Wednesday February 20 Ag News

October-December Milk Production up 0.5 Percent

Milk production in the United States during the October - December quarter totaled 53.3 billion pounds, up 0.5 percent from the October - December quarter last year.  The average number of milk cows in the United States during the quarter was 9.36 million head, 18,000 head less than the July - September quarter, and 41,000 head less than the same period last year.

Q4 Milk Prod by State                            
                       (million lbs.  -  % Q4 '17)
Nebraska ...:        354.0             -3.3    
Iowa ..........:        1,297.0         -0.5    
Kansas .......:        927.0              5.0    

December Milk Production up 0.9 Percent
Milk production in the 23 major States during December totaled 17.1 billion pounds, up 0.9 percent from December 2017. November revised production at 16.4 billion pounds, was up 0.8 percent from November 2017. The November revision represented a decrease of 3 million pounds or less than 0.1 percent from last month's preliminary production estimate.

Production per cow in the 23 major States averaged 1,966 pounds for December, 23 pounds above December 2017. This is the highest production per cow for the month of December since the 23 State series began in 2003.

The number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major States was 8.72 million head, 21,000 head less than December 2017, and 2,000 head less than November 2018.

IOWA: Milk production in Iowa during December 2018 totaled 441 million pounds, down fractionally from the previous December according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Milk Production report. The average number of milk cows during December, at 220,000 head, was unchanged from last month and last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,005 pounds, down 5 pounds from last December.



Sasse Named National Wheat Leader of the Year

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a leading advocate for Nebraska agriculture, was named the National Wheat Leader of the Year by the National Association of Wheat Growers. This is the wheat industry’s top award. The Wheat Leader of the Year receives a customized Wheaties Box.

"Farmers and ranchers work their butts off to feed the world and represent the best of America. I’m proud to stand up for them. That’s why I am honored to receive the Wheat Leader of the Year award. It’s a big deal – I just wish this box actually had Wheaties in it." -Senator Ben Sasse

"We were happy to see the National Association of Wheat Growers vote for and name Senator Sasse the National Wheat Leader of the Year because he gets the challenges we’re facing and makes sure our voice is heard. He’s an unrivaled champion of trade on behalf of our farmers and always works to make sure that wheat growers have a seat at the table — whether it’s meetings with Mexican Ambassador Geronimo Gutierrez in Washington, D.C., or hosting a round table discussion on trade in Omaha with Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade Ted McKinney. He’s a true agvocate, and we’re glad our fellow wheat states recognized this as well.” -Brian Schafer, Nebraska Wheat Growers Association Board Member and Wheat Farmer from Culbertson, NE



Kaisand Named State Veterinarian for Iowa

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced Dr. Jeff Kaisand as the new State Veterinarian within the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

“The $13.45 billion Iowa animal industry is a significant economic driver that employs thousands of Iowans,” said Naig. “Dr. Kaisand’s leadership as State Veterinarian will help ensure the health and vitality of this industry going forward.”


As State Veterinarian, Dr. Kaisand will lead the Department’s Animal Industry Bureau, which oversees regulation of animal movement, exhibitions, importation and disease eradication/control. The State Veterinarian also plays an important role in working with partners to prevent, prepare and respond to any foreign animal disease or natural disaster concern. The Bureau also regulates certain commercial companion animal breeders and retailers.

Dr. Kaisand served as Assistant State Veterinarian for six years and has been the Acting State Veterinarian since Dr. David Schmitt’s retirement as State Veterinarian in January 2019. Dr. Kaisand was an integral part of the state’s response to the Avian Influenza outbreak in 2015.

Prior to joining the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Dr. Kaisand held various veterinary supervisor roles with Iowa businesses and had his own veterinary practice.

Dr. Kaisand earned his degree in veterinary medicine from Iowa State University. He also has a degree in animal science from Iowa State University.



Planting is Coming and So Are the Pests. Are You Ready?

If you haven’t looked into the innovative and proactive Take Action initiative of late, it might be a great time to give the widely expanded program supported by National Corn Growers Association and a host of partners a closer look.

