Preliminary Agenda Announced for the 2023 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
Ethanol Producer Magazine announced this week the preliminary agenda for the 2023 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo (FEW) taking place June 12-14, 2023 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
This year’s agenda includes three co-located events: Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel & Renewable Biodiesel, Carbon Capture & Storage Summit, and the annual Ethanol 101.
“In addition to ethanol production, management, and product diversification for ethanol producers, this year’s agenda is covering multiple topics about carbon capture and storage, biodiesel and renewable diesel production, as well as sustainable aviation fuel production,” says John Nelson, vice president of operations, sales and marketing at BBI International. “And as we have in the past, the agenda will allow those new to the industry to learn some of the basics in Ethanol 101, taking place Monday, June 12th.”
The program includes nearly 150 presentations across multiple consecutive tracks and co-located events, including:
Track 1: Production and Operations – Biological Processes
Track 2: Production and Operations – Mechanical Processes and Plant Control
Track 3: Coproducts and Product Diversification
Track 4: Leadership and Financial Management
Carbon Capture & Storage Summit
Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Renewable Diesel
"We were excited by the number of abstracts submitted this year," says Tim Portz, program director at BBI International. "The FEW agenda, along with the co-located events is robust, expansive and allows attendees to learn from some of the industry's top thought leaders."
The conference begins Monday, June 12 at 8:30 am (CDT) and will be open to all registered attendees.
To view the online agenda for the FEW and all other co-located events, click here https://few.bbiconferences.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Agenda___Fuel_Ethanol_Workshop.
Commercial Red Meat Production Down 4 Percent from Last Year
Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.26 billion pounds in February, down 4 percent from the 4.43 billion pounds produced in February 2022.
Beef production, at 2.09 billion pounds, was 7 percent below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.55 million head, down 5 percent from February 2022. The average live weight was down 21 pounds from the previous year, at 1,374 pounds.
Veal production totaled 3.8 million pounds, 10 percent below February a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 25,700 head, down 16 percent from February 2022. The average live weight was up 12 pounds from last year, at 255 pounds.
Pork production totaled 2.16 billion pounds, down 1 percent from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 9.97 million head, up slightly from February 2022. The average live weight was down 2 pounds from the previous year, at 291 pounds.
Lamb and mutton production, at 10.1 million pounds, was up 9 percent from February 2022. Sheep slaughter totaled 154,800 head, 8 percent above last year. The average live weight was 129 pounds, up 1 pound from February a year ago.
By State (million lbs - % Feb '22)
Nebraska ........: 596.7 93
Iowa ...............: 698.4 98
Kansas ............: 440.8 94
January to February 2023 commercial red meat production was 9.03 billion pounds, up slightly from 2022. Accumulated beef production was down 2 percent from last year, veal was down 7 percent, pork was up 3 percent from last year, and lamb and mutton production was up 6 percent.
USDA Cold Storage February 2023 Highlights
Total red meat supplies in freezers on February 28, 2023 were down 3 percent from the previous month but up 2 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 6 percent from the previous month and down 6 percent from last year. Frozen pork supplies were up slightly from the previous month and up 9 percent from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 1 percent from last month and up 42 percent from last year.
Total frozen poultry supplies on February 28, 2023 were up 3 percent from the previous month and up 10 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were down slightly from the previous month but up 10 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 11 percent from last month and up 10 percent from February 28, 2022.
Total natural cheese stocks in refrigerated warehouses on February 28, 2023 were down slightly from the previous month and down 1 percent from February 28, 2022. Butter stocks were up 12 percent from last month and up 12 percent from a year ago.
Total frozen fruit stocks on February 28, 2023 were down 9 percent from last month but up 17 percent from a year ago. Total frozen vegetable stocks were down 6 percent from last month but up 3 percent from a year ago.
