Tuesday March 3 Ag News

CHECKING ALFALFA FOR WINTER INJURY
Larry Howard, NE Extension Educator, Cuming County

In a few weeks, alfalfa will green up and start to grow in many areas.   At least those plants that survived the winter. Alfalfa usually comes through the winter in pretty good shape in our area and we hope to avoid serious losses this year.

The lack of snow cover and sub-zero temperatures could have permitted cold injury.   Or more likely, it enabled dry winter winds to dry out and kill some exposed plants, especially in areas that were dry last fall.   If fields were cut during the alfalfa’s winterizing period last fall, that could increase the risk of winter injury.

Evaluate your own stands early this spring.   Older, dryland fields that have fewer than 30 new shoots per square foot coming from 2 or 3 plants may need to be planted soon to a different crop and new fields planted to alfalfa.   Very productive sites, such as irrigated and sub-irrigated fields, should have at least 40 shoots per square foot from 4 to 6 plants.   Anything less is a strong candidate for rotation.   We tend to lose about one tenth of a ton in yield potential for every shoot below these recommended numbers.

Check for these densities in several areas of your fields when the early shoots are 4 to 6 inches tall.   Since some shoots begin growing later than others, stands with enough plants but slightly low shoot density may be alright, especially if shoot height and distribution is fairly uniform.   But, if plant density is low, or shoot growth is not uniform, yields probably will be lowered.

Check your alfalfa stands soon after growth begins.   Then you will still have time to make any needed changes in your cropping plans.

ADDING GRASS TO THINNING ALFALFA
Thin alfalfa stands can be rejuvenated by interseeding grasses and converting them to pasture or haying as a grass-alfalfa mixture.

Most alfalfa fields start to lose stand and production ability after cutting hay for several years.   Sometimes winterkill thins the stands.   As the stand begin to get thin, consider interseeding grasses into the alfalfa.   Not only might you extend the useful life of your alfalfa field by several years, you also will develop excellent hay or grazing for your livestock.

The most common grasses interseeded into alfalfa are orchardgrass and smooth brome, but other grasses like endophyte-free tall fescue, meadow brome and wheatgrasses can also be used.   If you plan to use this field as pasture, include other legumes like red clover for short-term pasture or birdsfoot trefoil if you plan to graze this as pasture more than three years.   This will add diversity to your animals' diet and help assure good legume growth for several more years.

You must get these new seedlings off to an early start, so be sure to interseed as soon as soils thaw and conditions allow tractor and drills to operate properly.   If your alfalfa still is relatively thick and vigorous, also take a very early hay cutting well before buds form, probably during the first week of May.   This will allow sunlight to continue to reach new seedlings below the alfalfa.   Then use your good judgement regarding competition from the existing alfalfa for subsequent hay cuts.   By mid- to late summer you could be able to start to graze rotationally.   The new seedlings won’t contribute much forage this year, but next year they should be a welcome addition.

Interseeding grass into existing alfalfa takes timely planting and haying, but both land and livestock can improve with your efforts.



Farm Succession Workshop in Pender to Offer Planning Strategies, Financial Tools

Nebraska Extension in Thurston County will host a two-part farm succession workshop in Pender for agricultural landowners, ranchers and farmers thinking about how they should proceed with plans to retire, exit or transfer the farm or ranch business. 

The series will be held March 12 and March 16, 1:30-3:30 p.m. each day, at the Pender Fire Hall, 314 Maple St.

Presenters will include Allan Vyhnalek, a Nebraska Extension educator, and Brandon Dirkschneider, a certified financial planner. Vyhnalek specializes in farm succession in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Dirkschneider is a certified farm transition coordinator.

 “Retiring or passing the farm to the next generation is difficult to think about and is an admission of your own impending demise,” said Allan Vyhnalek. “However, it is a necessary step and, with good planning, can be made as painless as possible.”   

The workshop is free, but registration is requested and can be completed by contacting Nebraska Extension in Thurston County at 402-385-6041.

The sessions will cover the importance of having a plan, proper family communications and proper family negotiations, as well as tools for estate planning and other financial strategies.

