Monday September 17 Ag News

Grazing Cover Crop Field Day set for Sept 28th near Lynch

Nebraska Grazing Land Coalition with the Nebraska Extension will have a Grazing Cover Crop Field Day on September 28, 2018 at 9:00 AM at the Kalkowski Ranch in Lynch, Nebraska.

The field day will feature Dale Strickler with Green Cover Seed.

Topics will include:
    Soil Health Improvement
    Landlord/Tenant Relationships
    Financial Analysis of 5 Cover Crop Systems
    Chemical Restrictions
    Windrow Grazing vs. Stocked Piled Grazing

No Registration is required.  For any questions you can contact Ron Bolze at 402-321-0067, Holt or Boyd County Extension at 402-775-2491 or 402-336-2760 or Tim Kalkowski at 402-580-4711.

Directions:
3 miles south of Redbird on Page Road aka 53rd Ave (East Side) or 13 miles south of Lynch (503rd Ave).



RUST ON ALFALFA
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

Warm, humid weather has caused rust to form in many alfalfa fields throughout our region.  Is this a problem?

Rust rarely infects our alfalfa before mid-July because it won’t overwinter here.  But if the summer is humid, like we’ve experienced this year, rust blown up from the south can infect our fields.

Rust usually causes little damage in fields harvested monthly, but more mature alfalfa or alfalfa grown for seed can be injured and defoliated by rust.  So one way to minimize damage is to harvest fields infected with rust early.

Rust can cause damage several ways.  As I just said, heavy rust infections can cause leaf drop and defoliation of alfalfa if plants aren’t cut on a timely basis.  This type of injury also will greatly reduce seed yield and quality.

Rust-infected hay sometimes causes allergic reactions in animals, more often with horses than with ruminant livestock.  Rust also lowers the digestibility of hay, and this lower energy value often isn’t detected well by standard laboratory tests.  So if you feed rust-infected hay, your animals may not get as much energy from it as expected.

One of our biggest concerns is late summer seedings infected with rust.  Infected seedlings may be weakened and not develop as much winterhardiness as normal, making them more susceptible to winterkill.  If your fields have this problem, plan to monitor them closely next spring to determine early if you need to change your cropping plans.

There’s nothing you can do economically to control rust.  So monitor, harvest, and adjust plans to minimize damage.

AVOID PASTURE DAMAGE DURING FALL GRAZING
Many of us have had extra moisture to support pasture growth this year.  Don’t take too much advantage of the extra growth, however.

Extra rain this year is making pastures greener and more productive.  This extra growth is more than welcome.  But as we approach the end of the growing season, don’t get too greedy and try to completely graze off every green blade.

If you severely graze a pasture short, plants in that pasture need extra time to recover before they are grazed again.  Warm-season native grasses are particularly sensitive to short recovery periods.

Recovery time is especially important as winter approaches.  Due to extra rain on many pastures recently, you still may have enough growth to graze for another month or two.  But plants grazed hard earlier this summer may not have fully recovered yet despite the rain.  Severe grazing now, before full recovery from earlier grazing, will weaken plants as they go into winter.  Plants probably will survive, but next spring they will green-up later, early growth will be slow, and they'll compete poorly with weeds.

Even grazing fully-recovered pastures short just before winter limits the plant’s ability to develop the roots and tiller buds needed to fulfill their growth potential next spring.  Those extra mouthfuls of grass harvested now could cost you many more mouthfuls next spring.

So keep several inches of green leaves on your grasses all the rest of this growing season.  These green leaves will convert fall sunlight into tiller buds, root growth, and root nutrient reserves.  Next spring, these plants will be ready to grow rapidly and yield much more than if grazed short this fall.

Don’t be greedy.  Protecting some of your grass from grazing this fall could pay big dividends next spring.



Captain Sully Confirmed for Farmer2Farmer IV in Omaha

While best known for serving as Captain during what has been called the “Miracle on the Hudson,” Captain "Sully" Sullenberger has been dedicated to the pursuit of safety for his entire adult life.

A former Captain in the U.S. Air Force, fighter pilot, and commercial aviator with over 20,000 flight hours, Captain Sullenberger became internationally renowned on January 15, 2009 when he and his crew safely guided US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency water landing in New York City’s frigid Hudson River. The Airbus A320’s two engines had lost thrust following a bird strike. Sullenberger and his crew received international acclaim for their actions that day, including the passage of a Congressional resolution recognizing their bravery. Sullenberger was ranked second in TIME's "Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009” and was awarded the French Legion of Honour.

