Friday November 23 Ag News

NE Soybean Day & Machinery Expo

Thursday, December 13 - Saunders County Fairgrounds – Wahoo, NE
8:30 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. with a break scheduled at 9:45 a.m. to view equipment and visit with exhibitors.

8:30 a.m. - View Commercial Exhibits 
9:00 a.m. - Opening Comments - Keith Glewen, Nebraska Extension Educator
What You Need to Know to Grow and Market Specialty Soybeans to Increase Your Profits
Darwin Rader, International Sales and Marketing Manager, Zeeland Farm Services, Des Moines, Iowa
9:45 a.m.  - Break - View Commercial Exhibits
10:15 a.m. - Economic Update & Taking Care of Business
Dr. David Kohl, Professor Emeritus, Virginia Tech
Nebraska Soybean Checkoff Update & Association Information - Soybean Board and Soybean Association
Kohl presentation continues...  Economic Update & Taking Care of Business
12:00 p.m.  - Lunch
Managing Soybeans in Storage – Is Poor Quality a Concern?
Ken Hellevang, Extension Engineer, North Dakota State University
New and Emerging Pests of Soybeans - Justin McMechan, Crop Protection and Cropping Systems Specialist, University of Nebraska Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center
2:15 p.m.   Adjourn

Soy doughnuts will be cooked on site.  And the PANCAKE MAN will serve pancakes and sausage for lunch!

Local Food Drive Donations - Bring a can or 2 and help out!
The Saunders County Soybean Growers Organization requests that each participant donate one or more cans of nonperishable food to the food pantry. 

The Nebraska Soybean Day & Machinery Expo is brought to you by Nebraska Extension, the Nebraska Soybean Board, the Saunders County Soybean Growers Organization, and private industry representatives.  For more information, call Keith Glewen at 800-529-8030 or e-mail at kglewen1@unl.edu, and view the flyer here....  http://enre.unl.edu/nebraskasoyexpo. 



Nebraska Cattlemen Host 2018 Annual Convention & Trade Show

The 2018 Annual Nebraska Cattlemen Convention and Trade Show will be held in Kearney at the Younes Convention Center December 4th – 7th. This year’s convention schedule is packed full of industry leaders, speakers and educational opportunities for all ages of cattlemen and women.

Cattlemen’s College will kick off convention on December 4th and 5th. The event this year will be held at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds Ag Pavilion on Tuesday and reconvene at the Younes Convention Center for a second session on Wednesday. The program offers a wide range of speakers that will discuss livestock hauling, beef quality assurance, new technologies and so much more.  A sneak peek will be held from 11:30am to 12:30pm prior to the start of Cattlemen’s College for participants to interact with speakers and hear what they have lined up to share during their presentations. For a full Cattlemen’s College schedule click here... https://nebraskacattlemen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2018cattlemenscollegeschedule-1.pdf. 

Wednesday will be the start of regular convention council meetings and the 2018 Young Cattlemen’s Round-table, sponsored by the YCC Class of 2018.  The goal of the round table is to inspire members to get involved in the Nebraska Cattlemen and experience the benefits of the organization.  Attendees will be able to discuss what is happening in the beef industry and what it means to them. Wednesday will conclude with the General Session and time to mingle at the Welcome Reception in the Trade Show.

After a full day of committee meetings, the Nebraska Cattlemen Foundation Lunch and an open trade show, the annual banquet will wrap up the evening on Thursday, December 6th beginning at 7:00 p.m. As always a few cattlemen will be recognized for their dedication to the industry, great items will be up for grabs during the silent auction and phenomenal food to be enjoyed by all.
The 2018 Convention will come to an end on Friday, December 7th after the Market Outlook Breakfast and the Annual Business Meeting. The entire schedule can be viewed here... https://nebraskacattlemen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2018conventionschedule.pdf.



Two New NC-PAC Events

The Nebraska Cattlemen Political Action Committee (PAC) committee is excited to announce two new events taking place in Lincoln on February 18-19, 2019. These events are aimed at engaging members in the political process and equipping them to advocate for the beef industry.

