Thursday August 30 Ag News

EPA Reaches Settlement on Clean Water Act Violations with Two Animal Feeding Operations in West Point area of Nebraska

EPA Region 7 has reached an administrative settlement with two concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) facilities in the West Point area to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The agreement is expected to help safeguard Nebraska waterways from pollutants and bring both facilities within federal regulatory compliance.

During inspections at these CAFOs, EPA inspectors observed that both facilities lacked adequate, engineered livestock waste controls to prevent discharges of manure and process wastewater. Analysis of sampling conducted by EPA documented that feedlot-related pollutants discharge into an unnamed tributary of Plum Creek. The creek discharges into the Elkhorn River, which is listed as “impaired” by the state of Nebraska for Escherichia coli (E. coli), a disease-causing type of fecal coliform bacteria passed through the fecal excrement of livestock.

Both facilities have agreed to provide EPA a plan describing how they will either: 1) cease all discharges from their facilities, 2) reduce the number of cattle at their facilities below regulatory thresholds, or 3) obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit that would require measures to minimize pollutant impacts. An NPDES permit is required for the discharge of pollutants from any “point source” into waters of the U.S.

In addition, each facility has agreed to pay a civil penalty. Bar MK, L.L.C., has agreed to pay a penalty of $29,000. Cindy Stratman, doing business as Cindy Stratman Livestock, has agreed to pay a penalty of $22,000.

The Consent Agreement and Final Orders for both sites are available for public notice and comment through Sept. 18, 2018.



Turbocharge Your Soybean-Corn Rotation With Cover Crops and Grazing Workshop & Field Lab
September 12
Heinemann Farm, 57116 849 Rd., Winside, NE 68790

Featured Presenters:
  - Jimmy Emmons, a farmer and soil health expert from Oklahoma
  - Paul Jasa, NE Extension Engineer
  - Candy Thomas, Kansas NRCS Soil Health Specialist

12:30 - 1:00 PM Registration and Check-in

1:00 - 2:15 PM -Field Lab, Soil Pit and Grazing Demo
Station 1: Underground Rhizosphere: Lets Look at the Roots, Nutrients, and Carbon in the Soil Pit
Station 2: Let’s Investigate the Above Ground Biomass and Nutrient Enhancement to Increase Returns
Station 3: Land, Livestock and Plant Interactions: Soil and Economic Benefits of Mob Grazing

2:30 - 4:30 PM Workshop in the shop
- The System to Build Carbon & Revenue
- NRCS - Soils Labs
- Walk-n-Talk of Multi-Species Garden and Cover Crop plots.

4:30 Wrap-up and door prize drawings

Early registration until Sept. 6. Late or walk-in registration $60.  Register now for only $50 at www.notill.org to secure your free magnifier!

Sponsored in part by SARE, No-till On The Plains, UNL Ext. and NE NRCS Demonstration Farm Project



Nebraska USDA FSA, NRCS Team Up for HHD Information Center

Leadership of the Nebraska USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Nebraska USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) invite farmers, ranchers and rural residents who are planning to attend Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island to visit the OneUSDA Information Center with questions on available federal farm programs.

Husker Harvest Days (HHD) runs Sept. 11-13 on the HHD grounds near Wood River, Nebraska.

“Stop in and see us for information on farm loan opportunities for the upcoming production season and to learn more about our full portfolio of commodity, conservation, credit and disaster assistance programs,” said Nebraska FSA State Executive Director Nancy Johner.

“This is a great event where our employees visit with producers about natural resource issues on their farming operations and share information about the funding and planning assistance available through our conservation programs,” said Nebraska NRCS State Conservationist Craig Derickson.

Johner said FSA and NRCS staff are excited to partner on the HHD grounds to answer producers’ questions and provide program information and updates.

“We recognize the important roles FSA and NRCS have in your agricultural operations,” Johner said. “Secretary Perdue has made customer service a priority within his administration at USDA, and that is the goal for our OneUSDA information center.”

Nebraska FSA and NRCS booth space is in the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts building located in the southeast quadrant of the grounds at lot 39E. Look for the blue building. For more information about FSA and NRCS programs, please visit www.farmers.gov.



