Wednesday October 31 Ag News

Midwest Dairy Seeking Applicants for Ambassador Program

College students with an interest in dairy can now apply to be a dairy ambassador in one of eight states across the Midwest. The Dairy Ambassador program provides students with leadership opportunities to connect with consumers and share their dairy story while networking with their peers and industry professionals. Programs are available in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

To be considered, applicants must be enrolled in a post-secondary school, communicate effectively through writing and speaking and possess a passion for dairy. Applicants do not have to be majoring in agriculture. 

Ambassadors are expected to serve a one-year term, starting January 1, 2019 and ending December 31, 2019. Ambassadors participate in a variety of activities which may include interaction with consumers at county and state fairs, school presentations and attendance at dairy industry meetings. Each ambassador will receive a $1,000 scholarship at the end of their term.

The Dairy Ambassador program is a coordinated effort between Midwest Dairy and various colleges and state extension programs within the eight states where programs are available. The program began in Nebraska five years ago and has since grown to include multiple states. It is effective in shaping future dairy champions to promote the dairy community and supports Midwest Dairy’s mission to give consumers an excellent dairy experience.

Students can apply at MidwestDairy.com, in the For Farmers section, under Ambassadors. Applications are due December 1, 2018. Selected ambassadors will be notified before January 1, 2019.



USDA Announces Funding to Increase Access to Education, Workforce Training and Health Care Opportunities in Rural Communities--Nebraska Receives $1.8 Million for Five Projects

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today announced that USDA is awarding grants for 128 projects to increase access to job training, educational and health care services in rural areas.

“Empowering rural Americans with access to services for quality of life and economic development is critical to rural prosperity,” Secretary Perdue said. “Distance learning and telemedicine technology bridges the gap that often exists between rural communities and essential education, workforce training and health care resources.”

USDA is awarding $39.6 million through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program. More than 4.5 million residents in 40 states and three territories will benefit from the funding.

Below are summaries of USDA’s investments in rural Nebraska communities:
-    Educational Service Unit #16 (ESU #16) in Nebraska received a $500,000 Distance Learning grant to assist with implementing its Health Initiative for Living and Learning STEM (HILLS) program through the purchase and installation of video-conferencing equipment. This project implements mobile distance learning carts at thirty (30) public schools providing access to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education for students in eighteen (18) counties within South-Central Nebraska. The project connects students to colleges and educational centers providing courses in agriculture, education, information technology, business, health science, and STEM education. The project will increase the number of graduating career and college ready students from among the 93,000 residents served.

-    Mid-Plains Community College in Nebraska received a $101,133 Distance Learning Grant to replace outdated distance learning carts with more inclusive, updated distance learning technology. Distance learning carts will be installed at six campus sites in Lincoln, Custer, Keith, Chase and Red Willow counties to accommodate the growing demand for distance education courses. Distance learning technology will be installed in laboratories and classrooms affiliated with Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics instruction, where the technology currently does not exist.  This project will benefit 41,496 rural residents.

-    Rural Nebraska Healthcare Network in Nebraska received a $265,159 Distance Telemedicine grant to help Rural Nebraska Healthcare Network replace obsolete telemedicine technology at nine sites in far western Nebraska to continue modernization of the existing tele-health system. This project will install a core all-fiber backbone and paired electronics on the new network. innovative technology, computers, and software to enable all sites to deliver medical care predominantly aimed at opioid misuse, but also to provide primary, emergency, and specialty care using collaborative resources from all network clinics and hospitals.  Sites from this project will impact Arthur, Banner, Box Butte, Cheyenne, Dawes, Duel, Garden, Grant, Keith, Kimball, Morrill, Perkins, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, and Sioux Counties. The project has potential to serve 43,840 residents.

