Wednesday July 26 Ag News

NEBRASKA EXTENSION SPECIALIST RESPONDS TO DICAMBA CONCERNS

Nebraska crop producers are joining others across the country in facing potential issues related to dicamba, a herbicide for broadleaf weed control.

While the product has been available for a number of years, this was the first year that dicamba-tolerant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean and new dicamba-based formulations were made commercially available in Nebraska.

An estimated 500,000 acres of dicamba-tolerant soybean were planted this year across the state, but growers are concerned about broadleaf crops sensitive to the herbicide.

Amit Jhala, Nebraska Extension weed management specialist, has been responding to those concerns.

"Several dicamba-sensitive crops are planted in Nebraska, so it's important for producers to be familiar with dicamba injury symptoms," Jhala said. "Some of the soybean fields I have visited this season have had symptoms similar to those caused by dicamba, from one end to the other, suggesting off-target movement through volatility."

Symptoms include leaf tip wrinkling and cupping of young leaves with low doses of contamination and puckering and leaf elongation with higher doses.

Non-dicamba-tolerant soybean, grape, tomato, watermelon, pumpkin and several minor vegetable crops are all dicamba sensitive. Issues arise when there is off-target movement of the herbicide through physical drift, volatility, temperature inversion or tank contamination.

Producers in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee and Mississippi also have reported significant potential dicamba damage.

"Once dicamba injury symptoms are identified, the first thing the grower should do is scout the field to get a sense of the damage," Jhala said. "It's also important at that time to start communication with your neighbors and pesticide applicators."

Local extension offices can serve as timely resources during the process, Jhala said. Extension educators are in constant communication with producers, so they will have a sense of how widespread the issue may be.

Growers who wish to file a complaint should contact the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

For updates on dicamba contamination, as well as Nebraska Extension information on crop production and pest management, visit http://cropwatch.unl.edu.



NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RESPONDS TO HERBICIDE USE COMPLAINTS

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) has experienced an increase in herbicide misuse complaints alleging crop damage due to herbicide products containing dicamba.  NDA’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.

During NDA applicator training sessions, NDA strongly encourages all users of herbicides and pesticides, to be attentive to label requirements when selecting and applying products, to be aware of vegetation on surrounding properties, and to be vigilant of weather conditions.  Meticulous cleaning of tanks, hoses and nozzles used for applications is necessary to prevent chemical carryover to the next application.  Caution is especially important as farmers have more and varied choices in genetics and crop protection pairings. This has increased the incidence of crops with differing chemical tolerance being planted side by side.

NDA 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.

NDA does not plan to limit use of dicamba in Nebraska at this time, and will work with state and federal stakeholders, industry leaders and farmers to seek appropriate action to take in the future.  

For more information about the NDA pesticide program please visit: http://www.nda.nebraska.gov/pesticide/index.html.  



Nebraska Soybean Board to Hold 2017 Soybean Management Field Days

The Nebraska Soybean Board (NSB) is hosting its annual Soybean Management Field Days Aug. 8–11. The Field Days are taking place in four different locations throughout Nebraska: North Platte, Ord, Auburn and Tekamah, respectively. NSB is partnering with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Extension to provide growers with research-based guidance on growing better soybeans and operating their farms. At each location farmers can choose from several one-hour presentations available from 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Admission is free and includes a complimentary lunch.

One key theme for this year’s Field Days is pest management, including insects and weeds. Test plots at each site are devoted to trials of new herbicide formulations aimed at resistant weeds. Another session will focus on the impact of adverse weather around planting time. Additional presentations cover agronomic topics such as soil health and best practices for planting. Growers will also get tips on marketing to get the best return on their crop.

NSB Executive Director Victor Bohuslavsky says topics are chosen based on surveys of soybean growers to ensure that Field Days are relevant to farmers.

“The big picture of this whole event is to get research results back to the producers that is unbiased. This is research done by the University of Nebraska and funded by the soybean checkoff,” said Bohuslavsky. “We want that information in the hands of farmers to provide value to their operations.”

Registration for the events begins at 9 a.m. each day. CCA credits are available for participants.

For more information on presentation topics and directions to each location, visit http://ardc.unl.edu/soydays, or call 1-800-852-BEAN (2326).