The events kick-off on Monday afternoon the 18th when attendees will spend the afternoon with Nebraska Cattlemen staff at the new NC office reviewing policy, learning about current issues and discussing the priority bills voted on by the NC Board of Directors. 

Following an educational morning, the inaugural “PAC Gala” will be held Monday evening.  The evening will be filled with great food, a keynote speaker and fundraising for the PAC. The planning committee is working on lining up an exciting silent and live auction. Tickets for the Gala will be available for purchase at the Nebraska Cattlemen Annual Convention in Kearney. You won’t want to miss this fun event, so mark your calendars and watch for further details.

NC’s “Cattlemen at the Capitol” will be held Tuesday morning. Attendees will meet at the state capitol for a breakfast and spend time individually meeting with Senators to discuss issues that impact their operations. This new event is modeled after NCBA’s “Boots on the Hill” and will be key in relating cattle industry issues to elected representatives and communicating the importance of protecting agriculture in the state of Nebraska. NC is represented at the Capitol daily by our lobbyists, and this event provides an opportunity for members to walk alongside them in communicating with state Senators.constituents

A tour of Neogen has been set for Monday afternoon. Kenny Stauffer and the Lincoln team will host members who would like to see the Lincoln Neogen facility. Neogen is the presenting sponsor of the PAC events.

For more information contact Jacob Mayer at 402-672-8852 or jmayer.cattleco@gmail.com. 



New Resource for Hispanics in the Cattle Industry: BeefWatch Articles Translated into Spanish
Bethany Johnston, NE Nebraska Extension Educator

BeefWatch, an electronic monthly newsletter that provides beef producers with timely, research-based information on beef production issues as well as current issues and timely topics for consumers, is expanding to reach Hispanics working in the cattle industry. One to two articles will be translated each month into Spanish, appearing both on the beef.unl.edu website and the Podcast version of BeefWatch.

“Our hope is to teach and educate more people involved in creating a healthy, safe beef product,” stated Bethany Johnston, Nebraska Extension BeefWatch co-editor.  “As the beef industry workforce continues to change and diversify, Nebraska Extension is looking to reach new audiences with current information based on research.”        

BeefWatch articles are authored by Nebraska Extension Beef Specialists and Educators about various aspects of the industry, from feedlot production, nutrition and forage management to beef economics - focusing on the most important issues producers are facing during that time of year.  Starting in October 2018, articles (and their Podcasts) will be selected each month for translation into Spanish.

The monthly electronic newsletter covers current and emerging issues in the beef industry. BeefWatch is emailed to subscribers the first of every month, and can also be accessed at go.unl.edu/beefwatch-spanish or through the UNL Beef Website at beef.unl.edu. Producers can subscribe to the monthly newsletter at go.unl.edu/beefwatch-spanish.

Beef Podcasts, the companion to BeefWatch, are also available at the beef.unl.edu website.  The BeefWatch Podcasts provide the same timely information as the newsletter, just in a downloadable form.  Audiences on the go can download Podcasts and listen at their convenience.

Translator Jose Valles, a livestock industry consultant in Kearney, says Hispanics workers are eager to learn and do things right in the beef industry.  “But we need to help them learn what they are doing, and why it is the correct way,” stated Valles.  With monthly updates through BeefWatch articles, beef education is one step closer for Hispanic cattlemen.



CORN STALK QUALITY AFTER WEATHERING
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               Fall rainfall, and even snow, is good for wheat and next year’s crops, but it does have its drawbacks.  One challenge is rain’s impact on corn stalk feed quality.

                Rain in the fall usually is welcomed despite the delays it causes with crop harvest.  Pastures and alfalfa benefit from extra growth and winterizing capabilities.  Wheat and other small grains get well established as do any new fields of alfalfa or pasture.  And the reserve moisture stored in the soil will get good use during next year’s growing season.

               But rain also reduces the feed value of corn stalks in fields that were already combined, and even on standing stalks.  And this fall many fields have had some pretty heavy rain and snow on those stalks.

               Rain reduces corn stalk quality several ways.  Most easily noticed is how fast stalks get soiled or trampled into the ground when fields are muddy.