-    Rural Health Partners Inc. in Nebraska received a $499,800 Distance Telemedicine grant to help Heartland Health Alliance to use telemedicine technology to provide essential opioid misuse and treatment services, mental health and other medical specialty care throughout Nebraska, Western Iowa, and Northern Kansas. These services will allow 14 rural hospitals located in these states to increase access to services routinely available in more urban and populated areas. Innovative telemedicine equipment will enable healthcare professionals to remotely diagnose patients, impacting approximately 37,000 residents surrounding these facilities. The use of high definition remotely operated pan, tilt and zoom cameras and digitally connected medical devices such as otoscopes, stethoscopes and other primary medical indicating devices will allow a patient doctor virtual reality type interaction. The project hardware will also allow physicians to consult collaboratively and in real time with patients even if all parties are in different physical locations.

-    Southeast Community College in Nebraska received a $495,631 Distance Learning grant to create a multi-campus simulation center connecting Southeast Community College's Lincoln and Beatrice campuses as well as the six learning centers. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, particularly related to health care and bioscience education, will be delivered to a 15-county service area. The College's instructors will provide STEM education courses to rural areas in Southeast Nebraska at the learning center locations benefiting 44,428 people.

In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.



Iowa Learning Farms November webinar features Matt Helmers, director of Iowa Nutrient Research Center

Iowa Learning Farms will host a webinar discussing the innovative Conservation Learning Lab project that is key to understanding impacts of in-field conservation practices beyond the research plot scale on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 12 p.m.

The webinar is a remote training opportunity for all stakeholders, including watershed coordinators, who are working on watershed improvement projects and implementation of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

Matt Helmers, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, will describe the need for research at the scale at which water and nutrients are delivered to the stream, as is being done with the Conservation Learning Lab project. This project is providing the opportunity to examine how in-field conservation practices impact nutrient loss with water. Through one-on-one conservation planning meetings with farmers, the project team has helped the farmers implement cover crops, strip-tillage and CRP on their land. Pre-implementation and preliminary post-implementation water quality data will be shared from ongoing monitoring within the project areas.

“This research is critical to understanding impacts of in-field management beyond the plot scale,” said Helmers. “Examining the results of large-scale adoption of practices at delivery-scale is critical to meeting the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals. It is also important to note the high amount of time and human capital needed to get farmer and landowner adoption of conservation practices at the level of implementation we need.”

The Iowa Learning Farms webinar series takes place on the third Wednesday of the month. To watch, go to www.iowalearningfarms.org/page/webinars and click the link to join the webinar shortly before 12 p.m., Nov. 14 to download the Zoom software and log in option. The webinar will be recorded and archived on the ILF website for watching at any time at https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/page/webinars.



IOWA'S NEW WATER QUALITY FUNDING WILL EMPHASIZE EDGE OF FIELD PRACTICES

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today highlighted how the long-term water quality funding passed and signed into law earlier this year is being used to scale up water quality efforts in Iowa.

“Having dedicated, long-term water quality funding in place is critically important as we continue to expand our focus on edge of field conservation practices that have been proven to significantly reduce nitrate levels. We are excited to highlight the first examples of how Iowans will benefit from this legislation that provides more than $280 million for water quality efforts over the next 11 years,” Naig said.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship received an additional $2 million this fiscal year. This new funding will focus on edge of field conservation practices that benefit water quality. Work is being concentrated on implementation of wetlands, saturated buffers and bioreactors that reduce nitrogen loss to streams in priority watersheds.

The Department is dedicating additional resources and restructuring responsibilities within the Water Quality Initiative program to support the growing demand from farmers and increased funding availability for these practices. New roles are being added within the Department to support one-on-one outreach efforts to prospective landowners on a number of conservation practices, with an emphasis on infrastructure-based practices that address nitrogen loss.

“We are putting additional ‘boots on the ground’ to provide technical capability and help effectively deliver these key nutrient reduction practices at an increased pace and scale. We are moving from demonstration to broader implementation of these practices as water quality funding ramps up over the next few years,” Naig said

Edge of Field Coordinator
Shane Wulf has been hired for a new role as an edge-of-field coordinator and will focus on scaling up implementation of these practices within priority watersheds. In this role, Shane will provide technical assistance to local Soil and Water Conservation District offices, farmers and landowners to increase the capacity to deliver nutrient reduction practices.