The great news is the educational campaign is evolving and growing at a fast pace and now provides information on dealing with herbicide-resistant weeds, and fungicide and insect resistance.

Finding a clearer path to a more sustainable and profitable way to farm is made much easier thanks to Take Action. The mission here is to choose the best available tools and technology for the environment, your balance sheet and all with an eye on preserving access to these important tools. Informed management is just smart farming.

Take Action on Weeds, which the National Corn Growers Association promotes as a resource of farmers combating herbicide resistance issues, was developed by the United Soybean Board. Based on that success new technical resources will be rolled out in the days and weeks ahead.

In addition be on the lookout for a new podcast series addressing pest management and resistance, grassroots events in conjunction with major retailers, updates and expansion to the Take Action App and distribution of a newsletter.

Key themes will focus on understanding new product labeling, increased focus on integrated pest management (IPM) including cultural practices, and optimal use of the various tools and modes of action available.

NCGA, along with several other commodity organizations, joined with USB to help promote this important program. It enjoys broad support across the agricultural community and serves as an example of an effective collaboration between a cross-commodity partnership and agricultural input companies.



Most Retail Fertilizer Prices Continue to Move Higher

Average retail fertilizer prices continued to be mostly higher the second week of February 2019, according to retailers surveyed by DTN. But with only six of the eight major fertilizers moving higher, this breaks a string of four consecutive weeks where all fertilizers were higher.

None of the six fertilizers' prices were up by a significant amount from last month. MAP had an average price of $537 per ton, potash $385/ton, 10-34-0 $470/ton, anhydrous $596/ton, UAN28 $271/ton and UAN32 $318/ton.

The remaining two fertilizers were slightly lower in price compared to the previous month. DAP had an average price of $512 per ton and urea $405 per ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.44/lb.N, anhydrous $0.36/lb.N, UAN28 $0.48/lb.N and UAN32 $0.50/lb.N.

All eight of the major fertilizers are now higher compared to last year with prices shifting higher. MAP is 8% more expensive, both DAP and potash are 12% higher, both urea and 10-34-0 is 13% more expensive, UAN28 is 18% higher and both anhydrous and UAN32 is now 21% more expensive compared to last year.



Farm Groups Defend Crop Insurance Budget

Farmers and legislators celebrated the end of 2018 with the passage of a bipartisan Farm Bill that preserves the farm safety net and provides farmers with the tools they need to manage the unique risks of farming.

As Congress begins the annual appropriations and budget process, America’s agricultural community joined forces to ensure that the crop insurance program receives the full funding that it requires to be successful.

Sixty organizations, ranging from farm groups to conservation organizations and lenders, sent a letter yesterday to the House and Senate Budget Committees, as well as Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, urging them to protect crop insurance during the budget process in recognition of its central importance to farmers and the rural economy.

Trying to balance the federal budget on the backs of farmers and ranchers would be a mistake, they wrote, with disastrous consequences for America’s heartland.

USDA has projected that 2018 farm profitability will be lower than it has been in over a decade, and farm income dropped more than 45% in five years. An overreliance on budget savings from the agriculture community and from crop insurance will unquestionably undermine rural economies.  It’s also important to note that in a time of uncertainty in the farming and ranching community – from natural disasters to trade disputes to government shutdowns – the public-private partnership that is crop insurance has been a consistent and reliable risk management tool.  The certainty of federal crop insurance also offers lenders the assurances they need to continue to provide capital to America’s hard-working farmers and ranchers….

Cuts to crop insurance during this difficult time for rural America should be avoided.  Farmers and lawmakers agree that crop insurance is a linchpin of the farm safety net and is crucial to the economic and food security of rural America. The importance of crop insurance was just reaffirmed less than two months ago with the passage and signing of the 2018 Farm Bill, and we urge you to oppose cuts to crop insurance during this year’s budget process.

Crop insurers and their allies in agriculture have been successful in fending off past attempts to weaken the farm safety net by harming this vital risk management tool. The overwhelming support crop insurance received during the 2018 Farm Bill debate is a testament to how popular the program has become – covering a record 334 million acres.



