Wednesday November 13 Harvest Progress + Ag News

 NEBRASKA CROP PROGRESS AND CONDITION

For the week ending November 10, 2024, there were 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Topsoil moisture supplies rated 24% very short, 48% short, 28% adequate, and 0% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 27% very short, 52% short, 21% adequate, and 0% surplus.

Field Crops Report:
Corn harvested was 94%, ahead of 89% last year and 87% for the five-year average.

Winter wheat condition rated 3% very poor, 13% poor, 44% fair, 35% good, and 5% excellent. Winter wheat emerged was 90%, behind 98% last year and 97% average.

Sorghum harvested was 85%, near 88% last year and 87% average.

Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and range conditions rated 25% very poor, 24% poor, 33% fair, 17% good, and 1% excellent.



Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report

Moderate rainfall during the week slowed harvest as Iowa’s farmers had an average of 3.3 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending November 10, 2024, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities included harvesting row crops, completing fall tillage, baling stalks, and applying fall fertilizer and manure.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 12 percent very short, 36 percent short, 50 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 19 percent very short, 45 percent short, 35 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus.

Harvest of the corn for grain crop reached 95 percent statewide, 4 days ahead of last year and 12 days ahead of the five-year average. Farmers in south central Iowa still have over 15 percent of their corn for grain remaining to be harvested. Moisture content of field corn harvested for grain remained steady at 14 percent.

Livestock producers reported muddy feedlots.



USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report

Widespread rains last week helped boost winter wheat condition but slowed completion of the U.S. corn and soybean harvests, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress report on Tuesday. The report, which is normally released on Mondays, was delayed this week by the Veterans Day holiday.

CORN
-- Harvest progress: Corn harvest inched ahead 4 percentage points nationally last week to reach 95% complete as of Sunday. That was still 9 points ahead of last year's 86% and 11 points ahead of the five-year average of 84%.

SOYBEANS
-- Harvest progress: Soybean harvest moved ahead 2 percentage points to reach 96% complete as of Sunday. That was 2 points ahead of last year's 94% and 5 points ahead of the five-year average of 91%.

WINTER WHEAT
-- Planting progress: Winter wheat planting moved ahead by another 4 points to reach 91% complete nationwide as of Sunday, 1 point behind last year's 92% and 2 points behind the five-year average of 93%.
-- Crop development: An estimated 76% of winter wheat had emerged as of Sunday, 3 points behind both last year and the five-year average of 79%.
-- Crop condition: An estimated 44% of winter wheat that had emerged was in good-to-excellent condition, up another 3 points from 41% the previous week. That trails last year's rating of 47% good to excellent by just 3 percentage points. Eighteen percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, a 5-percentage-point improvement from 23% the previous week.

----

Cargill pledges $5,000 to Dan Gillespie Soil Health Fund

The Cargill Blair Cares Council has donated $5,000 to further the work of the Dan Gillespie Soil Health Fund (DGSHF) and its efforts to promote soil health and regenerative agriculture.

The Blair Cares Council is among more than 350 local Cargill employee groups that are contributing millions of dollars and lending more than 100,000 hours of their time and talent to volunteer activities that have a local impact.

“Cargill is proud to support the Dan Gillespie Soil Health Fund, which celebrates the legacy of a true advocate for no-till farming and regenerative agriculture. This fund’s commitment to advancing education on soil health, water conservation, and sustainable farming practices aligns perfectly with Cargill’s purpose to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way,” said Boone McAfee, Senior Sustainability Program Manager at Cargill Food & Bio.

DGSHF’s volunteer fund advisory committee – composed of Gillespie family members and respected industry experts – is working diligently to build financial resources to be reinvested in organizations and entities that are dedicated to improving soil health and regenerative agriculture, including but not limited to no-till farming, water conservation, tree conservation and planting cover crops. Since its establishment in 2021, the fund has already made eight grants to a variety of organizations advocating for soil health knowledge and practices among youth and current and future farmers and ranchers.