“Reactions from past participants can be summarized into one comment:  most wished that they had attended this workshop years earlier,” said Vyhnalek. “This program gives a good outline of the process farm and ranch businesses need to take to start or restart that process.” 

Two-part farm succession workshop
March. 12, 2020 and March 16, 2020
1:30-3:30 p.m.
Pender Fire Hall
314 Maple St.
Pender, NE 68047
Registration: 402-385-6041

For more information on Extension resources for transition in Nebraska, visit https://agecon.unl.edu/succession.



Consumers Pay Organic Premiums – Chicken is King and Beef Lags
Elliott Dennis, UNL Livestock Marketing and Risk Management Economist

“Local” and “Organic” are two forms of production that have received considerable public attention in the last 10 years. The label of “Local” and “Organic” are noticeably vague and at times can cause confusion among consumers. The USDA has no specific definition of the “Local” label but work to promote locally grown products. The “Organic” label is more specific and “regulations require that animals are raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviors (like the ability to graze on pasture), fed 100% organic feed and forage, and not administered antibiotics or hormones” (USDA 2019).

Converting part or all an operation to certified “Organic” is one way to potentially add more profit to an enterprise. Each operation is different so careful analysis of the costs and benefits of switching production practices is clearly warranted prior to making any decisions. When processing the decision to convert production, one of the most common question I receive from producers is “Are consumers willing to pay more for Organic or Local beef over conventional beef?” The answer is generally, it depends.

This question is difficult to answer in part due to the lack of price reporting by USDA and the many retail cuts that can/should be monitored. Advertised prices from supermarkets provide a signal on what retailers believe is the profit maximizing price for select cuts but tell nothing about quantity purchased by consumers. Nevertheless, these advertised prices can be used to used to calculate the organic price premium during weeks where a select cut is advertised as Organic and Conventional. Using weekly data from the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) between December 2018 to January 2020 I determine organic price premiums for select cuts for beef, pork, and chicken.

Organic Premiums Vary by Meat Product
The premium for organic beef ranged from $2.96/lb. for a boneless top sirloin steak to $6.47/lb. for a boneless New York strip steak. Organic ground beef premiums ranged from $2.00/lb. to $2.50/lb. Thus, on average, an organic steak was advertised at a $5.26/lb. premium over conventional steak and organic ground beef was advertised at a $2.18/lb. over conventional ground beef. Ground beef was the most advertised product whereas the type of steak advertised varied. Chicken products ranged from $2.01/lb. to $5.21/lb. Boneless organic products commanded a higher premium than bone-in products. For example, organic boneless and skinless chicken breasts had a $4.64/lb. premium compared to $2.01/lb. split bone-in breast. Likewise, stores tended to frequently advertise the same subsection of chicken products week to week. For example, of the 30 weeks of data, boneless and skinless organic chicken breasts was advertised during 28 of those weeks. The type of pork products advertised varied considerably. The most common was bacon and commanded a $4.17/lb. premium. Likewise, different types of sausage were advertised but premiums were generally lower than bacon.

Comparing organic beef premiums to organic premiums in pork and chicken sheds some light on why adoption of organic practices (i.e. no hormones and no antibiotics) in chicken has been more rapid than beef. Organic premium for a boneless chicken breast was $4.64 (194% of conventional price) compared to $6.02/lb. for a boneless ribeye steak (63% of conventional price). There appears to be a larger organic premium, as a percentage of conventional price, for lower valued products than for higher valued products. Given this premium there would be a greater incentive for adoption in chicken production than in beef production. Thus, the additional adoption of no hormones and no antibiotics in beef production is likely more of a result of towards capturing export, rather than domestic, demand for these attributes.



AGP Chairman Named Director of Year by NCFC

At the 2020 Annual Meeting of the National Council for Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC), Brad Davis, Chairman of the Board and President of Ag Processing Inc a cooperative (AGP), was named recipient of the award for Farmer Cooperative Director of the Year.

