Monday February 17 Ag News

Sasse Earns Major Endorsement From Nebraska Cattlemen Leaders

Ben Sasse, U.S. Senator and relentless advocate for Nebraska agriculture, earned the endorsement of the future, current, and immediate past Presidents of Nebraska Cattlemen.

“I’m proud to have the support of cattlemen across Nebraska, and I’m proud to fight for them in Washington. Nebraska runs on the hard work of our ag industry. Our ranchers feed the world — that’s a big job, but Nebraska gets it done. Our farm and ranch families deserve the best because they produce the best.” - U.S. Senator Ben Sasse

“Washington has a lot to learn from Nebraska — and Ben Sasse makes sure they’re listening to us. We’re the best in the world at what we do, and Ben has worked hard to put Nebraska ag — and our producers — first. He fights for us, we’ll fight for him.” - Nebraska Cattlemen President Ken Herz, Lawrence

“Nebraska’s cattlemen and women spend our lives raising the absolute best beef in the world. It’s pretty simple: we want less government interference and a whole bunch more trade. Ben Sasse gets that and fights for us.” - Nebraska Cattlemen President-elect William Rhea III, Arlington

“Ben Sasse stood up to fight for President Trump’s USMCA trade deal and introduced livestock haulers legislation that pushed back against overly strict regulations and maintained safety on our roads. That stuff matters to Nebraska’s producers — and that’s why cattlemen across our state are supporting Ben Sasse for U.S. Senate.” - Nebraska Cattlemen Immediate Past President Mike Drinnin, Clarks. 



Eastern Nebraska Extension Beef Workshops

Nebraska Extension are hosting Beef Profitability Workshops in Nebraska to help Beef Producers evaluate their operations to make them more profitable through the latest research information.  Extension Educators and Extension Specialists will be presenting the information.

The workshop in West Point will be held on Wednesday, March 11 at 1:00 p.m. at the Cuming County Courthouse Meeting Room.  Topics include “Keeping your Genetic Decisions Between the Ditches…Breeding Objectives” presented by Matt Spangler, Nebraska Extension Beef Specialist and “Mineral Supplementation While Grazing” presented by Kacie McCarthy, Nebraska Extension Beef Specialist.

Pre-register by contacting Larry Howard at 402-372-6006 by noon on March 9th.

These workshops have been held across Nebraska for the past seventeen years.  Workshops are sponsored by Nebraska Extension.  The cost is from $10 to $15 (depending on locations) which is payable at the door, but pre-registration is encouraged so we know how many will be attending.



Testing Your Beef Cattle for Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus 
Steve Niemeyer – NE Extension Educator

Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) is among the most important pathogens affecting today’s beef and dairy cattle operations. Associated with reproductive, digestive, and respiratory illnesses in cattle, the virus can also create a congenital, persistent infection in calves, greatly aiding the virus’ spread within and between herds. Testing and removal of these persistently infected (BVDV-PI) calves is the hallmark of BVDV control and prevention.

How and why should someone go about testing animals for BVDV? Answers to those questions should start and end with the herd’s veterinarian – but some general information is good to have before that conversation takes place.

What are the possible triggers that indicate that I should test my herd for BVDV-PI animals?
Since BVDV causes so many different problems in cattle herds, there’s not one single tip-off that BVDV is present. Direct evidence might include abortions and infertility in the cow herd, or calves with birth defects. Mucosal disease, the end result of BVDV-PI illnesses, appears as sudden death, sometimes with acute diarrhea and ulcerations in the mouth and tongue. But the indirect effects of BVDV infection in a herd can also include suppression of the immune system, resulting in increased numbers of calves with pneumonia, scours, and other infections. Any of these situations could arise from BVDV circulating in the herd.

Finding evidence of BVDV in one of these animals – through a necropsy and BVDV test at a veterinary diagnostic lab – is a major indication of exposure, most likely from a BVDV-PI animal. Herd testing to identify and remove BVDV-PI animals is the key to preventing further related disease issues and keeping herd problems from multiplying by causing more BVDV-PI calves to be born.

What is the desired goal of whole-herd BVDV testing?
In cow-calf and dairy operations, whole-herd testing ensures that BVDV-PI animals are not present in the herd during breeding, where they could infect pregnant cows and create more BVDV-PI animals. Testing calves entering a feedlot will ensure BVDV-PI animals do not infect susceptible animals.
To accomplish this in cow-calf operations, attention needs to be paid to making sure the BVDV-PI status is identified for each animal present during the breeding season. Testing calves while nursing prior to the breeding season enables their removal before the breeding season, and can give an indication of the status of the cow. If a calf is confirmed to be BVDV-PI, its mother should be tested. All bulls, replacement heifers, and held-over open cows should be tested with no exceptions.