Annual Nebraska FFA Foundation Auction to be Held on September 12 at HHD and Online

Titan Tire Corporation, a subsidiary of Titan International, Inc., will be hosting a tire auction for the Nebraska FFA Foundation at Husker Harvest Days on Wednesday, September 12, 2018. In its sixth year, the 2018 auction will include a variety of tires on-site and online only bidding for a John Deere Gator and LSW Extreme Floatation Tires.

“We are so grateful for the support of Titan Tire, Graham Tire and the several John Deere dealers in the state for supporting the Nebraska FFA Foundation in this way. They, along with the bidders understand the value that this contribution makes for Nebraska FFA members, says Stacey Agnew. “These funds mean sustainability for the growing number of FFA chapters, members and advisors across the state.”

To participate in the live auction on Wednesday, September 12 at 11:00 am:
·      Sign in at the Nebraska FFA Foundation registration desk for a bid number to participate in person located at lot 628.
·      Log on to BigIron.com to watch and bid as the auction is streamed live.

To participate in the online auction for the John Deere Gator and LSW Extreme Floats:
·      Create an account and log on to BigIron.com anytime until Wednesday, September 12.

The list of tires, gator information and details about the live auction and online only auction are available at neffafoundation.org.



U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement Announced; Work Continues On New Trilateral NAFTA

The United States and Mexico announced on Monday a preliminary U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement that modernizes provisions of the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), clearing a major hurdle toward a new, trilateral trade agreement with two of the largest buyers of U.S. coarse grains and co-products.

The new agreement came after five weeks of intensive negotiations in Washington between U.S. and Mexican officials. While Canadian officials have not been involved in the recent talks, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is in Washington, D.C., at press time, working with her counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, to hammer out an agreement that would allow the northern neighbor to join the new pact.

“We are grateful for news today that the United States and Mexico have reached an agreement that will keep NAFTA modernization efforts moving," said U.S. Grains Council President (USGC) and CEO Tom Sleight in a statement about the announcement on Monday. "This agreement is a major step forward for our relationship with Mexico and is a result of hard work over the last year to closely examine our vital partnership."

The U.S.-Mexico agreement would benefit American farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses by maintaining key provisions of the existing NAFTA and expanding access, notably through technical exchanges.

The agreement would:
-    keep existing tariffs at zero on agricultural products traded between the United States and Mexico, critical for the U.S. grains industry that counts Mexico as the top international customer for U.S. corn and distiller's dried grains with soluble (DDGS) and a key buyer of U.S. sorghum and barley.
-    enhance rules for science-based sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures beyond even what was included in the now-defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which itself further enhanced commitments at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Most importantly, the agreement would establish a new mechanism for technical consultations to resolve issues between the parties.
-    include foundational language that specifically addresses innovations in agricultural breeding technology, again going farther than the TPP text.
-    include measures aimed at reducing the use of trade-distorting policies and ensuring fair treatment in grading and standards for agricultural products.

Negotiators managed to avoid several so-called "poison pills," including a seasonality produce proposal that could have impeded trade and created a risk of retaliatory action. The agreement also discarded the idea of a sunset clause in favor of authoring a 16-year agreement that will be subject to a review in six years.

Some provisions are still unclear as text is not yet fully released, including the outcome of investor-state dispute resolution provisions that protect U.S. investors from mistreatment; Chapter 19 provisions for reviewing anti-dumping (AD) or countervailing duties (CVD) cases; and harmonization of renewable fuel standards.

The Trump Administration has indicated its intention to notify the U.S. Congress of a new agreement on Friday, Aug. 31, with or without Canada, which will largely determine the next steps in the political and legal processes toward a fully revised NAFTA.

One potential complication is President Trump's continual threats to withdraw from the existing agreement, including during the press conference announcing the new U.S.-Mexico agreement. Another is that there is no final agreement on Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which must be resolved before either will sign on to a new deal.

“Mexico is extremely important to every sector we represent. Yet, so too is Canada, our second largest ethanol market and a top ten corn market," Sleight said. "We hope the agreement today opens the door for Canada’s re-engagement, and we continue to oppose withdrawal from the existing NAFTA under any circumstances except the adoption of a new, beneficial and trilateral pact."

The Council has been involved in the NAFTA modernization negotiations since they began last year, with the priority of achieving an agreement that ensures market access to both major markets for U.S. coarse grains and ethanol.



