Wednesday July 12 Ag News

REPLACE THINNING ALFALFA FIELDS
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               Have you taken a good look at your alfalfa stands lately?  They might be getting a little thin.  They may need replacing.

               The past few years have been tough on alfalfa fields.  Some alfalfa plants that have managed to survive the harsh conditions are showing the accumulated effects of all that stress.  Add in the stress from harvest plus any insect damage or leaf diseases and plants that were old or weak starting out this spring may simply have too much root disease and not enough healthy root to keep going.

               Now is a good time to check fields to learn if they need to be replaced, either with a new seeding this August or next spring.  If weeds are becoming a problem, that is usually a good indication that the stand is getting thin and needs replacement.  And don’t forget, after alfalfa you can reduce nitrogen on next year’s crop by at least 100 pounds per acre.

               Older, dryland fields with less than 25 shoots per square foot coming from 2 or 3 plants should be replaced.  Very productive sites, such as irrigated and sub-irrigated fields, should have over 40 shoots per square foot coming from 4 to 6 plants.

               Also dig up and look at some roots.  Healthy roots are solid and white, with a firm texture.  A little browning in the top couple inches of the crown may not be much of a problem yet, but it could develop into a serious disease in another year or two.  Roots that are discolored in a third to one-half of the tissue might survive this coming winter, but these plants will not yield well next year.  If crowns and taproots show extensive brownish discoloration or are becoming mushy and partly rotted, these plants probably won’t survive another winter.

               Observe and anticipate declining alfalfa stands.  Then you can replace them on your terms instead of Mother Nature’s.



Twitter campaign encourages farmers to tweet corn and soybean diseases

Farmers, agronomists, crop consultants and specialists now have a place to collectively document and track corn and soybean diseases this growing season. The Twitter accounts @corndisease and @soydisease will be used to upload photos of crop diseases as they show up across the country. This effort is part of the Integrated Pest Information Platform for Education and Extension (iPiPE). The hope is to use tweets of crop disease photos from around the country for future disease tracking and prevention purposes.

To help with the effort, take a photo of the crop disease when out scouting fields and then tweet the photo to @corndisease or @soydisease with the name of the disease, and the county and state it’s found in.

“Much like weather forecasting, we think this project can be used as a preventative strategy that farmers can use to get ahead of the ‘storm’ regarding crop diseases,” said Daren Mueller, associate professor and extension plant pathology specialist at Iowa State University. “The information we gather from the Twitter campaign will be used to help predict trends in crop diseases and allow experts to provide the necessary management tools and information to farmers.”

Observations will be gathered and entered into a database to track crop disease trends across the country. At large, the iPiPE project is a coordinated, web-based, IT platform that enables the collection, management and delivery of observations, advanced derivative products, expert commentary and alerts on important pests.

“Our hope is to provide risk-based research, observations on target and endemic pests, and tools for timely management decision-making,” said Carl Bradley, professor and extension plant pathology specialist at University of Kentucky.

So far this growing season, southern rust has been confirmed in the following states: Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Visit the @corndisease account for the most current updates and view the southern rust distribution map on the iPiPE website. Recent soybean disease findings include bacterial blight in Wisconsin and Iowa, and Rhizoctonia root rot in Iowa. Check @soydisease for soybean disease updates.

The @soydisease Twitter account also will be giving away a free field guide each week to the first person that can correctly identify a soybean disease in a photo that will be posted each Wednesday.



Registration Open for First Pig Welfare Symposium

The National Pork Board has announced that its first-ever Pig Welfare Symposium will take place Nov. 7-9, 2017, in Des Moines, Iowa. The forum is designed to help improve the well-being of pigs by disseminating recent research findings and recommendations, raising awareness of current and emerging issues and identifying potential solutions.

“The symposium provides a forum for sharing ideas, learning from other segments of the industry and fostering dialogue on pig welfare-related issues,” said Sherrie Webb, director of animal welfare for the Pork Checkoff. “We hope that a broad spectrum of people will attend, including producers, veterinarians, academia, packers and processors and allied industry partners.”