With this gift, Cargill joins a long list of organizations, families and individuals who are utilizing the relationships and expertise of the Dan Gillespie Soil Health Fund to protect and restore one of Nebraska’s most precious natural resources – its soil.

“Cargill’s gift to the Gillespie Fund is an investment in the future of farming across Nebraska and surrounding states, fostering innovation, and promoting practices that protect our natural resources today and for generations to come,” said McAfee.



Impact of recent rains on Mississippi River water levels
Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director, Soy Transportation Coalition

Here's a quick update related to water levels on the Mississippi River.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, water levels on the Mississippi River have rebounded considerably subsequent to the rainfall received throughout the region in late October and beyond.  The recent lowest level at the river gauge in St. Louis was -2.7 feet on October 14th, while the lowest level in Memphis was -10.38 ft on November 3rd.  One can clearly observe the response of water levels since the late October rainfalls.

The U.S. Coast Guard has lifted restrictions on the lower Mississippi River for barge transportation.  Barge companies have increased their operating draft (due to increased water depth) and the number of barges attached together to form a single unit (due to increased channel width).

We are very pleased to see a resumption of precipitation throughout much of the Mississippi River watershed.  This is obviously helpful to farm ground, but it also is extremely beneficial to maintaining water levels during a critical time of the year for soybean exports.  This time of the year – especially the month of November – is “game time” for soybean exports.  Having a major link in our supply chain – the Mississippi River – returning to normal capacity is a most welcome development.

 

New FARM Initiative Advances Dairy Stewardship

FARM Environmental Stewardship Version 3 is out – and it's a step forward for dairy farmers both as stewards and as business managers, according to NMPF Chief Sustainability Officer Nicole Ayache, who oversaw development of the initiative through the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, in a Dairy Defined Podcast released today.

With new, updating modeling, under FARM ES Version 3, “farmers can actually run scenarios to assess practice or technology changes, see how those would impact their greenhouse gas emissions, and any potential impact on milk productivity as well,” Ayache said. “The scenarios, being able to project what-ifs, is the biggest benefit.”

The FARM Program is a partnership between NMPF and Dairy Management Inc. that helps ensure dairy's success by demonstrating U.S. dairy farmer commitment to safe, high-quality, high-integrity milk. FARM ES Version 3 took effect Oct. 31.



USDA Issues Final Decision on Amendments to all Eleven Federal Milk Marketing Orders

Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued a final decision on its website proposing to amend the uniform pricing formulas applicable in all 11 Federal milk marketing orders (FMMOs). This rulemaking proceeding was requested by the dairy industry to evaluate changes to the uniform pricing formulas applicable to all 11 FMMOs. The proposed changes are based on substantial input and must be approved by eligible producers in each marketing order via a producer referendum before they take effect.

Consistent with the recommended decision published in the Federal Register July 15, 2024, the final decision puts forth a package of amendments to update formulas and factors based on the evidentiary record of the proceeding. It also makes certain limited changes from the recommended decision based on public comments and reevaluation of record evidence, as follows:  
     Reduction in the delayed implementation of the revised skim milk composition factors from 12 months to 6 months;
     Inclusion of a $0.0015 marketing cost factor in all make allowances;
     A modification to the methodology used to determine the nonfat dry milk make allowance; and
     Limited changes to certain county-specific Class I differentials.

The final decision will publish in the Federal Register soon.

Following the publication of the final decision and before any changes take effect, AMS will conduct producer referendums in each of the 11 FMMOs. Producers whose milk was pooled on an FMMO in January 2024 are eligible to participate in the referendum. They will have the opportunity to vote in favor of or opposition to the FMMOs as proposed to be amended in the final decision.

AMS will mail ballots to eligible independent producers and qualified cooperative associations. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2024, and returned by Jan. 15, 2025, to be counted. The referendum process is administered and overseen by AMS. Information about the referendum process has been posted to the hearing website.  

