Thursday September 17 Ag News

Rural Mainstreet Index Climbs for September: Almost One-Fourth of Bankers Report Rural Economy Recovery
 
Since falling to a record low in April of this year, the Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) has increased for five straight months, but still remains below growth neutral.

According to the September monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy, September’s reading represented the seventh straight month with a reading in a recessionary economic zone despite the increases over the past few months.       

Overall: The overall index for September increased to 46.9 from August’s 44.7, but still well below growth neutral. The index ranges between 0 and 100 with a reading of 50.0 representing growth neutral.

“Recent improvements in agriculture commodity prices, federal stimuli and Federal Reserve record low interest rates have underpinned the Rural Mainstreet Economy. Bank CEOs estimated that farm income, including government support, was down only 1.5% from this time last year,” said Ernie Goss, PhD, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.  

Almost one of four bankers, or 23.1%, reported that their local economies were back to pre-coronavirus levels.

Farming and ranching: After moving above growth neutral for only the second time in the past 81 months in August, the farmland price index once again fell below the threshold for September. The September reading sank to 45.0 from August’s 50.0.   

The September farm equipment-sales index slipped to 32.1 from 32.8 in August. This marks the 84th straight month the reading has remained below growth neutral 50.0.  

Below are the state reports:
Nebraska: The Nebraska RMI for September rose to 53.4 from 52.9 in August. The state’s farmland-price index fell to 46.2 from last month’s 51.1. Nebraska’s new-hiring index soared to 82.3 from August’s 58.5. Compared to the same month last year, Nebraska’s Rural Mainstreet economy has lost 4.9% of its nonfarm employment representing 14,000 jobs.   

Iowa: The September RMI for Iowa dipped to 46.5 from August’s 46.8. Iowa’s farmland-price index slumped to 42.8 from 53.2 in August. Iowa’s new-hiring index for September rose to 54.7 from 51.7 in August. Compared to the same month last year, Iowa’s Rural Mainstreet economy has lost 6.8% of its nonfarm employment representing 47,000 jobs.   

Each month, community bank presidents and CEOs in nonurban agriculturally and energy-dependent portions of a 10-state area are surveyed regarding current economic conditions in their communities, and their projected economic outlooks six months down the road. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming are included.   

This survey represents an early snapshot of the economy of rural agriculturally and energy-dependent portions of the nation. The Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) is a unique index covering 10 regional states, focusing on approximately 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300. It gives the most current real-time analysis of the rural economy. Goss and Bill McQuillan, former chairman of the Independent Community Banks of America, created the monthly economic survey in 2005.



Mid-West States Collaborate on Digital Campaign
 
Digital advertising has become an effective and efficient way to promote beef to consumers, especially the Millennials and Gen Z. With more and more consumers going online for information, shopping and entertainment, it’s imperative that the Beef Checkoff place positive beef messaging where consumers spend their time – online.

The Nebraska Beef Council partnered with other Mid-west state beef councils to implement a digital advertising campaign on YouTube, one of the world’s largest and most popular online platforms. The campaign spanned nearly 70 days over the summer months and featured video ads highlighting beef as the official sponsor of summer grilling. Other video content included “United We Steak” messages encouraging Americans to unite behind the grill, discover regional recipes and meet local members of the beef community. Here are the results from the campaign:
•    The videos combined for a total of 8,390,496 video views
•    The campaign messages reached people 12,869,322 times
•    The campaign had a 52.36% view rate meaning over five in ten viewers chose to watch at least :30 seconds of the video that they were served.
•    The average cost per view was $0.01, which is below the industry average of $0.05/view allowing the Checkoff dollar to reach more consumers via digital video.
•    The Midwest States Campaign footprint encompassed seven states including Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and North Dakota.



Farmer who is ‘lucky to be alive’ takes time for safety
 
David Endorf was distracted when he backed up his ATV over the edge of a dry creek. The Nebraska farmer dropped seven feet, hitting his head, shoulder and hip. His leg was pinned beneath the overturned four-wheeler, and he had no way to get it off or get out. In a series of fortunate events, his damaged cellphone still worked, he was able to direct neighbors to his location, and he wasn’t seriously hurt. Endorf was lucky to be alive.