Sullenberger is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters and also wrote Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders. Clint Eastwood directed the major motion picture about Sullenberger’s life, titled Sully, based on Highest Duty. Tom Hanks stars in the lead role; Aaron Eckhart and Laura Linney co-star. The film was released to critical acclaim in September of 2016 and garnered four Broadcast Film Critics nominations and one Academy Award nomination. Highest Duty has been republished as Sully: My Search for What Really Matters.

Captain Sullenberger is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award. He holds two master's degrees, one in industrial psychology from Purdue University and one in public administration from the University of Northern Colorado. He also has an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Purdue University.

About Farmer2Farmer IV:
We created Farmer2Farmer to bring the FBN network power to life.  It's an event unlike any other, where you have a place to change the status quo, share straight talk with each other and create the future of farming you want.  Farmer2Farmer welcomes thousands of premier farming operations of all types from across the U.S. and Canada.  Farmer2Farmer IV is set for December 12-14, 2018 in Omaha.  Click here for more information the conference.... www.farmer2farmer.ag. 



Soybean Harvest Strategy for Securing MFP Payment

The lion’s share of payments under the United States Department of Agriculture’s new Market Facilitation Program are going to pork and soybean producers. Given the most recent USDA production estimates, Iowa producers stand to gain more than $550 million from this program.

The MFP will be administered by USDA Farm Service Agency offices and the deadline for signing up is Jan. 15, 2019. The MFP payments have a $125,000 cap per person or legal entity, but the cap works separately between crops and livestock. The cap for crops is combined, summing producers’ MFP payments from all five of the crops: corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans and wheat.

The first MFP payment – on half of production – would be provided once a producer shows actual production (producer’s share) for a crop, indicates the source of production evidence and then signs and dates the MFP application form CCC-910. A second MFP payment isn’t guaranteed this winter, as that decision will be made by the USDA after Dec. 3. If it is determined that the trade disputes are still damaging U.S. commodity markets, the USDA will compute MFP payment rates based on the damage estimates at that time. This payment rate would apply to the remaining 50 percent of production not covered by the initial payment. 

“The current MFP payment rate for corn is $.01 per bushel, so it won’t have a major effect on a producers’ crop revenue,” said Steve Johnson, farm management specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “However, the payment rate on soybeans is $1.65 per bushel. Assuming a 50 bushel per acre soybean yield times 50 percent of production times $1.65 per bushel equals more than $40 per acre. Should the final yield be 60 bushel per acre, that first MFP payment would be $49.50 per acre.”

Soybean Harvest Strategy
Expect soybean production to wrap up well before corn production for most Iowa farmers. To receive the first MFP payment on soybeans in a timely fashion, consider good record keeping both during and immediately following harvest. With many producers facing cash flow challenges this fall, these MFP payments could be a great source of revenue to meet cash flow needs.

“Consider submitting your production evidence to your crop insurance agent as soon as soybean harvest is complete,” Johnson said. “This could provide a second set of eyes, so to speak, for determining the actual production number for soybeans on the FSA form.”

Most producers will use production evidence from their crop insurance records and note the USDA Risk Management Agency as their primary source of production evidence.

“For crop insurance purposes, consider keeping actual production separate by farms in a section or optional units,” Johnson said. “Using the same production evidence for both FSA and RMA purposes should reduce reporting errors since production evidence is subject to spot check by both USDA agencies.”

This strategy could then trigger the first MFP payment on soybeans much quicker than waiting to compile both corn and soybean production after harvest is complete for both crops.

“Since your crop insurance agent already has your soybean production evidence, the potential for a revenue protection crop insurance indemnity claim could also be determined,” Johnson said. “Remember, the 2018 spring projected price for soybeans was $10.16 per bushel. The harvest price will be known by Nov. 1 and multiplied times actual production to determine a potential indemnity payment.”

For income tax purposes, an MFP payment, and usually a crop insurance indemnity payment, are taxable in the year proceeds are received.

For more details on these programs, along with information on how to apply, see USDA’s Trade Retaliation Mitigation website https://www.farmers.gov/manage/trm.