Additionally, AMS will host three public webinars to further inform stakeholders of the proposed amendments and producer referendum process. These webinars will take place November 19 and November 25 at 11 a.m. ETand November 21 at 3 p.m. ET. A link to access the webinars will be provided in advance on the AMS hearing website. In addition, AMS supplementary educational documents have been posted on the hearing website https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/dairy/hearings/national-fmmo-pricing-hearing.



ASA Congratulates Lee Zeldin on EPA Administrator Nomination

The American Soybean Association welcomes President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of former U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to serve as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator.

ASA Chief Executive Officer Stephen Censky said, “From representing a congressional district with significant agriculture production to protecting the Long Island Sound, former Congressman Lee Zeldin is no stranger to interactions with the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Zeldin has a track record in D.C. of working in a thoughtful, bipartisan way, which makes him well suited to the position of EPA administrator.”

ASA looks forward to introducing Zeldin to the soy industry and the role it plays both in agriculture and the U.S. economy as he comes to the helm of EPA, an agency of critical importance to soybean farmers.



New Research Shows U.S. Agriculture Has Potential to be Greenhouse Gas Negative

U.S. agriculture, with enhanced implementation of conservation practices and emerging technologies, has an opportunity to more than offset its carbon footprint while increasing farmer profitability and farm resilience, according to a new report initiated by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action (USFRA) and published today by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST). The report, “The Potential for U.S. Agriculture to Be Greenhouse Gas Negative,” was authored by 26 leading independent researchers and peer reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences. The findings are based on a comprehensive analysis of scientific literature, computer simulations, and life cycle analysis estimates.

“U.S. agriculture is helping to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, including feeding a growing population and sustaining livelihoods, all while reducing our impact on the planet,” said USFRA Chair Michael Crinion, a farmer in South Dakota. “This report is further evidence of agriculture’s enormous potential to do even more in the future.”

The report outlines how combining reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from some agricultural activities with increased carbon sequestration in others could achieve GHG-negative agriculture. It also describes the additional research needed to help accomplish this.

The researchers identified five areas offering the most significant opportunities to offset the roughly 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions contributed by agriculture, including soil carbon management, nitrogen fertilizer management, animal production and management, crop yield gap, and efficient energy use. Collectively, aggressive adoption of conservation practices in these areas has the potential to make the sector a carbon sink, the report found.

“We understand that farmers and ranchers in the United States are the greatest innovators in agricultural production on the planet,” said Dr. Marty Matlock, a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Arkansas and a lead author of the report. “Our farmers have been aggressive at identifying challenges, seeking solutions and adopting new practices. That’s one of the things that defines American agriculture — willingness to change. What this report gives us is a framework for moving forward.”

The report does not prescribe practices for farmers and instead reflects that each farming operation is unique because of different commodities, soil types, weather and other factors.

“Achieving this goal will require an assessment of individual farms and production systems to determine the most effective strategies along with the technical and financial support to

implement changes in practices,” said Dr. Charles Rice, university distinguished professor in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University and a co-author of the report.

“We’re not looking 50 years down the road. This report considers near-term opportunities for adoption,” he said.

The report also emphasizes that agriculture is an integrated, carbon-based system.

“Carbon is linked to all aspects of food production, so the path toward greenhouse gas negative agriculture runs through all stages of the production process,” said Dr. Jerry Hatfield, a retired scientist and laboratory director for the Agricultural Research Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and also a co-author. “These practices need to be adopted together across all production sectors in order to scale up.”

The USFRA report builds on a 2019 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine titled “Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030.”



A Closer Look at the Replacement Female Market: Change in Price and Volume
Rob Ziegler, Extension Specialist, University of Wyoming

The October USDA Cattle on Feed Report estimated heifers make up nearly 40% of all cattle on feed inventories; a signal of producer’s intentions (or lack thereof) to retain heifers as replacements. Consensus is that the heifer mix needs to be somewhere in the 36-37% range to signal signs of herd rebuild, a level we haven’t seen since 2018. That said, the bred female market has received less attention recently, but moving forward will likely be a primary focus for when cattle producers consider increasing their cow herds.

