Monday December 10 Ag News

HENG-MOSS NAMED AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEAN AT NEBRASKA

Tiffany Heng-Moss, who has served as interim dean of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources since July 2017, has been named permanent dean of the college.

Mike Boehm, Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, made the announcement Dec. 10. Heng-Moss will formally begin the appointment, which is pending Board of Regents approval, in early 2019.

“Tiffany has done a tremendous job in leading CASNR’s efforts of preparing the next generation of leaders and problem solvers,” Boehm said. “Tiffany is a nationally recognized teacher and scholar, and an amazingly collaborative innovator. I am confident in her abilities to build upon the college’s momentum and am very excited that she has accepted this key leadership role.”

Now in its 146th year, the college is working to link curricular, co-curricular and experiential learning to prepare students for careers addressing global challenges. The college is focused on preparing students to engage in a globalized world. IANR has developed a number of new partnerships around the world to expand international programming with the shared goal of preparing students as leaders for a future in which demands on food, energy and water systems will challenge sustainability.

“I am truly honored to be named dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources,” Heng-Moss said. “The goal of the college is to foster an inclusive environment that empowers our students to be difference makers on campus, across the state and around the globe. I look forward to continuing to partner with those within CASNR and the broader university community to make this a reality.”

In 2018, Nebraska was named one of the top 50 universities in the world for agriculture and forestry in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. This was the second year in a row Nebraska appeared in the ranking.

As an administrator within the college, Heng-Moss has led the development of IANR’s graduate education framework, graduate attributes and a smart enrollment growth framework. Prior to her administrative role, Heng-Moss developed and taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in the Department of Entomology. She also provided leadership for the development and implementation of the insect science bachelor’s degree program. Her research focused primarily on insect science and pest-management strategies. She has authored or co-authored more than 90 refereed teaching and research articles.

Heng-Moss is a prior recipient of the University of Nebraska’s Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award, which recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated meritorious and sustained records of excellence in creativity and teaching.

Heng-Moss holds a bachelor’s degree in horticulture, and master’s and doctoral degrees in entomology from Nebraska.

To learn more about CASNR, visit https://casnr.unl.edu.



Collegiate Farm Bureau Leaders Receive Ron Hanson Scholarship

The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation awarded the first ever Ron Hanson Collegiate Leader Scholarship to two students pursuing a degree from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and are members of the Collegiate Farm Bureau at the university.

Emily Frenzen, a Nance County Farm Bureau member from Fullerton, and Jacob Rosse, a Custer County Farm Bureau member from Gothenburg, received the two $1,500 scholarships.

“Dr. Ron Hanson, professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, established the scholarship to reward students who prioritize leadership building activities while on campus,” said Megahn Schafer, executive director of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. “A longtime Farm Bureau member, Dr. Hanson recognizes the power of grassroots volunteers, and he wants to encourage the next generation of leaders to step up, make their voices heard, and serve their communities. There aren’t two more deserving students for this inaugural honor than Emily and Jacob,” said Schafer.

Applicants were judged based on their involvement with Collegiate Farm Bureau, volunteer and leadership activities, and their goals for the future.

Frenzen is pursuing a degree in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication. She is heavily involved in many volunteer organizations across campus including Collegiate Farm Bureau, Husker Food Connection, Agriculture Communicators of Tomorrow Club, and Chi Omega sorority. She is also an Ag Pen Pal with second grade students in Crete. Upon graduation she would like to share the story of agriculture by working in a communications role for a voluntary organization like Farm Bureau.

Rosse, an Agronomy major at the university, plans to return to the family farm in Gothenburg after graduation. He is vice president of programming for the UNL Chapter of Collegiate Farm Bureau and is also a part of the Agronomy Club on campus. After graduation he plans to return to the family farm and run his own crop consulting firm. He is excited to strengthen Nebraska agriculture by using the latest farming techniques and thinking progressively.



How to Prepare Your Dairy for the Winter Season
Dawn Klabenes, NE Dairy Extension Intern

Whether we are ready or not, winter comes a variety of challenges for dairy farmers and it can be a hard season. To prepare for those hardships, here are some things to keep in mind to make the cold season easier to get through.