Garth Brooks Announces Private Concert for the National FFA Organization

Garth Brooks, the reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, will take the stage in Indianapolis for a private show at this year’s 91st National FFA Convention & Expo. The premier youth leadership organization dedicated to preparing members for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture, the National FFA Organization boasts a membership of nearly 670,000 nationwide. The National FFA Convention & Expo remains one of the largest student conventions in the world, annually drawing more than 65,000 attendees.

"Love the FFA and its mission. I have always wanted to play this gig. This isn't going to be a concert, this is going to be a party! I bet there is not going to be a kid there who is half as excited as I am to be there,” said Brooks.

The motto of the FFA, “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve,” echoes that of Garth Brooks’ mission which is just one of many reasons this exclusive concert was so important for all involved to make it happen.

“The National FFA Convention & Expo is a celebration of our members, and what better way to celebrate by providing them the opportunity to hear a legend perform at our convention,” says Mark Poeschl, CEO of the National FFA Organization. “I’m excited to welcome Garth and his team to the National FFA Convention.  I know our guests will be thrilled to experience Garth in concert!”

Garth will take the stage Oct. 24 at Lucas Oil Stadium for a once in a lifetime experience for the exclusive crowd attending this year’s national FFA convention and expo. The nation’s largest student convention brings millions of dollars in economic impact to Indianapolis, as well as thousands of hours of volunteer work.

To purchase a ticket for the concert, you must be a registered attendee at this year’s convention. Tickets will only be sold through the National FFA Organization’s private concert on Ticketmaster’s website.



CWT Assisted Cheese, Whole Milk Powder Export Sales Top 50 Million Pounds

The farmer-managed Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) export assistance program, has helped its member dairy cooperatives sell over 50 million pounds of America-type cheeses and 50 million pounds of whole milk powder overseas so far in 2018. Combined with nearly 13 million pounds of butter exports, the milk equivalent of these sales is nearly 1.2 billion pounds of milk.

This past week, CWT member cooperatives accepted nine offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture contracts to sell 1.462 million pounds (663 metric tons) of Cheddar cheese, and 8.845 million pounds (4,012 metric tons) of whole milk powder. The product has been contracted for delivery in Asia, Central America, the Middle East and North Africa for the period from September 2018 through March 2019.

CWT-assisted member cooperative 2018 export sales total 51.101 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 12.962 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat) and 54.547 million pounds of whole milk powder to 34 countries on five continents. These sales are the equivalent of 1.162 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program in the long term helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.



USTR Finalizes Tariffs on $200 Billion of Chinese Imports in Response to China’s Unfair Trade Practices

As part of the United States’ continuing response to China’s theft of American intellectual property and forced transfer of American technology, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released a list of approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to additional tariffs.  In accordance with the direction of President Trump, the additional tariffs will be effective starting September 24, 2018, and initially will be in the amount of 10 percent.  Starting January 1, 2019, the level of the additional tariffs will increase to 25 percent.

The list contains 5,745 full or partial lines of the original 6,031 tariff lines that were on a proposed list of Chinese imports announced on July 10, 2018.  Changes to the proposed list were made after USTR and the interagency Section 301 Committee sought and received comments over a six-week period and testimony during a six-day public hearing in August.  USTR engaged in a thorough process to rigorously examine the comments and testimony and, as a result, determined to fully or partially remove 297 tariff lines from the original proposed list.  Included among the products removed from the proposed list are certain consumer electronics products such as smart watches and Bluetooth devices; certain chemical inputs for manufactured goods, textiles and agriculture; certain health and safety products such as bicycle helmets, and child safety furniture such as car seats and playpens.

In March 2018, USTR released the findings of its exhaustive Section 301 investigation that found China’s acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation are unreasonable and discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce.

Specifically, the Section 301 investigation revealed:
-    China uses joint venture requirements, foreign investment restrictions, and administrative review and licensing processes to require or pressure technology transfer from U.S. companies.
-    China deprives U.S. companies of the ability to set market-based terms in licensing and other technology-related negotiations.
-    China directs and unfairly facilitates the systematic investment in, and acquisition of, U.S. companies and assets to generate large-scale technology transfer.
-    China conducts and supports cyber intrusions into U.S. commercial computer networks to gain unauthorized access to commercially valuable business information.

