Wednesday November 28 Ag News

AFAN Awards First Livestock Friendly County Grant to Red Willow County

The Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (AFAN) awarded its first $5,000 Livestock Friendly County Grant November 26 in McCook to Red Willow County, in care of the McCook Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).

AFAN provides an award of up to $5,000 per application from previously designated Livestock Friendly Counties to support a multitude of projects and campaigns developed by local stakeholders to encourage and support agriculture, livestock and related food processing in their counties. Red Willow County was designated a Livestock Friendly County in January 2018 by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Brief presentations from Will Keech, AFAN’s director of livestock development and Andy Long, executive director of MEDC, preceded the grant presentation.

“AFAN is committed to helping Nebraska counties attract ag industries to their communities by providing the Livestock Friendly County Grant,” Keech said. “We are happy to present our first grant award to Red Willow County. The MEDC put together a compelling application outlining their needs and marketing plans.”

The MEDC’s Long stressed that agriculture is the foundation of Red Willow County’s economy. “A large percentage of McCook’s economy is directly related to our agriculture industry,” he said. “Our cattle producers and complementary businesses are vital to our economic success.” He said the grant “will provide the catalyst for our efforts to improve value-added recruitment efforts. Anything we can do to help our producers increase their revenue is a bonus to the entire region.” According to Long, the grant will allow the MEDC “to start our own digital marketing efforts to value-added agriculture operations and gives us focus on our recruitment efforts. The grant has already resulted in some strong conversations about opportunities we have locally to play to our strengths.”



“Project GROW” Field Day will Feature National Keynote Speaker Ray Archuleta

Nationally acclaimed soil scientist and farmer, Ray Archuleta, “The Soils Guy,” will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural “Project GROW” Field Day in York on December 12, 2018, at the Holthus Convention Center. This event is hosted by the Upper Big Blue NRD.

Mr. Archuleta is a farmer from Seymour, MO. He teaches Biomimicry Strategies and Agroecology principles on a national scale for improving soil function. He has over 30 years of work experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist, Soil Health Specialist, and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He has worked in the following states: New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, and North Carolina.

Mr. Archuleta is also a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with Soil Science Society of America, and also served for two years in Guatemala as a Livestock Specialist in the Peace Corps. He received an A.S. in Livestock Science from Northern New Mexico College and a B.S. in Agricultural Biology, as well as amassing 30 hours of graduate school work in soil related classes from New Mexico State University. Ray is a nationally known speaker on the importance of soil health and Agroecology. His mission is to teach and apply time-tested, ecological principles, and bio-mimicry to help others regenerate this living and life-giving ecosystem.

Other featured speakers are Al Dutcher who will provide an update on the latest Nebraska weather trends and what to expect as winter gives way to spring, as well as Steve Melvin, Hamilton & Merrick Extension Educator, who will discuss Irrigated Cropping Systems.

The NRD is providing a free meal, so please RSVP by December 7th by calling Patty at the Upper Big Blue NRD at (402) 362-6601.



APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR WATER QUALITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced that applications are now being accepted for water quality planning and development projects. Selected projects will help inform, prioritize and coordinate implementation of conservation practices focused on improving water quality.

“This is an opportunity to bring in new partners to work with farmers and landowners to scale up construction of infrastructure based conservation practices. With long-term water quality funding now joining existing conservation programs, we are able to look several years ahead and make sure we are able to use the additional funding in a targeted, cost-efficient manner to improve water quality” Naig said.

Projects should focus on planning and design efforts that will directly lead to the adoption of water quality focused conservation practices. Successful applicants will need to demonstrate a proven track record of delivering planning, development, and design of projects and practices. Strong partnerships with stakeholders that have or will be contributing significant resources to the project are also critically important.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), counties, county conservation boards, other units of government, not-for-profit non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public water supply utilities or watershed management organizations are eligible to submit applications. Applicants are also encouraged to partner with additional stakeholders that will be able to assist with education and outreach.

The applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. Projects selected to receive funding will be announced in early March and are projected to start on April 1, 2019.

Project application guidance can be requested by contacting the Department’s Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality at 515-281-5851.



