Wednesday December 5 Ag News

Three State Beef Conference Jan. 15-17, 2019

Area beef producers should make plans to attend the fifth annual Three-State Beef Conference Jan. 15, 16, and 17, 2019 with locations in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The conference provides a forum of specialists from three of the United States’ leading beef cattle land-grant universities to discuss where one can reduce winter cow feed costs and improve management of those resources.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Reducing Cow Feed Costs Using Cropland.”

Participants will be able to engage in learning about opportunities to help lower the need for hay, the most common feed resource in winter cattle rations through alternative feed sources off cropland.

“Hay resources are in high demand and short supply this year, so discovering how to reduce winter feed costs highlights the need matched by this conference,” said Nebraska Extension Educator Kristen Ulmer. Ulmer will lead a conference session titled “Opportunities and management of corn residue for beef cattle.”

Additional topics and speakers for the conference include:  "Using Annual Forages to meet late fall and early spring forage needs," Mary Drewnoski, beef systems specialist, Nebraska Extension; and "Silage as the primary winter feed for cows" Eric Bailey, beef nutrition specialist, University of Missouri Extension.

The same program will be delivered at each of the following locations:
    JAN. 15: Warren Cultural Center in Greenfield, Iowa
    JAN. 16: Andrew County Youth Building in Savannah, Missouri
    JAN. 17: Otoe County Fair Center in Syracuse, Neb.

Registration will begin for each session at 5:30 p.m. with the program starting at 6 p.m.

The registration fee is $25 per person, and it includes a meal and copy of the conference proceedings. Preregistration is requested by Jan. 11, 2019 for meal-planning purposes.

To register for the Nebraska location, call Nebraska Extension in Otoe County at 402-269-2301 or email kristen.ulmer@unl.edu.



Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts Announce FIVE Youth Poster Contest Winners

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) is excited to announce the state winners of the Natural Resources Districts (NRD) 2018 Poster Contest. The poster contest is connected to the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) yearly poster contest. It’s a fun way for students, K – 12 to use their imagination to design and draw a poster related to conserving our natural resources. This year, the poster contest theme used to inspire and teach our youth is “Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home.”

Congratulations to these five Nebraska student winners!
K - 1: Emma Lienemann from Dodge, NE – Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District
2 – 3: Luke Belina from Clarkson, NE – Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District
4 – 6: Naomi Busenitz from Nenzel, NE – Middle Niobrara Natural Resources District
7 – 9: Brooke Milam from Thedford, NE – Upper Loup Natural Resources District
10 – 12: Zoey Kreikemeier from West Point, NE – Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District

“This poster contest goes deeper than just kids drawing pretty pictures,” Erika Hill, public relations director of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts said. “It’s a way to get them thinking about what it truly means to conserve our natural resources and to learn about watersheds and other important parts of Nebraska’s resources. We hope they grow up with an interest in learning more and doing their part to continue creating a sustainable future for us all.”

Different grade levels are grouped together from Kindergarten through 12th grade. One local NRD winner is selected in every division. Each division is K-1; 2-3; 4-6; 7-9; 10-12. Those winners are sent to the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts state competition. The state winners are then selected to compete at the national competition in Washington D.C. Next year’s 2019 poster contest theme is “Life in the Soil: DIG DEEPER.”

Typically, the NRDs send poster contest information out to area teachers who then introduce the poster contest to their classrooms and encourage their students to compete. If individual students want to participate outside of the classroom, you can submit them to your local natural resources district. All students, K – 12 are welcome to compete. Call Erika Hill at NARD at 402-471-7672 or email her at ehill@nrdnet.org to get signed up to participate next October.



Hormel Foods Finalizes Sale of Nebraska Processing Plant

Hormel Foods Corporation, Austin, Minn., announced it has completed the sale of its Fremont, Neb., processing facility to Wholestone Farms, LLC.

The transaction includes a processing facility and a multiyear agreement to supply pork raw materials to Hormel Foods.

The current Fremont plant management team and workforce will remain in place to ensure business continuity for all stakeholders.

The purchase price was $30 million in cash, subject to select inventory and administrative adjustments.

Hormel Foods is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across more than 80 countries worldwide.

WholeStone Farms was established in 2017 to create and capture value in the pork supply chain. WholeStone Farms is owned by 220 members who are independent producers and farmers raising livestock and crops in the Upper Midwest. The members collectively farm nearly 400,000 acres of cropland, raise 12 million pigs a year, and share a vision to continue the legacy of family farming.



