Tuesday September 1 Ag News

 NeFB Cattle Markets Task Force Preparing Final Report

The purpose of the NEFB Cattle Markets Task Force is to examine underlying issues and focus on the creation of a roadmap for the long-term viability of the cattle sector, the overriding goal being to secure the future of the cattle industry in the state for the long-term.

The Task Force is made up of 11 NEFB members and was given the goal of having a final report submitted to the membership.

To date, the Task Force has met 10 times since the beginning of April. The meetings consisted of a mix of presentations and discussions with experts in the industry along with discussions amongst the Task Force members.

The Task Force identified seven general topics to explore:
    Increase Negotiated Sales for Fed Cattle
    Improve the Cattle Futures Market
    Opportunities in Value-Added Marketing
    Improve Mandatory Price Reporting
    Increase Packer Capacity
    Viable Risk Management Alternatives
    Address Market Power by Packers

In late June through early July, the Task Force surveyed members on those identified topics and asked NEFB members to rank them in order of importance and offer comments on any other topic they felt the group needed to explore. While not scientific, members of the Task Force felt it was important to get feedback from the general membership. In total, over 170 NEFB members responded to the survey.

The final report will be emailed out to all NEFB farmer/rancher members and will be posted on NEFB’s website.



What are Total Export Commitments Telling Us about Beef's Potential in 2020: Positive Signs?
Elliott Dennis, Extension Economist, Dept of Ag Economics, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Overarching Market Conditions
The recent cattle on feed report suggests that cattle feedlots are coming closer to sorting through much of the backlog associated with plant closures and shutdowns as a result of plant workers testing positive and plants implementing CDC and OSHA worker health recommendations. For example, the number of cattle on feed over 90 days has dipped below 2019 levels for the first time since April. However, cattle on feed over 120 days is still about 10% higher than 2019. The result of cattle being on feed longer is sustained record level dressed weights for both steers and heifers. Heavier carcasses has led to higher beef production in recent months relative to 2019 putting downward pressure on cattle prices. With net feedlot placements (i.e. higher than 2019 and the five year average, cattle feedlots look like they are once again reloading with cattle less than 700 lbs. potentially sustaining record beef production in the long term that will need to be consumed. With lower, but growing, domestic demand and concerns about what a second government shutdown might due to domestic demand, beef export demand is likely to play a larger and more prominent role in sustaining domestic cattle prices.
 
Total Beef Export Commitments
One way to monitor beef exports is through USDA-FAS weekly export sales report. This report shows the number of exports occurring that week, total number of sales that have occurred during the calendar year, previous sales that have not shipped during the calendar year, previous sales planned for this calendar year but were cancelled, and sales scheduled to ship in future years. From this weekly data, one can calculate total sales commitments within a given week (i.e. ) which can be viewed as a leading indicator for export potential.

Exports have partially dampened the effect of lower domestic beef demand resulting from government restrictions due to COVID-19 concerns. Given the importance of beef exports how was 2020 shaping up relative to 2019, both pre and post COVID-19? There was a large number of total commitments in January and February as a result of numerous trade deals completed in prior years. As COVID-19 concerns grew, exports sales began to lag in the middle of February and ultimately dropped from a high of 200% of 2019 total commitments to 15%. Since then 2020 total commitments have continued to deteriorate staying at about 96% of 2019 total commitments, on average, since the beginning of May. Clearly COVID-19 has impacted beef export commitments.

So how much has COVID-19 hurt beef total commitments and what does the 2020 ending total export sales commitment look like? These questions can be partially answered by looking at recent historical export total commitment seasonal patterns and then overlaying these seasonal patterns onto 2020. Export sales tend to follow a seasonal pattern, like most agricultural products. Figure 2 plots this seasonality using each weeks beef total commitments as a proportion of year ending accumulated total commitments. For example, we would interpret the value of 0.63 in 2019 on week 26 as 63% of all commitments occurred prior at end of the 26nd week of the year. Figure 2 clearly indicates that while each year slightly varies, export total commitment patterns have stayed relatively stable since 2015. I use these seasonal patterns to calculate what the hypothetical year ending total commitments were projected to be each week in 2020. At the peak in February it was estimated that 2020 year ending total commitments were estimated to be 1.2 million metric tons. Since COVID-19 estimated year ending total commitments are now at approximately 0.9 million metric tons.