Robots Bring the Future to Nebraska

They aren't science fiction or philosophizing droids, but Nebraska just might have some of the hottest robots going. Two dairy farms in the state - Demerath Farms in Plainview and Brett Beavers' farm in Carleton - now employ robots to feed, milk and care for their cows!

Robotic dairy operations give farmers more control over their schedules and more time to do the things they simply couldn't get to before - cleaning stalls more often, for example - and it eases shortage of skilled labor in the industry.

"Procedures with the robot are the same procedures that happen with a traditional dairy operation, except it's a robot doing it all - cleaning the cow, attaching the cups on the udder, feeding, monitoring cow health, and more," said Rod Johnson, director of the Nebraska State Dairy Association and senior industry-relations manager for Midwest Dairy Association.

"And when it comes to milking, the farmer gets a lot of additional information than a traditional milking provides: The robots are testing the milk, the temperatures, weighing the cow and feeding them. And the feed robot is called Juno," Johnson added. "It pushes the feed up to the cow and makes sure the cows can reach it at all times. It really ups the information and technology on the farms where it's in use."

It's sort of like a Fitbit for dairy cows.

Kim Clark, dairy educator with Nebraska Extension, said the robots really step up the game for farmers. "Milking is a 365-day-a-year, 24 hours a day, seven-days-a-week job, so there's really no break for the dairy farmer," Clark said. "One of the biggest reasons for having these robots is time, so the farmer can devote more time to caring for his animals and their overall health. But it's also been difficult to get labor on the farms - labor that knows how to milk the cows or has any animal experience and background."

Brett Beavers, who started his 240-cow robotic dairy near Carleton, thanks to a tour of robotic dairies that AFAN took him on, says the robots have allowed him the flexibility to engage more with his family.

"On all the farms I've toured, everyone said it's life-changing," Beavers said. "You're still going to put in the hours that you do in a traditional setup, but those hours are now flexible. So now I can help coach my kids' T-ball team, because we can work around our family's schedules.



ALFALFA FOR SUMMER PASTURE
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               When pastures are short and low quality during summer, what can you graze to maintain animal performance?  Maybe alfalfa is your answer.

               Most pastures have difficulty providing abundant, high quality grazing throughout the summer, regardless of whether they are drought stressed or not.  Yearlings and calves can really use better pasture at this time.  Both drought-stunted alfalfa and well-growing alfalfa might fill that role of a better quality temporary pasture.

               But, how do you get started and how do you avoid problems with bloat?  Begin by dividing fields so animals graze no longer than four days at a time on any one area.  Be sure you are able to provide drinking water in each division.  One rule of thumb is that one ton of standing alfalfa hay will provide about 45 cow days of grazing.  If you estimate your alfalfa would yield one ton of hay if you cut it right now, then one acre should feed 45 cows for one day.  If possible, also limit the size of paddocks to 10 acres or less to get more uniform grazing.  After grazing a paddock, plan grazing and haying so at least 35 days of regrowth will occur before harvesting the same area again.

               To reduce bloat risk, begin grazing alfalfa after it begins to bloom.  Short, drought-stunted, yet blooming alfalfa often is pretty safe.  Also, be sure animals are full before first turning onto alfalfa and never let animals get hungry.  In addition, begin grazing mid-afternoon and do not turn them onto fresh alfalfa that is moist with dew, rain, or irrigation.  Yearlings tend to bloat less than cows, but feeding supplements like poloxalene and rumensin can help reduce bloat for all classes of cattle.

               These precautions and management practices can help you use alfalfa for pasture and overcome the late summer pasture slump.



Upper Big Blue NRD Receives Prestigious National Grant

The Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District was one of 19 districts in 14 states awarded a National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) grant to boost technical assistance capacity for urban agriculture conservation projects.  The grant amount is $50,000 and was the only award in the State of Nebraska.

The Upper Big Blue NRD will be using these funds to help underwrite a special project that it is involved with helping the City of York improve its wellfield by planting cover & rotational crops, berry shrubs, a business-sponsored community garden, and a pollinator habitat within the city wellfield acreage.  Called “Project GROW” (Growing Rotational crops On Wellfields), the goals are to improve soil health, erosion control, non-leaching of nitrogen into the water table, and increasing water holding capacity in the soil, all culminating to protect York’s water quality at the wellfield.

According to David Eigenberg, General Manager of the Upper Big Blue NRD, “On behalf of the NRD Board of Directors, we are grateful and enthusiastic about such an opportunity to further the mission of sustaining Nebraska’s natural resources in York and across the District.  This grant provides a national scope of what the NRD and the City of York can accomplish together in partnership.”

