Monday February 11 Ag News

Registration Underway for Innovative Youth Corn Challenge 
Brandy VanDeWalle - NE Extension Educator
Do you know a teen who loves learning about crops? Perhaps she is considering a career involving crops, insects, diseases, soils, or water or perhaps he wants to figure out how to feed the world's growing population in a sustainable way?

If so, consider recommending to the sixth Innovative Youth Corn Challenge, sponsored by Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Corn Board. This contest, open to 4-H members (ages 10 and older as of January 1) or FFA members (in-school members), guides participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production.

As a team of two or more participants, youth will be challenged to implement a production practice different than normal to determine if the change would increase yield. Economics and sustainability of the practice also will be considered. Yields, cropping history, and production information will be collected in the Corn Yield Challenge management summary.

Cash prizes and plaques will be given to the first, second, and third place teams. First place will receive $1,000, second place will receive $500, and third place will receive $250. Sustainability, crop scouting, and “extra mile” awards also will be given, each worth $200.

To participate in 2019, youth must complete and return an entry form by March 15 to the Fillmore County Extension Office, 1340 G St., in Geneva, Nebr. Forms can be downloaded at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/activities. For more information, contact Brandy at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu or 402-759-3712.



TESTING AND FEEDING TOBACCO-BROWN HAY AND SILAGE
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               Last summer’s weather caused much hay to be baled too wet or silage chopped too dry.  Now that hay and silage has heated and turned brown.  How did this affect its feeding value?

               Hay baled too wet or silage chopped too dry can get excessively hot and cause certain chemical reactions to occur.  These chemical reactions and the heat that produces them will darken your forage and often make it smell sweet like caramel.

               Livestock often find such hay or silage very palatable.  But, the reactions that caused this heat-damage consumes valuable energy and also makes some of the protein become indigestible.  Unfortunately, tests for crude protein cannot distinguish between regular crude protein and this heat-damaged protein.  As a result, your forage test can mislead you into thinking you have more usable protein in your forage than actually is there.

               If your forage test is done using NIR, heat-damaged protein may be one of the analyses reported.  And if the heat-damaged protein is high enough, the test also will report an adjusted crude protein that is lower than the regular crude protein.  In my opinion, however, the NIR test for heat-damage may not be accurate enough for you if your ration contains a lot of this forage and has little or no extra protein in it for your cattle.

               When you suspect you have heat-damaged protein, request from your lab a chemical analysis for heat-damaged protein.  Then have them use this test to correctly adjust the amount of crude protein your forage actually will provide to your animals.

               Forage tests can tell us a lot about the nutrient supplying ability of our forages.  But we need to make sure we conduct the right tests and then use the results wisely.



LINCOLN TO HOST AGRABILITY NATIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP IN MARCH

Agricultural workers with disabilities or chronic illness, their families and professional staff are invited to the AgrAbility National Training Workshop from March 25-28 at the Embassy Suites in downtown Lincoln.

The workshop, hosted by Nebraska AgrAbility, is the foremost educational event in the nation addressing disabilities in agriculture. Potential clients and their families, AgrAbility staff members and stakeholders — including U.S. Department of Agriculture and rehabilitation professionals, other nonprofit members, and suppliers of products beneficial to AgrAbility customers — are invited.

The program will offer information on leveraging resources and direct service to clients; networking opportunities with other clients, service providers and agency representatives; and training.

Registration is required at http://www.agrability.org/agrability-national-training-workshop. Early-bird registration ends March 1, and registration closes March 21.

AgrAbility aims to enhance the quality of life for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural workers with disabilities so that they, their families and communities can continue to succeed.

Nebraska AgrAbility’s team includes Nebraska Extension educators Nancy Frecks and Susan Harris-Broomfield, University of Nebraska faculty member Aaron Yoder and Nebraska Easterseals staff members Angie Howell, Rod Peterson, Emily Freudenburg and John Davis.