Kansas State University-led team awarded $4 million NSF grant to accelerate crop breeding

Boosting crop yields to feed a growing world population expected to double by 2050 is the aim of newly funded multidisciplinary research led by Kansas State University.

Stephen Welch, professor of agronomy at Kansas State University, along with co-investigators Phillip Alderman, assistant professor of agronomy at Oklahoma State University, and Franklin Fondjo Fotou, assistant professor and chair of the department of technology at Langston University, have been awarded a four-year, $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Their goal is to develop ways to improve crop yields, crop breeding programs and in-field management. They will lead a team that draws on expertise from many disciplines.

"We have to accelerate our rate of breeding improvement," Welch said. "There are many lines of attack on this problem, and what we are looking at is how to fit those approaches together so they can be used in concert with each other."

The grant comes from the NSF Focused EPSCoR Collaborations program and is designed to promote nationwide scientific progress and build capacity. The program requires projects to include researchers from at least two eligible jurisdictions with an integrated vision.

The project, "Building Field-based Ecophysiological Genome-to-Phenome Prediction," will use wheat as an example crop. Wheat accounts for 20 percent of the world's calories and nourishment. The team will build a new computer model for wheat that combines crop physiology and genetics plus state-of-the-art field monitoring technologies. Instead of inferring soil profile data, canopy temperatures, development phases and so on, the model will use actual measurements enabled by new technology to predict how different wheat varieties will perform in different environments.

Integrating knowledge is the team's priority goal. By synergizing the best current features from multiple approaches, Welch and his team are looking to build a new model and supporting data system from scratch.

"We want to redesign the way we are approaching modeling and analysis," Alderman said. "The goal isn't to cobble together things off the shelf, but to take a step back and say, 'If we know we are going to have these data coming from the field from robots and unmanned aerial vehicles, let's build models that take that in as part of driving the model.'"

Training students is another crucial aspect of building capacity to ensure future food security.

"We are learning about plant growth and how we can control it and predict production, but we are also bringing in students who can gain experience and learn from that opportunity," Fondjo Fotou said. "It may give them a job tomorrow."

Students will learn how to work across disciplines and institutions as well as with the private sector. Alderman said he is excited to learn more about high-performance computing from Fondjo Fotou, who will also team with Kansas State University on robotics.

Technology and changing attitudes are making projects like this one possible, Welch said, citing advances in genetics, such as understanding how genes control when a plant flowers in different environments. Fondjo Fotou noted that machine learning and artificial intelligence offer tools that push researchers in new directions. Alderman said on a human level, the scientific community recognizes that reaching outside single disciplines is necessary to solve complex problems.

Industry partners cooperating in the project include IBM Research, DuPont Pioneer, Topcon Agriculture, DJI and Veris Technologies.

Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research at Kansas State University, said Welch's efforts to bring soil chemists, geneticists, statisticians, engineers, breeders, computer scientists, crop management and other experts together is an impressive undertaking.

"This project is an exemplar of the sort of multidisciplinary research efforts that funding agencies such as the NSF are really fostering," Montelone said.

The researchers said their project will result in better real-world recommendations for producers and a multiplier effect for future research efforts.

"What excites me is the opportunity to do something about the critical food security problem, and more than that, to bring along students and improve research capacity so as we move through the next 30 years, our ability to progress increases and increases," Welch said. "That's the positive multiplier that is giving us a unique opportunity to punch out a big one."



Soy Natural: Genetic Resistance Against Aphids

A tiny pest can cause huge losses to soybean farmers.

Several top soybean producing states in the U.S. are in the Upper Midwest. In these states, an insect--the soybean aphid--is a damaging pest. Each year, soybean aphids cause billions of dollars in crop losses. In a recent study, researchers have taken a big step toward identifying new soybean genes associated with aphid resistance.

"Discovering new resistance genes will help develop soybean varieties with more robust aphid resistance," says lead author Aaron Lorenz. "There are very few commercially-available varieties of soybean with aphid resistance genes. Newly-identified genes can serve as backup sources of resistance if the ones currently used are no longer useful." Lorenz is an agronomist and plant geneticist at the University of Minnesota.