NACD established the Urban Agriculture Conservation Grants Initiative in 2016 to help conservation districts and their partners provide much needed technical assistance for agricultural conservation in urban areas with limited access to fresh and healthy foods. Since then, NACD has awarded a total of $3 million in grants to 61 conservation districts in 30 states through this initiative.

“Today, 86-percent of Americans live in urban areas, which cover just 28-percent of the nation’s land area. The landscapes our customers own and manage have changed since the Dust Bowl when many of our nation’s 3,000 conservation districts were first established, and so has conservation districts’ approach to serving them,” NACD President Brent Van Dyke said.

“A majority of conservation districts are now involved in some form of urban and community conservation work. As a delivery system, and as a conservation family, we’ve risen to the challenge of providing world-class technical support whenever – and wherever – it is needed,” Van Dyke continued.

The Upper Big Blue will begin preparations to implement “Project GROW” this fall after harvest at the wellfield acreage.



Blue Eye Mold Threatens Stored Grain

Due to a combination of temperature and humidity last fall, producers need to be aware of the high risk of blue eye mold, a fungus that grows on corn kernels.

Blue eye mold appears as a blue line down the middle of a corn kernel, where the germ is located. The fungus invades the kernel and feeds on the high fat oil located in the germ. There is no way to get rid of blue eye mold, but there are ways to control its spread. 

Carbon dioxide monitoring is one way to observe corn conditions in bins. However, blue eye mold does not grow at a fast enough pace to give off a detectable amount of heat.

“Aerating the corn with humid air, like what the state has been experiencing recently, will make the mold grow,” said Charles Hurburgh, grain quality and handling specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “If the dew points get down to the 40s and 50s relative humidity then fans should be run. Additionally, grain that is still cold from the winter should not be warmed.”

Although feed mills and ethanol plants can use the moldier corn, blue eye kernels are graded as damaged. If feeding it to animals, mix with sound corn at a reasonable amount for the species consuming it.

An elevator will purchase blue eye kernels and count them as damaged. Typically, the grading limit on number two yellow corn has a maximum of five percent damaged kernels.

Ethanol plants may buy corn affected by blue eye mold, although they prefer not to as the risk for having a fermentation problem is higher. The fermentation may not be as clean because the mold interferes with the yeast. Fermenters can get stuck, requiring corrective antibiotic use.

“With a two billion bushel surplus for this year, some of this corn is going to last into 2018. Ideally this fall, sell the old corn and replace it with the new in the bins,” said Hurburgh.

For more information about the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative, visit http://www.iowagrain.org.



Crop Pest Management is Focus of ISU Field Lab August Programs

Crop diseases, crop pest resistance and management, and Palmer amaranth in conservation plantings are some of the topics that will be covered this August at the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Field Extension Education Laboratory in Boone, Iowa. Farmers, agronomists, crop consultants and interested persons will have the opportunity to hear the latest research and management information from ISU Extension and Outreach experts and industry professionals at each of the three programs offered.

“We have some great learning opportunities lined up this August at the Field Lab,” said Warren Pierson, coordinator at the Field Extension Education Laboratory. “Upcoming workshops and clinics will touch on current, critical issues regarding crop pest management, and provide attendees with educational materials and resources, along with hands-on learning.”

Managing Palmer Amaranth in Conservation Plantings, scheduled for Aug. 3, is a new program specifically addressing the issue of Palmer amaranth in conservation seed from other areas of the country.

“The goal of the program is to address concerns and explain the best management strategies for managing Palmer amaranth and give tips for successful conservation plantings,” said Pierson.

The Aug. 16 Crop Disease Clinic will be led by Alison Robertson, associate professor and extension crop plant pathologist, and Daren Mueller, associate professor and extension crop plant pathologist at Iowa State University. They will spend half the day discussing crop disease identification and diagnostics and research updates. The other rest of the day will be a walk-through of corn and soybean plots where Mueller and Robertson will talk about present diseases, scouting methods and treatment options. 

At the SCN and Soybean Aphid Resistance Management Workshop Aug. 17, Greg Tylka, professor and extension nematologist, and Erin Hodgson, associate professor and extension entomologist at Iowa State University, will present on soybean cyst nematode and soybean aphid, two pests that reduce soybean yield and are becoming resistant to commonly used pest management tools. The workshop will include presentations, demonstrations and plot tours, with a focus on resistance, pest biology, management and scouting.

