Wednesday October 30 Ag News

Fortenberry and Grassley Urge Conference to Keep Payment Limits Reform in Farm Bill

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry and Senator Chuck Grassley today encouraged House and Senate farm bill conferees to retain key farm policy reforms regarding payment limitations as they begin work this week on a reconciled farm bill.  New farm payment limit requirements were approved earlier this year in both the House and Senate farm bills.

“After many years of discussion, farm payment limitations reform finally has a chance to become law,” said Fortenberry, the House sponsor of a payment limits amendment approved with strong bipartisan support. “More robust payment limits help farm supports reach intended recipients and close loopholes. In this time of tight budgets, the need for this type of fair reform is even greater. With the opportunity for new farm policy under negotiation between the House and Senate, payment limits should remain a key piece of the overall package. It is my hope that this important provision will carry forward into the final Farm Bill.”

Grassley and Fortenberry authored provisions in the Senate and House bills to establish a farm payment cap of $250,000.  The Senate and House bills also tighten loopholes that have allowed some non-farmers to game the system.  Grassley and Fortenberry maintain that the farm payment provisions are nearly identical in the two bills, and should not be up for negotiation.

“Our reform is common-sense,” Grassley said.  “Not only does it end some of the most egregious abuses of the farm program and make sure that the farm program payments are going to those who need them most, but it saves money.  It’s a win-win for everybody.   When 22 people are getting farm payments for the same farm, and 70 percent of the farm payments go to 10 percent of the biggest farms, we’ve got a problem.”

Specifics of the payment limits provisions:
·         The bills establish a per farm cap of $50,000 on all commodity program benefits, except those associated with the marketing loan program (loan deficiency payments and marketing loan gains), which would be capped at $75,000.  Thus the combined limit would be $125,000, or, for married couples, $250,000.  The $50,000 cap would apply to whatever type of program is developed as part of the new farm and food bill.
·         The bills would define clearly the scope of people who are able to qualify as actively engaged by only providing management for the farming operation.  The bill will allow one off-farm manager, but only one.  Landowners who share rent land to an actively-engaged producer remain exempt from the “actively engaged” rules provided their payments are commensurate to their risk in the crop produced.



Nebraska CommonGround Volunteer To Be on Lifetime's 'The Balancing Act' Morning Show

CommonGround volunteers hit the studios of Lifetime TV's popular morning show The Balancing Act  this week, to tape a four-segment miniseries discussing food topics most important to today's farmer. The segments, which will air throughout the next three months on Lifetime, will acquaint women across the country with the farm women who grow and raise the food for all of America's families.

Iowa Farmer Sara Ross' interview focused on the truth about biotechnology, and Ohio farmer Kristin Reese, Kentucky farmer Mary Courtney and Nebraska rancher Dawn Caldwell also taped segments for the show. These interviews focused on bringing American farmers into your kitchen, the real story on food prices and how farmers raise and grow safe, healthy food for our families.

"We are thrilled to work with The Balancing Act to create television that will really dig deeper into some of the hottest food topics," said Ross. "All of us have so many common bonds; we all have a particular interest in food, in sharing our story, and in doing what is best for our families. There is such a strong desire here to really delve into every aspect of American food and, as farmers, we bring a unique perspective on issues like GMOs, organics and the local food movement to an audience that is hungry to hear from women who share their experience and concerns with first-hand knowledge on these subjects."

This special opportunity to reach millions of the women who make a vast majority of America's grocery purchasing decisions came to fruition through the special support of the National Corn Growers Association and was spearheaded by the association's Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team. The Balancing Act empowers women in all aspects of their lives, striving to help today's modern women balance it all by bringing them exceptional solutions to everyday problems. Working together, CommonGround and The Balancing Act will provide both immediate information and an ongoing resource for women with questions about the food they feed their families.

CommonGround was founded by the National Corn Growers Association, the United Soybean Board and their state affiliates to start a conversation about food between the women who grow it and the women who buy it. Now in its fourth year, CommonGround brings more than 100 of America's farm women to the table for food discussions and helps consumers eat fearlessly.



AgriBank Issues $250 Million in Preferred Stock

St. Paul-based AgriBank Tuesday announced it has issued $250 million in preferred stock. The Series A noncumulative perpetual preferred stock has a dividend rate fixed for 10 years at 6.875 percent and then resets to three-month LIBOR plus 4.225 percent and is callable after 10 years.

