Thursday June 20 Ag News

 2024 Nebraska Beef Ambassador Contest Winners

Nebraska Cattlemen’s NCW - Consumer Education and Promotion Committee is pleased to announce the results of the 2024 Beef Ambassador Contest.

Contest judge, Traci Grabenstein said, "The contestants were top-notch and are ready to spread their knowledge of the beef industry. We look forward to watching these young leaders continue to sharpen their beef advocacy skills throughout the next year."

2024 Beef Ambassador Contest Results
Collegiate Winner - Spencer Walahoski, Overton - West Texas A&M University
Senior Winner - Leah Christen, Steinauer - Lewiston Consolidated Schools

The Nebraska Beef Ambassador Contest and Beef Advocacy Training provides an opportunity for future beef industry leaders, ages fourteen to twenty-four years old, to sharpen their advocacy skills and strengthen their knowledge of the key issues facing the number one industry in Nebraska.

The Beef Ambassador Contest requires participants to address current issues facing the beef industry with both a written response and a mock media interview. The contest is separated into two divisions, senior and collegiate. Cash prizes are awarded, and the two first-place division winners receive a belt buckle. The first-place junior and collegiate winners become official Nebraska Beef Ambassadors for a full year. They will work to educate consumers and students on the importance of beef. At the end of their one-year term, the collegiate Nebraska Beef Ambassador will be awarded a scholarship on behalf of the Nebraska Cattlemen Research and Education Foundation.

The 2024 Nebraska Beef Ambassador Contest and Advocacy Training was held on June 12, in Ogallala, Nebraska. The competition is sponsored by Farm Credit Services of America and Purina Animal Health.



Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Detected in a Sioux County Dairy Herd
 
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a dairy herd in Sioux County, Iowa. To date, the Department has announced eight detections of HPAI within Iowa dairy herds.

About HPAI
HPAI is a viral disease that affects both wild and domestic bird populations as well as lactating dairy cattle. HPAI can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but is often fatal to domestic bird populations, including chickens and turkeys. With supportive care, dairy cattle recover with little to no mortality associated with the disease.

Heightened Biosecurity  
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is strongly encouraging Iowa poultry producers and dairy farmers to bolster their biosecurity practices and protocols to protect their flocks and herds. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has biosecurity recommendations for dairy herds to utilize. In addition, the Department has numerous other biosecurity resources for poultry producers and livestock farms to reference on its website. Farmers or farm workers who interact regularly with both dairy and poultry or who interact frequently with other farm workers in poultry or dairy, should take extra precautions to limit possible transmissions.

Suspected Cases in Dairy
If dairy producers suspect cases of HPAI, they should contact their herd veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.

Clinical signs of HPAI in dairy may include:
    Decrease in food consumption with a simultaneous decrease in rumination
    Clear nasal discharge
    Drop in milk production
    Tacky or loose feces
    Lethargy
    Dehydration
    Fever
    Thicker, concentrated, colostrum-like milk

As HPAI detections are confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, those cases are added to tracking websites located on the USDA APHIS website.



Edge calls for timely and accurate payment provisions in the farm bill

Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative today announced efforts, in partnership with several other dairy supporters, to codify the protection of timely payments and accurate testing as legislative text in the next farm bill.

The request to move these specific FMMO provisions into legislation was prompted by the uncertainty created when volumes of milk are de-pooled, leaving farmers outside of the FMMO and oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

This action aims to extend these protections, currently granted when a processor is pooled, to all farmers and processors regardless of their participation in the FMMO.
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“Only 70 percent of U.S. milk is covered by the FMMO today, which leaves the farmers that produce those 68 billion pounds of milk outside the order and its protections,” Tim Trotter, Edge CEO, said. “It is time to ensure that all dairy farmers are granted the same confidence and assurance as those within the FMMO system.”  

Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative expressed that moving these basic practices into the farm bill will prevent the expansion of milk payment terms and maintain third-party verification of milk weights and components for farmers and processors.

Without these protections, farmers outside the FMMO could see payments extended past the current twice-monthly practice to 30, 60, or 90 days, leaving farmers without consistent cash flow. They would also be without USDA recourse should they have a discrepancy with their milk testing verification.  