The Field Extension Education Laboratory is located at 1928 240th St., Boone, Iowa. Advance registration is required for each event. See below for the full list of workshops, dates and registration deadline information. For more information on the Field Extension Education Laboratory and its events, visit crops.extension.iastate.edu/fieldlab.

August 2017 Events
Aug. 3: Managing Palmer Amaranth in Conservation Plantings; registration deadline midnight, July 31
Aug.16: Crop Disease Clinic; registration deadline midnight, Aug. 9
Aug. 17: SCN and Soybean Aphid Resistance Management Workshop; registration deadline midnight, Aug. 9

For assistance with registration, receipts, cancellation or questions on the status of your registration contact ANR Program Services at 515-294-6429 or anr@iastate.edu.



Iowa State University Research Farm Near Lewis to Host Field Day Aug. 17

Iowa State University’s Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm will present a variety of agricultural topics at a field day Aug. 17.

The field day will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon, with lunch following. Registration begins at 9 a.m. There is no charge for attending the field day, which is open to the public.

Iowa State assistant professor and cropping systems specialist Mark Licht will begin the program speaking about yield response to delayed corn and soybean planting dates. Tim Youngquist, STRIPS project farmer liaison, will feature the soil, water and wildlife benefits of growing row crops integrated with prairie strips. A high-tech cattle feed bunk that measures individual feed intake will be demonstrated by Garland Dahlke, Iowa State assistant scientist.

The Armstrong Research Farm is located at 53020 Hitchcock Ave. near Lewis, which is 13 miles southwest of Atlantic on Highway 6, one-half mile south on 525th Street and three-quarters of a mile east on Hitchcock Avenue.



EIA: US Ethanol Stocks, Production Down

The Energy Information Administration's weekly supply report released midmorning Wednesday showed steep decreases in U.S. ethanol inventories and plant production while blending demand rose during the third week of July.

The EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed fuel ethanol stocks tumbled during the week-ended July 21 by 6.0 million barrels (bbl), or 4.7%, to 21.5 million bbl. Supply was 1.1 million bbl, or 5.4%, higher than for the corresponding week a year ago.

Domestic plant production fell 14,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 1.4%, to 1.012 million bpd during the week reviewed, while up 14,000 bpd, or 1.4%, year on year. For the four weeks ended last week, fuel ethanol production averaged 1.015 million bpd, up 11,000 bpd, or 1.1%.

Net refiner and blender inputs, a gauge for ethanol demand, increased 24,000 bpd, or 2.6%, to 945,000 bpd. Blending demand is up 9,000 bpd, or 1.0%, year on year. For the four-week period ended July 21, blending demand was down 2,000 bpd, or 0.2%.



Nitrogen Fertilizer Prices Slip Lower

For the third week in a row, average retail fertilizer prices continued to decrease the third week of July 2017. Once again, all eight of the major fertilizers had lower prices compared to a month earlier.

Only three fertilizers had significant price drops. With the sidedressing season pretty much completed, anhydrous showed a large drop in prices, down 14% compared to last month. The nitrogen fertilizer had an average price of $425 per ton the third week of July 2017.

Also considerably lower were urea, which was 7% lower compared to the previous month, and UAN28, which was 6% less expensive. Urea had an average price of $309/ton and UAN28 $229/ton.

The remaining five fertilizers had lower prices compared to last month, but none of the price drops were significant. DAP had an average price of $435/ton, MAP $464/ton, potash $339/ton, 10-34-0 $425/ton and UAN32 $265/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.34/lb.N, anhydrous $0.26/lb.N, UAN28 $0.41/lb.N and UAN32 $0.41/lb.N.

Prices of all retail fertilizers are lower compared to a year earlier. Five of the eight major fertilizers are double digits lower.

Both 10-34-0 and anhydrous are now 22% lower from a year ago while both UAN32 and urea are now 13% lower and UAN28 is 12% less expensive. Both DAP and MAP are 6% lower while potash is 5% lower.



NCBA Testifies on Capitol Hill: “Please Do No Harm!”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CEO Kendal Frazier today testified on Capitol Hill in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and warned Congress against using the treaty’s renegotiation to resurrect failed policies like mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL.)