Extra Energy!
As temperatures decrease and snow piles up, cold stress also sets in. It’s important to ensure that there is enough feed on hand for your cattle. With lower temperatures, an animal’s nutrition requirements go up. Meeting up with your nutritionist to tweak the ration to fit the cows’ needs will prove to be beneficial. Make sure you are prepared to provide all the energy your cows need to thrive.

Calf Care
Calves are going to need a little bit more TLC during the winter, so investing in calf jackets to keep them insulated will help. As I said in the last point, they need extra milk and feed to keep their body temperatures regulated, so remember to fulfill their needs. Lining up some hay bales along the huts will provide some extra protection from the wind, and facing the hutches out of the wind plays a big role in keeping them warm as well. Remember that southern winds are usually warmer than winds from the north, so facing the huts toward the south will be beneficial, and your calves will appreciate it!

Equipment Check-up!
To prevent delays from equipment failing due to the harsh temps, remember to prepare your equipment to help your winter days run more smoothly. Testing and servicing your generator might be the difference between keeping the milking on schedule and having no power to keep things moo-ving. Also, look at your waterers to make sure they are working properly to prevent your cows being stuck without water. Checking the heaters in your barn to make sure they’re working correctly will help keep you and your cows more comfortable.

Bundle Up!
Lastly, make sure you and your employees have the proper winter attire (winter boots, gloves, coats, etc.) that will help you all push through the fierce weather. If you are comfortable and haven’t lost all feeling in your toes yet, it will be easier for you to withstand the cold longer so that you can ensure all the animals are getting the proper care needed.



EPA and USDA Encourage Use of Market-based and Other Collaborative Approaches to Address Excess Nutrients

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a letter to state co-regulators that encourages increased engagement and a reinvigoration of state, tribal, and federal efforts to reduce excess nutrients in waterways, with a focus on market-based and other collaborative approaches.

“Thanks to the hard work of states, tribes, and stakeholders, EPA and USDA have made significant progress reducing excess nutrients in some watersheds. Now is the time to build on that success and leverage the market-based and other collaborative approaches that we know can lead to meaningful results across the country,” said EPA Office of Water Assistant Administrator David Ross.

EPA and USDA are committed to working with states, tribes, and stakeholders to identify watersheds and basins where market-based approaches can supplement traditional regulatory programs to promote meaningful reductions in excess nutrients and improved water quality. This could include providing technical and financial support and participating in problem solving at the local level to explore approaches including water quality credit trading, public-private partnerships, pay-for success, supply chain programs, and more.

“Voluntary conservation works,” said USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation mission area Bill Northey. “Across the country, farmers are leading the way toward improved water quality by taking steps to decrease sedimentation and nutrient runoff from agricultural lands. But we know more can be done, and continue to look for partners to pursue innovative, market-based, and voluntary approaches that lead to cleaner water and a healthier agricultural sector.”

This renewed effort is part of a larger inter-Agency collaboration to better coordinate and focus federal resources on some of the nation’s most challenging water resource concerns, including addressing excess nutrients in waterways.

For more information visit https://www.epa.gov/nutrient-policy-data/inter-agency-engagement-nutrient-reduction.



Biodiesel Stakeholders Ask Congress for Long-Term Extension of the Biodiesel Tax Incentive

Today, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and more than 50 member companies and affiliated organizations delivered a letter to House and Senate leaders, urging them to enact a multiyear extension of the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax incentive before Congress adjourns for the year. In February 2018, Congress retroactively extended the tax incentive for 2017, leaving it expired for this year and beyond. The letter welcomes a recent proposal for a seven-year extension of the tax incentive.

In the letter, the biodiesel industry stakeholders state, “We believe that a multiyear extension of the tax incentive would help the biodiesel industry achieve substantial growth over the next several years, creating significant new employment opportunities, an important market for agricultural products and renewable feedstocks, as well as opportunities for rural economic growth.”

The U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel market has grown from about 100 million gallons in 2005, when the incentive was first implemented, to nearly 2.9 billion gallons in 2016.