New ISU swine faculty member ready to apply industry research to work with Iowans

The newest swine faculty member at Iowa State University said she’s ready to combine her education and private industry research experiences to create a great experience for students and pork producers. Since her start date in early November, Laura Greiner has been refamiliarizing herself with Iowa State’s animal science department, faculty, staff and students, and is enthusiastic about this step in her career.

“I’m an Iowa State alum, receiving my undergraduate degree in animal science, and both my master’s and Ph.D. in animal nutrition under Dr. Tim Stahly,” she said. “After some post-doctoral work in microbiology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, I went to work at Carthage Veterinary Clinic in Carthage, Illinois. I was director of research for 11 years, then nutrition director for two years.”

In her previous job, Greiner’s responsibilities were focused on research, with occasional swine farmer contacts and periodic teaching opportunities with U.S. and international interns and visitors. In her new position at Iowa State, she’ll build upon those experiences in developing and strengthening research, teaching and extension programs to benefit the pork industry.

“Having connections in the industry at all levels helps establish a research program by cultivating new ideas or addressing an issue together. Also, the network will allow me to connect students with others that may be able to talk to them or assist with an internship,” she explained. “Being connected to others brings the ability to share information and to learn what works and what needs work and to move the industry forward as one.”

Greiner describes the four main components of her Iowa State position.

“First, a major part of my responsibility will be focused on teaching undergraduates and aligning them with the swine industry. Second, I’ll also be working with swine producers in the State of Iowa to assist them with nutrition or other production questions they may have,” she said. “I will also have the ability to interact with the youth in the state to cultivate their passion for animals. And finally, I will be looking to conduct research that focuses on application of ideas into production programs with the focus being associated with sows and lactation.”

From growing up on a row crop/livestock family farm in central Illinois where she raised show pigs and was a 4-H member, through her educational and professional experiences, Greiner said she understands the agriculture industry and is ready to share her enthusiasm with colleagues, students and others.

“I’m excited to be back at Iowa State University and am looking forward to helping others in the swine industry. To me, a good day accomplished is one in which a producer will call or email me and let me know that their issue has been resolved,” she said. “Agriculture is such an important part of who I am, and I look forward to working with others who either share that passion or are curious to learn more about animals.”

Animal science department chair Dr. Don Beermann said Greiner’s career success and first-hand experiences make her well qualified to be an outstanding educator, researcher and extension leader at Iowa State.

“Dr. Greiner parlayed her undergraduate and graduate education at Iowa State into an outstanding career focused on practical swine production research and service to the industry,” Beermann said. “Her expertise in nutrition, immunology and best management practices will provide students the best informed, real-world understanding of current swine production systems.”

Iowa Pork Industry Center director and animal science associate professor Jason Ross echoed those comments.

“Laura comes with a significant amount of industry relationships and a credibility for conducting research that is relevant and applicable to the US pork producers,” he said. “That will strengthen both our research and extension efforts, and we’re excited that she’s part of our team.”



Dairy Webinar Asks If It's Time to Visit Your Lender

The I-29 Moo University is hosting a webinar Dec. 20 focused on preparing the information that lenders request. The "Improving Conversations with Your Lender" webinar will outline and explain the banking benchmarks and financial documents that lenders need to evaluate loans. The hour-long webinar is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will include time at the end for questions.

In addition, the program will focus on improving enterprise expense breakdowns and identify available follow-up information.

Heather Gessner, extension livestock business management field specialist at South Dakota State University, will present the information. Gessner grew up on a diversified operation raising cattle and hogs, as well as corn, soybeans, oats and alfalfa. Since joining SDSU Extension in 2001, she has earned a national reputation providing farmers and ranchers with enterprise analysis, budget spreadsheets, marketing education and estate and transition planning, education and assistance.

There is no fee for the webinar, but an online registration is required at https://tinyurl.com/LenderConversationsI29MooU. Upon registration, a confirmation email containing information to join the meeting will be sent.

The I-29 Moo University is a consortium of extension dairy specialists from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Now in its 13th year, the consortium provides resources and education to enhance a sustainable dairy community along the I-29 corridor by focusing on best management practices, utilization of research-based expertise and resources, and ag-vocating the benefits of a vibrant dairy community.

