PRO FARMER CROP TOUR WEST: Mixed Results Amid Drought Stress in Nebraska
NAFB
Day two of the 2023 Pro Farmer Crop Tour was all about Nebraska on the western leg. Western leg leader Chip Flory said the results in Nebraska were highly variable. The corn yield estimate was 167.2 bushel per acre, five percent higher than last year but almost three percent lower than the three-year average. The soybean yield count was 1,160.02 pods in a three-foot-by-three-foot square, which is up about nine percent from last year.
Flory says the soybean crop is feeling significant drought stress. He says, “It's a nice pod count in Nebraska. But boy, we were in several soybean fields on all ten routes today that are right on the edge of giving it up for the year. It needs rain tonight and it doesn't look like it's coming. And I think it's over a wider area than what it was a year ago. When we do our soybean observations, we rate the soil moisture, and it's just an observation, but we came back drier this year than what we were a year ago.”
While the corn yield number is a small rebound from last year, Flory isn’t sure rain is going to help much in Nebraska’s dryland corn. On the topic, Florey says, "On the maturity side of the corn crop out here, we had the discussion just a little bit ago here in Nebraska City with the folks, and I said I don't mean to sound like the growing season is completely done and wrapped up. But on a lot of the dryland corn that we saw, I don't think rain is going to do a whole lot to help it. The ears are hanging on the outside of the row, and I was in soybeans all day, but there was general agreement from the scouts that the ears were hanging even worse once you get past the end rows and into the main part of the field.”
Iowa farmer and veteran crop scout Brent Judisch says he didn’t get into the areas hardest hit by drought. He says, “I was north of the bad areas. I was along and south of I-80 and within about 30 miles of the interstate, so I didn’t get into the really bad stuff. We only had one low yield of 1-2 bushels in the corn, but I thought overall the crop held up well into the heat this week, and I think it’s probably going to finish okay because the corn is denting and approaching black layer. The soybeans are going to finish up okay, and of course, the irrigated soybeans are going to finish better.”
Judisch says his route didn’t see a lot in terms of pest or disease pressure. He says, “We encountered a few minor things, but no grasshoppers like yesterday. We did have some rootworm lodging in a couple of irrigated fields, but they were just leaning. They weren’t tipped over or broken off. They were just leaning, but again, that was only two fields.”
Day three along the western leg will end with a stop in Spencer, Iowa.
AltEn plans test run to truck processed wet cake to landfill near Bennington
Nebraska Examiner
Hauling away a mountain of contaminated “wet cake” from the controversial AltEn ethanol plant near Mead will soon begin in earnest, officials announced Tuesday.
And the destination for an initial 24,000 tons of the waste seed corn is, as some expected, a landfill near Omaha.
Officials with NewFields, the company hired for the cleanup, said that if an initial “pilot test” of mixing the wet cake with powdery clay and safely hauling it to the Pheasant Point Landfill works, then what’s left of a 16-acre pile of the waste grain — estimated at 115,000 tons — will be shipped there.
The plan is to wrap the processed waste in plastic, described as a “burrito,” to quell dust and odors during the transport.
‘Solution for site and community’
“We are excited to get this phase of the work started as we work toward a solution for the site and community,” said Don Gunster, an environmental scientist with NewFields.
The AltEn ethanol plant, south of Mead, was originally designed to use energy generated by methane gas produced at an adjacent feedlot to power the distillation of corn into ethanol. (Courtesy of NewFields)
The AltEn ethanol plant has stirred controversy ever since it was revealed that it was using seed coat coated in hazardous pesticides — instead of typical field corn — to produce ethanol at its plant just south of Mead, a village of 626 people west of Omaha.
Neighbors complained of putrid odors emitted by the plant and expressed concern about health impacts on pets and their families prior to the facility closing in February 2021 because of repeated violations of state environmental rules.
Since then, the focus has been on how to clean up thousands of tons of waste corn left piled around the site and how to safely empty wastewater lagoons that once spilled 4 million gallons of contaminated water into a nearby stream.
‘Path of least resistance”
Not everyone is excited about the new plans.
State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, who got involved in helping concerned citizens in Mead, said it appears that NewFields is “taking the path of least resistance” in “moving the mess from one community to another.”
David Corbin, an official with the Sierra Club of Nebraska, who is among a group of citizens who meet weekly to monitor the cleanup, said he questions whether all the health risks associated with shipping the waste have been considered.
Among his questions: Will contaminated dust, stirred up in removing the wet cake, cause problems? What is the long-term impact of landfilling the seed corn? And might it be harmful to animals?