NEBRASKA CHICKENS AND EGGS
Nebraska egg production during February totaled 143 million eggs, down from 193 million in 2022. February egg production per 100 layers was 2,183 eggs, compared to 2,262 eggs in 2022. All layers in Nebraska during February 2023 totaled 6.56 million, down from 8.52 million the previous year, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Iowa egg production during February 2023 was 988 million eggs, down 6 percent from last month and down 9 percent from last year, according to the latest Chickens and Eggs report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The average number of all layers on hand during February 2023 was 43.3 million, up 2 percent from last month but down 8 percent from the same month last year. Eggs per 100 layers for February were 2,283, down 9 percent from last month and down 1 percent from last February.
US - February Egg Production Down 5 Percent
United States egg production totaled 8.23 billion during February 2023, down 5 percent from last year. Production included 7.03 billion table eggs, and 1.19 billion hatching eggs, of which 1.10 billion were broiler-type and 94.0 million were egg-type. The average number of layers during February 2023 totaled 379 million, down 3 percent from last year. February egg production per 100 layers was 2,171 eggs, down 2 percent from February 2022.
Total layers in the United States on March 1, 2023 totaled 382 million, down 3 percent from last year. The 382 million layers consisted of 313 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 64.9 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs, and 4.01 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on March 1, 2023, averaged 77.4 eggs per 100 layers, down 2 percent from March 1, 2022.
Livestock Groups Support Bill to Expand Options for Packing Capacity
National livestock groups have come together to support Congressional efforts to expand opportunities for industry to invest in meat packing capacity.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sheep Industry Association, Livestock Marketing Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, and United States Cattlemen’s Association sent a letter to the Chairpeople and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees expressing the groups' support of legislation to allow livestock market owners and operators to own or invest in small or regional livestock packing facilities.
The bipartisan legislation, the Expanding Local Meat Processing Act (S. 813), was reintroduced by Sens. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) last week. This is the Senate companion to the Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States (APLUS) Act (H.R.530), being led by U.S. Representatives Mark Alford (R-MO), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and Dusty Johnson (R-SD). If enacted, these bills would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to update a regulatory prohibition under the Packers and Stockyards Act which bars livestock auction owners from owning or investing in packers.
“This is an antiquated rule that does not fit with the current, transparent method of selling livestock at an open auction where sellers can view the transaction either in person or by streaming the auction online,” the letter states.
The bills would allow for investment in the packing industry at local and regional levels by those active in the livestock marketing business.
“We appreciate our partners, both on Capitol Hill and at fellow livestock groups, fighting for opportunities to enhance participation in livestock packing,” said Mark Barnett, LMA President and owner of Kentucky-Tennessee Livestock Market. “Livestock auction markets, like mine, are in the competition business. Allowing livestock auction owners to invest in small and regional packers could enhance competition which equates to needed additional profit for producers who are being squeezed by high inputs and low margins.”
Remembering Iowa's E. Thurman Gaskill
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) remembers the life of E. Thurman Gaskill who passed away recently. A one-time Iowa state senator and agricultural leader, Gaskill served as chairman of the U.S. Feed Grains Council (USFGC) in 1981. Gaskill’s work during his lifetime has impacted those in the ag community across the United States and around the globe.
During his time as Council chairman, Gaskill saw many changes that have impacted the work of the Council today - from the closing of the organization’s West European office to initiating activities in Latin America and China. Gaskill was a proponent of checkoff programs and was instrumental in the creation of the Iowa Corn Checkoff, urging Council members to support checkoff referendums taking place in many states at the time. Without his work in this area, the Council’s membership roster would look very different today.
“Looking back at his work and accomplishments, it’s clear that Mr. Gaskill was a force in our industry and I can see clearly how his contributions have had positive reverberations around the world in the work we continue to do,” said Council President and CEO Ryan LeGrand. “We thank him for all he did to make the Council the premier organization it is today and send our condolences to his family.”