Kurt Kovarik, Vice President of Federal Affairs with the National Biodiesel Board, added, “The biodiesel industry has long advocated for a multiyear extension of the tax incentive. Congress can provide the certainty and predictability for producers and feedstock providers that will help us achieve our potential. Because the incentive is currently expired, it is urgent that Congress act before the end of the year.”



Farm Bureau Encourages House to Advance Tax Extenders

The House may soon consider legislation that would extend several expired tax provisions, including Farm Bureau-supported credits that promote the production of biodiesel and support the sustainability of short line railroads. The measure may be attached to an end-of-the-year legislative package or another bill Congress is looking to finalize before the end of the month.

Tax credits for biodiesel, renewable biodiesel and second-generation biofuel, along with the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property tax credit, expired on Dec. 31, 2017. These cleaner-burning renewable fuels provide expanded markets for farm commodities.

“Tax incentives that encourage further development and use of renewable fuels and renewable energy benefit our nation and aid the agriculture sector.  The certainty of a multi-year extension will provide the biodiesel industry with the stability it needs for long-term planning and strategic investment,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a recent letter to House members.

The tax credit for short line railroads, which farmers and ranchers depend on to deliver their products to market and to supply them with the inputs they need to run their businesses, also expired at the end of last year.

“Tax incentives for track maintenance help to upgrade and continue local rail service that connects rail customers to the national main line rail network. Permanent extension of the credit is warranted because rail transportation remains important in providing a strong rural economy now and into the future,” Duvall wrote.

Farm Bureau is asking House lawmakers to approve the biodiesel and short line railroad extenders with the goal of passing them into law before the end of this session of Congress.



Cattlemen Urge Action to Reduce Trade Barriers in Japan

Today National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Kevin Kester urged the Trump Administration to move quickly to tear down trade barriers for U.S. beef in Japan. Speaking at a public hearing on the potential economic impact of a U.S.-Japan bilateral trade agreement, Kester noted that reducing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers would benefit Japanese consumers and U.S. cattle producers. Japan is the top export market for U.S. beef, accounting for nearly $2 billion in sales in 2017. However, U.S. beef exports face tariffs as high as 50 percent under some circumstances.

“NCBA strongly supports prioritizing and expediting negotiations for a U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement,” Kester said in his comments. “The U.S. beef industry is at risk of losing significant market share in Japan unless immediate action is taken to level the playing field.”

A number of key U.S. competitors have negotiated agreements that provide their producers with preferential access to the Japanese market. For example, under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Australian beef exporters will enjoy a tariff reduction of 27.5 percent in the first year of the agreement for fresh and frozen products. In most cases, the countries who are part of CPTPP will see their tariff rates for beef exports decline to 9 percent over the next 15 years. In addition to CPTPP, Japan is moving ahead with a trade agreement that will give European Union beef producers similar terms to those negotiated in CPTPP.

“NCBA supported the negotiated compromise under Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) because it reduced the massive tariff applied to U.S. beef, diminished the likelihood of triggering snap back tariffs, and established strong, objective, and predictable sanitary and phytosanitary standards and other rules-based trade standards,” Kester added. “We expect nothing less under a U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement.”



USW President Urges USTR to Help Protect Wheat Exports to Japan Through Trade Negotiations

When the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) enters into force Dec. 31, 2018, Japan will grant preferential access to wheat export countries that are in the agreement. This has the potential to slash sales to a crucial market for U.S. wheat farmers. That is why U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) President Vince Peterson today urged the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to seek a rapid solution to this vulnerability through trade negotiations with Japan.

Testifying Dec. 10 at a USTR public hearing and through written testimony, Peterson thanked the Trump Administration for making negotiations with Japan a priority and explained the risk to wheat export sales without a quick U.S.-Japan agreement.

The CPTPP will grant preferential access to Canadian and Australian wheat exports, he said, by reducing the effective tariff on their wheat. Eventually, this reduction will be about $70 per metric ton, or 45 percent below the current effective tariff applied to U.S. wheat. Because Japan has no obligation to change this tariff reduction schedule, Peterson said it will likely shut most U.S. wheat exports out of the Japanese market and undo decades of market development work.

“U.S. Wheat Associates has had an office in Tokyo for more than 60 years,” he said. “We have invested countless hours and millions of hard-earned farmer dollars and federal export market development program funds building this market. During that time, the Japanese milling industry has become an indispensable partner for U.S. wheat farmers.”