               Less noticeable are nutritional changes.  Heavy rain soaks into dry corn stalk residue and leaches out some of the soluble nutrients.  Most serious is the loss of sugars and other energy-dense nutrients, which lowers the TDN or energy value of the stalks.  These same nutrients also disappear if stalks begin to mold or rot in the field or especially in the bale.  Then palatability and intake also decline.

               There is little you can do to prevent these losses.  What you can do, though, is begin to supplement a little earlier than usual.  Since weathering by rain reduces TDN more than it reduces protein, consider the energy value of your supplements as well as its protein content.

               Weathered corn stalks still are economical feeds.  Just supplement them accordingly.



Farmer2Farmer: Where Innovation Meets Agriculture – In Omaha
Free For Nebraska Corn Grower Members!

Are you frustrated by rising prices, fewer choices and at the end of the day, you and your operation assuming all of the risk? We can’t control the consolidation in the industry, weather or global commodity trends, but we refuse to let these forces keep their control!

Join 3,000+ other like-minded farmers and Farmers Business Network at Farmer2Farmer IV, December 12 – 14 in Omaha, Neb., for the premier business-focused farmer conference. Sharpened pencils are put to action as production and marketing decisions are held up to the light in preparation for next season. The Nebraska Corn Growers Association will have a presence at Farmer2Farmer as well!

What You Can Expect:
● No-Holds Barred Conversations
The event takes place at the end of the year to give farmers a place to have blunt, brutally honest discussions about the state of agriculture. We won’t just talk about it, farmers will leave Farmer2Farmer with an action plan on how to get a headstart on 2019.

● Innovative Technology and Real-Life Use Cases
Farmers Business Network is bringing the latest technology from both FBN and from key partners to Farmer2Farmer – from autonomous grain carts to the true ROI of biologicals. We’ll be talking about real-life, practical applications of technology to apply to your farm that will result in incremental profitability gains.

● Key Learnings from Other Farmers on Key Issues Facing Agriculture and Operational Profitability
Hear from leaders who have rejected “business as usual” and have taken control of their operations to improve their balance sheets and are working to keep the bottom line in the black.

● Dissection of Industry Practices that Put Farmers Profitability at Risk (including the FBN Seed Relabeling Report)
Do you know that your same seed could be in up to 9 different bags, under different names and for vastly different prices? Not only is that misleading at best, but potentially dangerous when trying to diversify risk. Learn the truth behind the Seed Relabeling Report, ‘Zone Pricing’ otherwise known as regional seed pricing, including estimated map that one of the largest seed company uses to charge different prices for the exact same seed depending where they live or farm, and many other opaque practices that FBN believes are to the detriment of farmers profitability.

● Small-Group Networking with Fellow Premier Farms
Learning from like-minded farmers is invaluable; Farmer2Farmer is where the network effect comes to life, and farmers will have the chance to network, share ideas and gain new perspectives from one another. Leave with friends and possibly your own advisory panel.

● Many Exciting and Game-Changing Announcements for Farmers from Farmers Business Network

In addition to farm panels, speakers from across the ag industry, and FBN leaders, Farmer2Famer is featuring legendary pilot Captain Sully Sullenberger and MythBuster Adam Savage, who will keynote the conference.

Attend Farmer2Farmer and challenge the status quo, change long standing habits, alter long standing plans and learn new practices to Take Control of the 2019 season and beyond.

Join Nebraska Corn at Farmer2Farmer! Register now at Farmer2Farmer.ag and use ‘NeCGA100100’ for your free ticket!

More about Farmers Business Network: https://www.fbn.com/about.



Delta Dental of Iowa offers exclusive dental and vision plans for Iowa Farm Bureau members

Delta Dental of Iowa, the leading dental carrier in Iowa and the U.S., has partnered with Iowa Farm Bureau Federation to offer its members an exclusive discount on dental and vision insurance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, preventive care such as routine dental and vision exams can help diagnose medical problems before other symptoms appear and become more serious issues.