Valmont and Prospera Technologies Announce Roadmap to Autonomous Crop Management Technology Through Global Partnership

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI), a leading global provider of engineered products and services for infrastructure and irrigation equipment for agriculture and the parent company of Valley® Irrigation, and Prospera Technologies Inc., a leading Israeli machine vision and artificial intelligence (AI) company specializing in ag data, are pleased to announce their global partnership. The collaboration sets the course to provide growers with autonomous crop management solutions generating greater returns, while requiring fewer production inputs and resources.

"Valley Irrigation is transforming the center pivot from solely an irrigation machine to an autonomous crop management tool," Valmont President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen G. Kaniewski commented. "Water remains our focus, as it is the number one determinant of crop yield. Growers who use pivots have a natural advantage to use them as often as needed, given their constant placement on the field. We can equip the structure to see what a grower may not be able to detect, arming them with critical information that delivers more crop precision, saving time, lowering costs and increasing yield."

This exclusive global partnership is significant because it integrates artificial intelligence technologies with center pivot irrigation. Valley Irrigation leads the industry with more than 60,000 connected devices globally and carries distribution strength through the industry's largest network of more than 500 dealers worldwide. The intelligence shared between these connected devices and the pivot, along with the integration of data science, machine-learning and AI, enables the two companies to develop real-time crop diagnoses and irrigation recommendations, resulting in greater returns for the grower.

Prospera, founded in 2014, is a leading force in ag tech, committed to bringing advanced machine learning (ML) technology to the agriculture sector. Backed by strategic investors including Cisco, Qualcomm and Bessemer, Prospera has developed proven analytics, algorithms and data layering to provide growers with irrigation and crop growth recommendations. Prospera currently monitors over $5 billion of greenhouse production. The partnership between the two companies will build on Prospera's unique technology, expanding application to large-scale fields.

Autonomous crop management will result in a self-learning machine, using inputs from the field and the grower to deliver proper water, fertigation and chemigation. Launching in the spring of 2019, Anomaly Detection is a fundamental building block for growers entering into AI functionality. Providing visual detection of anomalies or issues, this technology provides essential features to mitigate risks in the field, assisting the grower with their irrigation and crop management practices. It will be available from Valley for all brands of pivots through a subscription-based model.

Kaniewski said launching specific technology products to the market and product adoption are two critical steps on the journey toward autonomous crop management. The joint machine-learning technology is targeted to reach one million acres by 2020. To develop the technology, the two companies collectively plan to invest more than $40 million over the next three years.

"Like Valley, Prospera is committed to giving growers more data-based, actionable insights from the machines that span every inch of their fields, while reducing potential risks that can harm crop production," said Prospera Chief Executive Officer Daniel Koppel. "We are excited to partner with Valley Irrigation, the industry leader trusted by growers, and their global network of dealers, working together to feed an expanding population."



U.S. and Canadian Perspectives on Trans-Pacific Trade

The findings of two new studies examining the potential economic impacts of trade policies on U.S. and Canadian agriculture will be released at the Farm Foundation Forum on Monday, March 4.

Building on a previously released analysis of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), agricultural economists at Purdue University have completed a new study of several possible trade policy scenarios. These scenarios range from the effects of the United States not participating in the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP or TPP11), to termination of the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

The second study examines how being part of TPP11 is impacting the Canadian agricultural sector economy. This study was commissioned by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI), a policy institute which, like Farm Foundation, provides objective analysis on food and agricultural issues.

The March 4th Forum, U.S. and Canadian Perspectives on Trans-Pacific Trade, will be 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C. A free, live audiocast will be available for those unable to attend the event in person.

"Trade is a vital component of healthy balance sheets for both U.S. and Canadian agriculture," says Farm Foundation President Constance Cullman, who will moderate the Forum. "These studies delve into how trade policy scenarios play out for the food and agriculture sectors of the two nations.

"We are pleased to again be working with the Purdue agricultural economics team to update and expand work Farm Foundation commissioned last fall," Cullman adds. "We are also delighted to highlight complementary work spearheaded by CAPI, our sister organization in Canada. It is a great opportunity to highlight the cross-border impacts of trade policies."