The prestigious award is presented annually to a farmer cooperative director in recognition of outstanding leadership and contributions to his/her cooperative’s achievements. Davis has served on the AGP Board of Directors for over 26 years and as AGP Chairman since 2002. During that time, Davis also served as General Manager of Gold‐Eagle Cooperative, a position he held for over 35 years. Overall, he held various roles in the cooperative system for more than 40 years.

“Brad’s leadership as Chairman of the AGP Board reflects his commitment to cooperative values and our mission to serve agriculture,” said AGP CEO Keith Spackler. “His insights and dedication to collaboration and communication enhance our strategic planning and investment programs, and have been an important part of the ongoing success of AGP.”

Commenting on his award, Davis said, “I’m very honored and humbled to receive this award and I want to sincerely thank the NCFC and its membership.”

He added, “The AGP Board of Directors and management have a very open and supportive relationship, and it is so rewarding to work with so many outstanding members of the AGP team. I believe the strength of the cooperative model at AGP mirrors a set of shared values we all strive to incorporate into our lives, our businesses, and our relationships. Moreover, I am proud of AGP’s commitment to share successes with its many cooperative owners, employees, and other stakeholders.”

The nominees for the award are examined by a panel of judges representing the NCFC membership and outside experts. Nominees are evaluated on four broad criteria: how well the nominee understands the cooperative; the ability to provide leadership and be a team player; the possession of good business judgment; and the ability to communicate effectively.

The NCFC Director of the Year award includes a dedicated scholarship for agricultural studies in the name of the recipient to an institution of higher learning of choice. Davis chose Iowa State University to receive the scholarship funds.



First NCTA dean candidate visit is March 11

Larry A. Gossen, Ph.D., a candidate being considered as the new Dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture will visit Curtis on Wednesday, March 11 for a seminar and public reception.

Dr. Gossen currently is a State FFA Advisor with the Nebraska Department of Education, and is based in Lincoln. His career in agriculture education and FFA organizations spans over 40 years in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska.

The NCTA interview schedule for three candidate finalists was announced Monday by the NCTA Dean Search Committee, led by Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Dr. Gossen will meet with NCTA students, faculty, staff, alumni and stakeholders during a series of meetings over March 10-12.

He will present a campus seminar from 3:45 to 5 p.m. on March 11 in the auditorium of the Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center, Siminoe Drive and University Road.

A campus and community reception for Dr. Gossen will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Ed Center.

Additionally, two other finalists for NCTA Dean will visit Curtis March 15-17 and March 18-20, respectively.  Similar community events are being planned with Drs. Clyde Cranwell and Darrel Sandall.

Other details are available at https://ncta.unl.edu/meet-dean-candidates.



Pacific Ethanol Sells Interest in Pacific Aurora to Aurora Coop

Pacific Ethanol, Inc., a leading producer and marketer of low-carbon renewable fuels and high-quality alcohol products in the United States, announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 74% ownership interest in Pacific Aurora, LLC to the Aurora Cooperative Elevator Company (Aurora Cooperative) for $52.8 million of consideration, subject to certain working capital adjustments. Aurora Cooperative currently holds a 26% ownership interest in Pacific Aurora, LLC. Included in the sale are two ethanol production facilities with a combined annual production capacity of 145 million gallons, a grain elevator with storage capacity of 4.1 million bushels and integrated rail facilities located in Aurora, Nebraska. After working capital adjustments and the settlement of certain payables between Pacific Aurora, LLC and the Aurora Cooperative, the consideration received at closing is expected to be approximately $27 million in cash and $16.5 million in promissory notes. The sale is anticipated to close within the next 45 days, subject to customary closing conditions.

Neil Koehler, Pacific Ethanol’s president and CEO, stated, “We are pleased to come to agreement with our valued partner Aurora Cooperative. The sale of our interest is a win-win for both companies, strengthening Pacific Ethanol’s balance sheet while providing Aurora Cooperative with full ownership of these assets. We are confident that under Aurora Cooperative’s capable management and farmer ownership the facilities will provide value to the local community and the overall ethanol industry. We are committed to a smooth transition of operations and look forward to further collaboration with Aurora Cooperative in growing a successful ethanol business.”