To get the early-bird discount, Webb advises those interested to register before Aug. 1. After that, the cost will increase from $150 to $200 per person. A reduced student rate and virtual attendance options also are being offered. For more information, go to pork.org/pws.

“The Pig Welfare Symposium will provide stimulating presentations from experts on past, current and future animal welfare issues. They will offer their perspectives on how the pork industry can continue to evolve to meet the needs of animals, producers and consumers,” said Paul Ayers, chair of the Checkoff’s Animal Welfare Committee and Manager of Animal Care at The Maschhoffs.

Aside from its main speaker agenda, the two-day symposium also will offer optional hands-on interactive workshops for an additional fee. These will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn more about topics, such as low-stress pig handling, on-farm euthanasia and understanding the Common Swine Industry Audit.

Attendees will have the opportunity to visit with experts at various technical exhibits and can interact with the professionals and students who will participate in the symposium’s poster sessions.

“If you want to know about the current challenges related to pig welfare and what’s on the horizon, then the Pig Welfare Symposium is for you,” Ayers said.



U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Concludes Third General Assembly Meeting

A group of 130 representatives across the beef value chain gathered in Denver for the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) General Assembly Meeting July 11 – 12. This meeting allowed USRSB the opportunity to share accomplishments from the past year and the direction of efforts moving forward.

Sessions were held to update attendees on the progress of working groups, which included the Indicator Working Group’s efforts to finalize the beef sustainability metrics. The fourth iteration of the metric report was recently distributed to USRSB membership for review. Additionally, the Engagement, Measurement and Progress Working Group is developing Sustainability Assessment Guides -- tools for the beef supply chain to use to self-assess their sustainability efforts. Other meeting highlights focused on findings and updates in beef sustainability research and beef consumer segmentation market research.

USRSB business updates included new board of director election results. The 2017-2018 board of directors includes Chair Rickette Collins, McDonald’s Corporation; Chair-elect Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, JBS USA; Secretary/Treasurer Debbie Lyons-Blythe, Blythe Family Farms, LLC; Past-chair John Butler, Beef Marketing Group; Ben Weinheimer, Texas Cattle Feeders Association; Steve Wooten, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association; Todd Armstrong, Elanco Animal Health; Jessica Finck, Merck Animal Health; Meghan Mueseler, Cargill; Keith Anderkin, Arby’s; Nancy Labbe, World Wildlife Fund; and Chad Ellis, Noble Research Institute.

The Roundtable currently has 104 members and includes representation from producers, allied industry, packers/processors, civil society and retail.

Moving forward, the organization will focus on finalizing the sector-specific metrics, developing the Sustainability Assessment Guides and supporting pilot projects, field trials and research with leadership from the Engagement, Measurement and Progress Working Group. USRSB efforts continue to work toward ensuring U.S. beef is the trusted global leader in environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable beef.



Kansas Department of Agriculture Responds to Herbicide Use Complaints

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has experienced an increase in herbicide misuse complaints alleging crop damage due to herbicide products containing dicamba. KDA’s pesticide and fertilizer program staff are actively investigating these complaints for noncompliance with state and federal laws, but cautions producers that these investigations will not characterize crop damage, acres involved, or estimated dollar losses.

KDA strongly encourages all users of herbicides, including products containing dicamba, to be attentive to label requirements when selecting and applying products (not all dicamba products are labeled for soybean application), to be aware of vegetation on surrounding properties, and to be vigilant of weather conditions. Meticulous cleaning of tanks, hoses and nozzles used for herbicide applications is necessary to prevent chemical carryover to the next application. Caution is especially important if you have crops in different growth stages, e.g. double cropping soybeans after wheat.

KDA supports the development of new technologies in the agricultural industry, and stands ready to assist the agricultural community as it determines how to implement the new technologies to be more efficient and sustainable in producing the food supply for a growing world. KDA does not plan to limit use of dicamba in Kansas.



Tennessee Tacks on More Restrictions on Dicamba

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) on Wednesday joined other Southern states by announcing additional measures to mitigate the risk of herbicides containing dicamba.

