 22.3%, respectively. The Northwest district reported the largest dollar increase in high-quality land at $3,124 per acre. The Southeast district reported the smallest percent change in high-quality land, 10.3%, and the smallest dollar increase, $1,201 per acre.
Factors Influencing the Land Market

The most frequently mentioned positive factor influencing the land market was higher commodity prices. Limited land supply and low interest rates through summer 2022 were the second- and third-most frequently mentioned factors. Other frequently mentioned factors included cash on hand and high credit availability, strong yields, a good farm economy and strong demand.

The most frequently mentioned negative factor affecting land values was interest rate hikes. Other noted factors included concerns about higher input costs, and stock market volatility and economic uncertainty were the second- and third-most frequently mentioned negative factors.

Land values were determined by the 2022 Iowa State University Land Value Survey, conducted in November by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Results from the survey are consistent with results by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the REALTORS Land Institute, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Iowa State Land Value Survey is based on reports by agricultural professionals knowledgeable of land market conditions, such as appraisers, farm managers, agricultural lenders, and actual land sales, and is intended to provide information on general land value trends, geographical land price relationships and factors influencing the Iowa land market. The 2022 survey is based on 668 usable responses from 443 agricultural professionals. Seventy-one percent of the 443 respondents answered the survey online.

The Iowa State Land Value Survey was initiated in 1941, the first in the nation, and is sponsored annually by Iowa State. The survey is typically conducted every November and the results are released mid-December. Only the state average and the district averages are based directly on the Iowa State survey data. County estimates are derived using a procedure that combines the Iowa State survey results with data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture.

CARD offers a web portal at https://www.card.iastate.edu/farmland/ that includes visualization tools, such as charts and interactive county maps, allowing users to examine land value trends over time at the county, district, and state level.



USDA SURVEYING CATTLE OPERATIONS

In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey about 41,000 cattle operations nationwide to provide an up-to-date measure of U.S. cattle inventories.

“This information helps producers make timely, informed business decisions and plan for herd expansion or reduction. It also helps packers and government leaders evaluate expected slaughter volume for future months and determine potential supplies for export,” said Upper Midwest Regional Director Greg Thessen. “Obtaining the current count of cattle will serve as an important decision-making tool for the entire agriculture industry.”

During the first two weeks of January, Iowa producers will have the opportunity to report their beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop, death loss and cattle on feed information. To make it as convenient as possible for producers to participate in the survey, NASS offers the option of responding via the Internet, telephone, or mail.

Survey respondents are encouraged to use the new Respondent Portal at agcounts.usda.gov. On the portal, they can complete their surveys, track upcoming surveys, access data visualizations and reports of interest, link to other USDA agencies, and more.

NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents. The information provided by survey respondents will be used for statistical purposes only. In accordance with federal law, responses will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed in identifiable form.

Survey results will be published in the Cattle report to be released on January 31, 2023. These and all NASS reports are available online www.nass.usda.gov/Publications. For more information, call the NASS Upper Midwest Regional Field Office at (800) 772-0825.



ASFMRA Iowa Chapter hosts Annual Meeting, February 1-2

The ASFMRA Iowa Chapter is hosting a two-day annual meeting targeted to agricultural professionals. The 2023 seminar will be held on February 1 and 2 at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny. You do not need to be a member of the association to attend.

“Our planning committee has done an impressive job of bringing together a variety of speakers and topics for this year’s meeting,” said Morgan Troendle, AFM, ASFMRA Iowa Chapter President. “Every year I look forward to the education and networking that this meeting provides.”

Sessions at the spring seminar include:
     •   A Washington Perspective, Stephen Frerichs
     •   Piecing Together the Puzzle: Grain Market Trends and Economic Factors, Brian Wiggins
     •   Big Leaps in Agricutlure, PJ Amini
     •   Top Legal and Tax Issues Impacting Ag Producers and Rural Landowners, Kristine Tidgren
     •   Confidence in Chaos: Weather Impacts to Agriculture in 2022 and 2023, Matt Reardon
     •   A Complicated World – The Outlook of Agriculture is Still Bright, Steve Nicholson
     •   Manure Management, Dan Anderson
     •   Global Commodity Market Overview and Key Principals to Apply if You are Involved, Carl Babbler
     •   The Future is Now, Steve Maulberger

For more information and registration details, visit the ASFMRA website: www.asfmra.org/education-calendar.