Chris Vincent, Aurora Cooperative President and CEO, stated, “This investment is a great opportunity for Aurora Cooperative, its owners, and the communities that we support. We understand the significance that these two ethanol plants, grain facilities and rail assets mean to our owners. Achieving full ownership of this local destination market is pivotal to our shared success. We look forward to these assets providing long term value for our owners, our Cooperative and our communities.”



Iowa's Best Burger: Less Than Two Weeks To Nominate
There are less than two weeks to nominate your favorite burger joint and it’s a close race to the finish line for several Iowa restaurants vying for this year’s title of Iowa’s Best Burger. The annual contest, sponsored by the Iowa Beef Industry Council (IBIC) and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA), is looking to award this title to the best burger in the state.

“Restaurants are a valuable partner to the beef industry and play an important role in providing our customers with an enjoyable eating experience at an affordable price. A 100% real beef burger is a classic American favorite with a taste that can’t be beaten and this contest showcases just that,” says Kylie Peterson, IBIC’s Director of Marketing.

Nominations are being accepted online at iabeef.org. The nomination period closes at 5:00 p.m. on March 10.

Details about the contest, rules, and 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 quest to find Iowa’s best burger began on February 10. To qualify for the title, burgers must be a 100% real beef patty, served on a bun or bread products and be cooked to 160° F doneness.

The 10 restaurants with the most votes will be named on March 13. In addition to receiving the title of one of the Top 10 best burgers in the state, these finalists qualify for the title of Iowa’s Best Burger.  A secret panel of judges will visit each of these restaurants to taste and judge their burger to help us determine the winner.

“This contest is a hats-off to Iowa’s 25,000 beef farmers and the high-quality, wholesome, and nutritious beef they produce,” says Katie Olthoff, Director of Communications for ICA. “Our cattlemen and women raise a great tasting product that all Iowans can be proud of.”



Beef Checkoff, Pork Board Launch Deli Meat Month Campaign
This March, the North American Meat Institute, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff and The National Pork Board, administrator of the Pork Checkoff, are joining forces to observe and promote National Deli Meat Month. The two organizations have always honored the American favorite, but they are now adding some meat to the month-long celebration.

Together, NAMI, on behalf of the Beef Checkoff, and the Pork Board have created a significant outreach campaign directed to retailers, health professionals, dietitians, restaurateurs and consumers encourage them to enjoy their favorite deli meats - and remind them they can feel good about the nutritional benefits of these popular cuts. The centerpiece of this effort is a newly created website - www.nationaldelimeatmonth.org - which provides a multitude of resources, including infographics, fact sheets, nutrition information and the latest news.

"March is a great time for Deli Meat Month because it's also National Nutrition Month," said Chris Jones, Director, Marketing Strategy at the Pork Board. "Deli meats provide a convenient source of protein, vitamins and minerals."

While the processed meat category is sometimes the target of critics, numerous studies and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans affirm that they can be part of a healthy, balanced diet.

"This month and every month, it is meaningful to note that prepared meats such as deli meats are an important part of meat's sustainability story," said Eric Mittenthal, Vice President of Sustainability for NAMI. "Animals produce far more than steaks, chops and roasts. Deli and other prepared meats provide nutrient, protein dense foods while allowing the industry to utilize more of every animal we harvest. This category contributes greatly to animal agriculture's ethical, nose-to-tail sustainability story."

No matter how you slice it, there are so many choices to tempt taste buds all month long. The deli meats category is diverse and offers choices to meet nutrition needs, tastes, budgets and personal preferences. Thousands of products are available in the meat case and include options that are low- and reduced-sodium, low- and reduced-fat, organic, grass-fed, American Heart Association certified, Kosher and more.



Farmer Survey Highlights Misconceptions About “Right to Repair”

Only a small fraction of farmers is aware of “right to repair” legislation that has been considered by state legislatures in recent years, according to a recent survey. The legislation would provide unfettered access to proprietary embedded code, jeopardizing the safety and sustainability of modern agricultural equipment, including tractors and combines. Out of more than 500 farmers surveyed, only 28% are aware of “right to repair” legislation. However, a majority of farmers believe that they should be able to repair their own equipment.