What samples does the lab need to determine whether BVDV is present in an animal?
Since BVDV-PI animals have virus throughout their body, a variety of samples can be used. From live animals, blood samples and ear notches are commonly used. In dead cattle, it’s best for the veterinarian to submit a complete set of body tissues to the lab, but ear notches can be useful as well if a complete necropsy is not feasible.

Can a BVDV-PI animal be confirmed on the basis of a onetime sample?
No. BVDV test procedures indicate the presence of the virus in the animal on the day the sample was taken. It’s possible for an animal to have a temporary (not persistent) infection with BVDV, through exposure to an infected animal or possibly through recent BVDV vaccination with live vaccines. A true BVDV-PI animal will be positive over time. An animal that tests positive for BVDV should be isolated from others and sampled again 3 weeks later. A BVDV-positive result on the second test confirms that the infection was indeed persistent. A negative result on the second test means the animal was only temporarily infected and, if clinically normal, should be able to return to the herd.

What should I do with an animal that’s confirmed to be BVDV-PI?
Since animals persistently infected with BVDV serve as a source of infection for other cattle and will eventually die from mucosal disease, they should be euthanized or – if of market weight – sent directly to slaughter as soon as feasible. Under no circumstances should they be kept in the herd or marketed to other operations.

What pitfalls should I be aware of when testing cattle for BVDV?
Some of the laboratory methods used to detect BVDV in an animal sample are sensitive enough to detect the virus from a vaccination. Therefore, it’s best to wait at least 3 weeks following BVDV vaccination before collecting samples.

Additionally, BVDV antibodies from colostrum in young calves could interfere with some tests. If testing calves less than 3 months of age, your veterinarian may have to adjust which specific test they request from the lab.

What is my best source of information about BVDV herd testing?
Your herd veterinarian. They will be able to take specific sampling and testing recommendations from the veterinary lab and apply it in the best way possible to your own operation. Asking questions and formulating a plan before any samples are ever taken will help ensure the results are valid and that your time (and money) is spent in the best way possible.



IDALS Grant Helps Scale-Up Floyd River Water Quality Improvement Project

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Sioux County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) will receive state funding to expand the water quality improvement (WQI) projects happening in the Floyd River watershed. The District will receive a grant for $872,700 over the next three years to help implement additional conservation practices to protect the West Branch of the Floyd River.

Since the WQI project began in 2014, farmers and landowners in the Floyd River watershed have planted 13,259 acres of cover crops, added more than 168,000 feet of terraces to reduce erosion, and installed one bioreactor and two saturated buffers.

“Improving water quality is one of the most important issues we’re facing today,” said Secretary Naig. “These community-based projects are examples of the impact we can make when public and private partners and landowners work together to put conservation practices on the ground. Over the last three years, these projects have made measurable progress in the effort to improve water quality and soil health. The Department is proud to support their efforts to build on this success.”

This monetary grant is funded through the Iowa Water Quality Initiative (WQI) and supports collaborative, community-based projects in priority watersheds that help reduce the nutrient levels in Iowa’s water. WQI funds may be used to install priority conservation practices like wetlands, bioreactors, cover crops and saturated buffers. These practices are scientifically-proven to reduce nutrient loads and are critical to helping the state achieve the goals outlined in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.



Swine Building Maintenance Topic of Statewide Workshops

The overall profitability of a livestock production operation greatly depends on the age of the buildings.

Maintenance of the buildings is critical for their continued use. Techniques that can help improve the usable life of roofs, concrete, slats and trusses need to be considered and implemented, notes Kapil Arora, an agricultural engineering field specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

ISU Extension and Outreach is joining industry partners to offer five workshops on the maintenance issues faced by facility managers and maintenance crews.

These workshops will discuss concrete pit maintenance and construction, truss management, roof and moisture management and other repair and maintenance issues that can help protect the building and extend its life.

Participants also will learn about unique ways to allow clean air into the attic space and minimize pit-ventilated gases from entering the attic during periods of minimum ventilation during winter months, helping to reduce roof corrosion. Ways to maintain concrete slats including their repair, to help enhance their usable life, will also be discussed.

The workshops are geared toward livestock producers, livestock building owners and contractors, facility managers, maintenance crew members, engineers, designers and others interested in swine building maintenance.

The workshops are being offered in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and are sponsored by the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Hog Slat, Pinnacle, Integrity Builders & Supply Inc., AgVice, Precision Structures Inc., QC Supply and Premier Ag Systems.

Workshops will be held in Carroll (March 9), Webster City (March 16), Le Mars (March 17), Nashua (March 23), and Washington (March 24). Additional workshop details including registration deadlines and workshop locations are available in the online brochure.

All workshops are the same and participants may register for one location only.