But the incident shook him and made him more aware of farm safety and doing tasks safely. Endorf shared his experience through the Telling the Story Project, in which farmers and families talk about injuries and close calls with prevention messages. Telling the Story Project recounts many of the dangers found on farms and in agriculture settings. National Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 20-26, aims to raise awareness and encourage safe practices.

“It has heightened my attitude toward safety, but especially when I get on that four-wheeler,” Endorf said about the near-death experience when he was 64.

In August 2018, he had loaded a 15-gallon sprayer on the back of his Honda Foreman ES 4x4 and went out to spray trees on his property. At about 11:15 a.m., he started looking at his watch to figure out how much time he could spend working before he headed to town for an appreciation luncheon at the local co-op. He had boxed himself into a brushy area and backed up without looking.

The rear wheel dropped off, and he and the machine rolled down the steep bank.

“For a full year after I had that accident, I never put that sprayer on there. To me that was a contributing factor,” Endorf said. The weight of a tank of liquid, even 15 gallons, affects the center of balance and handling on an ATV.

Since then, he has used the sprayer on the four-wheeler, but he focuses on staying present in his task and slowing down.

“If you watch my (Telling the Story Project) video, I mention a couple times, you have to get your mind on what you’re doing. Safety is a mental issue also,” he said. “You have to slow down a little bit, think a little bit more about what you’re doing at the moment.”

Taking a few extra seconds or minutes to slow down can improve safety for “anything and everything,” he said, but especially when it comes to ATVs.

Since he shared his experience, Endorf has been surprised by the stories other people tell him about their accidents. “First, they tell me I’m lucky to be alive,” he said. “Second, (they say,) ‘I had a four-wheeler overturn,’ or ‘It flipped over backwards.’ Others have had accidents on these things, too.”

Raising awareness is an important part of the Telling the Story Project. The stories are meant to be shared, to encourage others to take measures to stay safe. Farmers, media, teachers, Extension, and safety professionals are especially encouraged to link to the stories and repurpose content. Terms of use for republishing and crediting are explained at www.tellingthestoryproject.org/use-our-stories.

“I think about safety a lot, I really do. After my ATV accident, it just raised the level higher and being safe with what I do,” Endorf said. He has two grandchildren in elementary school who visit the farm. “We talk about safety and doing things safely,” he said, even things like buckling the seat belt.

“I’ve changed my attitude toward safety, and I would encourage people to read my story and just take a little extra time for safety with whatever they’re doing,” Endorf said.

For more information on ATV safety, visit Farm Safety Check: ATV... http://umash.umn.edu/farm-safety-check-atv/.  

Telling the Story Project is made possible through funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program. Participating regional centers include Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (Nebraska); Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (Iowa); and Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (Minnesota).



Ochsner estate gift benefits ag education at Northeast Community College

A multi-million-dollar gift from the estate of a Pierce area farmer will benefit agriculture education at Northeast Community College far into the future.

Norman Ochsner, who died in May 2018, bequeathed approximately $2.4 million to Northeast, according to Dr. Tracy Kruse, associate vice president of development and external affairs and executive director of the Northeast Foundation. Several other charities also received gifts from the Ochsner estate.

Ochsner was born in Elgin, IL in 1942, and moved to Nebraska with his parents in 1954. He graduated from Norfolk Senior High School in 1960 and from the University of Nebraska in 1964. Ochsner worked in California for a while before moving back to Norfolk where he was employed as a draftsman at Nucor. He was then needed to help on the family farm and worked with his parents. Ochsner farmed for the remainder of his life.

Over the years, Ochsner was active in several community organizations, including the Norfolk Community Theater, the Norfolk Arts Center and the Norfalcon Radio control airplane club. He was a member of First United Methodist Church for over 60 years.

“Mr. Ochsner wanted to make sure his legacy would support students for many years,” Kruse said. “His will specifies that Northeast hold the gift in two endowments. One endowment will provide scholarships for agriculture students. The other is to be used for construction and maintenance of the College’s new ag facilities being planned as part of the Nexus project.”

Kruse explained that the principal held in an endowment cannot be spent. Only the earnings are available for the stated purpose.

“From a $1.3 million endowment, we would conservatively expect to receive four percent, or $52,000, in earnings each year,” Kruse said. “That means $52,000 a year in new scholarships for ag students and $52,000 a year for the College’s ag facilities into perpetuity.”