The dental plan is based on Delta Dental’s best-selling individual plan and provides access to more than 90 percent of Iowa dentists. Coverage includes preventive care such as teeth cleanings and exams, basic services like fillings, and major services including root canals and dentures. In addition, Delta Dental will offer an optional DeltaVision plan which includes coverage for annual exams, $130 frame allowance per year and discounts on contact lenses.

“We are proud to continue to find ways to serve our members and assist them in taking care of their family’s health needs,” said IFBF President Craig Hill. “Our organization has a 100-year track record of taking care of our members. Providing them with dental and vision insurance options is another way we’re accomplishing that.”

“Taking care of your dental and vision health has a direct impact on your overall health,” said Jeff Russell, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Iowa. “We are pleased to offer Iowa Farm Bureau members these dental and vision plans to improve the health and smiles of Iowa families.”

These plans will be available through Farm Bureau agents, or members can complete their application online at www.deltadentalia.com/fb using their Iowa Farm Bureau membership number. The plans are effective January 1, 2019 and can be purchased now. For more information, visit www.iowafarmbureau.com/member-benefits or contact your local Farm Bureau agent.



Government Climate Report Warns of Worsening US Disasters

(AP) -- As California's catastrophic wildfires recede and people rebuild after two hurricanes, a massive new federal report warns that these types of extreme weather disasters are worsening in the United States. The White House report quietly issued Friday also frequently contradicts President Donald Trump.

The National Climate Assessment was written long before the deadly fires in California this month and Hurricanes Florence and Michael raked the East Coast and Florida. It says warming-charged extremes "have already become more frequent, intense, widespread or of long duration."

The federal report says the last few years have smashed records for damaging weather in the U.S., costing nearly $400 billion since 2015. "Warmer and drier conditions have contributed to an increase in large forest fires in the western United States and interior Alaska," according to the report.

"We are seeing the things we said would be happening, happen now in real life," said report co-author Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University. "As a climate scientist it is almost surreal."

And report co-author Donald Wuebbles, a University of Illinois climate scientist, said, "We're going to continue to see severe weather events get stronger and more intense."

The air pollution from wildfires combined with heat waves is a major future health risk for the West, the report says. During the fires in northern California, air quality hit "hazardous" levels, according to government air monitoring agencies.

"There's real concern about how the West will be able to manage this increasing occurrence," said report co-author Kristie Ebi, a University of Washington public health professor. She said global warming is already harming people's health, but it will only get worse.

The report is mandated by law every few years and is based on hundreds of previously research studies. It details how global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas is hurting each region of United States and how it impacts different sectors of the economy, including energy and agriculture.

"Climate change is transforming where and how we live and presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us," the report says.

That includes worsening air pollution causing heart and lung problems, more diseases from insects, the potential for a jump in deaths during heat waves, and nastier allergies.

What makes the report different from others is that it focuses on the United States, then goes more local and granular.

"All climate change is local," said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Richard Alley, who wasn't part of the report but praised it.

While scientists talk of average global temperatures, people feel extremes more, he said.

"We live in our drought, our floods and our heat waves. That means we have to focus on us," he said.

The Lower 48 states have warmed 1.8 degrees (1 degree Celsius) since 1900 with 1.2 degrees in the last few decades, according to the repot. By the end of the century, the U.S. will be 3 to 12 degrees (1.6 to 6.6 degrees Celsius) hotter depending on how much greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, the report warns.

Outside scientists and officials from 13 federal agencies wrote the report, which was released on the afternoon following Thanksgiving. It was originally scheduled for December. The report often clashes with the president's past statements and tweets on the legitimacy of climate change science, how much of it is caused by humans, how cyclical it is and what's causing increases in recent wildfires.

Trump tweeted this week about the cold weather hitting the East including: "Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?"

Friday's report seemed to anticipate such comments, saying: "Over shorter timescales and smaller geographic regions, the influence of natural variability can be larger than the influence of human activity ... Over climate timescales of multiple decades, however, global temperature continues to steadily increase."

Releasing the report on Black Friday "is a transparent attempt by the Trump Administration to bury this report and continue the campaign of not only denying but suppressing the best of climate science," said study co-author Andrew Light, an international policy expert at the World Resources Institute.