This stock offering will provide AgriBank and the 15-state Farm Credit District it serves with long-term access to capital, bolstering the Bank’s already strong reserves with high-quality, tier-one capital.

This strong capital position will enable AgriBank, which is a cooperative owned by 17 Farm Credit Associations in its District, to support future growth and ensure the District is well-positioned to meet the long-term credit needs of farmer and rancher customers.

“Farm Credit’s mission is to ensure that American farmers and ranchers have reliable access to funding through agriculture’s economic cycles,” said AgriBank Chief Executive Officer Bill York. “Times have been good.  We are well-capitalized, which affords us the opportunity to access high-quality capital. Offering preferred stock now will position the AgriBank District to meet the future needs of our customers and any challenges that lie ahead.”

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley served as joint bookrunners on the Series A preferred stock transaction.

AgriBank is one of the largest banks within the national Farm Credit System, with more than $80 billion in total assets. Under the Farm Credit System’s cooperative structure, AgriBank is owned by 17 affiliated Farm Credit Associations. The AgriBank District covers America’s Midwest, a fifteen state area from Wyoming to Ohio and Minnesota to Arkansas. More than half of the nation’s cropland is located within the AgriBank District, providing the Bank and its Association owners with exceptional expertise in production agriculture. For more information visit www.agribank.com.



Branstad, Reynolds Renew Encouragement for Farm Bill

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds Tuesday released a letter to farm bill conference committee leaders renewing their call for the U.S. Congress to enact a farm bill reauthorization. The letter applauded the recent appointment of farm bill conferees, including Senator Tom Harkin and Congressman Steve King. This letter reiterates the message in a previous letter from Gov. Branstad, Lt. Gov. Reynolds, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Department of Natural Resources Director Chuck Gipp earlier this year that a farm bill is important to rural America.

In the letter the Governor and Lt. Governor state: "We applaud both chambers for moving forward significant programmatic reforms that improve risk management and focus and improve the sustainability of relevant farm programs. Given the current fiscal environment, we appreciate the hard decisions before you, but believe you will meet the challenge of forging a bipartisan compromise that respects each side's principles. Your work can help improve the efficacy and efficiency of various farm bill programs. In addition, you have an opportunity to shepherd through a significant piece of legislation which would demonstrate Congress's commitment to rural America."

The letter continues: "As leaders of a key agricultural state where the fall harvest is currently underway, we urge you to pass a bipartisan, long-term farm bill out of conference that meets the needs of our agricultural producers and American consumers."



Certification for Sustainably Grown U.S. Soy for Exporters
The U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) launched an official sustainability certification for U.S. soy. It provides exporters with verification that the soy products they sell on the world market are raised in a sustainable manner.

The certification is verified by the U.S. Soybean Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP). This protocol was developed by the United Soybean Board (USB), USSEC and the American Soybean Association (ASA) through a multi-stakeholder process to ensure the methodologies for measuring sustainable performance are thorough, transparent and credible. Creation of the SSAP and its official sustainability certification for exported soy products is a strategic move by these farmer-led national soybean organizations to assure international customers that U.S. farmers raise soybeans with high sustainability performance.

"It is essential that we show the rest of the world what we are doing with regard to best management practices on the farm and best social practices in the community," says Laura Foell, Schaller, Iowa, farmer and USB farmer-leader. "Farmers are doing the right thing and striving for continuous improvement. We need to make sure our customers know that."

The sustainability certification is based on farmer participation in U.S. farm programs. Currently 95 percent of U.S. farms participate, according to USSEC. Thus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates of total soybean supply are multiplied by 0.95 to determine U.S. sustainable soy supply. The SSAP provides proof of reductions in carbon emissions, energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and soil erosion per acre of soybeans grown and per bushel of soybeans produced in the United States.

Certification is done at shipment point by Soy Export Sustainability, LLC, www.usses.org, based on an aggregate system representing nationwide soybean production.

This fall, the farmer-led organizations that constitute the U.S. soy family -- USSEC, USB and ASA -- are introducing their sustainability assurance protocol and sustainability certification system through a series of meetings around the world. Meetings with soy customers are being held in the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey and also U.S. soy farmers' largest market -- China.