Registration is $35 per participant and pre-registration is required, as space is limited. Walk-ins will only be accepted if space is available. Participants can register by sending payment with the completed registration form to the address included on the online brochure for the respective location. Payments using a credit card (fees apply) can be made for any of the five locations by calling the ISU Extension and Outreach Hamilton County office at 515-832-9597.



CattleFax elects Officers for 2020

Mark Frasier of Fort Morgan, Colo., was elected 2020 president of CattleFax at the organization’s annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 4-7.

Frasier is a cow/calf, stocker operator and cattle feeder in Eastern Colorado and is active in his community and local cattlemen’s association. He is a past president of the Colorado Livestock Association and serves on and has chaired the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Resolutions Committee.

President elect is Pono Von Holt of Kamuela, Hawaii. Von Holt is a cow/calf and stocker operator as well as a cattle feeder. He has served as president of the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Association, chair of NCBA Cow/Calf Council and president of the Ranchers Renaissance Cooperative. Pono is also active in many local boards in Hawaii.

Jeff Sternberger of Ingalls, Kan., was elected as the new Central Region director while Jerry Adams of Broken Bow, Neb., and Dale Smith of Amarillo, Texas, were re-elected as directors for the North Plains and Southwest regions, respectively.

Other directors currently serving terms for CattleFax are: Don Quincey, Chiefland, Fla., Southeast director and immediate past president; Jeff Sparrowk of Clements, Calif., director for the Western Region; and Midwest Director Nick Hunt of Atlantic, Iowa. Chris Kalkowski of Omaha, Neb., continues to serve as finance director.   



2020 Ogallala Aquifer Summit in Amarillo, TX

The 2020 Ogallala Aquifer Summit will take place in Amarillo, Texas, from March 31 to April 1, bringing together water management leaders from all eight Ogallala region states: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota and Wyoming. The dynamic, interactive event will focus on encouraging exchange among participants about innovative programs and effective approaches being implemented to address the region’s significant water-related challenges.

“Tackling Tough Questions,” is the theme of the event. Workshops and speakers share and compare responses to questions such as: “What is the value of groundwater to current and future generations” and “how do locally-led actions aimed at addressing water challenges have larger-scale impact?”

“The summit provides a unique opportunity to strengthen collaborations among a diverse range of water-focused stakeholders,” said summit co-chair Meagan Schipanski, an associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at CSU. “Exploring where we have common vision and identifying innovative concepts or practices already being implemented can catalyze additional actions with potential to benefit the aquifer and Ogallala region communities over the short- and long-term.”

Schipanski co-directs the Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP) with Colorado Water Center director and summit co-chair Reagan Waskom, who is also a faculty member in Soil and Crop Sciences. The Ogallala Water CAP, supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, has a multi-disciplinary team of 70 people based at 10 institutions in 6 Ogallala-region states, engaged in collaborative research and outreach aimed at sustaining agriculture and ecosystems in the region.

Some Ogallala Water CAP research and outreach results will be shared at the 2020 Ogallala Summit. The Ogallala Water CAP has led the coordination of this event, in partnership with colleagues at Texas A&M AgriLife, the Kansas Water Office, and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-funded Ogallala Aquifer Program, with additional support provided by many other individuals and organizations from the eight Ogallala states.

The 2020 Summit will highlight several activities and outcomes inspired by or expanded as a result of the 2018 Ogallala Summit. Participants will include producers, irrigation company and commodity group representatives, students and academics, local and state policy makers, groundwater management district leaders, crop consultants, agricultural lenders, state and federal agency staff, and others, including new and returning summit participants.

“Water conservation technologies are helpful, and we need more of them, but human decision-making is the real key to conserving the Ogallala,” said Brent Auvermann, Center Director at Texas A&M AgriLife Research – Amarillo. “The emergence of voluntary associations among agricultural water users to reduce ground water use is an encouraging step, and we need to learn from those associations’ experiences with regard to what works, and what doesn’t, and what possibilities exist that don’t require expanding the regulatory state.”

The summit will take place over two half-days, starting at 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Tuesday, March 31 and concluding the next day on Wednesday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. The event includes a casual evening social on the evening of March 31 that will feature screening of a portion of the film “Rising Water,” by Nebraska filmmaker Becky McMillen, followed by a panel discussion on effective agricultural water-related communications.

Visit the 2020 Ogallala summit webpage to see a detailed agenda, lodging info, and to access online registration. Pre-registration is required, and space is limited. The registration deadline is Saturday, March 21 at midnight Central Time.