 AGCO Names Patrick Hoefling 2022 Operator of the Year

AGCO Corporation, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology, named Patrick Hoefling of Nutrien Ag Solutions and Odebolt, IA, the 2022 Operator of the Year at the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) Annual Conference & Expo in San Diego, CA, on November 30, 2022. The award recognizes the skills, dedication, and customer service demonstrated by application professionals to their local communities.

“AGCO is proud to be associated with operators like Patrick Hoefling and all of this year’s nominees,” said David Fickel, Fendt® application senior marketing manager. “Application is an increasingly vital component of sustainable farming, and the services these professionals deliver increase farmers’ yields, strengthen the economies of farming communities, and help feed a growing world. Those values are what Operator of the Year honors and recognizes.”

Hoefling has served his community and its farmers since 1972, when his cousin, a local retailer manager, encouraged him to get into the business. Since then, he’s become well-known to area farmers who frequently request his services because they know he’ll treat their crops as if they were his own.

Patrick is respected by colleagues at Nutrien for his mentoring that focuses on the practical aspect of application services and the value of taking pride in well-done jobs. He’s also respected for his care of the equipment he uses and the importance he places on timely maintenance and careful operation. Hoefling shares credit with the team back home in Odebolt, saying “No matter what the application is, we work together to get every job accomplished professionally and completely!”

Hoefling thoroughly enjoys his time both in and outside the fields. “It’s not work when you love your job every day,” he said. In his off-hours, Hoefling can often be found participating in community fundraisers, providing landscaping services in Odebolt’s city parks and green spaces, and spending time with his nine children and 28 grandchildren.

Kourtney Kaemming of The Jewell Grain Company and Defiance, OH, and Shane Twenter of MFA Inc. and Boonville, MO, were also finalists in the program and appeared at the ARA conference. “Kourtney and Shane are just as deserving of this award as I am and it’s an honor to be included with them,” said Hoefling. “They’re both such talented and knowledgeable professionals – and they’re young! The industry and our farmers will be in great hands with them.”



Corn Grower Leaders from Across the Country Call on Biden to Set Quick, Firm Timeline While Pressing Case on Biotech Corn with Mexico

The presidents of 23 state corn grower groups, joined by the president of the National Corn Growers Association, sent a letter to President Biden today calling for him to take additional steps to address the pending decree by Mexico that would block imports of biotech corn.

The letter encouraged the president to raise the issue during upcoming trade talks and to file a dispute under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement if Mexico doesn’t act expeditiously to withdraw the decree.

“Corn farmers are right now in the process of making planting decisions for next spring, and any additional uncertainty in the market affects their ability to appropriately respond to multiple market signals,” the corn grower leaders said. “If the decree is not completely withdrawn by the established deadline, we ask that your administration initiate a case under USMCA.”

The letter is in response to a promise by President López Obrador to end imports of biotech corn beginning in early 2024. Ninety percent of corn grown in the U.S. is biotech corn.

Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard plans to visit Washington this week to discuss the issue ahead of a planned meeting on trade between Biden, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in early January.

The state corn grower leaders urged Biden to raise the issue at the meeting.

“Because the stakes for farmers and rural America are so high, we are calling on you to make this issue a critical part of your January 9th meeting with President López Obrador and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” the letter says.

The letter also detailed specific actions the president could take in the coming days.

“We are also asking that you empower Ambassador Katherine Tai to work with Secretary Vilsack to set a firm, quick timeline with Mexico to withdraw the decree or initiate a case under the biotechnology provisions of the U.S-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), and that you do so without agreeing to a ban of any form of biotech corn, including white corn that is used for human consumption,” the group noted.

The letter also emphasized the science supporting the safe use of biotech corn.

“Decades of science show that biotech corn is safe for use,” the letter says. “Growers plant biotech corn, which is reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and regulatory agencies around the world, because it saves money, reduces the use of insecticides and lowers carbon emissions. This technology also allows corn growers to plant seeds that are resistant to severe weather conditions caused by climate change.”

The letter notes that the ban would have an impact on the Mexican people, noting a recently released study showing that it could lead to increased food insecurity in the country – especially among the working class – for whom corn is a major staple.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to Mexico City in late November to meet with President López Obrador about the issue, a development that was widely praised by corn growers. Vilsack emphasized during that meeting that minus a reasonable agreement, the U.S. would take action, including filing a complaint under USMCA. Corn growers have since pushed the administration for faster action.




Corn Yield Contest Demonstrates Farmers Ingenuity, Resilience

U.S. farmers not only planted and harvested a large crop successfully in 2022, but they also rolled out some impressive yields in the National Corn Growers Association’s (NCGA) National Corn Yield Contest despite an array of weather challenges.