Residents had a lot of questions at a meeting about cleanup plans in May. Another town hall meeting in Mead was held Tuesday evening.
An official with WM (formerly Waste Management) which manages the Pheasant Point Landfill for Douglas County, said Tuesday that the landfill has an expected lifespan of 129 years, based on current waste volumes.
Landfill lifespan over a century
Even with the additional volume of the wet cake, which will be mixed with bentonite clay to reduce its moisture and make it easier to handle, the landfill has more than a century before it will be filled up, according to Bill Butler, an Atlanta-based senior engineer/partner in NewFields.
Butler said an earlier pilot project demonstrated that the best way to reduce odors and ease handling of the wet cake is to mix it with the powdery bentonite at the AltEn site to solidify it. Then it would be encased in plastic — like a plastic burrito — for the 24-mile trip to the landfill.
Semi trucks — estimated at about 60 per day — would haul away the waste in trailers covered with canvas tarps, Butler said.
As part of the initial test run, which will extend to Nov. 10, air quality along the route to the landfill will be tested, he said, as will the efficiency of the processing work at the AltEn site.
Butler said if all goes well, the remaining wet cake pile eventually will be processed and hauled to Pheasant Point. Work will be suspended during winter months, when the wet cake freezes, and would be resumed in March.
“We’re not talking a decade to get it done,” he said. “We’ll know more when we complete the pilot test.”
‘A lot of progress’
Removal of an estimated 100 million gallons of wastewater from lagoons on the site is also entering a new phase. A new filtration system, designed to remove more contaminants from “fine solids” in the water, just went into service, Butler said.
Last year, 49 million gallons of wastewater was treated, with about 30 million gallons being applied on nearby fields, he said.
In addition, 1,500 tons of rubbish, such as pallets and biocharred corn, was hauled away this spring, Butler said.
The process of removing unused seed corn, stored in huge buildings on the site, is also underway.
About 1,000 tons of unused seed corn has been hauled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where it was burned and turned into energy, he said. About 6,675 tons are still to be transported to the Covanta facility, a process that may take four to five months, Butler said.
“A heck of a lot of progress has been made,” he said.
In February, after the Examiner reported that thousands of yards of oil-soaked from the Keystone pipeline spill in Kansas were trucked to the Pheasant Point landfill, some Douglas County officials expressed concerns.
Tuesday evening, Douglas County Commissioner Jim Cavanaugh, who was traveling, said he didn’t have enough information about the AltEn plans to comment. He did say that in the case of the oil spill, commissioners had limited powers to determine what could and could not be sent to the landfill.
At that time, WM officials said that the oil-soaked soil was nonhazardous waste and that the Bennington landfill was designed to take such material.
NewFields was hired by a group of seed corn companies that once sent expired seed corn to AltEn. The companies are entirely funding the cleanup.
The NewFields officials said Tuesday they did not know how much has been spent so far. In May, some estimates topped $23 million spent at that point.
Manage the Health of Early Weaned Beef Calves with These Tips
As forage resources dwindle in times of drought, producers may need to consider early weaning options for the cow herd. Early weaning is designed to save body condition on the females by ending lactation and decreasing nutritional requirements. Getting each cow to a body condition score of 5.5-6 by calving is a key step in establishing reproductive success for the following year.
Terry Engelken, a professor with Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine at Iowa State University, says early weaned calves may present health challenges as producers are now dealing with a younger and lighter calf than those weaned at the traditional date.
"How we manage these calves before and during the weaning process impacts on lifetime performance – whether they go to the feedyard or enter the herd as a replacement heifer," he said. "We still argue about the best time to dehorn and castrate, and my answer is always, 'The earlier the better.' Making sure that these procedures are done in a timely fashion allows the calf time to heal and will decrease problems at weaning."
Weaning needs to be well thought out to ease the transition. Stress associated with less-than-optimal pen conditions will be amplified in early-weaned calves. Pens that are too wet or too dry can lead to poor performance and increased sickness. Areas containing tall weeds or seed heads can drive pinkeye outbreaks in weaned calves. Producers should watch the weather to avoid weaning in times of extreme heat stress. There are multiple extension publications on using fence-line weaning to reduce stress and improve postweaning weight gain in calves.
Engelken reminds producers that early-weaned calves have different nutritional requirements and more variation in feed intake compared to their traditionally-weaned contemporaries. Introducing creep feed prior to weaning may ease this transition. Enlisting the help of an experienced nutritionist will help avoid feeding upsets while maintaining needed performance. Although early weaning can extend pasture use by the cow herd, the calves are growing and require high quality feed.