For more information about this webinar or other I-29 Moo University programs contact Fred M. Hall at 712-737-4230 or fredhall@iastate.edu.



Prices for Most Fertilizers Continue to Rise

With a couple of exceptions, retail prices for most fertilizers continued to rise the fourth week of November 2018, according to fertilizer sellers surveyed by DTN.

Six of the eight major fertilizers were slightly higher, but none had a significant price move compared to last month. MAP had an average price of $530 per ton, potash $369/ton, urea $409/ton, anhydrous $519/ton, UAN28 $246/ton and UAN32 $287/ton.

Two fertilizers were slightly lower from the previous month. DAP had an average price of $501/ton and 10-34-0 $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.

All eight of the major fertilizers are now higher compared to last year with prices shifting higher in recent months. UAN32 is 6% higher, potash is 8% more expensive, 10-34-0 is 13% higher, UAN28 is 14% more expensive, both DAP and MAP are 15% higher, urea is 20% more expensive and anhydrous is now 24% more expensive compared to last year.



Coalition Files Suit Against USDA on Factory Farms

A coalition of eight groups representing family farmers, sustainable agriculture advocates and concerned citizens throughout the country filed suit against the United States Department of Agriculture today. The suit aims to stop a USDA policy allowing industrial agriculture facilities to set up operations in communities without undergoing any review of their impact on local families or providing any notice of their planned operations to neighbors in the impacted areas.

The groups bringing the suit are Animal Legal Defense Fund, Association of Irritated Residents (Cal.), Citizens Action Coalition (Ind.), Dakota Rural Action (S.D.), Food & Water Watch, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and White River Waterkeeper (Ark.)*

The USDA’s rule change, adopted in 2016 by its Farm Service Agency, grants exemptions from the usual process of notice, comment and oversight in cases where the government is providing taxpayer-subsidized loans to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) considered “medium-sized” by the USDA. Such facilities are authorized to hold nearly 125,000 chickens, 55,000 turkeys, 2,500 pigs, 1,000 beef cattle, or 700 dairy cows. By failing to review the financing for these facilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Trump Administration has helped cloak their planned operations in secrecy, preventing rural communities from obtaining information regarding the impact of these operations on local air and water quality. In so doing, the Administration promotes factory farms over family farms. 

Today’s lawsuit alleges that both the rulemaking process, and the final rule now being implemented by the Trump Administration, violate NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide adequate notice of the proposed rule change and refusing to clarify why medium-sized CAFOs should be provided this special treatment and automatically exempt. Between the rule’s implementation in August 2016 and December 2017, the government allowed 40 such operations in four Arkansas counties alone with no public comment or environmental assessment. During the same time frame, eight such operations in Iowa, housing nearly 20,000 pigs and generating as much untreated sewage as a town of 200,000 residents, were also allowed to escape any assessment or comment period.

“Responsible agricultural operations that are committed to being both good neighbors and good stewards of the communities in which they operate have nothing to fear from notice to the community and an assessment of their operations,” the coalition of groups in today’s lawsuit said. “This irresponsible change in the rules that have helped protect rural and small communities for decades is, instead, designed to protect polluters and undermine transparency. Small, family farms and their neighbors are disadvantaged while huge corporations are given a government green light to operate with impunity. That’s not only morally wrong; it’s clearly illegal, too. Though we represent a broad and diverse coalition of citizens and advocates from across the country, we are all alarmed at the impact of this change and share a common goal of ensuring USDA looks out for family farms and rural communities, and not just the interests of giant corporations.”

“Trump’s USDA has handed a gift to polluting factory farms in violation of federal law,” said Tarah Heinzen, staff attorney at Food & Water Watch. “Government agencies shouldn’t be handing taxpayer money to industrial agriculture operations without any public oversight, or any review into the considerable environmental impacts on the surrounding community.”



Come Hear Top Speakers at 24th Annual National Ethanol Conference

A former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. A top General Motors powertrain executive. A well-known energy economist. Co-hosts of a popular Showtime political documentary series. Come hear these and many other top speakers and experts at the 2019 National Ethanol Conference (NEC), which is now just a few months away. The NEC will be held in Orlando, Feb. 11-13, 2019.