Shane previously worked as a water quality project coordinator in Miller Creek Water Quality Initiative Demonstration Project in Black Hawk County where he gained firsthand experience implementing edge-of-field conservation practices.

Watershed Implementation Coordinators
In addition, three new watershed implementation coordinators will focus on scaling up nutrient reduction conservation practice delivery in the North Raccoon, Middle Cedar and South Skunk priority watersheds. They will continue to support successful water quality initiative demonstration projects and serve as regional technical resources to expand water quality efforts within larger, targeted priority watersheds.

Lee Gravel is the new North Raccoon watershed implementation coordinator and will work locally to increase the adoption of proven conservation practices within the watershed. He previously was a water quality project coordinator with the Buena Vista Soil and Water Conservation District.

Clark Porter will focus on the Middle Cedar watershed, including building on the success of the Miller Creek project.

Doug Gass has been hired as the watershed implementation coordinator for the South Skunk watershed, including a focus on the Squaw Creek watershed northwest of Ames. He has been hired by Iowa State University in partnership with the Department.

Water Quality Funding
Earlier this year the Iowa Legislature passed and Gov. Reynolds signed legislation providing a growing source of funding to support water quality efforts in Iowa over the next 11 years. The legislation will provide $3.9 million this fiscal year and increase to more than $27 million annually in 2021.

The Department will receive approximately $2 million of the funding this year, $4 million next year and then more than $15 million annually from FY2021 to FY2029. The remaining funds will go to the Iowa Finance Authority to support communities upgrading wastewater treatment facilities to better protect water quality.

“We have made great progress and are building a culture of conservation across the state. With this long-term dedicated water quality funding, we will build on that success and accelerate the adoption of water quality practices that benefit all Iowans,” Naig said.

This new funding will complement the efforts of the more than 250 organizations that are providing $42.2 million to support water quality efforts across the state.  Examples include
-    $18.2 million from six USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program grants.
-    $1 million grant from EPA focused in the Des Moines River Basin and will be used to support the construction and demonstration of edge of field practices.
-    $110,000 from Ducks Unlimited for several water quality wetlands..
-    $50,000 from the Iowa Pork Producers Association to help offset the costs for pig farmers to install saturated buffers or bioreactors on their farm land.
-    $2 million from the USDA’s Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative (MRBI) that will support eight of the Water Quality Initiative watershed projects.



EPA Announces Changes To Dicamba Registration

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is extending the registration of dicamba for two years for “over-the-top” use (application to growing plants) to control weeds in fields for cotton and soybean plants genetically engineered to resist dicamba. This action was informed by input from and extensive collaboration between EPA, state regulators, farmers, academic researchers, pesticide manufacturers, and other stakeholders.

“EPA understands that dicamba is a valuable pest control tool for America’s farmers,” said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “By extending the registration for another two years with important new label updates that place additional restrictions on the product, we are providing certainty to all stakeholders for the upcoming growing season.”

The following label changes were made to ensure that these products can continue to be used effectively while addressing potential concerns to surrounding crops and plants:

Dicamba registration decisions for 2019-2020 growing season
-    Two-year registration (until December 20, 2020)
-    Only certified applicators may apply dicamba over the top (those working under the supervision of a certified applicator may no longer make applications)
-    Prohibit over-the-top application of dicamba on soybeans 45 days after planting and cotton 60 days after planting
-    For cotton, limit the number of over-the-top applications from 4 to 2 (soybeans remain at 2 OTT applications)
-    Applications will be allowed only from 1 hour after sunrise to 2 hours before sunset
-    In counties where endangered species may exist, the downwind buffer will remain at 110 feet and there will be a new 57-foot buffer around the other sides of the field (the 110-foot downwind buffer applies to all applications, not just in counties where endangered species may exist)
-    Clarify training period for 2019 and beyond, ensuring consistency across all three products
-    Enhanced tank clean out instructions for the entire system
-    Enhanced label to improve applicator awareness on the impact of low pH’s on the potential volatility of dicamba
-    Label clean up and consistency to improve compliance and enforceability

The registration for all dicamba products will automatically expire on December 20, 2020, unless EPA further extends it.