Success can have multiple meanings, whether it is getting back to one’s own business, gaining employment in agricultural production or gaining the assistive technology needed to complete everyday tasks. Nebraska AgrAbility’s priorities are to develop educational programs that increase individual knowledge, advance capabilities through new technologies, encourage peer networking and provide direct services to agricultural workers in need.

Nebraska AgrAbility has worked with 567 clients since 1995, serving clients in 92 of the state’s 93 counties.

For more information on Nebraska AgrAbility, visit https://agrability.unl.edu.



Beginning Field Crop Scouts Encouraged to Attend School March 30

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is hosting a field crop scouting school on Saturday, March 30 at the Field Extension Education Laboratory in Boone. The day-long program is designed for beginning crop scouts to ensure they are ready for success when they get out in the field.

“The main goal of crop scouting is to identify problems in the field so they can be treated before causing major yield loss,” said Warren Pierson, program specialist for the Field Extension Education Laboratory at Iowa State University. “To do this well, crop scouts need to know how to look, where to look, and what to look for. We’ll cover all of this and more in our field crop scout school.”

The course features sessions on corn and soybean growth and development, weed, disease and insect identification, along with scouting methods and techniques. Attendees will rotate through classes and have the opportunity for one-on-one interactions with ISU Extension and Outreach specialists and agronomists throughout the sessions. Five field guides are included in course registration:
-    Corn and Soybean Field Guide
-    Weed Identification Field Guide
-    Field Crop Insects
-    Corn Diseases
-    Soybean Diseases

With field guides in hand, course participants will have the opportunity to apply new knowledge and skills to living crops.

Registration is limited to 75 people to ensure small, interactive groups and more hands-on experience. The course begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 3:15 p.m., with check-in starting at 8:30 a.m. Pre-registration must be made before midnight March 26. The registration fee of $100 covers the cost of the course, field guides, course materials, lunch and refreshments. FEEL is located at 1928 240th Street, Boone, Iowa. Additional information, directions and online registration are available at www.aep.iastate.edu/scout.



Search Begins for Iowa’s Best Burger
Iowa’s beef producers are asking their fellow Iowans to help find Iowa’s Best Burger in 2019. In this year’s quest, the Iowa Beef Industry Council (IBIC) and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) are encouraging you to nominate your favorite burger, whether it’s gourmet or down-home style.

This is the tenth year the two groups are holding the annual Iowa’s Best Burger contest, which officially kicked off February 11, 2019. During the first phase of the contest, Iowans are encouraged to nominate their favorite burger before March 11, 2019. At that point, the 10 restaurants with the most nominations will be visited by a secret panel of judges, who will determine the ultimate winner. The 2019 Best Burger in Iowa will be announced on May 1, 2019 with the kick-off of May Beef Month in Iowa.

Details about the contest, rules, and the voting form are available on the Iowa Beef Industry Council’s website, www.iabeef.org. Burger lovers can also find a link to the online nomination form at the Iowa Beef Council Facebook page; or by texting BEEF to 313131. Photos of your favorite burger can be shared socially using #IABestBurger. The nomination period will close at 5 p.m. on March 11, 2019.

To qualify to be named Iowa’s Best Burger, the burger must be a 100% beef patty and served on a bun or bread product.

Restaurants can download a digital toolkit including promotional materials for the contest from IBIC’s website at www.iabeef.org to promote the contest to their customers. The promotional materials can be used in the restaurants, online, or on social media.

“Funded by the Iowa State Beef Checkoff Program, this event has been a great way to showcase Iowa restaurants who are serving great beef and Iowa beef farmers who continually producing a wholesome and nutritious product for consumers,” says Janine Moore, chairman of the Iowa Beef Industry Council. “This collaboration between the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and the Iowa Beef Industry Council is a great opportunity to promote Iowa’s beef industry which generates an estimated $6.3 billion in economic activity in the state.”