Trump Asked to Review of Argentine Biodiesel Import Duties

Three trade groups today wrote President Donald Trump to express concern that the U.S. Department of Commerce has initiated “changed circumstances” reviews of U.S. trade duties on Argentine biodiesel companies. The National Biodiesel Board, the American Soybean Association, and the National Renderers Association urged the president to ensure that Commerce undertake a rigorous, comprehensive and transparent review before considering any adjustment to the duty rates it established just this year.

The U.S. Commerce Department imposed antidumping and countervailing duty orders in January and April 2018, following investigations in which the government found that biodiesel imports from Argentina were massively subsidized and dumped, injuring U.S. biodiesel producers.

“Given the importance of this new remedy for American energy and agriculture against unfair imports, it is a mystery that Commerce would open an expedited path for Argentina to reduce or remove the tariffs and resume their illegal imports. This political concession to the government of Argentina would once again distort U.S. markets and undercut crop prices that are only now regaining stability, following other trade disruptions,” the groups, which represent stakeholders in U.S. biodiesel production, state in the letter.

The groups opposed Commerce’s initiation of the changed circumstances review, arguing that Commerce has well-established administrative review procedures for revisiting antidumping and countervailing duty rates. The agency has not used “changed circumstances” reviews for these purposes. Commerce’s initiation of these reviews just months after finding that Argentina engaged in unfair trade practices creates a great deal of uncertainty for the biodiesel industry and other stakeholders.

Now that Commerce has initiated the changed circumstances review, the groups are urging President Trump “to ensure that Commerce’s review of these orders is no less rigorous and transparent than the “administrative reviews” that Commerce typically conducts in other cases. To do anything less would strike a devastating blow to U.S. biodiesel producers and soybean farmers.”



Weekly Ethanol Production for 11/23/2018

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production averaged 1.048 million barrels per day (b/d)—or 44.02 million gallons daily. That is up 7,000 b/d from the week before. The four-week average for ethanol production retreated to 1.056 million b/d for an annualized rate of 16.19 billion gallons, reversing its four-week upward climb. The four-week average of ethanol production was 0.6% lower than last year—which was the case for three out of the four weeks in November, marking the first time the average dropped below year-ago levels since March.

Stocks of ethanol were 22.9 million barrels. That is 0.4% greater than last week.

There were zero imports recorded for the second week in a row. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of September 2018.)

Average weekly gasoline demand remained fairly constant from last week at 9.188 million barrels (385.9 million gallons) daily. This is equivalent to 140.85 billion gallons annualized. Refiner/blender input of ethanol decreased 0.4% to 924,000 b/d, equivalent to 14.16 billion gallons annualized. Ethanol use is roughly on par with the volume input this week one year ago, while gasoline demand is a full 5% higher than last year at this time.

Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production increased to 11.41%.



Anhydrous Continues to Lead Fertilizer Price Hike

Anhydrous and MAP have continued to lead fertilizer prices higher month-over-month, according to retail prices tracked by DTN for the third week of November 2018.

The price of anhydrous came in at $520/ton, up from $494/ton one month ago and $410/ton one year ago. MAP recorded the second-highest price spike from $518/ton one month ago to $530/ton.

None of the remaining six fertilizers show significant price increases.

UAN32 prices increased $4/ton to $287/ton, UAN28 by $3/ton to $246/ton, potash by $3/ton to $368/ton, DAP by $3/ton to $501/ton, urea by $2/ton to $407/ton, while 10-34-0 had no change at $457/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.44/lb.N, anhydrous $0.32/lb.N, UAN28 $0.44/lb.N, and UAN32 $0.45/lb.N.



Steer Too Beefy to Become Burgers Reprieved to Life on Farm

(AP) -- Knickers the steer is huge on the internet -- for being huge. The black-and-white Holstein Friesian won social media fame and many proclamations of "Holy Cow!" after photos surfaced of the 194-centimeter (6-foot-4-inch) steer standing head and shoulders above a herd of brown cattle in Western Australia state.

Owner Geoff Pearson said Knickers was too heavy to go to the slaughterhouse. "We have a high turnover of cattle, and he was lucky enough to stay behind," Pearson said.

Australian media say Knickers is believed to be the tallest steer in the country and weighs about 1.4 tons. Instead of becoming steaks and burgers, 7-year-old Knickers will get to live out his life in Pearson's fields in Lake Preston, southwest of Perth.