EPA has reviewed substantial amounts of new information and concluded that the continued registration of these dicamba products meets FIFRA’s registration standards. The Agency has also determined that extending these registrations with the new safety measures will not affect endangered species.

Learn more: https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/registration-dicamba-use-genetically-engineered-crops.



EPA Rule Exempts Farms From Emissions Reporting

The National Pork Producers Council today applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its proposed rule exempting livestock farmers from reporting to state and local authorities the routine emissions from their farms.

“The rule announced today is the final piece in the implementation of the FARM Act, which passed Congress earlier this year and which eliminated the need for livestock farmers to estimate and report to the federal government emissions from the natural breakdown of manure,” said NPPC President Jim Heimerl, a pork producer from Johnstown, Ohio. “That bipartisan measure was approved because it was unnecessary and impractical for farmers to waste their time and resources alerting government agencies that there are livestock on farms.”

The Fair Agricultural Reporting Method, or FARM, Act fixed a problem created last April when a U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a 2008 EPA rule that exempted farmers from reporting routine farm emissions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Commonly known as the “Superfund Law,” CERCLA is used primarily to clean hazardous waste sites but also includes a mandatory federal reporting component.

The appeals court ruling would have forced tens of thousands of livestock farmers to “guesstimate” and report the emissions from manure on their farms to the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Response Center and subjected them to citizen lawsuits from activist groups.

EPA’s latest proposed rule would exempt farmers from reporting to state and local first responders under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) – an adjunct to CERCLA – that they have “hazardous” emissions on their farms.

“The pork industry wants regulations that are practical and effective, but applying CERCLA and EPCRA to livestock farms would be neither,” Heimerl said. “Pork producers are very strong stewards of the environment and have taken many actions over the years to protect it.”

As evidence: The pork industry and other livestock sectors are working closely with state and local emergency response agencies to ensure they receive information about farms that is useful, and last week Smithfield Foods announced new projects to help the company reach its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2025.

The world’s largest pork producer and hog processor is expanding its “Smithfield Renewables” platform – its industry-leading carbon reduction and renewable energy efforts – to help meet that goal. It will implement over the next 10 years, for example, manure-to-energy projects at 90 percent of its hog finishing spaces in North Carolina and Utah and at nearly all finishing spaces in Missouri and convert existing anaerobic lagoons to covered digesters, or construct new covered digesters, to capture biogas.



Urea Leads Prices Higher, MAP Falls Slightly

Nearly all retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN continue to rise, with seven of eight fertilizers showing month-over-month increases in the fourth week of October 2018.

Urea led the way with a $21-per-ton increase, spiking from $385 last month to $406 in this latest update.  That was followed by an $8/ton increase in 10-34-0 to $457/ton. UAN28 came in at $243/ton, jumping $7 since last month. Anhydrous and UAN32 both recorded $6 increases this month. Anhydrous came in at $499/ton and UAN32 at $284/ton. Potash came in at $366/ton, a $5 increase month over month.

MAP recorded the only fertilizer price drop this week, falling from $520/ton to $518/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.44/lb.N, anhydrous $0.30/lb.N, UAN28 $0.43/lb.N and UAN32 $0.44/lb.N.



Structural Shifts in the Dairy Industry Lead to a New Era of Price Cycles

Dairy farms with more than 1,000 cows now comprise nearly 50 percent of the dairy industry, up from only 29 percent the decade prior, showing consolidation of dairy operations has increased significantly. These larger dairy operations have taken advantage of economies of scale to survive the price cycles the dairy industry has come to know. Now, the dominance of these larger dairies has led to a structural shift, which may mute the price cycles in the years ahead and lead to longer periods of lower prices, according to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division.

