NEBRASKA CROP PROGRESS AND CONDITION
For the week ending October 11, 2020, there were 6.8 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 27% very short, 46% short, 27% adequate, and 0% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 23% very short, 41% short, 36% adequate, and 0% surplus.
Field Crops Report:
Corn condition rated 5% very poor, 9% poor, 23% fair, 46% good, and 17% excellent. Corn mature was 96%, ahead of 82% last year and 90% for the five-year average. Harvested was 34%, ahead of 18% last year and 22% average.
Soybeans harvested was 82%, well ahead of 24% last year and 39% average.
Winter wheat planted was 89%, near 93% last year and 90% average. Emerged was 60%, near 59% last year, but behind 68% average.
Sorghum condition rated 4% very poor, 10% poor, 18% fair, 42% good, and 26% excellent. Sorghum mature was 95%, ahead of 80% last year and 89% average. Harvested was 31%, well ahead of 8% last year, and ahead of 23% average.
Dry edible beans harvested was 87%, near 85% last year.
Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and range conditions rated 16% very poor, 22% poor, 26% fair, 36% good, and 0% excellent.
IOWA CROP PROGRESS REPORT
Iowa farmers had nearly a full week to harvest their crops with 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 11, 2020, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities again included baling corn stalks, applying fertilizer and manure, and fall tillage.
Topsoil moisture condition rated 17% very short, 34% short, 49% adequate and 0% surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 21% very short, 37% short, 42% adequate and 0% surplus.
Corn reached 97% mature or beyond, over 3 weeks ahead of the previous year and 10 days ahead of the 5- year average. Corn for grain harvested in the State reached 42%, over 3 weeks ahead of last year and almost 2 weeks ahead of average. Moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain was at 18%. Corn condition rated 44% good to excellent.
Soybeans dropping leaves or beyond reached 97%, just over 2 weeks ahead of last year and 9 days ahead of average. Nearly one-quarter of Iowa’s soybean crop was harvested during the week ending October 11 with 78% now harvested, over 3 weeks ahead of last year and over 2 weeks ahead of average. Farmers in south central Iowa remain considerably behind farmers in the rest of the State with just 38% of their crop harvested.
Pasture condition rated 19% good to excellent, a slight decrease from the previous week. Pasture growth is minimal with the lack of soil moisture and reduced daylight hours. Some cattle producers have had to supplement hay and water supplies.
USDA: Over Half of US Soybeans Harvested
The U.S. soybean harvest rocketed past the halfway mark last week, propelled by well-ahead-of-normal progress across the Midwest and Upper Midwest, according to the USDA NASS weekly Crop Progress report released on Tuesday. The report was delayed from Monday due to the federal holiday.
NASS estimated that 61% of soybeans were harvested as of Sunday, Oct. 11, a leap of 23 percentage points from 38% the previous Sunday. That pushed this year's harvest progress to 19 percentage points ahead of the five-year average pace of 42%. The harvest continued to be aided by the crop reaching maturity ahead of normal, with 93% of the crop dropping leaves as of Sunday compared to the five-year average of 90%. Soybean conditions dropped 1 percentage point to 63% good to excellent as of Sunday.
The corn harvest also gained momentum last week thanks to mostly favorable weather conditions, moving ahead 16 percentage points to reach 41% complete as of Sunday. That puts this year's current progress at 9 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 32%. Corn reaching maturity was estimated at 94% as of Sunday, 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 87%. Corn condition was down 1 percentage point from the previous week at 61% good to excellent.
Winter wheat planting also continued its rapid pace last week, moving ahead another 16 percentage points to reach 68% complete as of Sunday, 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 61%. An estimated 41% of winter wheat had emerged, 6 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 21%.
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Risk management classes for Nebraska women in agriculture begin Nov. 5
Annie’s Project classes for women in agriculture will take place this November and December across Nebraska. The hybrid event is presented by Nebraska Extension’s Women in Agriculture program and will include virtual and in-person components to bring farm and ranch women together to learn from experts about agricultural risk management. There will be time for questions, sharing, reacting and connecting with presenters and fellow participants in a relaxed, fun and dynamic way to learn, grow and meet other farm and ranch women.
The live portion of Annie’s Project classes will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Central time on Thursday evenings starting Nov. 5. Classes will be in-person at five locations on Nov. 5 and Dec. 17. The remaining courses will be hosted via Zoom, on Nov. 12, Nov. 19, Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.
The in-person locations are:
Sidney: Cheyenne County Community Center, 627 Toledo St
Auburn: Nemaha County 4-H Building, 816 I Street
Scottsbluff: Panhandle Research & Extension Center, 4502 Ave I
Lincoln: Lancaster County Extension, 444 Cherrycreek Road, Suite A
Lexington: Dawson County Extension, 1002 Plum Creek Parkway
Participants should plan on attending each of the six workshop dates. The course requires participants to have an internet connection. It will consist of 90-minute live presentations, with opportunities to complete an additional 90 minutes per class of hands-on activities, watch on-demand videos and have access to additional reading materials.
Register at wia.unl.edu/ap by Nov. 1. The cost for the course is $75 per person and scholarships are available. Attendance is limited at each location. In-person events will require masks, and social distancing will be enforced.
Annie’s Project — Education for Farm Women is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational programs (Annie’s Projects) designed to strengthen women’s roles in the modern farm enterprise. Annie’s Projects foster problem solving, record keeping, and decision-making skills in farm women.
Green Plains Sells Remaining 50% of Green Plains Cattle Company for $80 Million
Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) today announced the sale of its remaining 50% joint venture interest in Green Plains Cattle Company LLC to a group of investment funds that include AGR Partners and StepStone Group, among others, for approximately $80 million, plus closing adjustments. The transaction was signed on October 9, 2020 with an effective date of October 1, 2020.