After separate notice and comment proceedings, in June and August USTR released two lists of Chinese imports, with a combined annual trade value of approximately $50 billion, with the goal of obtaining the elimination of China’s harmful acts, policies and practices.  Unfortunately, China has been unwilling to change its policies involving the unfair acquisition of U.S. technology and intellectual property.  Instead, China responded to the United States’ tariff action by taking further steps to harm U.S. workers and businesses.  In these circumstances, the President has directed the U.S. Trade Representative to increase the level of trade covered by the additional duties in order to obtain elimination of China’s unfair policies.  The Administration will continue to encourage China to allow for fair trade with the United States.



Farm Bureau Details Trade, Tariff Impacts on Agriculture

For the growth and renewed prosperity of agriculture, particularly with farm income on a downward slope, current trading relationships must be preserved and new opportunities for agricultural trade must be secured, the American Farm Bureau Federation said in a recent statement to the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“Farm Bureau urges our trade officials to engage in discussions with our trade partners to resolve trade concerns before resorting to tariffs. Tariffs targeting our largest agricultural export markets have resulted in retaliation against U.S. farmers, ranchers and agricultural and food businesses across the country,” Farm Bureau said in the statement.

U.S. agriculture exported more than $140 billion in 2017, sending more than 25 percent of farm and ranch products to international markets. With many sectors of the agricultural economy dependent upon exports, farmers and ranchers are negatively impacted by the retaliatory tariffs many of the United States’ top trading partners have put in place in response to tariffs imposed by the U.S.

In the statement, Farm Bureau detailed how the U.S.-imposed tariffs and the retaliatory action from the international community are affecting particular sectors of the agricultural community.

In 2017, the U.S. exported more than $19.6 billion worth of agricultural products to China, making it the second-largest export market for U.S. farmers and ranchers. The Chinese market has increased exponentially for U.S. farm and ranch goods since 2000, becoming especially critical for U.S. soybean growers, who sent nearly 60 percent of their 2017 crop there.

In response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as those imposed on only China for violations related to U.S. intellectual property, China has imposed hefty tariffs on more than 90 percent of U.S. agricultural exports to that country. As a result, China is expected to drop from being the second-largest market for U.S. agricultural goods now to the fifth largest in 2019.

With plummeting Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans tagged with a 25 percent tariff, USDA in August projected the average soybean price would range from $7.65 to $10.15 per bushel, down from a month earlier, when the projected average price was $8.00 to $10.50 per bushel. In one month, the estimated price declined 3-to-4 percent.

A tariff of 25 percent on U.S. corn is expected to have a slightly smaller, yet still negative effect. USDA in August projected the average corn price would range from $3.10 to $4.10 per bushel. This is down from July, when USDA projected corn prices at $3.30 to $4.30 per bushel. In one month, the estimated price declined 5-to-6 percent.

Livestock producers are feeling pinched too. U.S. pork exports by volume to China are 58 percent lower than they were at this time in 2017 and 80 percent lower than this point in 2016.

Though few new products are likely to be added to China’s retaliatory list, “the impact on American farmers and ranchers, and associated businesses in processing, transportation, finance and retailing must be considered when pursing trade actions,” Farm Bureau emphasized.

The European Union, Canada and Mexico all have implemented retaliatory tariffs in response to the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. Mexico’s retaliation list for 20 percent tariffs includes pork, cheeses, apples and whiskey. The list from the European Union, at 25 percent, includes rice, cranberries, peanut butter, kidney beans and whiskey. The list from Canada, also at 25 percent, includes pizza, yogurt, chocolate, orange juice and whiskey.

Farm Bureau also addressed the North American Free Trade Agreement, noting the progress made on a deal with Mexico. The final text of the agreement with Mexico, and possibly Canada as Canadian officials have rejoined the NAFTA discussions, are due to Congress by Sept. 30.

“Since 1993, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have increased from $8.9 billion to $39 billion in 2017. We want NAFTA to continue as a trilateral agreement including the U.S., Canada and Mexico,” Farm Bureau said.

With Japan actively negotiating trade agreements with many of our biggest competitors, Farm Bureau urged the administration to enter into a free trade agreement with Japan, either on a bilateral basis or by entering into discussions to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, previously known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.