Peterson added that over the last five marketing years, Japan is the largest, most reliable and valuable market for U.S. wheat and consistently returns almost $1 billion per year to U.S. wheat farmers and the grain trade.

“All that is at risk without a U.S.-Japan agreement that quickly ends the preference Canada and Australia gain as members with Japan of the CPTPP,” Peterson said. “We thank you for understanding the plight of these farmers, who already face severe trade disruptions in other markets.”

Looking ahead, Peterson added, “U.S. wheat farmers and Japan’s flour milling industry hope that we can maintain provisional equivalence for U.S. wheat imports while our two countries conduct ongoing, good faith negotiations. And we urge the Administration to act quickly to save our market in Japan.”



Registration now open for 2019 Animal Agriculture Alliance Summit, “A Seat At The Table”

Registration is open for the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2019 Stakeholders Summit, themed A Seat At The Table. The event, now in its 18th year, will be held May 8-9 at the InterContinental At The Plaza Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. Early registration discounts are available through February 1 (pending availability). To register, visit https://www.animalagalliance.org/summit.

The conversation surrounding animal agriculture has been going on for much too long without engagement between key stakeholders in restaurant, retail and foodservice companies, farms and ranches, government agencies, agribusinesses, and agriculture and food associations. The annual Stakeholders Summit brings top thought leaders in the industry together to discuss hot-button issues and out-of-the-box ideas.

“Consumers are asking more questions about environmental stewardship, nutrition and animal welfare today than ever before,” said Kay Johnson Smith, Alliance president and CEO. “At the 2019 Summit, food industry stakeholders will learn how to address these concerns and gain the supportive network and tools they need for success in their business.”

Be sure to check the Summit website for the most up-to-date Summit information. You can also follow the hashtags #AAA19 for periodic updates about the event. For general questions about the Summit please contact summit@animalagalliance.org or call (703) 562-5160.

Get involved:
Show your support for the Alliance’s outreach efforts by becoming an official Summit sponsor today! For 2019 sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.animalagalliance.org/summit. For more information, contact Allyson Jones-Brimmer at ajonesbrimmer@animalagalliance.org.

Thank you to our 2019 Summit sponsors: Watt Global Media, Farm Journal Media, Meatingplace, National Provisioner, American Feed Industry Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Smithfield, National Biodiesel Board, Summit Livestock Facilities, United Egg Producers, Cobb-Vantress, Inc., Council for Biotechnology Information, Protect the Harvest, BPI Technology, Inc., National Chicken Council, Live Oak Bank, North Carolina Farm Bureau, Food Industry Environmental Network, Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas Soybean.

The Alliance also thanks the following members for their continued support of Summit and other Alliance programs: U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Merck Animal Health, Charleston|Orwig, Diamond V, Zoetis, Alltech, Inc., Aviagen Group, Bayer Animal Health, Dairy Farmers of America, Genus PLC - PIC/ABS, Hendrix Genetics, Hy-Line North America LLC, Iowa Soybean Association, Midwest Dairy, National Pork Board, Nutrien, National Turkey Federation, Provimi North America, Inc. and Seaboard Foods LLC.

 

Culver's Raises Over $2 Million for 'Thank You Farmers' Fund

Wisconsin-based Culver's restaurant chain announced it has contributed over $2 million to the National FFA Foundation since the start of its 'Thank You Farmers' initiative six years ago. The franchise says the program has connected with people across the nation in its goal to thank family farmers who have made Culver's the business it is today.

"Every day we're inspired by the passion and intelligence of our country's agricultural students," said Jessie Kreke, Culver's senior marketing manager. "Through the Thank You Farmers Project, we're able to support them and ensure the agricultural industry has bright future leaders."

During 2018, Culver's restaurants in 24 states donated over $465,000 to agricultural education initiatives in schools and organizations like FFA.

Of the total amount donated through the project, about 75 percent has come from guests supporting local fundraising at Culver's restaurants. The remain was contributed by the company in the form of sponsorships.

Next year, the food chain plans to continue to fundraise for initiatives and organizations like FFA that work toward solutions for feeding our growing population.