“Quite frankly, it is difficult to improve upon duty-free, unlimited access to Canada and Mexico, and we are pleased to see the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announce its support for continued reciprocal duty-free access,” Frazier told members of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. “Even still, our message remains the same: please do no harm and do not jeopardize our access.”

Frazier pointed out that on average, Canada and Mexico have been two of America’s top five export markets for beef, with approximately $1 billion each in annual sales. While spotlighting the benefits that NAFTA has delivered for cattle and beef producers, Frazier also discussed the ways in which mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling hurt producers when it was tried previously.

“COOL was U.S. law for over six years and failed to deliver on its promises to build consumer confidence and add value for our producers,” Frazier pointed out. “Instead, COOL resulted in a long battle in the World Trade Organization - with the United States facing the promise of more than $1 billion dollars in retaliatory tariffs from Mexico and Canada unless COOL was repealed. Canada and Mexico still have the authority to retaliate against the United States if COOL is brought back into effect – and rest assured they will retaliate against us if necessary.”

“We must learn from the mistakes of the past and not repeat them,” Frazier concluded. “We encourage you to build on the success that current NAFTA provisions have given U.S. beef producers.”



NAWG to House Panel Examining NAFTA: Do No Harm 

Today, the House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing to discuss possible opportunities for agriculture in the renegotiation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

NAWG President and Sharon Springs, Kansas farmer David Schemm made the following statement:

“NAWG’s number one priority in the NAFTA renegotiation is ‘Do No Harm.’ After viewing the administration’s objectives for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAWG is optimistic. The objectives identify agriculture as an area to maintain and improve market access. This is crucial for wheat growers who have seen significant gains in the Mexican market since NAFTA was implemented.

“NAWG agrees that renegotiation can set the stage for a stronger trade agreement, but as any trade agreement covers many different areas, we must ensure that a meaningful ag piece of the renegotiation process doesn’t get undermined or retaliated against.

“There are several elements of the trade agreement that could be re-examined and modernized. A good place to start is with the updated rules on sanitary and phytosanitary health and safety standards that the three countries already agreed to as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiation.

“NAWG will continue to engage with the U.S. government and Congress through the renegotiating process.” The first round of negotiations will begin on August 16, 2017 in Washington, DC., NAWG supports the confirmation of Greggory Doud as the chief agricultural negotiator before the renegotiations begin.




NGFA: STB must reject railroad attempts to reverse protections for rail users

The National Grain and Feed Association urged the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) Regulatory Reform Task Force to reject attempts by monopolistic freight railroads to rescind the few remaining statutory protections afforded to rail users under the Staggers Rail Act.

"The statutory obligation of the Board to foster competition and prevent abuse of market power by what essentially are two duopolistic Class I railroads - two in the West and two in the East - is needed more sorely now than ever before," the NGFA said in both written and oral statements submitted to the STB task force this week. The NGFA made the statements in response to the STB's request for comments in response to President Trump's executive order asking that agencies identify rules and practices that are burdensome, unnecessary or outdated.

The NGFA said it supports several proposals contained in the 90-day status report prepared in May by the STB task force, including those addressing outdated environmental rules; antiquated procedural and filing rules; and regulations that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient or excessively burdensome.

The NGFA also supported the Task Force's decision to review the suggestions of rail shipper stakeholders on the STB's rules governing rate reasonableness, revenue adequacy, reciprocal switching and market dominance. And it asked the task force to recommend that the agency reform its rules regarding ex parte communications to allow increased dialogue and information-exchange between stakeholders and Board members and staff, with proper safeguards for transparency.

The NGFA also urged the STB regulatory reform task force to recommend that the agency take the following actions to protect the limited safeguards that still remain to protect rail users from the exercise of "unfettered market power" by large railroads:
-    Redouble the agency's efforts to revamp its rate-reasonableness rules to create a cost-effective, workable methodology for agricultural shippers to challenge unreasonable freight rail rates.
-    Revise outdated rules governing reciprocal switching, which would give rail users, on a case-by-case basis, the right to access lines of competing carriers in exchange for a reasonable switching charge to access customers and markets that cannot be reached using a single railroad. No shipper has attempted to use the STB's existing flawed rules for nearly 30 years, the NGFA pointed out.
-    Maintain the STB's existing regulations that require Class I railroads to report service performance metrics and to file summaries of agricultural transportation contracts.
-    Review STB rules and policies related to revenue adequacy.