Trump, administration officials and elected Republicans frequently say they can't tell how much of climate change is caused by humans and how much is natural.

Citing numerous studies, the new climate report says more than 90 percent of the current warming is caused by humans. Without greenhouse gases, natural forces -- such as changes in energy from the sun -- would be slightly cooling Earth.

"There are no credible alternative human or natural explanations supported by the observational evidence," the report says.



Swine Fever Adds to China Economic Woes
First Detected in August, Disease Has Killed 1 Million Pigs

(AP) -- Reeling from rising feed costs in Beijing's tariff fight with President Donald Trump, Chinese pig farmers face a new blow from an outbreak of African swine fever that has sent an economic shockwave through the countryside.

African swine fever doesn't affect humans but is fatal to pigs and highly contagious, making it a serious threat to farm areas.

First detected in August, the disease has killed 1 million pigs, prompting authorities to restrict shipments of most of China's 700 million swine, even though nearly all are still healthy. That has disrupted supplies of pork, China's staple meat, to big cities while prices collapsed in areas with an oversupply of pigs that farmers are barred from shipping to other provinces.

"I can only manage to break even at the current price," said a breeder on the outskirts of Shenyang, northeast of Beijing, where the first swine fever case was reported Aug. 3. She said she was rearing about 100 pigs and would give only her surname, Yan.

"Unless we see a higher price for pigs, all my work this year would have gone for nothing," said Yan.

On Friday, Beijing reported its first cases. Authorities said 49 of the 1,325 pigs at a farm in suburban Fangshan district were found dead and 37 of the 429 pigs at another farm had died.

The outbreak adds to a swarm of challenges for Chinese leaders as they grapple with Trump over Beijing's technology policy and try to shore up cooling growth in the world's second-largest economy.

"Farmers have been losing money in pig-breeding provinces for the past a couple of months and their confidence has been shattered," said Feng Yonghui, chief analyst of soozhu.com, a pork industry consultant.

The cost of raising pigs spiked after Beijing retaliated for Trump's tariff hikes on Chinese goods by slapping 25% duties on imported U.S. soybeans used as animal feed.

American farmers supplied about one-third of China's imports of 96 million tons of soybeans last year, while its own farms produce about 15 million tons a year.

Soy prices have risen by as much as 4 and 5% per month since then in some areas.

Importers are buying more soy from Brazil and Argentina, the other major exporters. Authorities have encouraged breeders to look at other protein sources such as canola.

While farmers wrestled with that, the industry was jolted by the discovery of China's first case of African swine fever on Aug. 3 in Shenyang, in Liaoning province.

Since then, sick animals have been found in areas from Jilin province in the northeast to Yunnan on China's southern border with Vietnam.

Authorities responded by banning shipments of all pigs from any province with one case.

A big share of China's population still depends on farming even after the country became one of the biggest manufacturers. The agricultural share of the workforce has fallen to 18% from more than 50% two decades ago, according to World Bank data, but farm households still account for 250 million people.

The southwestern province of Sichuan, which accounts for some 10% of Chinese pork production, last week became the 18th region to report an outbreak. That extended swine fever's reach to all major Chinese pig breeding areas.

With Sichuan included, government restrictions on the movement of pigs now extend to some 90% of the Chinese industry's animals, according to Feng of soozhu.com.

"The impact of the government policies is bigger than the epidemic itself," said Feng.

In the northeast, the export ban has led to a pork glut in markets, pushing down prices by 20% compared with three months ago, according to state media. Meanwhile, retail prices have jumped 30% in Chongqing, a city of 9 million people in the southwest.

The outbreak could cause longer-term disruption if farmers respond by raising fewer pigs next year, leading to shortages and higher prices.

Compared with previous cases of animal diseases, "the swine fever epidemic is more troublesome," said Tan of Zero Power. "Farmers and consumers may panic and cause greater damage to the pork industry."

The government maintains stocks of frozen pork in case of shortages but has yet to say whether any will be released this year.

Yan, the breeder in Shenyang, said she will skip buying piglets to rear this year but will keep sows to produce more.

"Even doing that is difficult because it is hard to keep these baby pigs alive," she said.