Since the mid-1990s, the dairy industry has operated in fairly predictable three-year price cycles. Dairy producers generally expanded their operations after a profitable year during this cycle, while some struggling operations were sold or merged during the low points in the cycle. Beginning in 2015, a prolonged period of low milk prices has strained most small-scale dairy farms without the relief of the expected peak year of price recovery.

“The new reality is a milk supply that is less responsive to short-term price shocks since that supply is coming mostly from large operations that can withstand lower prices,” said Ben Laine, senior dairy economist with CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division. “Smaller dairy operations are finding it nearly impossible to compete in the commodity milk market against their larger counterparts, so they are forced to either leave the business or find a higher value niche market for their milk.”

The consolidation effect is self-perpetuating, according to Laine. As consolidation happens, larger dairies are best positioned to keep producing milk, despite lower prices, which keeps prices low and puts pressure on the smaller dairies.

This new reality in the industry comes with some new risks, according to Laine. “The largest risk with a densely concentrated milk supply is disease or natural disaster,” said Laine. “A disease outbreak or natural disaster could quickly impact a much larger share of dairy production when it is concentrated in fewer farms.”

Likewise, the new structure of the dairy industry is not completely negative for smaller dairies. While large operations can produce a lot of milk for lower costs, smaller dairies can adapt much more quickly, said Laine.

“Smaller dairies can position themselves to adapt to new market realities,” said Laine. “They tend to be much closer to consumers and can more quickly respond to market opportunities like organic, grass-fed, local and other options marketed as premium dairy products.”



Retaliatory tariffs will negate USMCA export gains

Market access improvements included in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will lead to an expansion of U.S. agricultural exports by $450 million, mostly in the dairy and poultry sectors, according to a new analysis released today. However, those gains will be more than negated by retaliatory measures taken by Canada and Mexico in reaction to the United States' decision to raise import tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

The analysis, How U.S. Agriculture Will Fare Under the USMCA and Retaliatory Tariffs, was commissioned by Farm Foundation and completed by Purdue University agricultural economists Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, Ph.D., Wallace Tyner, Ph.D., and Maksym Chepeliev, Ph.D.

The analysis estimates the retaliatory measures from Canada and Mexico "will cause U.S. agricultural exports to decline by $1.8 billion," the Purdue economists report. With continued retaliatory tariffs from China and other trading partners, "the United States would see a decline in agricultural exports of $7.9 billion, thus overwhelming the small positive gains from USMCA."

The USMCA was reached Oct. 1, 2018 but must still be ratified by all three nations. The economists cite two other studies which looked at what would happen to U.S. agricultural exports if the USMCA is not ratified and the United States were to withdraw from NAFTA. If that happened, one scenario for the three countries would be to revert to so-called most favored nation (MFN) status under which it is estimated that U.S. agriculture exports "would decline by more than $9 billion, and lead to higher consumer prices for food."

One of the first in-depth analysis completed since an agreement on USMCA was reached, the Purdue analysis had three components: the impact of USMCA on U.S. agriculture; the impacts of the retaliatory tariffs imposed by Mexico and Canada, as well as the rest of the world, in response to import tariffs imposed by the United States; and estimations if the United States were to completely withdraw from NAFTA.

"Farm Foundation saw a need for public and private leaders to understand the potential consequences of USMCA, as well as the retaliatory tariffs," says Farm Foundation President Constance Cullman. "With this analysis, Farm Foundation is continuing its 85-year tradition of informing discussions with unbiased, nonpartisan information."