If the proportion of total commitments relative to 2019 held since the beginning of May holds for the rest of 2020 then the estimated weekly sales for the rest of 2020 would be 96% of 2019 commitments in that week. Given this assumption, estimated 2020 ending total commitments at the end of December would be 862,881 metric tons. This would be approximately 22% lower than the projected estimates in January 2020, 30% lower than the peak of total commitments in February 2020, and 20% lower than March 2020, when the U.S. declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
 
Chinese Overtones in Global Beef Market
China is a large driver of world beef export sales up about 41% from 2019. Although the US has a relatively smaller share of these imports compared to Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. There are fewer US beef exports to China due to the majority of cattle not meeting Chinese traceability and production requirements. Larger than average Chinese beef sales is largely due to the continuing African Swine Fever (ASF) issues occurring in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. There has been sustainable progress in eliminating ASF from hog production systems but there still remains a sizable protein gap both in the short term and midrange forecasts. How well these areas of the world do at controlling ASF will likely continue to a primary demand pull of US beef export sales.
 
FAPRI Forecasts
So how well are economic forecasts incorporating these export and domestic demand conditions? This past week, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri updated their five-year baseline forecast for beef. Their estimates continue to support the idea the US cattle cycle has peaked and will continue to contract over the next five years. Despite declining beef cows, total beef production is forecasted to be relatively stable at 27 billion pounds per year. Stable production given declining count number can be attributed to heavier carcasses and more efficient feeding systems. Net exports (beef exports - beef imports) is expected to widen from +140 in 2021 to +245 in 2025 largely due to ASF and increasing global competiveness of US beef. Smaller cow numbers will reduce the size of future calf crops reducing the number of feeder and fed cattle marketed and ultimately boxes of beef available to be sold. Combined, this has the effect of raising prices along the supply chain. Planning prices in 2021 were estimated as follows: boxed beef @ $221 per cwt., 5-area steers @ $113 per cwt., and OK City feeder steers @ $151 per cwt.



Reinke Honors Grossenburg Technician with Platinum Plus Service Award

Reinke announces that Jacob Korth with Grossenburg Implement in Wayne has earned the Platinum PLUS (Proven Leaders in Unmatched Service) Certified Technician Award. The award is the most elite technical service designation awarded by Reinke.

“Being recognized as a Platinum PLUS Certified Technician is a remarkable accomplishment,” said Mark Mesloh, vice president of North American sales, Reinke. “Jacob has completed the most extensive technical service training available to Reinke dealers and is to be commended for his hard work.”

The Platinum PLUS Certified Technician Program consists of a series of six technical service training classes and tests. Korth received the Platinum PLUS award by scoring more than 90 percent on all six tests.

“We understand how important qualified service technicians are to growers when they make their buying decisions,” added Mesloh. “That’s the focus of our technical service programs, to consistently build on the level of service capabilities of Reinke dealers across the country and further our commitment to the industry.”

With hundreds of dealers in more than 40 countries, Reinke Manufacturing is the world’s largest privately held manufacturer of center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems. Family owned since 1954, and headquartered in Deshler, Neb., Reinke develops products and technology designed to increase agriculture production while providing labor savings and environmental efficiencies. Reinke is a continued leader in industry advancements as the first to incorporate GPS, satellite-based communications and touchscreen panel capabilities into mechanized irrigation system management. For more information on Reinke or to locate a dealership, visit www.reinke.com or call 402-365-7251.



Support any Nebraska FFA Chapter with I Believe in the Future of Ag

September marks the official start of the 10th  annual I Believe in the Future of Ag fundraising campaign. This campaign serves as an outlet for local FFA chapters to receive donations for innovative projects in their classrooms, leadership programming, community service projects and field trips to advance agriculture education in their schools.