The National Corn Yield Contest is now in its 58th year and remains NCGA’s most popular program for members.

“Corn plays an incredibly important role in so many aspects of life in America and abroad,” said Lowell Neitzel, chair of NCGA’s Member and Consumer Engagement Action Team. “This contest offers a unique opportunity for all farmers to take part in the innovation and creativity that move our industry forward. Contest winners, at the national and state levels, find new ways to excel while using a variety of techniques. Ultimately, the data generated and insights found by farmers and input providers enable U.S. farmers to continue to meet the future demand for critical food, feed, fuel and fiber.”

The 27 national winners in 9 production categories had verified yields averaging 340.7245 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 172.3 bushels per acre nationwide.

For more than half a century, NCGA’s National Corn Yield Contest has provided corn growers with the opportunity to compete with their colleagues to grow the most corn per acre, helping feed and fuel the world. This has given participants not only the recognition they deserved but the opportunity to learn from their peers.

Please visit ncga.com/NCYC for the complete list of 2022 National and State winners.



Weekly Ethanol Production for 12/9/2022

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending December 9, ethanol production eased 1.5% to 1.061 million b/d, equivalent to 44.56 million gallons daily. Production was 2.4% lower than the same week last year yet 1.4% above the five-year average for the week. The four-week average ethanol production increased 1.2% to a 23-week high of 1.049 million b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 16.08 billion gallons (bg).

Ethanol stocks jumped 5.0% to 24.4 million barrels, the largest weekly volume recorded in 35 weeks. Stocks were 16.9% more than a year ago and 9.1% above the five-year average. Inventories built across all regions except the Rocky Mountains (PADD 4), which remained even with the prior week.

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, declined 1.2% to 8.26 million b/d (126.55 bg annualized). Demand was 12.8% less than a year ago and 9.3% below the five-year average.

Conversely, refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol improved by 3.7% to 879,000 b/d, equivalent to 13.48 bg annualized. Net inputs were even with a year ago but 0.8% below the five-year average.

There were zero imports of ethanol recorded after 10,000 b/d hit the books the prior week. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of October 2022.)



Urea, 10-34-0 Fertilizer Prices Fall Below Last Year's Levels

Retail fertilizer prices continue to drift slowly lower, according to prices tracked by DTN for the second week of December 2022. This has been the general trend in prices over the last several months.

Of the eight major fertilizers, seven were slightly lower. DTN designates a significant move as anything 5% or more. DAP had an average price of $920/ton, MAP $950/ton, potash $819/ton, urea $784/ton, 10-34-0 $751/ton, anhydrous $1,415/ton and UAN28 $$581/ton.

The remaining fertilizer, UAN32, was just slightly more expensive than last month with an average price of $681/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.85/lb.N, anhydrous $0.86/lb.N, UAN28 $1.04/lb.N and UAN32 $1.07/lb.N.

Most retail fertilizer prices continue to be higher in price than one year earlier, although two are now slightly lower. 10-34-0 is now 1% lower while urea is 12% less expensive than one year ago. UAN28 is 1% higher, both anhydrous and UAN32 are 3% more expensive, MAP is 4% higher, potash is 5% more expensive and DAP is 10% higher compared to last year.



Final Rule for the AMS Cattle Contracts Library
Brenda Boetel, Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin - River Falls

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the final rule needed to create a Cattle Contracts Library. The final rule requires packers that slaughtered an average of not less than five percent of the number of fed cattle slaughtered nationally during the immediately preceding five calendar years to submit contractual information for the purchase of cattle.

The Cattle Contracts Library Pilot Program (library) is intended to increase market transparency for cattle producers. AMS held listening sessions and conducted a pilot program, which was then used to develop a working library model. Once the final rule goes into effect on Jan. 6, 2023 the AMS will collect, maintain, and report aggregated information on contracts between packers and cattle producers for the purchase of fed cattle. The library will include different types of contracts and contract terms. Information will include schedules or premiums and discounts, delivery and transportation terms and payments, number of head purchased under contracts, appendices and agreements of financing, risk-sharing or profit sharing or other supplement information on cattle requirements. It is expected that the working Pilot will not be available to the public until early 2023.

The Pilot is modeled on the Swine Contract Library, which features a summary report of the public on contract terms available to producers and a monthly report. AMS believes the Cattle Contracts Library Pilot Program will support competition by providing producers with the market information they need to make informed production, marketing, and business decisions.

Information on the Cattle Contract Library is available on the AMS website and in the Federal Register.