Those scholarships will help attract additional ag students to Northeast, which already grants the most two-year degrees in agriculture in Nebraska and the eighth most in the nation.

“Coupled with the new facilities now under construction as part of the Nexus project,” Kruse said, “Northeast will become the ag education destination of choice for hundreds of future farmers, ranchers and agribusiness employees.”

Site work on the new facilities began in April and construction is expected to be completed by Fall 2021. The initial phase of construction includes a new veterinary technology clinic and classrooms, a new farm site with a large animal handling facility and other farm structures for livestock operations, a farm office and storage. The new facilities will be located near the Chuck M. Pohlman Agriculture Complex, 2301 E. Benjamin Ave. in Norfolk.

The funding for the agriculture facilities will come from the College’s commitment of $10 million, as well as external fundraising to fill the gap. With a total project cost of $22.3 million, the College has raised enough funds to begin construction; however, fundraising for the Nexus campaign will continue, as more is needed for equipment, technology and furnishings.

In August 2019, the Acklie Charitable Foundation (ACF) announced a $5 million lead gift to the Nexus project. ACF was founded by the late Duane Acklie and Phyllis Acklie, both Madison County natives and graduates of Norfolk Junior College, a predecessor institution of Northeast Community College.

For more information on the Nexus Campaign, contact Kruse, at tracyk@northeast.edu, or call (402) 844-7056. Online donations may be made through agwaternexus.com.



USDA Designates Three Nebraska Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated three Nebraska counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in Burt, Douglas and Washington counties who suffered losses caused recent drought may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

This natural disaster designation allows FSA to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

Producers in the contiguous counties listed below are also eligible to apply for emergency loans:
    Nebraska: Cuming, Dodge, Sarpy, Saunders and Thurston
    Iowa: Harrison, Monona and Pottawattamie

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is May 10, 2021. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

FSA has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. FSA programs that do not require a disaster declaration include: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; and the Tree Assistance Program.

Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.



USDA Designates 10 Iowa Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated 10 Iowa counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in Buena Vista, Hamilton, Harrison, Ida, Madison, Monona, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie and Story counties who suffered losses caused recent drought may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

This natural disaster designation allows FSA to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

Producers in the contiguous counties listed below are also eligible to apply for emergency loans:
    Iowa: Adair, Boone, Calhoun, Cass, Cherokee, Clarke, Clay, Crawford, Dallas, Franklin, Guthrie, Hardin, Humboldt, Jasper, Kossuth, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Montgomery, O’Brien, Palo Alto, Sac, Shelby, Union, Warren, Webster, Woodbury and Wright.
    Nebraska: Burt, Douglas, Sarpy, Thurston and Washington

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is May 10, 2021.

FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

FSA has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. FSA programs that do not require a disaster declaration include: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; and the Tree Assistance Program.

Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.



August Milk Production in the United States up 1.8 Percent

Milk production in the United States during August totaled 18.6 billion pounds, up 1.8 percent from August 2019.  Production per cow in the United States averaged 1,987 pounds for August, 27 pounds above August 2019.  The number of milk cows on farms in the United States was 9.36 million head,
42,000 head more than August 2019, but unchanged from July 2020.

Iowa
Milk production in Iowa during August 2020 totaled 449 million pounds, up 2% from the previous August according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Milk Production report. The average number of milk cows during August, at 218,000 head, was equal to last month but 1,000 more than last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,060 pounds, up 30 pounds from last August.




CommonGround Takes Cooking, Conversations to Kitchens Across the Country

CommonGround hosted a virtual cooking class for consumers, made possible through St. Paul, Minnesota-based Cooks of Crocus Hill. Last week, more than 50 attendees from across the country welcomed CommonGround into their kitchens to learn about preparing great food from professionals and to find out more about their food from the women who grow it.

Two farmers involved in raising or growing of ingredients spotlighted for each of the three courses, shared their story with influential and interested consumers. Through an interactive discussion, attendees found out not just about cooking but also about farming and how to continue dialogue that is honest and open between the farm and their families.

With participants from California bloggers to DC-based leaders in food non-profits, the impacts of the event will continue to spread on social media over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out!

Thank you so much to all of the awesome state staff and volunteers who came together to keep consumer efforts moving in this new and different environment.