This year, AuctionTime.com, Aurora Cooperative, BigIron Auctions, Central Valley Ag, CoBank  and DEKALB/Asgrow committed $20,000 each to the campaign. Other sponsors, contributing $10,000 each, include: Bayer CropScience, Country Partners Cooperative, CPI, Farm Credit Services of America, Farmers Cooperative, Frontier Cooperative, GrainBridge, Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, Pinnacle Bank, Producers Livestock and Valley Irrigation.

These corporate partners provide support for an educational campaign for FFA and agricultural education in Nebraska and support fundraising efforts at the local level. “Local FFA chapters and agriculture education chapters play an integral role in growing and developing future leaders in agriculture and in our communities. I see this campaign as a very important tool to help those chapters have the resources they need to grow leaders and build communities,” says Stacey Agnew, Nebraska FFA Foundation Executive Director.

Donors to the I Believe in the Future of Ag campaign choose which chapter they support. One hundred percent of each local donation will be sent back to the designated chapter at the end of the campaign and a portion of the $35,000 challenge matching pool will be distributed to participating chapters. To donate to a local FFA chapter contact your local FFA advisor or go online to neffafoundation.org.



Nebraska farmers among nation’s leading participants in Conservation Stewardship Program

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) has helped Nebraska farmers and ranchers achieve conservation goals on their operations for nearly two decades, and the state is a national leader of the program in multiple aspects.

In 2018, there were 6,038,535 acres—or 13 percent of the state’s total agricultural land—actively enrolled in CSP, according to a fact sheet released today by the Center for Rural Affairs.

The resource also includes information such as the number of active CSP contracts, financial assistance allocated, and the top conservation practices used in the state.

Administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), CSP provides financial and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to maintain agricultural production on their land, and simultaneously address resource concerns with conservation practices. The program is set up so that producers must demonstrate existing conservation efforts, and then have the opportunity to build on those efforts with new practices and enhancements.

“What we found—in both the NRCS data and our own research—is that the farmers and ranchers who use CSP are highly satisfied with the program, and Nebraska is leading the nation in various ways in program use,” said Kate Hansen, policy assistant for the Center.

Hansen said the fact sheet can be a valuable resource for producers, landowners, and policy makers alike.

“As Congress prepares to return to Washington, D.C., they should not forget about the importance of conservation,” Hansen said. “Conservation offers resiliency for operations, which we have seen is sorely needed in these tough times.”

The resource follows the release of a national report from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

The fact sheet: “Impacts of the Conservation Stewardship Program in Nebraska” can be found at cfra.org/publications.



Petsource by Scoular celebrates ribbon cutting at new $50 million facility in Seward, Nebraska

Gov. Pete Ricketts, U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and Seward-area civic leaders on Tuesday participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and toured Petsource by Scoular’s new $50 million freeze-dried pet food ingredient manufacturing facility. The facility will begin operations in October.

“Scoular has been creating opportunities for Nebraskans for over a century,” said Gov. Ricketts. “The Petsource operation brings great jobs to Seward, and we’re grateful for Scoular’s ongoing commitment to growing its business in the Cornhusker State.”

“Nebraska is the center of agriculture in the United States because of the quality commodities we grow and raise along with the innovation that is generated by such companies as Scoular,” added Rep. Bacon, a member of the House Agriculture Committee. “This Petsource facility highlights the rich resources available in our community but also the brilliant and ingenious talent produced by our Nebraska educational institutions.”
 
Petsource is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of The Scoular Company, a 128-year-old employee-owned company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Petsource will develop, procure, freeze-dry and package high-protein ingredients as a contract partner for pet food manufacturers. It is among the first in the country to bring these steps together under one roof, positioning itself as the go-to source for pet food companies. The facility includes a testing laboratory where new pet food ingredients, such as freeze-dried whole organ meats and meat analogue recipes, are created.