Managing the health of these calves involves working with your veterinarian to select the correct vaccines and timing of delivery. One of the main concerns when building a vaccination program for young calves is the level of maternal antibody that remains from when they received colostrum as a newborn. There are indications that these antibodies may interfere with vaccine response and explains why your veterinarian may recommend intranasal vaccines for these younger calves. After calves reach 2 months of age, there is less concern with this interference and injectable products should work well.
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and the clostridial complex (blackleg) are still the most common causes of health issues in beef calves. There are multiple options and combinations to provide protection against BRD such as injectable, intranasal, killed virus, modified live virus, and inactivated, and their content and timing can be very different.
Standard 7-way blackleg vaccines are very effective in preventing disease. Engelken said Iowa’s Green Tag and Gold Tag recommendations are a great place for producers to start a discussion with their veterinarian on a program that will fit individual operations.
Calves also will need time to respond to these vaccinations. Administer vaccines at least two weeks prior to weaning to ensure the calf has time to respond and mount an effective immune response. Depending upon the producer's marketing strategy, consider a booster vaccination to further improve immunity against these common disease pathogens. However, remember that vaccination is only part of the prevention program.
"How we manage the weaning process as a whole will dictate how successful we are with these calves," Engelken said. "Early weaning can be a profitable way to stretch pasture and boost cow performance, but it does require adequate planning with your veterinarian and nutritionist to minimize weaning stress and optimize calf performance."
Dairy Goat Webinar Topics Announced for Remainder of 2023
Dairy goat producers and those involved with the industry can learn more about important industry topics during a series of four upcoming webinars.
All sessions run from noon to 1:15 p.m. Central time, and are part of the year-long webinar series organized by Jenn Bentley, dairy specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
“The upcoming sessions will focus on best management practices from producers and veterinarians,” said Bentley. “Getting producer perspectives will be valuable to active dairy goat producers who are looking to improve their management or housing.”
Dates and topics:
Sept. 21 – "Producer Perspectives," panel participants to be determined.
Oct. 26 – "What Do We Know about Dry Treating Dairy Goats?," Michelle Buckley, post-doctoral associate at Iowa State University.
Nov. 16 – "Dairy Goat Cost of Production, Marlene Paibomesai," dairy specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Dec. 21 – "Milk Quality Investigations," Cathy Bauman, assistant professor, Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph, Ontario.
The webinars continue to be popular among participants, with more than 200 people registered so far, and average session attendance of about 50-60 people.
There is no fee to attend a session; however, registration is required. Register in advance for this meeting at https://go.iastate.edu/2023DAIRYGOATWEBINARS or contact Jennifer Bentley, dairy specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, at jbentley@iastate.edu, 563-382-2949.
Registrants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Information will also be provided about future webinars, as dates and topics are announced.
This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program, Antimicrobial Resistance number: 2020-04197.
Farmers need incentives to overcome risks of adopting climate-smart agriculture practices
Solutions from the Land
Change is not easy, especially when it involves financial risk. That’s the situation farmers and ranchers find themselves in when considering innovative, climate-smart agricultural practices. Sure, in the long run, many farmers find that adopting practices like cover crops, no-till and prescribed grazing build soil health and pay off. But, in the short term, when the unknowns—and the bills—pile higher than the knowns, it is no wonder farmers are hesitant to make changes in their operations.
That is why it is essential that farmers and ranchers have access to conservation programs that grant them funds to make climate-smart improvements on their operations. These programs make it possible for producers to take risks, to try new practices, and to work toward long-term land improvement and climate resiliency goals without sacrificing what they and their families need to survive today.
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed into law in August 2022, conservation programs received an additional $19.5 billion over five years for climate-smart agriculture. Programs benefiting include:
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), $8.45 billion
Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), $4.95 billion
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), $3.25 billion
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), $1.4 billion
Conservation Technical Assistance, $1 billion
The IRA also provided $300 million in funding to quantify carbon sequestration and greenhouse gases through the collection and use of field-based data to assess conservation outcomes, according to a USDA press release from February 2023.
“This is the best chance we’ve ever had to actually incentivize farmers to try something new without exposing them to a lot of risk of losing money,” says Fred Yoder, co-chair of Solutions from the Land. “Incentivizing farmers to adopt climate-smart practices is the common-sense approach, and we need to keep all tools in the toolbox for farmers to work with as they continually adapt and improve their operations.”