In 2018, nearly 10,000 nominations from around 700 restaurants were received in the contest. The final winners in previous years are: 2018 – Café Baudelaire, Ames; 2017 – The Smokin’ Hereford BBQ, Storm Lake; 2016 – The Chuckwagon Restaurant, Adair; 2015 – The Cider House, Fairfield; 2014 – Brick City Grill, Ames; 2013 – 61 Chop House Grille, Mediapolis; 2012 – Coon Bowl III, Coon Rapids; 2011 – Rusty Duck, Dexter; 2010 – Sac County Cattle Company, Sac City. A restaurant can only claim the title of “Iowa’s Best Burger” once.



NBB Applauds Bipartisan Support for Extending the Biodiesel Tax Incentive Now

Today, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) thanked 44 members of the House of Representatives – led by Reps. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and Darin LaHood (R-IL) – who asked Congressional leaders to adopt a multi-year extension of the biodiesel tax incentive as soon as possible. Congressmembers from across the country – from California to New York – sent the letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA).

The letter notes that the biodiesel tax incentive was retroactively renewed for 2017 in February of last year but left expired for 2018 and beyond.

“Biodiesel and renewable diesel producers testified before the House Ways & Means Committee last spring and worked with Congress all year to make a case for resolving the off-again, on-again nature of tax incentive eligibility. A multi-year extension of biodiesel and renewable diesel incentives will provide the industry the certainty it needs to continue to generate economic and environmental public benefits,” the letter states.

Kurt Kovarik, NBB’s Vice President of Federal Affairs, added, “NBB and its members appreciate the leadership of Representatives Loebsack, LaHood and others from across the country who co-signed this letter. The letter demonstrates the strong, bipartisan support for a multi-year extension of the biodiesel tax incentive now, in order to provide biodiesel producers, blenders and retailers the opportunity to plan and expand the market for biodiesel. That expansion would deliver economic and environmental benefits to drivers, consumers, farmers and others all along the value chain.”



China Again the Top Destination for U.S. Soybeans in January

Federal Grain Inspections Services (FGIS) issued official export data for the week ending January 31 and, thanks to a strong surge the last half of the month, China regained its crown as the top destination for U.S. soybeans. Inspections data pegged shipments inspected for export to China at 1.307 million tonnes in January with 1.171 million tonnes inspected to ship in the last three weeks of the month. As the destination of 30 percent of the total shipments of U.S. soybeans in 2019, China is set to take shipment of nearly 950,000 tonnes more than the second-largest destination of Spain at 358,000 tonnes. Indonesia (302,000 tonnes), Mexico (297,000 tonnes) and Egypt (283,000 tonnes) round out the top five destinations for the first month of 2019. 

As a means of comparison, inspections data from January 1, 2018 through February 1, 2018 showed that total soybeans inspected for shipment to China totaled 3.179 million tonnes and accounted for 55 percent of the total export volume. Mexico and Thailand were both a distant second at about 280,000 tonnes and were followed by Indonesia (251,000 tonnes), the Netherlands (231,000 tonnes) and Japan (226,000 tonnes) to close out the top five destinations of January 2018.



Growth Energy Hosts 10th Annual ELC Conference

The 10th Annual Growth Energy Executive Leadership Conference concluded after three days at the Terranea Report in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Over 400 attendees joined Growth Energy to prepare for “The Next Wave” of biofuels by listening to panel discussions with industry experts and Growth Energy staff, participating in networking and charity fundraising events, and hearing from Oakland Athletics legend and subject of the hit movie “Moneyball," Billy Beane.

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor kicked off the conference by keynoting an address thanking members for their efforts and support over the last year that helped secure a commitment from the Trump Administration on year-round E15 sales, “we secured one of the industry’s most significant victories since the Renewable Fuel Standard was last expanded in 2007: we opened the door to year-round E15, unleashing the real market potential of higher ethanol blends."