Here are key findings of the analysis:
-    The USMCA maintains relatively free market access across the United States, Mexico and Canada, particularly in agriculture. It improves market access for U.S. dairy and poultry exports to Canada, providing a positive export bump in those sectors of $450 million. Dairy exports are expected to increase by 5% and exports of other meat products by 1.6%.
-    USMCA has measurable impacts on exports of dairy and poultry to Canada, and "modest" impacts on farm income and labor demand.
-    The USMCA was reached in a "volatile trade policy environment" that will create headwinds for U.S. farmers due to retaliatory measures by not only Canada and Mexico, but other nations such as China. Specifically, retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico could cause U.S. agricultural exports to decline by $1.8 billion, and by $1.9 billion to these two key trading partners, and the broader trade retaliation could cause U.S. agricultural exports to decline by $7.9 billion, thus overwhelming the small positive gains from USMCA.
-    In the 25 years since NAFTA was formed, the share of U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico has increased to almost 30%, from 14.2 %. The analysis cites a study which indicates "a withdrawal from NAFTA, with tariffs reverting to MFN levels, would create a decline in U.S. agricultural exports of more than $9 billion and a loss of export revenue of $12 billion with the two NAFTA partners."

 The full analysis, How U.S. Agriculture Will Fare Under the USMCA and Retaliatory Tariffs, is available on the Farm Foundation website: https://farmfoundation.org/trade. "This analysis is one element in a trade resource center Farm Foundation is building to help public and private leaders in the food and agriculture sector gain perspectives on trade, the tools used to support trade, and the potential consequences when those tools are implemented," Cullman says.



Dairy Farmers Ask Trump Administration to Provide Needed Compensation for Lost Trade

U.S. dairy farmers at their annual meeting here this week asked President Donald Trump to recognize the significant economic losses milk producers are suffering because of the administration’s implementation of Section 232 and 301 tariffs.

The duties have resulted in retaliatory tariffs against U.S. dairy exports, particularly in Mexico and China. They continue to cause severe economic harm to U.S. dairy farmers, according to the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), as its board of directors adopted a resolution calling for aid commensurate to that damage.

“In light of the administration’s decision to establish a program to compensate farmers for the damage caused by these retaliatory tariffs, we call on the president to direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide assistance to dairy producers at a level that reflects the damage they have caused,” milk producers resolved at their meeting, held Oct. 28-31 in Phoenix. Farmer losses will exceed $1 billion this year, according to four separate estimates cited by NMPF. An initial USDA mitigation package announced in August allocated $127 million to dairy.

“Dairy farmers spoke strongly and clearly that the government needs to act to alleviate the hardship America’s milk producers face as a result of the trade disputes,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We look forward to working with USDA and White House on solutions that address the cost of the trade war that has exacerbated the economic struggle facing dairy producers and the cooperatives they own.”

Farmers attending the conference also discussed the state of dairy profitability and the future of dairy cooperatives in a time of consolidation. Guest speakers included American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, and David Wasserman, House Editor for The Cook Political Report. Mulhern also detailed NMPF’s efforts to fight misleading labeling of plant-food-based beverages as milk, and moderated a panel of dairy executives including Mike Doyle, president and CEO of Foremost Farms; Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Ed Mullins, CEO of Prairie Farms; and Ed Townley, president and CEO of Agri-Mark.



Commodity Classic Announces Main Stage Line-Up for 2019

Some of the nation’s leading agriculture experts and well-known personalities will be featured on the Main Stage during the 2019 Commodity Classic held Thursday, Feb. 28 through Saturday, Mar. 2 in Orlando, Fla.

Once again, Commodity Classic and Successful Farming® are partnering to bring Commodity Classic attendees a dynamic list of educational and entertaining Main Stage presentations. The Commodity Classic Main Stage is located right on the trade show floor. Presentations are scheduled during trade show hours.