Currently, insecticides are used to control aphid populations to reduce damage. But aphid populations that are resistant to widely-used insecticides have been found. Environmental issues with insecticide use can also be a concern. These issues may limit insecticide use in the future.

Using soybean varieties that are naturally resistant to aphids is an alternative to using insecticides.

"But the soybean aphid is a genetically diverse species. It is capable of quickly overcoming plant resistance," says Lorenz. "So we need to identify new sources of soybean aphid resistance."

To find previously unknown aphid resistance genes, researchers used already-published research. Thousands of varieties of soybean have been tested for aphid resistance. Genetic information also exists for many of these soybean varieties.

Lorenz and colleagues combined data on existing aphid resistance and genetics. "Our goal was to find which parts of the soybean genome contain genes related to aphid resistance," says Lorenz.

To do so, the researchers scanned the soybean genome for small genetic landmarks, called SNPs (pronounced "snips"). Then they tested if any of these landmarks were present more often in soybean varieties that are resistant to aphids. If so, "we can infer that a gene associated with aphid resistance may be near that landmark," says Lorenz.

Researchers have to be careful, though. "There are many reasons--beyond physical proximity--that could cause these associations," says Lorenz. "We build statistical models to account for the other reasons."

Lorenz and colleagues found several genetic landmarks that were more common in aphid-resistant soybean varieties. Some of these landmarks were in genetic regions near aphid resistance genes. But many others were in genetic regions not previously associated with aphid resistance.

That's exciting, says Lorenz. "These results can help guide researchers toward discovering new aphid resistance genes. That could be key for developing new aphid-resistant varieties of soybean."

Also encouraging is that the researchers found genetic landmarks associated with aphid resistance in several different soybean varieties. "That means a broad range of genetic backgrounds can be used for breeding purposes," says Lorenz.



Tofurky Sues to Stop Missouri Law Over Meat Terminology

(AP) -- Vegetarian food-maker Tofurky filed a lawsuit in Missouri on Monday seeking to defend its right to describe its products with meat terminology such as "sausage" and "hot dogs," as long as the packaging makes clear what the ingredients are.

The Hood River, Oregon-based company and The Good Food Institute, which advocates for plant-based diets, say a Missouri law set to take effect Tuesday that bars companies from "misrepresenting" products as meat if they're not from "harvested livestock or poultry" is too vague and could be used to go after a range of vegetarian products that use such terminology. Tofurky says if the law is allowed to stand, it would have to change its packaging.

The Missouri Cattlemen's Association, which supported the statute, said its concern isn't with products like Tofurky that make clear they're from plants. Mike Deering, the group's executive vice president, said the worry is the emerging science of meat grown by culturing animal cells in a lab, and whether they'll disclose how they were made once they're on the market.

As companies push newer meat substitutes, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association has also said protecting "beef nomenclature" is a priority. The U.S. Cattlemen's Association, a smaller group, petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February to enforce that "beef" and "meat" only be used for animals "born, raised and harvested in the traditional manner."

Mary Compton, a spokeswoman for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, said her office will defend the law against Tofurky's challenge.



Growth Energy, RFA Demand Transparency for Small Refinery Exemptions in New Lawsuit

Growth Energy and The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today filed a lawsuit in federal district court, alleging that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) have improperly denied agency records requested by Growth Energy, RFA, and others under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The requested documents relate to exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance obligations granted by EPA.

“EPA should come clean and provide the public with what it deserves – a full accounting of the stark increase in the number of small refinery exemptions it has granted in recent years,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We deserve to know why EPA has supercharged its approvals of these exemptions without reallocating lost gallons and making sure that RFS volumes are met each year.”

“As recently as November of 2016, EPA itself has proposed a rule that would make basic information regarding small refiner exemptions available to the public, including the name of the refinery requesting the exemption, its location, and the nature of the relief requested. EPA has admitted that such information should not be treated as confidential,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “So, why is EPA continuing to hide this information from public scrutiny and protect both the previous EPA administrator and highly profitable refiners who probably exploited and abused the exemption provision? Because EPA and DOE both ignored our repeated requests for basic information on the exemptions, we had no choice but to take this legal action. America’s ethanol producers, who are experiencing economic hardship because of EPA’s mishandling of the small refiner exemptions, deserve to know what was happening behind the curtain at EPA. We will continue to fight and take every action necessary to ensure the RFS is implemented and enforced as intended by Congress.”