Skor also discussed the industry’s top priorities for 2019, including ensuring a strong Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) during the reset, restoring and growing trade markets around the globe, reallocating lost gallons due to small refinery exemptions, and getting E15 rulemaking across the finish line. Whatever the challenge or opportunity, Skor emphasized that after ten years of pushing ahead, the biofuels industry is ready: “This ELC is Growth Energy’s tenth, a noteworthy milestone. And the next ten years will be even more exciting than the last... This is a new era for America’s ethanol industry.”

Attendees also heard from fuel retailers, corn growers, climate advocates, experts on international markets and regulatory affairs, and engine performance experts from Growth Energy’s American Ethanol program about the future of biofuels.



RFA Releases 2019 Industry Outlook, Pocket Guide

Today at the 24th annual National Ethanol Conference, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) released its 2019 Ethanol Industry Outlook and Pocket Guide, known around the world as the go-to sources for reliable information and data on America’s ethanol industry.

The annual Outlook publication provides policymakers, regulators, consumers, the media, and renewable fuel advocates with key statistics, trends, insight, and analysis on the latest developments in the U.S. renewable fuels industry, as well as commentary on what to expect in 2019. The publication also features a detailed listing of every fuel ethanol plant in the country, along with production capacity.

The Pocket Guide to Ethanol contains much of the same information as the Outlook, but in an abbreviated format and smaller size.

“For 18 years, RFA’s annual Outlook publication has served as the ‘Ethanol Bible,’ full of the facts, figures, and analysis that inform our advocacy and outreach efforts,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “This year’s Outlook is especially useful in offering insight into the impacts of small refiner exemptions and trade wars on our markets in 2018, but also highlights the good news of expanded retail offerings of E15 and flex fuels, record ethanol exports, and ethanol’s incredible impact on job creation and the economy.”



USDA to Release Complete Set of Tables for Agricultural Projections to 2028

On Feb. 14, 2019 at 12 p.m. EST, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release the complete set of tables prepared for the upcoming USDA Agricultural Projections to 2028 report. The new tables will include projections for farm income, U.S. fruits, nuts, and vegetables supply and use, and global commodity trade. Tables containing long-term supply, use, and price projections to 2028 for major U.S. crops and livestock products as well as supporting U.S. and international macroeconomic assumptions were released on Nov. 2, 2018. Short-term projections from the Oct. 11, 2018 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report are used as a starting point.

“The baseline tables provide important data to many stakeholders. We had to delay their release due to the lapse in federal funding, but I am pleased to announce they will be available to the public in few days,” said USDA Chief Economist Rob Johansson.

The tables will be in MS Excel format and posted to the USDA Office of the Chief Economist’s (OCE) website.

The complete USDA Agricultural Projections to 2028 report will be released on March 13, 2019 and will include a full discussion of the projections for U.S. commodity supply and use, farm income, and global commodity trade.

USDA’s long-term agricultural projections represent a departmental consensus on a ten-year representative scenario for the agricultural sector. The projections do not represent USDA forecasts, but rather reflect a conditional long-run scenario based on specific assumptions about macroeconomic conditions, policy, weather, and international developments, with no domestic or external shocks to global agricultural markets. The Agricultural Act of 2014 is assumed to remain in effect through the projection period.



CWT Assists with 3.4 million Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted 17 offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 2.701 million pounds (1,225 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, 220,462 pounds (100 metric tons) of butter, and 440,925 pounds (200 metric tons) of whole milk powder. These products are going to customers in Asia, the Middle East, and South America. The product will be delivered during the period from February through July 2019.

CWT-assisted member cooperative 2019 export sales total 15.547 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 928,146 pounds of butter (82% milkfat) and 6.931 million pounds of whole milk powder to 18 countries in six regions. These sales are the equivalent of 215.0 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers and all dairy cooperatives by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price. It does this by helping member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products. As a result, the program has significantly expanded the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk that produces those products.