The University of Wyoming compiled replacement female prices available through the Livestock Marketing Information Center and aggregated them into the following categories: bred heifers, cows 2-4 years (Young), 5-8 years (Middle), and cows >8 years (Old). The entire data set includes prices from 2013 to current. Here we focus on prices in October of 2023 and 2024. A simple average was calculated as reference for bred female price in their respective age category regardless of pregnancy trimester. Prices from October 2023 and 2024 were then evaluated for change in price and volume. Furthermore, data from the available 14 states were grouped by region; North Central (CO, MT, NE, WA, WY), South Central (KS, NM, OK, TX), and Southeast (AR, GA, KY, MO, MS).

Replacement female prices in October 2024 were up for all categories and regions as compared with October 2023. The greatest increase in year over year prices was for old bred cows in the Southeast which was up 46%. Young cows in the North Central region showed the smallest increase in price at 5% year over year. The average October 2024 price for each bred female category and region is illustrated in Figure 1. The increase in bred cow prices this year as compared to last is likely due to the increase in overall beef cattle market prices, as opposed to increased demand for replacement females at this point.

The overall replacement cattle sale volume from January through October was down 6.61% for 2024 as compared to the same time period in 2023. The overall decrease in replacement cattle sale volumes is likely a reflection of an overall reduction in the national cow herd size. Volume of replacement cattle sales in the North Central region and Southeast were down 4% and 16% respectively year over year. In contrast, replacement cow sale volume in the South-Central region increased by 124% of last year’s volumes. This is most likely an indication of liquidation in drought affected areas.

At this point there is little indication that beef cattle producers are retaining heifers to increase cow herd numbers. Although bred cow prices have increased year over year, it is likely driven by overall supply factors, not necessarily demand for replacement females. When purchasing replacement females, several factors should be considered, including but not limited to expected feeder cattle prices, cow longevity and salvage value, and input costs. Due to market dynamics on both the input and output side of beef production, the value of a replacement female is highly variable and requires operation specific analysis. It will be interesting to see where replacement female prices head in the next few years as the current cow cycle unfolds.



2024 Farm Service Agency County Committee Elections Now Open

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mailed ballots last week for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committee elections to all eligible agricultural producers and private landowners across the country. Elections are occurring in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for these committee members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. Producers and landowners must return ballots to their local FSA county office or have their ballots postmarked by Dec. 2, 2024, for those ballots to be counted.     

Producers must participate or cooperate in a USDA program and reside in the LAA that is up for election this year to be eligible to vote in the county committee election. A cooperating producer is someone who has provided information about their farming or ranching operation to FSA, even if they have not applied or received program benefits. Additionally, producers who are not of legal voting age, but supervise and conduct farming operations for an entire farm, are eligible to vote in these elections.     

For purposes of FSA county committee elections, every member of an American Indian tribe is considered an agricultural landowner if the land on which the tribal member’s voting eligibility is based is tribally owned or held in trust by the U.S. for the tribe, even if the individual does not personally produce a commodity on that land. Tribal agricultural landowners 18 years and older can contact their local FSA county office to register to vote. 

Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agricultural community serve on FSA county committees. Each committee has from three to 11 elected members who serve three-year terms, and at least one seat representing a LAA up for election each year. Committee members are vital to how FSA carries out disaster recovery, conservation, commodity and price support programs, as well as making decisions on county office employment and other agricultural issues. They help ensure inclusive representation on committees and equitable administration of FSA farm programs in their jurisdiction.

Ballots must be postmarked or delivered in person to the local FSA office by close of business Dec. 2, 2024, to be counted. Newly elected committee members will take office Jan. 1, 2025. Producers can identify LAAs up for election through a geographic information system locator tool available at fsa.usda.gov/elections and may confirm their LAA by contacting their local FSA office. Eligible voters who do not receive a ballot in the mail can request one from their local FSA county office.