NGFA participates in STB hearing on UP embargoes

During a Surface Transportation Board (STB) hearing today, National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) President and CEO Mike Seyfert detailed the impacts on NGFA members of the Union Pacific Railroad’s increased use of embargoes.

STB ordered UP executives to appear at two days of hearings on Dec. 13-14 regarding the railroad’s use of embargoes, noting it had received numerous reports that shippers were suffering supply chain problems as a result. In 2022, UP issued more than 1,000 embargoes, compared to 662 embargoes in 2021 and 251 embargoes in 2020.

“We have no doubt UP is working hard to improve rail service, but we fear UP’s significant use of embargoes for so-called congestion that is largely the result of UP’s actions may be unfairly placing the cost burden of its rail service recovery on their rail shipper customers,” Seyfert said.

Through October, UP accounted for 79 percent of embargoes issued by the Class I railroads this year, with 98 percent of them attributed to “congestion,” according to the STB. Railroads typically use embargoes as a temporary means to control traffic, but UP has dramatically increased its use of embargoes since 2017.

Multiple times in 2022, UP “metered” its service, or required customers to reduce the number of cars on the railroad or face embargoes. Seyfert noted that the natural response for shippers when they receive slower rail service is to buy or lease additional private cars to offset the slower service and still move the amount of product their facilities require.  

“If UP were providing the level of rail service that is needed by its customers, the additional private railcars would not be on its system,” he said.

After NGFA urged the STB to address substantial rail service disruptions earlier this year, the Board conducted a freight rail service hearing on April 26-27 featuring a wide range of rail customers experiencing economic harm due to inadequate rail service. The Board subsequently ordered the four largest rail carriers, including UP, to submit service recovery plans.

“We aim to give credit where it is due, and we have seen some improvements in UP’s service since the STB hearing in April,” Seyfert said. “Despite these good faith efforts, the year-over-year numbers continue to show challenges for NGFA members.”

Slow service and embargoes have forced NGFA-member companies to make decisions that either lower their productive value or increase their transportation costs, ultimately negatively impacting the agricultural value chain, Seyfert noted.

“Embargoes due to congestion should only be permitted when the railroad is not the cause of the congestion it claims is the basis for an embargo,” Seyfert said. “Liberal declarations of embargoes and the metering of service should certainly not be embedded into a rail carrier’s business model.”



A new study calls for U.S. dairy industry to aim for climate neutrality, not net-zero GHG  

American Dairy Coalition (ADC) wants dairy farmers to know there is now updated research that accurately calculates methane from cows. This new calculation metric is known as GWP* (it is very different from the inaccurate livestock metric currently used which is known as GWP 100).
 
“Let’s stop blaming cows and stand up for calculating the right methane magnitude by using the GWP*,” says Laurie Fischer, ADC CEO.
 
“Cows are not cars. Their methane metric matters,” she states.
 
In a webinar as part of ADC’s virtual annual meeting on December 6, Dr. Frank Mitloehner talked about some of these differences.
 
For starters, Fischer points out, plants capture carbon energy from the air, and cows consume and convert this energy to nutrient-dense human food. The biological process that enables them to do this recycles some of this energy back into the air in the form of methane, which is also destroyed back to carbon in the atmosphere, and this cycle is repeated.
 
“We need to make sure these differences are part of the metrics that are going to be used to do climate impacts or GHG accounting on dairies in the future,” she says. “The cows are basically recycling existing atmospheric carbon in the process of producing food. The methane they emit replaces methane being destroyed at the same time in the atmosphere, so it’s already offset if national herd numbers are roughly the same. On the other hand, every mile we drive a car burns carbon that came from underground, putting new carbon into the air. That’s a whole different story, and I’m not sure the cows are getting a fair shake in how it’s all figured out.”
 
Fischer notes that around 60 people, mostly dairy farmers, attended the webinar. For those who didn’t, ADC released this summary so more farmers can be updated to understand why the goal and the metrics matter.
 
Pinned to the top of his twitter-feed at @GHGguru is the Albert Einstein quote: “Those with the privilege to know have the duty to act.”
 
Dr. Frank Mitloehner has the knowledge, and he demonstrates the courage to act. As an animal science professor, air quality specialist, and director of the CLEAR Center at the University of California-Davis, he and his colleagues pursue important work at the intersection of livestock and climate.
 
He brought dairy farmers up to date during American Dairy Coalition’s annual meeting by webinar on Tuesday, December 6, referencing a new study co-authored with Dr. Sara Place and published in the Journal of Dairy Science.
 