ACE leadership provides updates and commends member plants for dedication to their craft at annual, board meetings

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) plant members are hosting annual meetings for their investors and board meetings during the first half of the year. ACE CEO Brian Jennings is attending several, including Golden Grain Energy’s annual meeting today in Mason City, Iowa, as well as the Adkins Energy board meeting, Absolute Energy’s annual meeting, and the East Kansas Agri-Energy board meeting in the upcoming weeks to commend the producers for enduring a tough year, and providing timely updates on opportunities and challenges ahead for growing the demand for ethanol.

“I’m always grateful for the opportunity to meet with members and discuss the pressing issues facing the industry,” Jennings said. “Our members work hard to ensure they provide a meaningful return to local shareholders, and I’m honored to highlight this effort by commending our members on the operational and financial progress they’ve been able to maintain despite several headwinds they’ve been confronted with.”

ACE’s newly appointed Director of Member and Industry Relations, Nick Fosheim, is joining Jennings at some of these meetings to connect with members and inform them about his approach to fostering ACE’s partnerships with current and potential members, and his strategies to promote ACE’s efforts throughout the industry.

Following a recent victory in the Tenth Circuit Court over the Environmental Protection Agency’s unlawful use of Small Refinery Exemptions, Jennings provided an assessment of what this could mean to the way EPA administers the Renewable Fuel Standard waiver program to attendees of GGE’s annual meeting. Jennings noted ACE will be involved in any upcoming proposals EPA is preparing to streamline market barriers to E15 as well. Additionally, ACE recently submitted feedback to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program for E15 and higher blends, and Jennings recapped how ACE is working to influence the program to garner more widespread participation by retailers. Meeting attendees were also informed about ACE’s efforts to lead the charge in pressing for new legislation in Congress to increase ethanol use based on its low carbon and high octane attributes, as well as publishing recommendations on new clean fuel policy in the Midwest to expand economic activity and cut greenhouse gas emissions. These topics will be front and center during ACE’s Washington, D.C. fly-in coming up April 2-3.

“We commend ACE member ethanol plants for being wise stewards of their shareholder’s investments,” Jennings said. “These meetings serve as a great way for investors to not only learn of our member plant’s successes, but to understand what lies ahead for our industry’s future.”



Court Satisfied that USDA's RFID Mandate Is Completely Withdrawn

Last week the Wyoming federal district court dismissed the lawsuit filed in October by R-CALF USA, and ranchers Tracy and Donna Hunt and Kenny and Roxy Fox, against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The court concluded that there was no longer any "case or controversy" as the agencies had officially and completely withdrawn their April mandate to require U.S. cattle ranchers to begin using radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags and register their premises as a condition for shipping adult cattle across state lines. The court based its decision on the fact that the agencies have "clearly" decided not to implement such RFID requirements as outlined in an April 2019 "Factsheet" that had been posted to their website

Harriet Hageman, Senior Litigation Counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs to protect the livestock industry from the government's overreach and unlawful actions. Plaintiffs had alleged in their complaint that the government had no legal authority to prohibit their right to continue using metal eartags and other animal identification devices (such as brands, tattoos, and group identification numbers) authorized by the traceability regulations implemented in 2013. Plaintiffs had also challenged the agencies' effort to force ranchers to register their premises with the federal government.

Within just weeks after the Plaintiffs filed their lawsuit, the agencies removed the RFID mandate from their official website and subsequently asked the court to dismiss the case as a result of their "change in policy." Hageman objected to their request for dismissal based on a lack of certainty that the agencies' withdrawal represented an official governmental action and change in policy. Hageman sought an assurance from the agencies that the 2013 Final Rule remains in place, that livestock producers can use a variety of identification techniques, that no premises registration is required, and that the agencies will follow the law.

The court based its decision to dismiss the case on the agencies assurance that they do not recognize the April RFID mandate as official policy. The court also found that the agencies had "unambiguously stated that the requirements of the 2019 Factsheet will not be implemented." The court relied upon the agencies' commitment that any new proposal will afford ample opportunity for all stakeholders to comment and participate in the process. The court concluded that these assurances meant that the agencies would not reverse course or revert to the same process which resulted in the RFID mandate.

The court further concluded that the government's corrective actions "completely and irrevocably eradicated the effects of the alleged violations" associated with the government's issuance of the 2019 RFID mandate.

Hageman explained that "in our lawsuit we were seeking a declaration that the 2019 Factsheet was illegal and an injunction prohibiting it from being implemented. The agencies have essentially admitted the former - that the RFID-only mandate violated the law - and the court's decision provided us with the certainty needed so that this does not happen again." She added, "We are pleased with this win and the outcome of the case."

"We are pleased the court has clarified the government's actions and are now confident that the mandate to exclusively use RFID technology and associated premises registration is no longer an impending threat to independent cattle producers," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard adding, "We must continue our vigilance to ensure that the interests of cattle producers are not trampled in the future as USDA pursues a new course regarding animal disease traceability."