To help educate farmers about the safety, environmental, and legal risks associated with “right to repair” legislation, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) engaged attendees at last week’s Commodity Classic, the largest farmer-led convention and trade show in North America.

“Equipment manufacturers invest considerable resources in the research and development of advanced agricultural equipment that help farmers maximize their productivity,” said Stephanie See, AEM director of state government relations.” More than a dozen states are currently considering “right to repair” legislation, which would provide access to proprietary onboard diagnostics systems, which may result in loss of warranty, physical risk, violation of federal emission laws and accelerated engine wear.

The survey, commissioned by AEM, was conducted to gauge perceptions and understand awareness of “right to repair” laws across the country. The survey found that three out of four farmers (76%) believe that they already have the right to repair their own equipment. However, seven in 10 farmers (72%) also believe they should be able to conduct repairs to all aspects of their equipment, even if it relates to federally mandated safety or emissions standards.

“’Right to repair’ legislation is not about giving farmers the right to repair their equipment, they already have the ability to make most repairs,” explained See. “The issue here is illegal tampering, and we believe it is important that farmers understand the risks so they do not become victims and pay the cost of illegal tampering.”

Equipment manufacturers and dealers are dedicated to supporting farmers and their equipment needs, which is why AEM and the Equipment Dealers Association (EDA) have committed to make available a comprehensive toolkit of maintenance, diagnostic and repair information for tractors and combines by 2021. Many of the tools and resources referenced in the industry’s Statement of Principles are already available today. The toolkit includes access to the following:
• Manuals (operator, parts, service)
• Product guides
• Product service demonstrations, training, seminars or clinics
• Fleet management information
• On-board diagnostics via diagnostics port or wireless interface
• Electronic field diagnostic service tools, and training on how to use them
• Other publications with information on service, parts, operation and safety

“Proponents of the ‘right to repair’ bills have been pushing the false notion that farmers cannot fix their farming equipment without access to all of the equipment’s software and code. But in reality, efforts to pass these bills are not farmer-led initiatives but are being led by well-funded activists whose main goal is to gain unfettered access to the equipment’s technology,” said Ben Wikner, an Iowa farmer.

“Modern-era tractors are highly advanced pieces of machinery that improve our productivity, safety and environmental footprint. But I believe ‘right to repair’ laws would undermine all of these benefits while forcing manufacturers to relinquish proprietary information,” Wikner added.

To learn more about the industry’s Statement of Principles, visit R2RSolutions.org.



NFU Concludes 118th Anniversary Convention

The National Farmers Union (NFU) 118th Anniversary Convention concluded today following the adoption of the organization’s policy book and special orders of business. More than 500 family farmers and ranchers convened in Savannah, Georgia, to set policy positions and priorities that support American farm and ranch families and strengthen rural communities.

Delegates to the convention adopted the NFU Policy Book and six special orders of business that will guide the organization’s government affairs priorities over the course of the next year, especially as they relate to the tough economic circumstances and sustainability issues facing family farmers. Before the policy review began, they elected Rob Larew to succeed Roger Johnson as the organization’s president and reelected Patty Edelburg of Scandinavia, Wisconsin, to serve as NFU Vice President.

“The reason for Farmers Union’s longstanding success – and the reason why I am so enthusiastic about leading this organization – is its grassroots structure,” said newly elected Farmers Union President Larew. “Each year, our members set organizational directives and federal policy priorities in a democratic process, which ensures that the work we do in our national office is really in the best interest of the hard-working family farmers and ranchers feed, fuel, and clothe our nation.”

Convention attendees heard keynote remarks from Matt Paul, a nationally recognized expert in public affairs, and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. NFU President Roger Johnson delivered his final State of the Farmers Union address, offering an overview of his 11-year-long tenure and an optimistic outlook for the organization’s future. Additionally, the convention featured a panel on black land loss and voting rights and breakout sessions on precision agriculture, the history of grassroots organizing, regenerative farming, farm to table, and hemp production.