The EQIP, CSP, ACEP and RCPP programs are already oversubscribed, meaning more producers want to participate than funding is available. Farmers want to make changes that will benefit them, their land and society, making them more resilient in drought and other shifts in weather patterns. If we as a society want to ensure agriculture can provide us with nutritious food, clean water, clean air and other ecosystem services, we need to ensure agricultural producers have the funds and tools they need to do so. For this reason, we need to stay the course so these much needed resources remain available for the purposes for which they were authorized.
Growth Energy Files Motion in Support of EPA’s Decision Against Refinery Exemptions
Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuels trade association, filed a motion to intervene in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in response to the Hunt Refining Company’s lawsuit seeking to reverse the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to reject unwarranted Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). The motion is just the latest in a series of legal efforts Growth Energy has led to protect the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires oil refiners to blend a specific amount of biofuels into their fuel each year.
“EPA made the right call by following the data, which show there is no economic justification for exempting another oil company from its obligations under the RFS,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “Growth Energy will not let these challenges go unanswered because we know how important the RFS is to our climate, our economy, and our energy security. Past abuse of SREs destroyed demand for billions of gallons of biofuels, undermining our ability to hold down prices at the pump with clean, American renewable fuel. It’s important that the courts and EPA continue to reject efforts to roll back the clock.”
Background
On July 14, 2023, EPA announced the denial of 26 petitions from refineries seeking SREs from their Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the RFS for one or more compliance years between 2016 and 2023. Consistent with the agency’s April and July 2022 Denials of Petitions for RFS Small Refinery Exemptions, these denials apply EPA’s current interpretation of the Clean Air Act SRE provisions, in accordance with a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit holding in Renewable Fuels Association et al. v. EPA.
Golden Harvest celebrates 50 years as a seed company driven by farmer success
Golden Harvest celebrates 50 years as a seed company that partners with farmers to deliver custom solutions for each unique agronomic challenge. Since 1973, Golden Harvest Seeds has been listening to farmers with intention, offering in-depth seeds expertise combined with local agronomic know-how.
Fifty years ago, seven families came together to create a new way to sell seed. That spirit of innovation continues today with investments in research and technology to continually deliver an expanded portfolio of proven corn and soybean products, including game-changing corn hybrids that outperform the competition in trials across the Midwest1 and Gold Series soybean varieties that offer high yield potential, robust agronomic defensive packages and flexibility in herbicide trait choice.
“Golden Harvest is proud to celebrate the milestone of 50 years of experience and partnership alongside farmers,” said Kramer Farney, Golden Harvest head of marketing. “A lot can change over half a century, but our commitment to research and development and to the fast delivery of innovative corn and soybean products to farmers has remained at our core.”
To further commemorate this milestone, Golden Harvest is sponsoring NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sammy Smith throughout the 2023 season. Smith will be joining the Golden Harvest team at the upcoming Farm Progress Show, taking place Aug. 29-31 in Decatur, Ill. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Smith at the Golden Harvest booth Wednesday, Aug. 30, from 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.-noon. Additionally, Smith’s car will be showcased all three days in front of the Golden Harvest tent.
The Farm Progress Show experience also will feature a panel discussion with local members of Congress moderated by Spencer Chase, managing editor of Agri-Pulse Communications. The event will be held Tuesday, Aug. 29, from 11:00 a.m.-noon in the Golden Harvest tent and will highlight House Ag Committee members and State Ag Commissioners discussing the upcoming farm bill and industry issues impacting farmers.
Over the years, Golden Harvest investments in research and development have led to many new industry-leading technologies. This next season, Golden Harvest is introducing 24 new game-changing corn hybrids, including five new Enogen corn products, and will also offer 24 Gold Series soybean products. To continue farmer-focused research, Golden Harvest is reinvesting 9% of every $1 in profit – more than $1 billion annually – into global research and development. On a more local level, new state-of-the-art facilities enhance the team’s efforts in the research space. For example, the facility in Nampa, Idaho, incorporates a $30 million controlled environment trait accelerator. And the Slater, Iowa, facility is home to a Seed R&D Hub where over two million experimental plots are packaged annually.
Golden Harvest is continuing to expand its footprint across the Midwest. “In 2023, we doubled our new trusted advisors and are continuing to gain momentum in the countryside — all in pursuit of better serving farmers. We are continually impressed with what farmers can achieve by pairing elite genetics and trait technologies with innovative agronomic management practices,” said Farney. “As Golden Harvest has done for 50 years, we will continue to push boundaries and always put farmer success first.”