The new rules filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State extend through Oct. 1, 2017, and require anyone spraying dicamba to be certified as a private or licensed applicator and keep records of the applications. Available hours to spray dicamba are now restricted to a period of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to avoid temperature inversions. No older formulations of dicamba products can be sprayed in agricultural settings for the remainder of the agricultural growing season. Applications over the top of cotton after first bloom are also prohibited.

Dicamba herbicide is the suspected cause of widespread crop injury across several states.  Extra restrictions on dicamba applications are also in effect in Arkansas and Missouri. 



Anhydrous Breaks 8% Lower

According to fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the first week of July 2017, all eight major fertilizer are lower in price but for the first time in several months a fertilizer was actually down a significant amount.

As a sign that side dressing operations must be wrapping up across the Corn Belt, anhydrous was down 8% compared to last month. The nitrogen fertilizer average price was $462/ton.

While anhydrous broke free from the treadmill of steady prices that has been present this entire calendar year, the other major fertilizers did not.

The remaining seven fertilizers were lower compared to the prior month, but none of them were lower any substantial amount. DAP had an average price of $436/ton, MAP $467/ton, potash $339/ton, 10-34-0 $325/ton, anhydrous $462/ton, UAN28 $236/ton and UAN32 $268/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.35/lb.N, anhydrous $0.28/lb.N, UAN28 $0.42/lb.N and UAN32 $0.42/lb.N.

Retail fertilizers are lower compared to a year earlier. Five of the eight major fertilizers are double-digits lower.

10-34-0 is 21% lower from a year ago, while anhydrous is 17% less expensive, UAN32 is 12% lower and both urea and UAN28 are 10% less expensive. DAP is 7% lower and both MAP and potash are both 6% lower.



African Wheat Buyers, U.S. Industry Learn Much From Each Other

U.S. wheat industry representatives from four states expected to answer a lot of questions from a team of Nigerian and South African flour milling executives, but they did not expect to learn so much from their customers. Their dialogue continued as the millers observed the entire U.S. wheat supply chain on stops in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Minnesota June 18 to 29, 2017, as part of a trade team sponsored by U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and wheat commissions from those states. Funding also came from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

Gerald Theus, assistant regional director with USW in Cape Town, South Africa, led the team and noted two key reasons why this was a good time to emphasize the benefits of buying U.S. wheat.

“First, the price of imported milling wheat weighs heavily on buyers in Sub-Saharan Africa, and U.S. hard red winter (HRW) and other U.S. wheat classes have become more price competitive,” Theus said. “On the other hand, the millers are concerned about protein levels and other functional measures in the new crop. After the tour, we think they understand how to minimize their price risk and still get the performance they need from this U.S. wheat crop.”

Theus said consumers in Nigeria and South Africa prefer “high-loaf” pan bread, which is best produced with flour from medium protein wheat sourced mainly from the central and southern Plains states. Mike Schulte, the executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, said it was important for breeders, farmers and the grain trade to learn more about the specific quality and consistency these millers need.

“For example, they told us their baking customers need flour that provides minimum protein and dough stability time, but they cannot get consistent supplies like that from Russia.” Schulte said. “That helped us direct the discussion at our tour stops toward how the trade handles wheat to meet different specifications, and how the inspection system provides assurance they won’t have to make big and expensive adjustments from one delivery to another with U.S. wheat.”

“I was surprised about how U.S. wheat grading and testing is so comprehensive and consistent for every load of wheat coming from the farm by truck or rail to export locations,” said Hayi Emmanuel Dauda, quality assurance manager with Nigeria’s Dangote Flour Mills. “It was also good to see how the process of blending wheat from different sources achieves consistent protein levels and test weights for the buyer.”

Hosts at the Kansas Wheat Commission, the Nebraska Wheat Board, the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and the North Dakota Wheat Commission each featured research and breeding programs, supported directly by farmers in those states, that impressed the buyers.

“It was very informative to learn about the challenges of ensuring the current and future production of all the U.S. wheat classes,” said Tanya Erwee, a grain procurement executive with Premier Milling in South Africa. “The wheat breeders are doing a great job, still striving to get better yields to benefit the farmer but also to keep the quality benefits strong for millers, too.”