In doing so, the NGFA adamantly opposed recommendations by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and its freight rail clients to misuse the regulatory reform proceeding to pursue their long-sought goal of rescinding or rendering useless each of these protections granted by the Staggers Rail Act and other federal rail laws. "The task force must not allow the AAR or its freight rail members to hijack this important regulatory reform initiative in an overt attempt to secure significant policy changes that are inconsistent with existing law and legislative intent, are the subject of ongoing STB proceedings, or for which they have been unsuccessful in securing through the agency's open and transparent rulemaking process," the NGFA concluded.



ACE encourages ethanol advocates to submit comments on RFS

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) encourages ethanol advocates to utilize its Legislative Action Center to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s comment period on the proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for the 2018 Renewable Fuel Standard. Comments must be submitted on or before Aug. 31.

ACE expressed gratitude toward EPA’s proposal to maintain the 15-billion-gallon conventional biofuel blending requirement in its July 5 proposed RVOs, and encourages EPA to utilize the comment period to fine tune the cellulosic and advanced blending targets so further investment can be made in domestic cellulosic and advanced biofuel facilities. It’s important for EPA to hear that they are likely underestimating the volume of cellulosic biofuel which can be produced and used in 2018, particularly from corn kernel fiber technologies. ACE supports making a reasonable increase in cellulosic volumes for 2018.

ACE is also grateful EPA is holding a public hearing on the proposed RVOs, scheduled next Tuesday, Aug. 1 in Washington, D.C. However, given the delay in issuing the proposal, ACE reiterates the importance of EPA Administrator Pruitt moving this process forward in a timely manner to meet the final rule publishing date of Nov. 30.

“We urge the Agency to expedite the process of finalizing strong blending targets to help restore confidence to the rural economy and reassure retailers that it makes sense to offer E15 and flex fuels like E30 and E85 to their customers,” said Brian Jennings, executive vice president of ACE. “The RFS is meant to drive increasing levels of domestic biofuel production and use. This issue is of paramount importance to America’s farmers—who are reeling from oversupplies and low prices—and the rural communities that depend upon a strong farm economy.”



Growth Energy, RFA, USGC Statement on Delay of Decision to Impose U.S. Ethanol Import Tariff

The Executive Management Committee of CAMEX, Brazil’s Chamber of Foreign Trade, announced Tuesday a 30-day delay of a decision on a pending proposal to impose a 20 percent tariff on U.S. ethanol imports. The proposal would allow 500 million liters annually of U.S. ethanol imports (132.1 million gallons) before triggering the tariff. The following is a joint statement on this action from U.S. Grains Council (USGC) President and CEO Tom Sleight, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen and Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor:

“We are encouraged to see Brazil’s postponement on a decision regarding a pending proposal to impose tariffs on U.S. ethanol imports. This decision should not be taken lightly, as imposing tariffs on U.S. ethanol imports will hurt Brazilian consumers by driving up their costs at the pump. Additionally, this action on U.S. ethanol imports will go against Brazil’s own longstanding view that ethanol tariffs are inappropriate and will harm the development of the global ethanol industry. We will continue to work towards educating Brazilian policymakers on how misguided this tariff would be, which would harm consumers by denying them access to the lowest cost, cleanest and highest octane source of fuel in the world. This proposal, if implemented, would have wide-ranging and long-standing impacts on both our industries and the global fuel supply.”



 AGCO to Acquire Precision Planting from The Climate Corporation

AGCO, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company, announced today that a definitive agreement has been signed for AGCO to acquire the Precision Planting LLC equipment business.

“Precision Planting is a strong business that plays an essential role in the growth and adoption of innovative precision ag practices that help farmers enhance their productivity,” said Mike Stern, chief executive officer for The Climate Corporation. “As a leading global equipment manufacturer, AGCO is uniquely positioned to enable broader distribution of Precision Planting technology and will continue the development of innovative products that improve the efficiency and productivity for farmers around the world.”

“The acquisition of Precision Planting will solidify AGCO as one of the global leaders in planting technology and strengthen our position as a full line partner for professional farmers across the globe,” said Martin Richenhagen, AGCO’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.

The Climate Corporation’s Climate FieldViewTM digital agriculture platform will retain connectivity with Precision Planting’s 20/20 SeedSense monitor.

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.