The Renewable Fuels Association’s NEC is the ethanol industry’s most widely attended annual conference, drawing energy executives, agricultural leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders from around the globe. The full conference agenda has now been released, but here are highlights you don’t want to miss:
-    RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper will open the 2019 conference with the annual State of the Industry report;
-    Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Dan Nicholson, vice president of Propulsion Systems, General Motors, will discuss the need for high octane fuels and the pathway to get there;
-    Noted petroleum expert Dr. Phillip Verleger will provide an outlook for the global liquid fuels market, which has been volatile and affected by geopolitical risks;
-    Political pundits John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon, co-hosts of Showtime’s political documentary series “The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth,” will provide entertaining and engaging luncheon remarks about the current state of our political climate; and
-    Home Service Oil Company Executive Vice President Bryan Goforth and Power Energy Corporation President Sam Odeh will speak on a panel about renewing retailer enthusiasm for ethanol blends.

At the 2018 NEC, about 1,000 industry leaders and professionals attended, representing 37 states, the District of Columbia, and 17 countries. The conference provides an unequaled opportunity to engage key decision makers and industry executives about the latest technologies and government policies affecting the industry today.

To register or for more information, visit www.nationalethanolconference.com.



Cage-free unit added to Mississippi State poultry department

A new poultry research facility at Mississippi State University is addressing the growing consumer and corporate demands for cage-free eggs.

To help address the need, Assistant Poultry Professor Pratima Adhikari is at the forefront of the issue, having led the vision for the newly constructed development that is part of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at MSU. The facility gives university researchers and students opportunities to compare cage and cage-free egg production and quality, as well as bacterial diversity between these housing types.

“In just a few years, the bulk of the laying hen industry is likely going cage-free,” said Adhikari, who joined MSU in 2017. “We have to address questions that producers have about converting to cage-free production systems and bird health in a cage-free environment. Hen health will be the major issue while converting the production system to cage-free, and this should be addressed by implementing several management and feeding strategies in the facility.”

Currently, less than 16 percent of eggs are produced in a cage-free production environment. To meet demand, approximately 70 percent of the nation’s 320 million birds will need to be cage-free by 2025.

Mary Beck, head and professor in MSU’s Department of Poultry Science, said Adhikari is well positioned to contribute meaningful answers to questions poultry producers have about cage-free production systems.

“Dr. Adhikari brings a fresh, new perspective and innovative ideas to this important area of research for one of Mississippi’s most important agricultural commodities,” Beck said.

“I have wanted to build a cage-free facility since my arrival on campus, to better understand the differences in management between the cage and cage-free systems,” Adhikari said. “For instance, hens in the cage-free system have access to both indoor and outdoor facilities. I want to look at how that impacts management practices.”

Adhikari and graduate students plan to measure egg quality through different criteria, including weight, specific gravity (shell quantity compared to shell contents), shell thickness and weight, as well as the quality of the egg white, to see if there are significant differences based on housing type.

A total of 200 hens are divided between 12 new dual pens, with each about 12 by 5 feet inside and 24 by 5 feet outside with outdoor access. Current breeds housed are Hy-Line W-36 and Hy-Line Brown, and Adhikari said the brown ones are well-suited to cage-free systems, while the W-36 are better adapted to conventional cages with fewer cage-mates.

Another aspect of the new structure is the use of lighting, which is configured for hens to get 16 hours of light and eight hours of darkness to simulate what is found in a commercial setting. Each pen has nesting boxes on the wall, a perch, feeder and water line.

Daily, Adhikari’s graduate student and her two student workers record how many birds move from inside the building to the outside as a part of a behavior study. They also collect and count the eggs, and check the feeders.

“We plan on adjusting nutrition by supplementing these hens with different feed additives to see which additives produce a better egg quality,” Adhikari said.

Future plans include pullet cages for birds that have not reached laying age. Tampa Bay, Florida-based Alaso is supplying these cages, which will hold as many as 1,500 pullets and will be used for nutrition research trials. Also, Adhikari and other MSU scientists are collaborating with Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, on several studies.

The new structure adds to the current simulated commercial poultry laying house situated on the H. H. Leveck Animal Research Center, also known as South Farm, with hens in both conventional and enriched colony cages.

MSU’s Department of Poultry Science is one of only six degree-granting programs in the nation. Broilers is the largest Mississippi agricultural commodity with a value of $2.5 billion in production in 2017. For more information, visit www.poultry.msstate.edu.

MSU is the state’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.