“Between low commodity prices, climate change, and trade uncertainty, there are so many challenges in farm country right now,” said Larew. “But there are so many bright spots too. As consumers get more interested in where their food comes from and how it’s made, new local and diverse agricultural markets are opening up. Conservation agriculture holds significant potential for financial and environmental benefits. Every day, new technologies are making it easier for farmers to improve efficiency and sustainability. And across the country, there’s a resurgence in support for family farm agriculture. So while this convention is a crucial opportunity to address the difficulties facing family farmers and ranchers, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate all the reasons we love agriculture and dedicate our lives to it.”

In order to provide the national organization a set of priorities for the coming year, 199 Farmers Union delegates approved six special orders of business:
– Family Farming and 2020: A Most Challenging Year
– Family Farming and the 2020 Election
– Family Farming and Cooperatives
– Family Farming and Climate Change
– Family Farming and Dairy Policy Reform
– Family Farming and Truth in Labeling and Promotion of Meat Products

Full text of the adopted policy manual will be available soon at www.nfu.org.



Ranch Group: "We Are In a Crisis But No One Is Listening"

In response to the late February announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will open the U.S. market to fresh beef from Brazil - a country with a history of engaging in corrupt food safety practices - R-CALF USA and its thousands of members are distributing a research paper to congressional offices titled Restoring Mandatory COOL for Beef Without Running Afoul of the WTO's Adverse Ruling.

R-CALF USA said today that Brazil could soon begin exporting significant quantities of fresh beef to the U.S. and current law does not require the foreign country-of-origin label - which is required on all imported beef when entering the U.S. market - to be retained through retail sale.

"This means the law does not require importers to keep the known country-of-origin information on the actual package of imported beef that is offered for sale to consumers at retail stores," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.

"This also means beef produced by America's cattle farmers and ranchers cannot compete against the soon-to-arrive increased quantities of Brazilian beef as both domestic and Brazilian beef will be labeled the same - they will each have identical USDA inspection stickers on them so consumers cannot tell them apart," he added.

Bullard said the only way to end this consumer deception and to allow American-produced beef to compete with the surpluses created by undifferentiated imports is for Congress to pass legislation requiring Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (M-COOL) on all beef products sold at retail stores.

Congress removed beef and pork from the current M-COOL law in late 2015, though the law continues to cover many other food products. And, while R-CALF USA and its members have been calling on Congress for the reinstatement of M-COOL for beef ever since, Congress has refused to take action.

Bullard said many R-CALF USA members have received "canned" responses from their congressional delegations stating Congress cannot reinstate M-COOL for beef because the World Trade Organization (WTO) has authorized Canada and Mexico to impose retaliatory tariffs of over $1 billion if the labeling requirements for beef were restored.

R-CALF USA's research paper addresses this issue directly and reveals that Congress should pass a new M-COOL law for beef that substantively changes the old law's recordkeeping and labeling requirements and that greatly expands the scope of products to be labeled.

According to Bullard, such a new law would not only render the WTO's prior ruling inapplicable, but it would greatly improve the old labeling regime for beef and provide M-COOL labels on even more beef products purchased by American consumers.

"This action is absolutely imperative now that the Trump Administration is encouraging even more undifferentiated beef to enter our domestic market. Imperative because America's family-owned cattle farms and ranches have seen their average annual incomes over the past three years slashed by nearly 20% compared to the average 5-year income they received before the Trump Administration took office.

"America's cow/calf producers, the largest segment of America's cattle industry, have seen the average value of their cattle slashed by nearly $200 per head during the past three years and many of them will not survive past this year's election.

"We are in a crisis, but no one is listening. The least Congress or the Trump Administration can do is give America's cattle producers the tool they need to compete against imported beef in their own domestic market. We hope our research paper will trigger someone to act," Bullard concluded.