In addition to his service at the Council and in the Iowa Senate, Gaskill also was the first chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, a president of the National Corn Growers Association, an Iowa Master Farmer and he was inducted into the Iowa State University Ag Hall of Fame.
Please join the Council in celebrating the life and accomplishments of E. Thurman Gaskill.
RFA to EPA: If Governors’ E15 Petition is Delayed, Emergency Waivers Needed
If the Environmental Protection Agency decides to defer implementation of year-round E15 petitions from eight state governors until 2024, then the agency must exercise its authority to issue emergency waivers allowing continued sales of E15 this summer to address extreme and unusual fuel supply conditions, according to a letter sent today by the Renewable Fuels Association.
Earlier this month, EPA proposed to approve petitions from eight states that would allow the year-round sale of E15 in their states. Unfortunately, EPA is also proposing to delay implementation of the governors’ petitions until the summer of 2024, meaning E15 would not be permitted in most of the country during the summer of 2023. However, in today’s letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper noted that the same fuel supply circumstances that justified emergency waivers last summer still exist in the marketplace today.
“War in Ukraine continues to disrupt the U.S. fuel supply,” Cooper wrote. “Total U.S. gasoline stocks fell to just 229.6 million barrels last week, 5 percent below year-ago levels and the lowest for this time of year since 2015. Meanwhile, total stocks of crude oil and petroleum products are also down 5 percent from a year ago and have fallen to a 19-year low for this time of year.” The letter also highlights recent warnings by market analysts about further tightening of gasoline inventories as summer approaches and the potential for gas prices to hit $5 per gallon again.
EPA’s decision to issue emergency waivers during the summer of 2022 helped avert potential shortages and lowered prices at the pump, according to the RFA letter.
“During the summer of 2022, consumers choosing E15 saved an average of 20-30 cents per gallon compared to regular E10 gasoline,” Cooper wrote. “Nationwide, the availability of E15 last summer reduced consumer spending on gasoline by nearly $60 million. Emergency waivers allowing summer sales of E15 would yield even greater economic benefits in 2023, as more retail stations are offering the fuel than at this time last year. In addition, E15 reduces lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and cuts tailpipe pollution linked to poor air quality. Clearly, it is in the public interest to grant a waiver allowing E15 sales to continue this summer.”
Today’s letter follows Cooper’s testimony at an EPA hearing on Tuesday and a letter sent that same day by a bipartisan group of governors calling on EPA to ensure consumers have year-round access to lower-cost, lower-carbon E15.
Dairy Market Report: Exports Stoke Dairy Demand
The U.S. dairy economy entered 2023 notably affected by milk production growth and sharply higher dairy-product retail price inflation. But with total U.S. dairy exports well over year-ago levels during November–January, export growth was able to more than make up for the loss in total domestic use and keep total commercial use, domestic and exports, positive during the period.
Milk and dairy product prices have receded from their often record levels last year, with the U.S. average all-milk price falling from its all-time record high of $27.30/cwt last July to $23.10/cwt in January. But feed costs under the Dairy Margin Coverage program have stayed mostly in the high-$14/cwt to low-$15/cwt range during this period, squeezing producer margins, which are currently expected to remain below the maximum $9.50/cwt DMC coverage level until the fourth quarter of this year.
VIEW FULL REPORT: https://www.nmpf.org/exports-stoke-dairy-demand-as-inflation-bites-u-s-consumption/.
USDA Announces Upcoming Changes to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Wheat Tables
Starting with the May 12, 2023, release (issue No. 636), the following change will be made to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report:
- The wheat WASDE by-class tables (page 11) will add separate lines for imports, food use, seed use, and feed and residual use.
Sample WASDE tables, including the revised table, are available on the WASDE website https://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde.