U.S. Cattle Placements in September Seen Up 0.7% From 2012

The number of young cattle entering U.S. feedyards in September was predicted to be up 0.7% from this time last year, when placements were the lowest on record for that month owing to a spike in grain prices, according to a Wall Street Journal survey for a federal cattle-on-feed report.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release the report at 2p.m. CDT Thursday, two weeks later than normal owing to the lapse in government spending earlier this month.

After the 2012 drought pushed prices for feed grains up to highs last year, costs for cattle feeders have cooled considerably, resulting in expectations for a larger number of animals to enter the nation's feedyards in the months to come. However, livestock market-watchers said favorable pasture conditions across most of the Farm Belt due to cool, dry weather over the summer and fall likely encouraged more producers than usual to keep young cattle on the range for longer, rather than sending them straight to commercial feedlots.

The decision to hold on to cattle, feeding them hay and cheaper grains, is highly dependent on individual producer resources and business models, which analysts said contributed to the wide disagreement in national placement figures.

The estimates for placements in September ranged from 2.5% below to 7.0% above a year earlier, across 11 analysts' estimates, with the trade divided on whether or not the number of placed cattle would be higher or lower than year-ago levels. The number of cattle placed, according to the average of the projections, would be 2.02 million head.

The number of cattle on feed as of Oct. 1 was projected to be 7.4% below a year ago, or 10.173 million head, according to the average of the estimates. The estimates ranged from 8.4% to 6.3% below last year's number.

The average of the estimates for marketings was about 1.666 million head, or 4.3% above the same period a year ago. September had one more weekday this year compared with 2012, but one fewer Saturday, resulting in slightly more available time for processing cattle.



Weekly Ethanol Production for 10/25/2013

According to EIA data, ethanol production averaged 911,000 barrels per day (b/d) — or 38.26 million gallons daily. That is up 14,000 b/d from the week before and a 17-month high. Production topped 900,000 b/d for the first time since mid-June 2012. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 886,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 13.58 billion gallons.

Stocks of ethanol stood at 15.0 million barrels. That is a 3.5% decrease from last week and the lowest since EIA began reporting weekly data in June 2010.

Imports of ethanol were zero b/d for the fourth straight week.

Gasoline demand for the week averaged a robust 380.3 million gallons daily. At 870,000 b/d, refiner and blender input of ethanol hit a 16-week high.

Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 10.06%.

On the co-products side, ethanol producers were using 13.813 million bushels of corn to produce ethanol and 101,670 metric tons of livestock feed, 90,640 metric tons of which were distillers grains. The rest is comprised of corn gluten feed and corn gluten meal. Additionally, ethanol producers were providing 4.74 million pounds of corn oil daily.



Don't Remove Corn Ethanol from the Renewable Fuel Standard

Possible federal legislation that dismantles the Renewable Fuel Standard is the wrong policy at the wrong time, the National Corn Growers Association said today. According to news reports, the bill drafted by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., would remove corn ethanol from the RFS and adjust the RFS for advanced biofuel at 16 billion gallons.

"Just in time for Halloween, Sen. Feinstein is proposing a bill designed to play on the worst fears of Big Oil by gutting the RFS," said NCGA President Martin Barbre. "Removing corn ethanol from the Standard makes no sense whatsoever at a time when growers are harvesting what may be a record corn crop. The fact is, we are on track to meet all demand for food and fuel, with a surplus at the end of this marketing year of nearly 2 billion bushels."

Further, Barbre noted, it is bad policy for lawmakers to promote "next generation" biofuels over corn ethanol, because those newer fuels are dependent on the success of the entire ethanol industry to build the market, infrastructure and other support needed to get the newer fuels into the marketplace.

"Without the great and continued success of corn ethanol in building the market, the industry will not be able to move much further in research and investment," Barbre said. "The two go hand-in-hand, and that's why it's critical to preserve the RFS as a complete standard covering all biofuels. Without it, you won't see 16 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022."

You also will see a lot of jobs lost and damage to rural economies, Barbre added, because the ethanol industry supports about 400,000 jobs and, in 2012, added $30.2 billion to household income.

"Is this the right time to destabilize rural America? Our families need more jobs and more opportunity at a time when our nation's economy is still recovering and we face new challenges each day."