FarmSense Awarded SBIR Grant to Develop the First State-of-the-Art Digital Mosquito Surveillance Platform
Today, agtech startup FarmSense, announces that it has been awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funds in the amount of $275,000, with potential expansion of up to $2 million for the creation of an end-to-end platform for digital mosquito surveillance. The project will support the vital work of vector control and mosquito suppression efforts, targeting the reduction of diseases like West Nile, Eastern Encephalitis, Zika, and Malaria. This development comes in the wake of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issuing a health advisory for multiple cases of malaria in the US for the first time since 2003.
The success of FarmSense's FlightSensor™ in providing real-time pest monitoring for commercial agricultural operations is now expanding its technology into the realm of public health. Current mosquito monitoring primarily relies on mechanical traps that require frequent in-person attendance and are labor and time intensive. FarmSense's technology will enhance both the time, accuracy, and ease of insect surveillance — thus bolstering mosquito suppression efforts, while reducing associated labor costs and the volume of pesticides that are used.
"FarmSense is honored and excited to be part of such a crucial public health project," said Dr. Leslie Hickle, FarmSense co-founder and CEO. "I'm confident that the capabilities of our technology and FlightSensor device will provide the necessary data to effectively serve both the commercial agriculture industry as well as provide important public health information. This is one of those rare opportunities where technology benefits both agriculture as well as public health, generally separate markets, to enhance precise measures for insect suppression."
Beyond area-wide surveillance and advancing mosquito suppression efforts, developments from this project will also provide researchers with valuable tools for better understanding mosquito-vectored diseases, measuring the effectiveness of attractants and repellents, new treatments, developing new technologies in mosquito control, and reducing overall pesticide use that will hopefully result in improved environmental protection. [Source]
FarmSense's FlightSensor™ utilizes patented technology, computational entomology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time analytics to improve insect monitoring methods.
FieldView Rolls Out New Capabilities For Post-Harvest Analysis and Reporting
Climate FieldView™ customers are gaining access to new features, including the ability to evaluate the performance of crop protection products and fertility applications more easily and more transparently.
One of FieldView’s most used features, Field Region Reports help farmers analyze seed performance and management practices in specific regions of their fields. After harvest, farmers will have the opportunity to analyze yield by application when using the feature. Whether evaluating a field trial or seeking to understand a yield-limiting factor for an area within a field, this latest enhancement aims to bring greater performance transparency to applied products like herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizer. Available after U.S. harvest within the FieldView app on iOS, additional enhancements to this new feature are expected later this fall.
“Our goal across Bayer Crop Science is to deliver a best-in-class experience for farmers. One of the ways we do this is by improving FieldView’s capabilities to maximize their investments,” said Brandon Rinkenberger, Head of Global Customer Experience and Enablement for Bayer’s Crop Science division and Chief Customer Officer at Climate LLC. “Making it easier to tabulate and analyze results helps our customers validate their input decisions, giving them confidence that translates into higher ROI and stronger operations.”
Building on new reporting capabilities announced earlier this year, farmers can now generate Yield Analysis reports, export as a PDF or CSV file, and share them with whoever they choose directly from their FieldView app on iOS. Users can also access all reporting capabilities from a centralized home screen in the app.
New capabilities in the FieldView™ Cab app – such as improved seed drill compatibility, better cloud sync, and the ability to create tillage maps – support greater efficiency of field activities and the adoption of regenerative practices across farm operations.
Many farmers are paying attention to emerging carbon credit markets, and they’re gaining interest in programs that can reward them for the regenerative agriculture practices they use to raise a crop. ForGround by Bayer is a new platform for U.S. farmers that offers payments and other incentives to U.S. farmers expanding or transitioning to reduced tillage or cover crop practices. Farmers can use their FieldView account to enroll in ForGround for free, which also provides access to a team of sustainable systems agronomists, as well as discounts and rebates from input and machinery providers.
Along with streamlined enrollment, FieldView is making it easier for customers to participate in ForGround. Now after inputting tillage type, depth and coulter angle in their FieldView Cab app, farmers using a FieldView™ Drive can identify precisely when and where a tillage implement is lowered or raised, and they can generate a live map that displays the tractor’s path, tillage depth, and acreage tilled. This new feature also allows them to track and compare fuel used during the tillage operation. The fuel usage maps will be available on other activities in coming releases.
FieldView is the flagship product of Climate LLC, the digital farming arm of Bayer. Initially launched in the United States, FieldView is now used on more than 220 million subscribed acres globally, giving farmers a deeper understanding of their fields so they can make more informed operating decisions to optimize yields, maximize efficiency and reduce risk. Contact your local FieldView dealer or visit FieldView.com for more information.
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