“We are excited to drive innovation in the pet food industry and encouraged by our customers’ enthusiasm for the capabilities within our new facility,” said Petsource General Manager Amy Patterson. “We look forward to creating new partnerships with our customers by bringing product development together with meat processing, freeze drying and packaging to provide a complete freeze-dried pet food supply chain.”

The 105,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is located in the Seward/Lincoln Regional Rail Campus. After a national search, Seward was chosen in part due to the available labor pool of talented, hard-working people. Petsource is expected to create up to 100 jobs once fully operational.

“Petsource represents the single-largest economic development project for the City of Seward in decades,” said Mayor Josh Eickmeier. “For our community, Petsource is not just a new business, it is a new partner.”

“On behalf of Scoular, I want to thank the greater Seward community and State of Nebraska for their support of and enthusiasm for the Petsource operation from start to finish,” said Scoular CEO Paul Maass. “Scoular is proud to invest in the state we have called home for 128 years.”

Key project partners included the City of Seward, Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and Gray Construction, based in Lexington, Kentucky.



Perdue, Iowa Leaders Participate in a Crop Damage, Conservation and Innovation Tour

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig will join U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst for an agricultural tour through central Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 3.

The state and federal leaders will take an aerial tour of the crop damage caused by the drought and derecho before heading to a nutrient-reducing wetland site to see the state’s conservation efforts in action.

The group will cap off the day with visits to two agribusinesses to learn more about the agricultural innovation at work in Iowa.

11 a.m. Clean Water in Iowa Starts Here tour stop – Hardin County
Stolee Farms, 27242 E Ave., Radcliffe
Conservation tour, presentations and media availability

1:30 p.m. Tour Eagle’s Catch
1802 Industrial Park, Ellsworth

2:45 p.m. Tour Performance Livestock Analytics
2321 N Loop Drive Suite #120, Ames



U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY SONNY PERDUE TO VISIT UNL SEPT. 4

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will join Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and University of Nebraska–Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green Sept. 4 for a panel discussion on agricultural innovation at Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Mike Boehm, NU vice president and Harlan Vice Chancellor of UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will serve as moderator.

The event is invitation-only to ensure social distancing. The event will be open to the media and available for public viewing at https://www.unl.edu/live-stream. The panel discussion begins at 10:15 a.m. in the banquet area on the second floor of the Nebraska Innovation Commons building, 2021 Transformation Drive.

Former governor of Georgia, Perdue was appointed the 31st U.S. secretary of agriculture by President Donald Trump in April 2017. He grew up on a dairy and diversified row crop farm in rural Georgia. He served in the U.S. Air Force before earning a veterinary degree from the University of Georgia. A Republican, he served in the Georgia State Senate for 11 years and as governor for two terms, from 2003 to 2011.



Ag Law Seminar and Farm Tax Workshop Planned for Sept. 23-24

Farm consultants and tax preparers will have a two-day opportunity to expand their knowledge of current ag law and tax issues Sept. 23-24.

“Moving Forward, Equipping Your Clients for 2021 and Beyond” is an online training hosted by the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University, and begins with the Agricultural Law Seminar Sept. 23. Topics will include legal issues impacting livestock growers, the impact of COVID-19 on the farm economy and considerations when working with ag lenders, entity planning for farm program payments and tax matters, Iowa’s new partition law and more.

The Sept. 24 Farm Tax Workshop will address COVID-19 relief and legislation impacting agricultural producers, like-kind exchange issues, getting out of the business of farming, retirement issues for farmers and more.

“Our annual September Seminars focus on legal and tax issues most impacting agricultural producers in 2020 and beyond,” said Kristine Tidgren, director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University and Holder of the Leonard Dolezal Professorship in Agricultural Law. “The two-day event features expert speakers from Iowa and around the country. Those attending will have an opportunity to ask the speakers questions and participate through polling questions.”

Speakers at the Ag Law Seminar will include prominent ag attorneys who serve the Midwest, ag lenders and law professors from West Virginia University and the University of Nebraska.