Feinstein/Coburn Legislation Would Halt Advancement of Next Generation Biofuels

Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, fired back against legislation drafted by Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) that would eliminate the conventional ethanol portion of the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“This legislation is monumentally stupid. Eliminating the conventional ethanol portion of the Renewable Fuel Standard would eliminate the opportunity to further evolve the biofuels industry and commercialize new technologies and feedstocks. We all understand that Senator Coburn just wants a world free of competition for his oil industry. But, Senator Feinstein professes to support second generation biofuels. What she is failing to understand, however, is that we will never see those technologies develop if the policy is gutted and the investment community is given the unambiguous signal that Congress is not serious about reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”



ADM Reports Adjusted Third Quarter 2013 Earnings of $0.46 per Share, Net income of $476 million

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today reported financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2013. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.46, down from $0.53 in the same period last year. Net earnings for the quarter were $476 million, or $0.72 per share, up from $0.28 per share in the same period one year earlier. Segment operating profit was $606 million, down six percent when excluding an impairment charge from the year-ago quarter.

“The team delivered solid operating results overall, despite the lingering effects of the 2012 U.S. drought,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. “Oilseeds performed well, particularly in North and South America; Corn benefitted from improved ethanol margins; and Ag Services managed effectively through the transition to new crop.

“Looking forward, as record global crop supplies refill the pipeline, we will employ our efficient network to meet strong demand from customers around the world.”

Oilseeds Earnings Strong on North and South American Performance
Oilseeds operating profit in the third quarter was $361 million, up $25 million from the same period one year earlier. 

Crushing and origination operating profit was $242 million, down $14 million from the year-ago quarter. Despite tight crop supplies, ADM’s North America oilseed crushing operations had good capacity utilization amid good foreign and domestic protein meal demand. In South America, ADM exported large volumes at the peak of the inverse market, capturing strong margins. European crushing results declined due to limited soybean availability.

Refining, packaging, biodiesel and other generated a profit of $85 million for the quarter, up $57 million on improved biodiesel results and record profits from protein specialties.

Cocoa and other results continued to improve sequentially, though they decreased $24 million compared to the year-ago quarter.
 
Oilseeds results in Asia for the quarter were up $6 million from the same period last year, principally reflecting ADM’s share of the improved results from Wilmar International Limited.
 
Corn Processing Results Improved on Ethanol Margin Recovery
Corn processing operating profit of $159 million represented an increase of $91 million from the same period one year earlier. Corn hedge effects in the third quarter were a charge of $11 million, versus a charge of $31 million in the year-ago period.

Excluding the impact of corn hedge ineffectiveness, sweeteners and starches results declined by $26 million, with overall demand and margins remaining solid.  

Excluding the impact of corn hedge ineffectiveness, bioproducts results increased $97 million to $71 million. Overall ethanol margins remained profitable though volatile.

Agricultural Services Impacted by Lower U.S. Volumes and Weaker International Merchandising Results
Agricultural Services operating profit was $102 million, up $24 million from the same period one year earlier. When adjusting for year-ago charges related to Gruma and intercompany insurance settlements in the current period of approximately $30 million, results for the segment declined $152 million from last year.

Merchandising and handling earnings declined $104 million to $4 million, as low U.S. crop supplies reduced export volumes and as results from international merchandising were weak.

Transportation results increased $2 million to $21 million on good northbound barge freight business.

Milling and other results remained solid as the milling business continued to perform well.



DuPont Aproach Prima Fungicide Available for 2014 Season

Corn, soybean and wheat growers have a new fungicide with two modes of action to protect yield potential and address resistant fungal diseases. DuPont™ Aproach® Prima fungicide has been granted registration approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Aproach® Prima (aproachprima.dupont.com) includes the same unique strobilurin active ingredient as DuPont™ Aproach® fungicide plus triazole to deliver a second critical mode of action that helps manage fungicide-resistant diseases and helps growers protect their genetic investment.

The dual protection offered by Aproach® Prima provides preventive and curative control of difficult and yield-robbing diseases in corn, soybeans and wheat, including frogeye leaf spot, a major soybean disease in the South and mid-South that has recently spread into northern growing areas. Aproach® Prima also protects crops from damage due to Septoria brown spot, downy mildew, soybean rust, gray leaf spot, Northern corn leaf blight, common rust and Southern rust.