The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates is prepared and released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB). The report is released monthly, and provides annual forecasts for supply and use of U.S. and world wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds, and cotton. The report also covers U.S. supply and use of sugar, meat, poultry, eggs and milk, as well as Mexico’s supply and use of sugar. The WAOB chairs the Interagency Commodity Estimates Committees (ICECs), which include analysts from key USDA agencies who compile and interpret information from USDA and other domestic and foreign sources to produce the report. For more information about the WASDE process and data, visit the WASDE FAQ page.
R-CALF USA Warns Congress of Catastrophic Consequences Unless Farm Bill Includes Meaningful Reforms
The largest cattle industry trade group that exclusively represents U.S. cattle producers recently submitted its comprehensive 2023 Farm Bill Platform to both the Senate and House agriculture committees. The group, R-CALF USA, warned Congress of catastrophic consequences if the 2023 Farm Bill does not include meaningful reforms to restore competition to U.S. cattle markets and profitable opportunities for independent cattle producers.
Referencing the upcoming Farm Bill as a narrow window of opportunity for Congress to reverse the disastrous decline of the U.S. cattle industry before it reaches the point of no return, the group states the highly concentrated and vertically integrated U.S. hog and poultry industries have already reached that point and the U.S. sheep industry has already been gutted by the same forces now destroying the cattle industry.
The group describes those industry-destroying forces as a combination of decades of unrestrained industry concentration and globalization.
Using a series of industry charts, the group illustrates prolonged and steep declines in the cattle industry’s competitive infrastructure, including its number of participants, size of its cattle herd, and availability of marketing outlets and opportunities. It further illustrates prolonged downward trajectories for financial returns earned by cow/calf producers and cattle feeders.
The group asserts its industry charts can portend the future by extending their respective long-term trendlines: “That future will be marked by even further erosion to both the industry’s competitive market infrastructure and the economic viability of its participants. When the critical mass of competitive market infrastructure disappears…the U.S. cattle industry will become unrecognizable. It will become another corporate-controlled, vertically integrated industry from birth to plate, and rural America will lose tens of thousands more, if not hundreds of thousands more of its critical economic cornerstones.
“Whatever incremental reforms Congress has implemented to address U.S. cattle markets over the past several decades has done nothing to curb the industry’s systemic decline, putting in peril the viability of the very heart of the U.S. cattle industry,” wrote the group.
Some of the group’s recommendations for reversing the cattle industry’s negative trajectory, along with the expected impact of those recommendations include:
Ignite competitive forces in the beef supply chain by enacting the American Beef Labeling Act (S.52) that restores mandatory country of origin labeling for beef, which will empower consumers to competitively choose from which country they want their beef produced.
Force the packers to competitively bid for domestic cattle in the domestic market by requiring the largest packers to purchase at least half their weekly needs in the competitive cash market.
End the market power disparity between disaggregated producers and highly concentrated packers by prohibiting certain anticompetitive cattle procurement practices known to cause market distortions. These include alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs) that are tied to the residual cash market; bonuses, financial arrangements, and risk-sharing contracts offered only to select cattle feeders but not to all feeders; packer ownership, feeding, or control of cattle for more than seven days prior to slaughter; and top-of-the-market pricing schemes.
Provide market transparency by requiring all cattle purchasing agreements to be in writing and publicly disclosed.
Make the beef checkoff program accountable to cattle producers by enacting the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act (OFF Act) (S.557; H.R. 1249) that will prohibit farm advocacy groups from receiving checkoff funding and grant producers the right to a periodic vote.
Address price-distorting trade deficits by requiring all federal beef expenditures, including food stamp purchases, to be for beef exclusively produced in the United States.
The group urges Congress to adopt its recommendations following Congress’ decades-long adherence to the status quo – described as the combination of no market structure reforms and reliance on globalization to cure market ills. The group asserts the status quo has wrought severe damage to the integrity of the U.S. live cattle industry and the economic viability of its participants.
Agricultural perspectives to be heard at UN Water Conference
Big ideas are formulating in agriculture on how to better manage and reinvigorate water supplies in the face of climate change. None of them can be accomplished alone—without collaboration among farmers, ranchers, foresters, crop breeders, agricultural technology companies, and other value chain partners.