The team’s visit to North Dakota and the major Great Lakes grain export system added a timely opportunity to learn more about sources of U.S. hard red spring (HRS) wheat and durum.

“We wanted to show these buyers that there is a chance this year to purchase spring wheat at relatively attractive prices to blend with hard red winter wheat to meet higher protein and stability times if needed,” said Theus. “For the Nigerian millers, we also wanted to demonstrate that northern durum could be an attractive alternative this year for pasta flour.”

Nigeria’s standard pasta flour is HRW with 12 percent protein (on a 12 percent moisture basis). There are limited supplies of that specification and the large supply of durum could be an alternative, said Erica Olson, Marketing Specialist with the North Dakota Wheat Commission.

“This team was valuable for us to host as they are not our typical customer,” Olson said. “While these are smaller markets for hard red spring and durum, interest in quality is growing. It was extremely beneficial to visit with them to learn more about what their quality needs are and how we might expand export opportunities in the future.”

In North Dakota, spring wheat and durum specialists at the North Dakota State University Spring Wheat Quality Laboratory and the Northern Crops Institute briefed the team members. From Fargo, N.D., the team travelled to their final stop at the ports of Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis., for meetings with private exporters.

“I must say the experience with the farmers, breeders, traders and other experts on this trip was second to none,” said Mr. Dauda. “What we learned from each other will be very important, particularly related to meeting the potential challenges associated with getting the protein levels we need.”

“This trip helps give us the confidence that U.S. growers, breeders, grading agencies and private exporters are committed in ensuring that quality standards of all wheat classes are met when exporting to other countries,” said Ms. Erwee. “The United States is still the exporter we can trust to supply good, consistent quality wheat.”

More Information About the Nigerian and South African Wheat Markets
With U.S. prices becoming more competitive — and with effective outcomes from USW’s training and trade service activities over many years — Nigerian mills bought significantly more HRW in marketing year 2016/17 (May to June) than in the previous few years. Nigeria imported 50 percent more HRW last year, a total of about 1.6 million metric tons (MMT), or nearly 58 million bushels. Much of that went to produce bread flour. There is also a growing pasta and instant noodle market that USW helped the Nigerian industry build over the years that provides consistent demand for higher protein HRW.

South Africa is a smaller market than Nigeria, but annual per capita wheat consumption of 63 kg is the highest in the Sub-Saharan region. Though it varies widely year to year, South Africa produces about 50 percent of its annual wheat consumption of 3.5 million metric tons (MMT). Wheat breeders and flour millers there are working together to develop improved protein varieties for South African farmers so it can be blended with imported wheat.

Millers prefer imports of HRW and similar classes of German and Argentinian wheat and tend to buy more of whatever is available at the least cost. U.S. HRW was much more competitive in marketing year 2016/17. In fact, South African millers imported HRW for the first time in five years. Millers there imported the most total U.S. wheat since 2007/08.

USW’s mission is to “develop, maintain and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” USW activities in more than 100 countries are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 18 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. For more information, visit our website at www.uswheat.org.



AFBF and FFA to Work Together to Share the Story of Agricultural Education

Today, the American Farm Bureau Federation and National FFA Organization signed a memorandum of understanding to grow leaders, build communities and strengthen agriculture. The MOU outlines how the two organizations will work together to discover opportunities that benefit both their members and agricultural education students in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“This is an opportunity for us to share the story of agriculture and agricultural education,” said Mark Poeschl, chief executive officer of the National FFA Organization. “Our organizations know that agricultural education provides leadership development, career success and personal growth. This MOU allows us to recognize the role of school-based agricultural education.”

The MOU was signed in Washington, D.C., during a national meeting of state Farm Bureau presidents from across the country.

“Farm Bureau has long supported agricultural education’s critical role of creating opportunities for the next generation of agricultural professionals,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “This formal collaboration with National FFA will help us build on that legacy. We look forward to empowering young people to explore how they can be a part of agriculture’s bright future, from farming and ranching to agri-business and food-related careers.”