Speakers at the Farm Tax Workshop will include Tidgren, along with CALT staff attorney Kitt Tovar, CALT farm tax specialist Guido van der Hoeven, and Greg Bouchard, director for Cornell University Federal Income Tax Schools.

Both programs will run from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Continuing education credits are available for attorneys, certified public accountants and other tax preparers, real estate and insurance professionals.

Register online by Sept. 16 for the best rate of $300 for both seminars, or $185 for one seminar. After Sept. 16, the rate is $335 for both or $210 for one seminar.

For more information, Tidgren can be reached at 515-294-6365, or ktidgren@iastate.edu.



The American Dairy Coalition Applauds Congressman Fred Keller for the introduction of the GIVE MILK Act

The American Dairy Coalition applauds Congressman Fred Keller on his recently introduced bill designed to foster a taste for milk in children by offering an expanded variety of dairy products, including 2% and Whole fat milk, to participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).  The bill, officially titled, “Giving Increased Variety to Ensure Milk into the Lives of Kids (GIVE MILK) Act,” would expand WIC offerings. The American Dairy Coalition and the dairy producers we represent across the nation are thankful Congressman Keller is dedicated to ensuring nutritionally at-risk Americans have the ability to choose what dairy products fit the taste preferences of their families.

The WIC program provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, nutritional education and other support for low-income pregnant or postpartum women as well as caregivers of children under 5. This program helps put good nutrition in the hands of children, and it is vital it include the dairy industry’s best tasting products — full fat dairy! Whole milk provides a nutritionally dense, affordable and accessible complete source of protein that children love. Science shows consumption of these products promotes a healthy weight in both children and adults and fends of chronic diseases.

The American Dairy Coalition supports the work of Congressman Keller to put whole milk back in the hands of children across the country.  More initiatives such as the GIVE MILK Act are necessary to change the antiquated and unscientifically based notion that saturated fats are dangerous to public health. We encourage all members of the dairy industry to not only support the GIVE MILK Act, but also encourage their legislators to urge the Dietary Guidelines for Americans also be updated to remove caps on saturated fats, allowing once more the choice of whole milk in public schools.  Children deserve the best — let’s give them whole milk!



USDA Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production

Total corn consumed for alcohol and other uses was 477 million bushels in July 2020. Total corn consumption was up 10 percent from June 2020 but down 6 percent from July 2019. July 2020 usage included 91.5 percent for alcohol and 8.5 percent for other purposes. Corn consumed for beverage alcohol totaled 3.23 million bushels, down 11 percent from June 2020 and down 37 percent from July 2019. Corn for fuel alcohol, at 424 million bushels, was up 12 percent from June 2020 but down 6 percent from July 2019. Corn consumed in July 2020 for dry milling fuel production and wet milling fuel production was 89.4 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively.

Dry mill co-product production of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was 1.86 million tons during July 2020, up 12 percent from June 2020 but down 6 percent from July 2019. Distillers wet grains (DWG) 65 percent or more moisture was 859,616 tons in July 2020, up 4 percent from June 2020 but down 28 percent from July 2019.

Wet mill corn gluten feed production was 305,196 tons during July 2020, up 4 percent from June 2020 and up 2 percent from July 2019. Wet corn gluten feed 40 to 60 percent moisture was 264,778 tons in July 2020, up 8 percent from June 2020 and up 5 percent from July 2019.

Fats and Oils: Oilseed Crushings, Production, Consumption and Stocks
Soybeans crushed for crude oil was 5.54 million tons (185 million bushels) in July 2020, compared with 5.32 million tons (177 million bushels) in June 2020 and 5.38 million tons (179 million bushels) in July 2019. Crude oil produced was 2.12 billion pounds up 4 percent from June 2020 and up 2 percent from July 2019. Soybean once refined oil production at 1.58 billion pounds during July 2020 increased 5 percent from June 2020 and increased 4 percent from July 2019.