Solutions from the Land will bring together water stakeholders and advance farmer-centered water solutions during an event today at 12:30 p.m. Eastern in the Nature Hub of the United Nations 2023 Water Conference. The event, “Sustainable Agricultural Water Use Offers Solutions: Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration to Advance Shared SDGs,” will interject agricultural expertise and showcase land-based solutions as international, UN leaders set out to develop a Water Action Agenda.
Land-based water solutions come in the form of precision technologies, improved institutional and infrastructural capacity, production practices, and crop breeding. They should be context-specific and circular in nature, with higher efficiencies and waste reduction achieved through the use and reuse of resources while producing food, fiber, feed and fuel.
Panelist speakers will include Jocelyn Anderson, an SfL farmer envoy who is the fourth generation on her family’s farm in Northern California, where they grow almonds and walnuts. Anderson’s family monitors moisture in their orchard soils using probes at 3, 6, 9 and 12 feet and in the trees by testing leaves for water stress. They set their irrigation to release just the right amount of water when and where it’s needed, targeted to the row.
Other speakers include representatives from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Cargill, Nutrien, The Nature Conservancy, Netafim and Ducks Unlimited, all of whom are working on tools, technologies and programs to further support agricultural producers across the globe in reducing water consumption while boosting productivity.
Dr. Jerry Hatfield, recently retired director for the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment and a SfL senior adviser, will be the keynote speaker for the event. He will moderate the panel discussion with insight on land-based water management opportunities and needs.
Organizing event partners include Solutions from the Land, Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition, Cargill, ComNet Mekong, Ducks Unlimited, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, General Mills, Global Water Partnership, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Irrigation Association, Netafim, Nutrien, The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Water Policy Group and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Shane Brockhoff Joins Meristem Team as Regional Director, Iowa
Another leading agronomic professional has joined Meristem Crop Performance, one of the fastest-growing crop input suppliers in America. Shane Brockhoff becomes Meristem’s Regional Director, Iowa. Brockhoff has deep experience in helping growers boost their profitability with the right products and practices, especially in western Iowa and surrounding states.
“We’re really grateful to have signed up Shane Brockhoff to help us carry out our mission of creating real productivity for farmers,” says Mitch Eviston, Meristem founder and CEO of his most recent new team member. “I’m very happy we’ve added Shane to our all-star team and eager to turn him loose in Iowa to serve farmers with our growing portfolio of high-quality products.”
Shane Brockhoff grew up near Walnut, Iowa and started working for a neighboring farmer when he was 13-years old. During that time, he decided to make a career in agriculture and enrolled at Iowa State University (ISU), where he earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in agronomy and crop science. “My graduate school work took me deep into soil biology and soil chemistry,” he says. “That’s been very helpful as I work with farmers. I can talk about soil health and break it down into layman’s terms.”
After ISU, he first became a regional seed specialist for Landus Cooperative in Oakland, Iowa, for several years and then joined AgriGold where he spent nearly 10 years before becoming division sales lead for AgReliant Genetics. He says Meristem’s products and approach intrigued him.
“I’m a high-yield geek,” he laughs. “I love working with farmers to gain every edge possible to get a better ROI (return on investment) from every acre. Meristem is a great fit for me. They are very intentional about cutting waste in the distribution channel and developing technology to help growers make the most of biologicals. Their patented BioCapsule™ Technology is a great example.”
Brockhoff and his wife Lacey have six children – five daughers and a son – and reside near Walnut, where they also assist Lacey’s parents in their farm operation.
“In my work with farmers, I focus on optimizing the genetics of every seed they plant,” said Brockhoff. “That’s what has drawn me to Meristem Crop Performance. They have products that are helping farmers make the most of every seed, and with every pass those farmers make through the field all season long.”
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