“We believe these provisions should be fundamental for all dairy farmers,” Trotter said.

Timely payments and required third-party verification of weights, tests and samples provide a structure of mutual confidence and transparency between processors and farmers and should be preserved for all stakeholders.  

“While we understand farm bill discussions are ongoing with an uncertain completion date, we believe we must bring this matter forward to the key decision-makers to be sure dairy farmers are protected,” Trotter said.



United Soybean Board Announces Management Team

The United Soybean Board, representing the half-million U.S. soybean farmers, announces new management to further the Board’s mission of creating value through research, education and promotion investments. On behalf of the Board of Directors, CEO Lucas Lentsch’s management group works to assure greater transparency, efficiency and accountability across the U.S. Soy ecosystem.

The new management team includes:
    Keenan McRoberts, Ph.D. – Executive Vice President, Strategy. McRoberts leads USB’s investment strategy team. His oversight ensures high impact and returns on strategic investments throughout USB’s portfolio.
    Darryl Chatman – Executive Vice President, Compliance. Chatman leads USB’s compliance and governance oversight. In addition, he provides parliamentary and legal guidance and is the executive staff liaison to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, Foreign Agricultural Service and Office of the General Counsel.
    Sandi Schwarzen, CPA – Executive Vice President, Finance. Schwarzen leads USB’s financial affairs, including financial risk management, accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, revenue projections, banking, collections and auditing.
    John Jansen – Senior Vice President, Marketing. Jansen supports USB’s marketing strategy by engaging the soybean value chain and identifying demand opportunities. His expertise drives soybean oil investments and engagement with consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies.
    Doug Ackerman – Senior Vice President, Reputation & Insights. New to the team, Ackerman will lead USB’s reputation and insights strategy, including integrated communications. He will also advise board members and staff on all reputation-related matters and oversee U.S. Soy and soy checkoff brand channels.
    Regina Cleary – Vice President, Board Relations & Farmer Outreach. Cleary leads USB’s board engagement and farmer outreach strategy. In addition, she manages USB’s internal operations, facilitates office processes and coordinates logistics for the Board.

All appointments were effective June 17, 2024.



Wade Leist Wins World Livestock Auctioneer Championship

When Wade Leist first came back to the family’s stockyards from auctioneer school in 2004, his dad didn’t exactly turn the auctions over to him — and he says that’s a good thing. Instead, the elder Leist started his son out selling a few baby calves here and there, and spending plenty of time working in the back.

The tactic paid off, as 20 years later, Leist came out on top in the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship, hosted by Livestock Marketing Association. It was the ninth time to compete for the auctioneer who regularly sells at Mitchell Livestock Marketing, Mitchell, South Dakota, United Producers Inc., St. Louis, Michigan, and his family’s Northern Michigan Livestock, Gaylord, Michigan.

The bid-caller earned his spot in the contest by winning the Torrington, Wyoming, qualifier last fall. He and 29 other semi-finalists battled it out in Oklahoma City June 12-15, participating in an interview competition and then selling on the block at the Oklahoma National Stockyards.

As the new champion, Leist will spend the next year traveling the country, sharing his auctioneering skills with other livestock auction markets and acting as a spokesperson on behalf of the association and the livestock marketing industry. It’s something he looks forward to — and a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly.

“I can’t wait to go to work,” he said. “Both for the people who have supported me along the way, but also those who have never heard of me and are just excited to have the champion come sell.

“Auction market owners care for and work hard for their producer customers. That they would invite me to come and represent them means a tremendous amount to me.”

Dakota Davis, Waukomis, Oklahoma, was named reserve champion, and Dean Edge, Rimbey, Alberta, Canada, was runner-up. Jace Thompson, Billings, Montana, was the high score rookie and Barrett Simon, Rosalia, Kansas, had the top interview score. Rounding out the top 10 were: Justin Dodson, Welch, Oklahoma; Eric Drees, Caldwell, Idaho; Brennin Jack, Virden, Manitoba, Canada; Sixto Paiz, Portales, New Mexico; and Zach Zumstein, Marsing, Idaho.

The 2025 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship will be held June 4-7 in Dunlap, Iowa.