“As the threat of resistant fungal diseases continues to grow, Aproach® Prima offers growers a new tool for protecting their genetic investments, especially on intensively managed, high-yielding acres,” said James Hay, regional director, North America, DuPont Crop Protection. “We continue to introduce new crop protection products from the DuPont pipeline as part of our commitment to help growers maximize production. Working together, we can meet the food needs of our growing world population.”

Systemic movement within the plant allows the unique strobilurin in Aproach® Prima to prevent and control disease on all plant surfaces, even on stems and leaves deep under the canopy. The combination of two premier fungicides in Aproach® Prima controls strobilurin-resistant fungal pathogens, as well as maintains plant health under stressful conditions and protects acres exposed to significant disease pressure.

In field trials throughout the country, Aproach® Prima reduced the incidence of disease and severity levels, leading to healthier plants and increased yield.
·      In soybeans, Aproach® Prima decreased severity of resistant frogeye leafspot by more than 67 percent and increased yield by 6 bushels per acre over untreated soybeans not treated with fungicide.1
·      Aproach® Prima decreased the incidence of soybean rust by 92 percent compared with untreated control plots, while Quilt Xcel only reduced rust incidence by 42 percent. That improved disease control delivered increased soybean yield by 16 bushels per acre over Quilt Xcel plots.2
·      In seed corn, when compared to two leading fungicides, Aproach® Prima maintained green leaf area more effectively and increased yield by more than 11 bushels per acre versus untreated acres, significantly more than the other fungicides.3
·      In a winter wheat trial, Aproach® Prima reduced severity of powdery mildew by nearly 99 percent and Septoria tritici (the cause of Septoria leaf blotch) by nearly 85 percent, compared with disease reductions of 89 percent and 65 percent, respectively, by Quilt Xcel.4

DuPont Crop Protection is one of several companies collaborating through the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) to monitor plant disease and identify best practices to reduce development of fungicide-resistant diseases. Other resistance management strategies recommended by FRAC include avoiding repeated use of a single fungicide mode of action, maintaining recommended dose rates, mixing or alternating with an appropriate partner fungicide, limiting the number and timing of treatments, avoiding eradicant use, and integrating fungicide use with non-chemical methods.



USAID Launches New University Partnerships to End Global Hunger and Poverty

Today, during a speech at The George Washington University’s Feeding the Planet Summit, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah announced 10 new Feed the Future Innovation Labs to increase global food security and help smallholder farmers boost incomes and improve nutrition. These Innovation Labs draw on the expertise of top U.S. universities and developing country research institutions, and will tackle some of the world’s most challenging agricultural research problems. The U.S. university-led Innovation Labs are central to advancing novel solutions in support of Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative.

“Throughout history, our greatest development advances have come from introducing safe, proven and appropriate technologies to the world's most vulnerable people,” said Dr. Shah. “Building upon a strong history of research collaboration, these new Feed the Future Innovation Labs will draw on the very best research, extension and education strengths of the U.S. and global university community to improve nutrition, end hunger, and help eradicate extreme poverty around the world.”

The new labs are part of the Feed the Future Food Security Innovation Center, launched in 2012 to support innovative research aimed at transforming agricultural production systems through “sustainable intensification” – or producing more food in an environmentally sensitive manner –  ensuring access to nutritious and safe foods, creating enabling and supportive policies, and addressing the emerging challenges of climate change and natural resource scarcity. The newest additions include:
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Climate-Resilient Beans, led by Pennsylvania State University
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Climate-Resilient Cowpea, led by the University of California at Riverside
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Climate-Resilient Sorghum, led by the University of Georgia
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for  Applied Wheat Genomics, led by Kansas State University
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Rift Valley Fever Control in Agriculture, led by the University of Texas at El Paso
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, led by the University of California at Davis
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small-scale Irrigation, led by Texas A&M University
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Climate-Resilient Chickpea (lead university to be awarded)
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Soy Value Chain Research (lead university to be awarded)
·         The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Reduced Post-harvest Losses (lead university to be awarded)

These new research labs join the recently announced Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum & Millet led by Kansas State University and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy led by Michigan State University, as well as a number of other Innovation Labs representing the breadth and diversity of U.S. university agricultural research programs.