Together, FFA and AFBF will attract, educate, inspire and prepare students to enter careers in the agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources industry. In addition, the two organizations will broaden the definition of “agriculturally related careers” to encompass the vastness of professions in the industry of agriculture. FFA and AFBF will determine existing connections between county Farm Bureaus and local FFA chapters as well as state Farm Bureaus and state FFA associations. The MOU also allows AFBF to serve as a member of the FFA Agricultural Policy Committee. FFA will use AFBF-branded advocacy resources and materials to train state FFA officers and find ways for FFA and AFBF members to interact during policy discussions or in policy communications.



U.S. Tractors, Combines Up During June

According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturer's monthly "Flash Report," the sale of all tractors in the U.S. in June 2017, were up 5% compared to the same month last year.

For the month, two-wheel drive smaller tractors (under 40 HP) were up 10% from last year, while 40 & under 100 HP were down .8%. Sales of 2-wheel drive 100+ HP were down 17%, while 4-wheel drive tractors were down 14%. Combine sales were up 19% for the month.

For the six months in 2017, a total of 115,822 tractors were sold which compares to 109,079 sold thru June 2016 representing a 6% increase for the year.  Sales of combines for the year total 1,670 a decrease of 6% from 2016.



House Agriculture Committee Highlights Specialty Crop Production

Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to highlight the importance of technology and innovation in specialty crop production as a continuation of the committee’s hearing series preparing for the next farm bill. Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) and members of the committee heard from stakeholders on the ways to build upon public-private partnerships and innovation to benefit specialty crop producers. Following the hearing, Chairman Conaway made the below remarks:

“Support for specialty crop producers is an essential part of the farm bill. While there are those who overlook the significant investments we’ve made, our witnesses today clearly highlighted the positive impact of these policies. They also emphasized a number of ways that new, innovative technology can be leveraged to benefit producers. As we approach the next farm bill, our goal is to ensure that the policy we craft serves the needs of all our producers, including those in the specialty crop industry.”

Witness List:
Mr. Paul Wenger, President, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sacramento, CA
Mr. Paul Heller, Vice President, Wonderful Citrus -Texas Division, Mission, TX
Mr. Gary Wishnatzki, Owner, Wish Farms, Plant City, FL
Mr. Kevin Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Driscoll's, Inc., Watsonville, CA
Mr. Andrew La Vigne, President and CEO, American Seed Trade Association, Alexandria, VA

Written testimony provided by the witnesses from today’s hearing is linked below. Click here for more information, including Chairman Conaway's opening statement and the archived webcast.... https://agriculture.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=3962.



New biofuel technology cuts production time significantly

New research from a professor of engineering at the University of Brittish Columbia’s Okanagan Campus might hold the key to biofuels that are cheaper, safer and much faster to produce.

“Methane is a biofuel commonly used in electricity generation and is produced by fermenting organic material,” says Cigdem Eskicioglu, an associate professor with UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering. “The process can traditionally take anywhere from weeks to months to complete, but with my collaborators from Europe and Australia we’ve discovered a new biomass pretreatment technique that can cut production time nearly in half.”

Starting with materials commonly found in agricultural or forestry waste—including wheat straw, corn husks and Douglas fir bark—Eskicioglu compared traditional fermentation processes with their new technique and found that Douglas fir bark in particular could produce methane 172 per cent faster than before.

“The potential to more efficiently harness the energy from forestry waste products like tree bark can open a world of new opportunities,” says Eskicioglu. “Our new fermentation process would be relatively easy to implement on site and because the bioreactors can be much smaller, the costs can be kept low.”

The new process pretreats the initial organic material with carbon dioxide at high temperatures and pressures in water before the whole mixture is fermented, Eskicioglu explains. The new pretreatment process uses equipment and materials that are already widely available at an industrial scale, so retrofitting existing bioreactors or building new miniaturized ones could be done cheaply and easily.

In addition to producing biogas faster and cheaper, Eskicioglu says her new technique may also make methane production safer.

“Unlike traditional biomass pretreatment for bioreactors, our method doesn’t require the use or generation of toxic chemicals. We still have some work to do to move it to an industrial scale, but our results so far are very promising.”

The study will be published in September’s edition of Water Research.