Canola seeds crushed for crude oil was 204,619 tons in July 2020, compared with 123,242 tons in June 2020 and 145,547 tons in July 2019. Canola crude oil produced was 173 million pounds, up 64 percent from June 2020 and up 42 percent from July 2019. Canola once refined oil production, at 161 million pounds during July 2020, was up 39 percent from June 2020 and up 57 percent from July 2019.



EPA Supports Technology to Benefit America’s Farmers, Improve Sustainability

In another effort to remove barriers to innovation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a rule that will streamline the regulation of certain plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs) that pose no risks of concern to humans or the environment. This action – which will be available for public comment for 60 days – delivers on a  key directive under President Trump’s Executive Order on Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products.

“This new rule will provide critical new tools for America’s farmers as they work to increase agricultural productivity, improve the nutritional value and quality of crops, fight pests and diseases, and boost food safety,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Embracing this technology through a transparent, consistent and science-based process is long overdue, and will secure benefits to American agriculture well into the future.”

Specifically, EPA is proposing a exemptions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) for certain PIPs created through biotechnology. The Agency has preliminarily determined that these substances meeting the exemption criteria have no risks of concern to humans or the environment.

EPA’s proposed exemptions for PIPs created through biotechnology seek to facilitate the development of new tools for American farmers to protect their crops and control agricultural pests. By reducing antiquated regulations that restrict access to the market for biotechnology products, science-based innovations to agriculture will become far more accessible to American farmers. These improvements will have the potential to increase America’s food supply.

PIPs are pesticidal substances produced by plants and the genetic material necessary for the plant to produce the pesticidal substance. The existing regulatory exemption for PIPs is limited to those created through conventional breeding. The proposed exemption would allow for PIPs created through biotechnology to also be exempt from existing regulations if they 1) pose no greater risk than PIPs that meet EPA safety requirements, and 2) could have been created through conventional breeding.

Under the proposed exemption, EPA would require developers of PIPs to submit either a self-determination letter or a request for EPA confirmation that their PIP meets the criteria for exemption; a developer could also submit both.

To learn more about the proposed exemption and to submit comments visit: https://www.epa.gov/regulation-biotechnology-under-tsca-and-fifra/pesticides-exemptions-certain-plant-incorporated.  



USDA Announces Commodity Credit Corporation Lending Rates for September 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation today announced interest rates for September 2020, which are effective September 1-September 30, 2020.

The Commodity Credit Corporation borrowing rate-based charge for September is 0.125%, the same as August.

The interest rate for crop year commodity loans less than one year disbursed during September is 1.125%, the same as August.

Interest rates for Farm Storage Facility Loans approved for September are as follows:
    0.125% with three-year loan terms, down from 0.250% in August;
    0.250% with five-year loan terms, the same as August;
    0.500% with seven-year loan terms, the same as August;
    0.625% with 10-year loan terms, the same as August; and
    0.750% with 12-year loan terms, the same as August.

The loan programs administered by the Farm Service Agency help stabilize the incomes of America’s farmers and ranchers and ensure their continued operations.

Visit https://www.farmers.gov for more information on loan eligibility, the application process or to find your local service center.



GRO Network Brings Environmental Transparency to Grain Market

Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. (FBNSM), the leading direct-to-farm ag tech platform and farmer network, today launched GRO Network™, which provides new technology and services that facilitate the scoring, sourcing, and pricing of Low-Carbon Grain from farm to fork, making environmental transparency in the grain industry a reality now.

GRO Network enables comprehensive environmental transparency, and supports a market for premium, environmentally-scored grain. GRO Network also provides buying intelligence software that directly connects farmers with consumer packaged goods companies, animal feed providers, biofuel makers and the world’s other major grain buyers.

POET, the world’s largest producer of biofuels has joined GRO Network as a key customer in the market for verifiable Low-Carbon Grain.

“Family farms have already invested the time, innovation and sweat-equity to develop the regenerative practices required to grow Low-Carbon Grain,” said Amol Deshpande, CEO and Co-Founder of FBN. “With GRO Network, the efforts of farmers as well as food and feed companies, biofuel makers, and ordinary consumers to reduce carbon emissions just got a huge boost.”