Farmers featured during the appetizer course included Jocelyn Schlichting Hicks of Minnesota who discussed biotechnology as a potato grower and Pam Selz-Pralle of Wisconsin who told the story of caring for her cows as a dairy farmer. During the entrée segment, Joan Ruskamp of Nebraska discussed antibiotics and animal health from her perspective as a beef rancher and Maryland farmer, volunteer and Registered Dietitian Jennie Schmidt, who also grows Roma tomatoes, brought information about pesticides to light. The evening wrapped up on a sweet note, with Iowa dairy farmer Lynn Bolin discussing sustainability and Kim Baldwin of Kansas sharing on everything from eggs to food prices during the dessert course.

As always, the farmers featured were supported by fellow volunteers including Sondra Pierce of Colorado, Lauren Biegler of Minnesota and Kyla Hamilton of Texas. Together, these women rounded out the team and showed the program’s grassroots, authentic approach to conversations in action.



Field Crop Production Handbook Offers Valuable Insight for Iowa Growers

Growing successful field crops is a science, one that is learned and improved upon with years of experience. But sometimes it just makes sense to start with the basics.

That’s the approach of a new publication from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach called the Field Crop Production Handbook.

This 144-page handbook provides a general overview of the essential aspects of producing field crops in Iowa. It focuses on the basics of crop establishment, but also on care and harvest, as well as the impacts on soil, water and wildlife.

“The handbook is useful for people who are new to agriculture or may be joining the family farm and want to get reacquainted with some of the basics of crop production,” said Erin Hodgson, professor and extension specialist in entomology at Iowa State University.

Sixteen chapters cover the most common field crops grown in Iowa, including corn and soybean, but also small grains and forages. Each chapter includes a glossary of terms and additional resources, if producers want to learn more.

The printed copy includes glossy pages with pictures and graphics, at a cost of $12 per copy or $6 per copy if purchased in boxed quantities of 37. The publication is also available digitally on the Iowa State University Extension Store and can be downloaded for $6.

“There is a lot of practical information in the handbook to help get people up to speed and refresh their knowledge,” said Mark Licht, assistant professor in agronomy and cropping systems specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach.

The handbook is also useful for high school and college ag programs, where students and teachers may be looking for a basic primer that covers crop production.

Licht said it was an enjoyable project that included input from a diverse group of faculty and staff at Iowa State. The publication is written and organized in a way that is intended to be accessible to those with or without a farming background, and to audiences not traditionally associated with agriculture.

The primary authors were Hodgson and Licht, along with Adam Sisson, extension specialist for the Integrated Pest Management program at Iowa State.

For more information, Hodgson can be reached at 515-294-2847 or ewh@iastate.edu. Licht can be reached at 515-294-0877 or lichtma@iastate.edu. Sisson is available at ajsisson@iastate.edu.



USDA Announces Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Program Improvements

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced modifications to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program to decrease paperwork and recordkeeping burdens for direct marketers beginning with the 2021 crop year.

“These changes will allow more direct marketers who previously could not meet reporting requirements a way to participate in the Whole-Farm program and provide better and more affordable coverage to these diversified growers,” RMA Administrator Martin Barbre said.

RMA held several stakeholder meetings with agents, growers and grower groups to solicit feedback on ways to increase the effectiveness of the WFRP program, as required by the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill). Stakeholders recommended RMA decrease the requirements for reporting yield and revenues for each commodity, which is especially difficult for direct marketers who may sell several commodities through a roadside stand.

The newly implemented modifications allow growers to report two or more direct-marketed commodities as a combined single commodity code with a combined expected revenue for all commodities. Additionally, the combined direct-marketed commodities will count as two commodities in calculating the diversification premium discount. Under WFRP, farms with two or more commodities receive a premium rate discount, reflecting the lower risk of revenue loss due to the farm’s diversification. Revenue history will be based on reported revenue from the combined direct-marketed commodities and total acres planted to those commodities. This lessens reporting burdens by alleviating the requirement to report detailed sales or yield records from any specific commodity reported under the direct market commodity code.

For more information on the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection plan, see the www.rma.usda.gov website.



NCBA & PLC Hail Legislation To Modernize ESA

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC), this week celebrated the introduction of critical legislation that will modernize the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the first time in close to 30 years.