Experts Weigh in on Tradeoffs of Plant and Animal Proteins

Will plant-based diets save the planet? Is animal protein important for health? Questions continue to swirl around the pros and cons of animal and plant protein-based diets, particularly as accessibility of plant-based alternatives grows and the climate conversation amplifies. The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) has assembled a diverse panel of experts to offer insights into the tradeoffs during a free webinar, “Experts Weigh In: Evaluating Tradeoffs of Plant and Animal Proteins.”

Scheduled for Monday, April 6, 1 to 2 p.m. CDT, the webinar features three experts in food and agriculture. Melissa Joy Dobbins, MS, RDN, CDE, a nationally recognized registered dietitian nutritionist known as The Guilt-Free RD®, will discuss the pros and cons of plant-based vs. animal-protein diets. Polly Ruhland, CEO of the United Soybean Board, will provide perspective from a commodity that’s involved in both the animal protein and plant protein spaces. Ruhland will also detail USB’s new “Protein First” approach that encourages industry collaboration across all protein types. Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., is a professor and air quality specialist in cooperative extension in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, whose focus includes understanding and mitigating air emissions from livestock operations, as well as the implications of these emissions for the health and safety of farm workers and neighboring communities.

CFI CEO Charlie Arnot will outline a three-pronged process as part of CFI’s Optimizing Sustainability program that offers free tools to help the food industry navigate sustainability decisions, as one well-meaning decision can have unintended and significant consequences that actually undermine a sustainable food system.

“A variety of interest groups and other organizations are harnessing the increased interest in the evolving definition of sustainability to capture opportunity or promote a specific agenda,” said Arnot. “As a result, a new and growing challenge is the focus on a single ingredient, process or practice without accounting for the potential impact on the entire food chain.”

Initially, sustainability was primarily focused on protecting environmental resources, but today’s consumers are concerned with a variety of issues, including health and wellness, animal welfare, worker treatment, food waste and more, said Arnot.

Register for the webinar at www.foodintegrity.org. More information on CFI’s Optimizing Sustainability resources can be downloaded www.optimizingsustainability.org.



Nutrition Coalition Urges Congress to Ask Secretary Perdue How USDA Will Address The Obesity Epidemic in Rural America

With the obesity epidemic continuing to rise dramatically in rural communities across the country, today the Nutrition Coalition, a group that aims to bring rigorous science to nutrition policy, is urging Congress to ask U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to address the epidemic in the next iteration of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) when he appears in front of the House Committee on Agriculture this week. Secretary Perdue will testify in front of the House Committee on Agriculture on Wednesday at 10:00am.

The federal government has published the Dietary Guidelines—the principal policy guiding diet in the United States—with the goals of promoting good health, helping Americans reach a healthy weight, and preventing chronic disease. However, since the launch of the DGA in 1980, the incidence of chronic, diet-related diseases in America has dramatically increased. Adult obesity rates have doubled; childhood obesity rates have nearly tripled; and two-thirds of American adults are now overweight or have obesity. The CDC has also found that obesity prevalence is significantly higher among adults living in rural counties.

“Our nation’s dietary guidelines are based on weak scientific evidence and because they focus mainly on “healthy Americans,” exclude over 60% of the population who have a nutrition-related disease. With nearly one in five Americans living in rural areas, and half of the country expected to have obesity by 2030, our nation’s dietary guidelines must account for all Americans, not just for those who are healthy,” said Nina Teicholz, Executive Director of The Nutrition Coalition. “Congress must urge USDA to reform the guidelines so that they are based on the best and most rigorous science. Only then will they be able to help Americans fight nutrition-related diseases.”

Saturated fats, for example, have been limited by the DGA for decades, however there is no strong scientific evidence that links these fats to cardiovascular or total mortality.

Responding to this lack of evidence, a group of leading nutrition scientists, including three former members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, earlier this month challenged the current recommendation to limit the consumption of saturated fats, agreeing that the most rigorous and current science fails to support a continuation this policy.

Members of the group wrote a consensus statement on saturated fats and also sent a letter regarding their findings to the Secretaries of USDA and HHS. The letter urged USDA-HHS to give “serious and immediate consideration to lifting the limits placed on saturated fat intake for the upcoming 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

For more information, please visit www.nutritioncoalition.us.