Transparency in the agriculture supply chain starts with data direct from the field.

Farmers share information on their cultivation practices - including fertilizer applications, tillage, and cover cropping - with GRO Network, which is processed with artificial intelligence that leverage FBN’s 240 million acre-events of real world farm data, validates and distills the practices into a single farm-level score. This single score - which is the only information shared between GRO Network and prospective buyers - informs the buyer to then source premium grain as well as build programs to meet unique sustainability goals, while protecting farmers’ data privacy.

Importantly, verifiable Low-Carbon Grain will allow agricultural processors and food companies to meet their own significant emission goals. Policymakers will be able to evaluate a precise, farm-level carbon-intensity score to more accurately measure the GHG reduction of biofuels for low carbon fuel policies. GRO Network will help these companies embed the required carbon traceability into their supply chains, all within the current government policy framework.

“At POET we know that agriculture is the key to combating climate change, and we want to support farmers who share our mission to be good stewards of the earth by using environmentally friendly practices,” said POET Founder and CEO Jeff Broin. “We are excited about the potential of the GRO Network to promote sustainable agriculture and utilize the resulting Low-Carbon Corn to produce even greener bioethanol and bioproducts.”

GRO Network is focusing initially on carbon abatement, which, based on GRO Network pilots, can reduce grain emissions by up to 50%, while increasing farm revenues at the same time. It relies on proven, existing science and robust FBN analytics to measure the benefits of conservation activities on the farm, providing immediate, low-risk solutions to reduce the environmental impact of the agriculture supply chain.

“Regenerative agriculture techniques have not only saved us money, they’ve made us money,” said Todd Hanten, who farms 3,000 acres of corn, soybeans and spring wheat in South Dakota. “We’ve always tried these practices side by side and can compare conventional tillage to no-till and strip till and we’ve realized the benefits through our data analytics. We’re happy to find out that the practices we’ve adopted are saving us money and making us a better return.”

FBN began development of GRO Network close to two years ago in order to allow fuel, food and feed companies to work alongside farmers to accelerate the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices that deliver the biggest impact. GRO Network incentivizes sustainable conservation and soil health practices by producers, ensuring a consistent supply of high quality, Low-Carbon Grain for buyers.

“Ultimately, GRO Network aligns farmers, processors, brands, consumers and policy-makers in the fight against climate change,” Deshpande said. “We are excited to see family farm incomes improve as a direct result.”



Nufarm announces launch of new Panther® family herbicide

Nufarm Americas, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of Panther MTZ herbicide. Panther MTZ is the latest in Nufarm’s portfolio of innovative Panther herbicides formulated to help growers gain weed management efficacy, resistance management and lasting residual control that improves flexibility come spring.

Panther MTZ offers two modes of action, the dual-benefit of swift burndown and lasting residual, and an optimal load of metribuzin at a lower application rate than competing premixes.

“One of Nufarm’s key goals is to expand the tools available to farmers to help them fight challenges posed by weeds,” said Chris Bowley, Nufarm Brand and Customer Marketing Manager. “Panther MTZ improves results where they’re needed most – combatting weed resistance, assisting burndown and adding residual control. In addition to pre-plant application, growers can apply this fall to ease weed pressure out of the gate this spring.”

“Possibly the strongest attribute of Panther MTZ is that it contains a more effective load of metribuzin where other premix products sometimes require the addition of extra metribuzin for certain applications,” added Bowley.

Panther MTZ delivers broad-spectrum control of more than 90 weed species and is labeled uses for soybeans, sugarcane, fallow (including wheat / fallow rotations), non-crop farm areas and industrial vegetation management. It provides flexible fall or spring application timing and tank mixing – and will be available in September 2020,

Panther MTZ herbicide is the latest addition to the Nufarm’s growing list of herbicides that farmers can use for weed management year round, from “Harvest to Canopy™”. For information about all of the crop protection solutions available from Nufarm, visit nufarm.com/uscrop.