Introduced by Senator and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), John Barrasso (R – Wyo), the Endangered Species Act Amendments of 2020 will improve the existing law by strengthening state and local partnerships, incentivizing voluntary conservation efforts undertaken by ranchers and other land owners, and defend the ESA’s delisting process for animals that have successfully recovered and no longer need protection. Through these changes and with targeted increases for specific areas of the ESA, the bill will improve species conservation and address key failures in the Act.

"This legislation is about improving an outdated law so that it meets current needs. It is about helping every American cattle producer that has lost a calf to a federally-protected bear or wolf, and for landowners who face stringent regulation that doesn’t meet the habitat needs on the ground," said NCBA President Marty Smith. "Thank you to Senator Barrasso for taking on the big task of updating a law that is almost three decades old. I am glad to see a bill recognize that the best conservationists are the ranchers and farmers on their operations everyday taking care of the land and feeding the country."
 
"For too long, ranchers have been forced to deal with an antiquated law that does not recognize the expertise or the conservation done by those who actually live, work, and manage our rangeland," said PLC President Bob Skinner. “Ranchers are the original conservationists, and nowhere is that more true than in the West where millions of acres are managed primarily by ranchers whose daily presence on the landscape allows them to sound the alarm when species need additional help. This bill values the contributions of ranchers and other state experts who will develop stronger recovery plans together. Thank you to Chairman Barrasso for all the work he has done to fix a bill that was in dire need of updated tools."

Background
The Endangered Species Act Amendments of 2020 empowers states to lead recovery planning, implementation planning, recovery teams, and implementation teams if states determine they have the appropriate capacity. The bill also requires negotiation with states prior to releasing an experimental population of a species and to give input from state experts “full and fair consideration” as the federal agencies implement ESA protection measures.
 
Voluntary conservation measures are key to the success of ESA recovery efforts, and the bill allows federal agencies to consider certain voluntary conservation measures as regulatory mechanisms under the ESA. This means that voluntary conservation measures undertaken by ranchers and landowners will be factored in to ESA determinations and recovery plans. It includes provisions to enhance the federal-state conservation partnership, and to encourage conservation through regulatory certainty, increased transparency, and resource prioritization.

The bill also codifies a prioritization system developed and implemented by the Obama Administration that has generally received broad support across the political spectrum. The prioritization system addresses listing petitions, status reviews, and proposed and final determinations, based on the urgency of a species’ circumstances, conservation efforts, and available data and information in order to determine which species are the most imperiled and should be prioritized higher.
 
Notably, the bill also reauthorizes the ESA for the first time in almost thirty years. It increases the authorization of appropriations by approximately 15 percent over currently appropriated levels which have largely been adjusted only for inflation, and focuses funding on recovery plan implementation and voluntary conservation efforts by private landowners.



Hindsight for the future - Randy Blach's positive outlook for the industry
Abbie Burnett, CAB

The blessing and curse of perspective is not having it until a moment passes. Looking back on the last 40 years shows us more than we can see here and now.

"I think we really have to have an appreciation for where we've come from," said randy Blach, CattleFax CEO, at this year's virtual Feeding Quality Forum. "It's not been a straight line."

Cattle inventory topped 132 million head in 1975, but it wasn't until 2000 that the fed-cattle harvest reached its record 30.2 million, and that was with a long decline to 10 million fewer beef cows.

In the 1980s, 12% of U.S. farmers and ranchers went out of business, and the "war on fat" in the '90s nearly eradicated a poorly informed cattle industry, Blach said. Between 1998 and 2000, almost 40% of carcasses graded Select.

If you go back to the quality audits at that time period, one out of four steaks was a disappointment," he said. "No wonder consumers were walking away from our product. They didn't like it."

While a new focus on quality emerged in the early 2000s, genetics, growing drought and mistakes of the past kept up pressure to liquidate. From 2000 to 2015, annual fed harvest numbers declined by 7 million head to close some packing plants and limit harvest capacity going forward.

The seeds of that early move to boost quality finally sprouted after the drought, blooming with record-high Choice and Prime grades.

"We've just taken out the long-term downtrend in numbers," Blach said. "I believe the reason we've done that is because we're an industry that is now focused on doing the right thing, producing the highest quality product that we can, and meeting the changing demands of our consumers."