The peer-reviewed study calls for the U.S. dairy industry to aim for climate neutrality (net-zero warming) rather than net-zero carbon or net-zero GHG.
 
The paper, a summary and other resources are available at https://clear.ucdavis.edu/news/new-paper-clear-center-charts-pathway-climate-neutrality-us-dairy
 
It outlines a path for the U.S. dairy industry to reach climate neutrality by 2041 with small methane reductions every year, and sooner with more aggressive reductions.
 
It explains how “climate neutrality is analogous to net-zero carbon when dealing with long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, but short-lived pollutants like methane do not need to reach net-zero carbon to be climate-neutral.”
 
An important take-home message from the ADC webinar is for dairy farmers to understand how methane’s global warming potential (GWP) is quantified. “Whether you use GWP100 or GWP* will have a profound impact on the predicted warming of your industry. The only way you can become climate neutral is by using a metric fit-for-purpose, one that predicts the warming, and that is GWP*,” said Mitloehner.
 
Methane is an important and powerful greenhouse gas (GHG), but it is different from other gases because it undergoes atmospheric removal in a natural chemical process that takes about a decade. This does not occur for carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide, which remain in the earth’s atmosphere for 1000 and 100 years, respectively.
 
“Methane is the most important gas for animal agriculture, and this atmospheric removal is currently not being considered when we use GWP100,” said Mitloehner.

The paper explains that “GWP100 quantifies the warming potential of a gas over the course of 100 years relative to carbon dioxide.” This metric has been around since the 1990s, but it describes stock gases, whereas methane is a flow gas.

GWP* is a newer metric developed at the University of Oxford that right-sizes the magnitude. It is based on GWP100 but adjusted for methane as a flow gas that is short-lived, expressed as CO2 warming equivalents (CO2we), not as accumulating stocks of CO2 equivalents (CO2e).
 
“If we use GWP100 to describe a relatively constant source, to characterize that methane, then we are overblowing its impact by a factor of 4, and we are overlooking the ability for the U.S. dairy industry to reduce warming when we reduce methane,” said Mitloehner, noting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated this on page 123 of its AR6.
 
Dr. Mitloehner walked through the math, using a Global Methane Budget showing all global sources emit 560 million metric tons (MMT) on the left, while total sinks remove 550 MMT on the right, of which 515 are removed by this chemical reaction in the atmosphere.
 
“The net is 10 MMT. This is still a number we seek to reduce, but one that is drastically different from 560. Is this new additional carbon being added to the atmosphere? Do constant herds add new warming? No, they do not,” he said. “This removal must be counted, and GWP* does that.”
 
Plus, the carbon in belched methane, the ‘c’ in the CH4 emitted by cattle, is different in its source and pathway. Already present in the atmosphere, this carbon energy is captured by plants, consumed by cows, and used as a carbohydrate converted to milk yield, components, and beef. Some of this carbon energy goes to methane as part of the rumen microbial biology of the cow that allowed her to digest the plants and convert the energy to nutrient-dense food in the first place.
 
The point is: This carbon originated in the atmosphere. As a ‘biogenic’ energy source, it is utilized and recycled in this manner. This is not ancient carbon brought out of the ground and into the atmosphere. It is not cumulative.
 
“You see a cycle on the right side and a one-way street on the left side. Do not fall for the people comparing cars versus cows,” said Mitloehner.
 
The 2021 IPCC AR6 also recognized this difference, stating on page 122: “For methane and hydrocarbons from fossil sources, this will lead to additional fossil CO2 in the atmosphere, whereas for biogenic sources of methane or hydrocarbons (e.g. cows), this replaces CO2 that has been recently removed from the atmosphere.”
 
“What is exciting is if you reduce methane, you can come to a point where you produce negative warming or a cooling effect. That’s what my work is about. If we do a couple of things to reach no new warming, and then get aggressive to go further, we can offset,” said Mitloehner.
 
For example, emerging feed additives hold the promise of reducing belched methane by 10 to 30%. CLEAR Center research shows the potential to increase animal performance at the same time – suggesting even more of the consumed carbon energy can be directed to milk and components and less to methane.
 
Innovations are important, but at the same time, Mitloehner said “Your cows will never stop belching. You will never achieve climate neutrality with GWP100 (as the metric). Net zero carbon also is not possible (for methane), and it is not needed.”
 
The good news, said Mitloehner, is that “GWP* can be used parallel to GWP100 because GWP* is a more scientific predictor of what dairy can do to bend the curve and how strongly. It also helps define the goalpost, that is to not cause additional warming.