The Main Stage line-up for 2019 includes:
 • Brian and Darren Hefty of Ag PhD presenting on weed control and micronutrients
 • Nationally-renowned speaker Jolene Brown talking about farm transition and succession planning
 • Marji Guyler-Alanz, president and founder of FarmHer
 • Rob Sharkey, known for his podcast The Shark Farmer
 • Al Kluis, marketing columnist for Successful Farming®
 • A cooking demonstration by Chef Denise Flores Ordoñez
 • Plus, panel discussions and presentations featuring top ag experts and industry leaders

Established in 1996, Commodity Classic is America’s largest farmer-led, farmer-focused agricultural and educational experience.  Commodity Classic is unlike any other agriculture event, featuring a robust schedule of educational sessions, a huge trade show featuring the latest technology, equipment and innovation, top-notch entertainment, inspiring speakers and the opportunity to network with thousands of farmers from across the nation.

Registration and housing for the 2019 Commodity Classic opens Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 10:00 a.m. Central.  For more information and to sign up for email updates, visit CommodityClassic.com.



African Swine Fever
Brenda Boetel, Extension Economist, Dept of Ag Econ, University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Why would In the Cattle Markets write an entire article on African Swine Fever? The answer lies in trade and competitive meat prices. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious disease with no known vaccine. Incidences of the fever have been reported in China, Belgium, Poland, Japan and other countries. Backyard operations are not the only enterprises vulnerable to this disease as a couple weeks ago it was found in a commercial operation of 20,000 pigs. Although wild hogs have facilitated some of the disease spread, the most likely cause of the transcontinental jump to Belgium is attributed to human actions and the transportation of meat products between countries.

The very real concern is what will happen if/when it comes to the US. Until recently Poland was able to export pork from certain regions. Belgium is still able to export pork from certain regions. This concept of regionalization is important as it would allow trade from non-infected regions of a country to continue. Given that the US will produce over 26 billion pounds of pork in 2018 and over 22% will be exported, an incident of ASF in the US would be challenging with regionalization and devastating without regionalization. Should the US become infected with ASF, the impact on pork prices would be severe even if we can keep some of our export trade with regionalization. The lower pork prices would also negatively impact other animal protein products.

Regionalization can work well, provided the transportation of swine between the infected and non-infected regions can be stopped. Unfortunately, as is the case in China, this transportation wasn't stopped. China, the world's largest producer of pork products, had eight provinces reporting ASF cases at the end of September. China has approximately 433 million pigs, about 5.9 times that of the US. Approximately 80% of their pigs face movement restrictions. The supply/demand structure in the different regions of China has created large price spreads between the different regions of China. These price spreads will likely continue to promote the illegal trade between these different regions and propagate the spread of the disease in China.

The US produces approximately 32% of the world pork exports. US pork export quantities have increased in 2018, although prices have not held up as well. One country where US export quantities have decreased steadily since April 2018 is China. China imports approximately 26% of the world trade, and in September 2018 China increased pork imports by 8.4% over September 2017. Yet volume of US pork exports to China and Hong Kong are down 9% from 2017. Given the African Swine Fever issues in China and the increasing Chinese demand for pork, one can assume the decrease in US exports to China is related to tariff issues. All the pork exports on the international market would not be able to meet the entire pork demands of China. Yet, even with the lower Chinese production because of ASF, US exports to China have decreased in 2018. Trade negotiations may play a bigger role soon.

ASF is an animal disease that is specific to pork producers, yet US cattle producers need to be aware of any new developments. The incidence of ASF in China has both the potential to increase US pork exports, if we can work out a trade agreement with China to lower tariffs on US pork while also providing huge risk should ASF make the jump to the US. Cattle producers need to pay attention as significant changes in pork prices will impact beef prices and eventually cattle prices.



Saputo to Acquire F&A Dairy Products

The Canadian-based Saputo Inc. is in the process of purchasing two U.S. cheese plants. On Tuesday, the company announced plans to buy F&A Dairy Products in Dresser, Wisconsin, with the other being in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

F&A produces specialty blends of cheese, as well as mozzarella, provolone, Hispanic cheeses and others. The two facilities collectively employs nearly 200 workers.

Saputo's Cheese Division says the move aims to increase the company's U.S. portfolio.

The transaction is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. The purchase price is reported to be around $85 million.