As the U.S. herd decreased, productivity per head greatly increased and finally added premium quality. The market analyst looks for some liquidation due to drought in the near term but overall numbers should only ebb and flow instead of crash and rise. Stabilization has come to the industry.

The retail sector provides a case study, Blach said. From 1980 to 1998, beef demand was cut by more than half, but since then it's risen by 14 points to 61 on 1980's baseline of 100. There's room for more, but much value has already been added.

"That growth from the demand low has been worth anywhere from $225 t about $280 a head," he said.

Demand is well established for today's higher quality beef, but without an increase in the bottleneck of harvest capacity, Blach sees herd numbers flattening.

With the current balance in supply and demand, "we increase harvest capacity or we decrease the number of animals that are moving through the system," he said. "This will be a situation that ebbs and flows and will start to balance back over the course of the next several years."

On the global stage, the U.S. is the top beef and poultry producer, and third in pork, dominating meat trade overall. The reason?

"Because the lion's share is a high-quality fed-beef product so we have more yield per animal," he shared.

In 1990, beef exports were a very small percentage of U.S. production, whereas today it's 19 billion pounds or 18% of total meat exports.

Blach sees that growing to as much as 150 billion pounds of beef exported by 2040, or 50 billion more than this year.

That sunny projection comes with challenging considerations.

"Are we prepared to continue to make the strides, some of the same hard decisions we made 15 to 20 years ago, focused on quality? Are we going to be willing to do that as we move forward where we can increase our global market share and presence? To have a traceable product? Be source-verified?" he asked.

Instead of $350 per head, Blach said beef exports could be worth close to $500 per head by 2030.

"We've seen these premiums stay strong all the way through here because more and more consumers, once they taste the good stuff, they want to stay with it, don't they? So this has been a quality movement," he said. "Now the opportunity is to layer some of those other attributes onto this to move the value equation moving forward as we move forward into this next decade."

Real-time perspective isn’t really a thing, but the progress in the latter half of the last 40 years says a lot about where the beef business is headed.



USGC Analysis Identifies Need For Global Parity For Energy Tariff Rates

A recent U.S. Grains Council (USGC) analysis of World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff rates identified 19 markets in which ethanol is at a price disadvantage due to a lack of parity in energy tariff rates. Parity of tariff levels refers to equalizing the tariff rates between ethanol and other fossil fuel components, including MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), BTX (benzene, toluene and xylene) and others.

“At a minimum, countries should treat imports of gasoline and gasoline blending components at an equal tariff level, including ethanol,” said Candice Wilson, USGC manager of ethanol trade policy. “For countries seeking to promote environmentally friendly transportation options, equalizing tariff levels for ethanol is a critical way to support expanded ethanol blending to reach air quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals.”

The Council’s analysis highlighted the need for parity in priority markets such as India, China, Japan and Indonesia and other targeted markets like the Philippines, Nigeria and the European Union. The Council is working with partners in countries around the world and representatives from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on these parity issues. The collaboration between these groups has already proven successful in markets like Vietnam, where a five-percentage-point reduction on import tariffs for ethanol is expected to create opportunities for increased ethanol trade.

“Unequal tariff rates for ethanol and its alternatives are contradictory for a country’s commitments to cleaner air and a reduced carbon footprint,” Wilson said. “Parity is a tool for both increased ethanol use and achieving a country’s environmental goals.”

Previously, ethanol imports into Vietnam faced tariffs of 17 percent for 100 percent pure ethanol and 20 percent for 99 percent or less pure ethanol. The Council worked with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) in Vietnam to engage the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) to reduce these most favored nation (MFN) tariffs, which are the lowest possible tariff a country can assess on another country with most favored nation status.

Vietnam’s prime minister signed Decree 27 on May 25, 2020, which decreased the MFN tariff on certain agricultural imports, including ethanol. While the Council and its partners supported a tariff reduction in line with competing products like aromatics and other petrochemical oxygenates, the tariff was eventually reduced to 15 percent for both 100 percent pure ethanol and 99 percent or less pure ethanol, the maximum reduction applied to any commodity or product during this review period. The new tariff rate went into effect on July 10, 2020.

“Successes like the tariff reduction in Vietnam are part of a continuous effort to support the growth and stability of global ethanol markets,” Wilson said. “The Council will continue to work closely with relevant agencies and industry partners to encourage further reductions of tariff rates for ethanol across the globe.”