Growth Energy and RFA are the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Both Growth Energy and RFA have submitted several records requests dating back to April 2018 seeking information related to exemptions from the RFS that EPA has granted to small refineries in complete secrecy. EPA and DOE have failed to act within the timeframes required by FOIA and have improperly withheld the requested documents.

By filing this lawsuit now, Growth Energy, RFA, and their allies in the renewable fuel industry aim to increase transparency and foster better oversight of EPA’s use of small refinery exemptions.

Background:
Under the RFS, refineries producing transportation fuel must demonstrate each year that they have blended certain volumes of renewable fuel into gasoline or diesel fuel or acquired credits from others called “RINs” representing all or part of those volume obligations. The RFS allows certain “small” refineries – those with a throughput of less than 75,000 barrels per day – to petition EPA for a temporary extension of an exemption from the renewable fuel volume requirements for a given year if they can show that compliance would impose a “disproportionate economic hardship” on them. EPA is required to consult with the Department of Energy to determine whether to grant an exemption.

To date, EPA has yet to provide the public with any information regarding how it assesses small refinery exemption petitions and it has resisted release of almost all information regarding recent exemptions that have been granted, including: (1) the fact that it has granted an exemption; (2) the name of the exempted refinery; (3) the volume of renewable fuel exempted; (4) the years covered by the exemptions; (5) EPA’s analysis of whether the small refinery would be subject to disproportionate economic harm if it had to comply with the RFS.

Earlier this year, Growth Energy, RFA, and allied organizations also filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and a related administrative petition with EPA on the misuse of small refiner exemptions. In addition, RFA, the National Corn Growers Association, and other partners filed a lawsuit in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on specific exemptions improperly granted by EPA.



Groups Support Moratorium on Ag Mergers Bill

R-CALF USA and 80 other organizations have endorsed S.3404, The Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 2018 (the Act), introduced Wednesday in Congress by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). The Act would place a moratorium on certain mergers and acquisition of large agribusinesses, including meatpackers, and establish a commission to strengthen antitrust enforcement in farm and food sectors and make recommendations on ways to improve merger enforcement.

Over the weekend, R-CALF USA members attending the group's 19th annual convention passed a proposed resolution addressing the ongoing trend marked by fewer but increasingly larger meatpackers in the already highly concentrated U.S. cattle market. The resolution calls on Congress to enact an immediate moratorium on mergers and acquisitions of dominant market participants in agricultural markets until the U.S. Department of Justice becomes more proactive in enforcing U.S. antitrust laws.

Another proposed resolution addresses the trend toward more foreign ownership of critical U.S. meatpacking and processing facilities. It likewise calls for a moratorium on calling on any future foreign acquisitions of food production or processing facilities in the United States. Both proposed resolutions will be voted on by the group's entire voting membership through a mail-out ballot.

R-CALF USA has long opposed the ongoing consolidation, concentration and foreign ownership of marketing channels in the U.S. cattle industry. In 2008, the group successfully encouraged 17 state attorneys general and the Justice Department to block the merger between Brazilian-owned JBS and the nation's fourth largest meatpacker, National Beef Packing Company (National Beef). More recently, a controlling interest in National Beef was sold to another Brazilian firm, Marfrig and neither the Justice Department nor the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) would interfere with the acquisition.

"Our members have long believed that the ongoing trend of mega-mergers and acquisitions by foreign entities is severely reducing competition and jeopardizing our nation's food security and food safety," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.

The Act's preamble contains findings in support of the moratorium including that the "high concentration and consolidation of buyers in agricultural markets has resulted in the thinning of both cash and futures markets, thereby allowing dominant buyers to leverage their market shares to move those markets to the detriment of family farmers and ranchers."

It also states, "Past congressional action to remediate market failure, such as enacting country-of-origin labeling to provide transparency for domestic farmers, ranchers, and consumers regarding agricultural commodity origins, have been overturned for key commodities by oligopolistic conglomerates that use undifferentiated imports to reduce domestic farm prices."

"These are just a sample of the 23 findings contained in the Act that demonstrate that fundamental reforms must be made to protect U.S. cattle producers and U.S. consumers from being exploited by firms that are eliminating competition in our markets," concluded Bullard.