“With the sale of our remaining ownership in Green Plains Cattle Company, combined with our recent quarterly distribution and earnings bonus from performance of the cattle business, we have added approximately $96 million of liquidity to our balance sheet. This sale allows us to redeploy capital to support our long-term objective of building a technology focused biorefining platform, producing sustainable, high-value, high-protein ingredients the market needs,” said Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer.
Green Plains entered the cattle feeding industry in June 2014, with the purchase of Supreme Cattle Feeders, a 70,000-head feedyard in Kismet, Kan. Over the past six years, Green Plains Cattle Company grew to become the fourth largest cattle feeder in the United States with a total capacity of more than 355,000 head of cattle across six feedlots in Colorado, Kansas and Texas.
“This transaction further streamlines our business to focus on the transformation to a world-class provider of high value ingredients, which includes the deployment of high protein technology as a natural line extension to our platform. The proceeds from the sale and distribution, coupled with our previously announced tax refund and $75 million in protein financing, will add nearly $225 million of liquidity to Green Plains, or over half the remaining amount needed to fund the build-out of high protein technology,” added Becker.
As part of the transaction, Todd Becker will remain on the board of directors of Green Plains Cattle Company for the next year to assist in the transition.
Green Plains Announces Groundbreaking at Second High Protein Project
Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has announced its wholly owned subsidiary Green Plains Wood River LLC has broken ground on the installation of a high protein production facility utilizing Fluid Quip Technologies’ patented MSC™ technology, the second installation across the Green Plains platform.
“The addition of high protein production using Fluid Quip’s MSC technology was the next logical step in the transformation of Wood River to a modern, sustainable, agricultural biorefinery. We have already achieved significant operating cost reductions and efficiency gains at the plant through Project 24 upgrades, as well as converted 25 million gallons of production capacity to high purity, industrial B-grade alcohol, and expect to meet USP specifications in early 2021,” said Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer.
“Our Shenandoah location has been exceeding our expectations, consistently achieving protein levels near 53%, solely from mechanical separation, along with exceptional yields per bushel converted. Our high protein, concentrated yeast product has unique amino acid profiles and nutritional characteristics not previously seen from a dry mill,” continued Becker. “When combined with the collaboration of our biotechnology and nutritional partners we can further enhance the finished product, adding additional value, with results that add to our conviction to accelerate transformation across our platform. Finally, the remaining post MSC distillers’ grains is an upgraded, cleaner and more consistent product with unique characteristics, becoming a superior product category of its own.”
The Wood River project is expected to come online during the second quarter of 2021 and should produce approximately 80,000 tons of high protein feed annually at concentrations of 50% and higher protein depending on the customers’ needs. Total capital investment is anticipated to be $50 million or approximately 40 cents per gallon of capacity, with our high protein products providing an estimated 15 to 20 cents per gallon of initial uplift to the overall margin structure and increasing from there with higher protein and improved nutritional characteristics.
“With this addition, our total high protein feed ingredient capacity will more than double, increasing to over 130 thousand tons annually,” added Becker. “This allows us to provide our customers with a premium product at scale, with built in redundancies, enabling us to remain on track to execute long-term offtake and supply agreements ahead of startup. This investment further demonstrates our commitment to becoming a premier provider of sustainable proteins and novel ingredients to help meet the growing global demand in human and animal nutrition.”
Going forward Green Plains will refer to its protein products that have a protein concentration of 50% or higher as ultra-high protein.
THISTLE CONTROL UPDATE
Megan Taylor, NE Extension Educator, Platte County
Don’t let thistles haunt your pastures this fall! October and early November, is a key time to chemically control thistles in pastures. In Nebraska we have several biennial thistles, but mostly deal with musk, plumeless, Scotch, and bull thistles. Biennials require portions of two growing seasons to flower/reproduce. They develop from seed the first season into a flat rosette. When trying to control biennial thistles, destruction of rosettes prior to flowering (bolting) is an effective means of preventing seed formation and subsequent spread.
Another thistle to look out for is Canada thistle. Canada thistle is a creeping perennial that can be controlled with fall spraying, in conjunction with other management options in the spring. Previous research from Robert Wilson (UNL Emeritus Professor) indicated that control of Canada thistle went from 33%, when an herbicide was applied in the spring, to 90%, when fall applications were made.
While in the rosette stage thistles are more effectively controlled using herbicides. It is important to note that fall spraying of thistles is not a silver bullet and effective control often needs repeated applications. It will take several years of timely control before the soil seed bank is reduced. Choosing the right products for your program is another key step to controlling your thistles. There are many herbicides labeled for thistle control. Note that some products traditionally recommended for spraying thistles have recently changed product names. Take care when purchasing products and always read/follow label directions before use.
GrazonNext® HL, Milestone®, Chaparral®, Graslan® L, Stinger®, Overdrive®, and Tordon 22K® are all products that are labelled for use on biennial thistles as well as Canada thistle. 2,4-D mixed with dicamba is also an effective option, but should be sprayed when temperatures are warmer for the highest efficacy. When using Tordon 22K® or Graslan® L, both products are redistricted use and contain picloram. Use extreme caution around other vegetation, especially trees, as both products will kill woody plants. Most of the herbicides used for control of thistles also kill desirable forbs, so spot spraying individual plants or patches rather than broadcast spraying the entire pasture can spare valuable forbs.
Deadline for Beginning Farmer Tax Credit approaching
November is right around the corner and, with it, the deadline for applications for the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit.
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s NextGen program offers the tax credit to help new producers get a head start in farming and ranching, while giving back to those who own agricultural assets.
Nathan Beacom, policy associate for the Center for Rural Affairs, said the program has important benefits for both new farmers and landowners.
“For the farmer, the program ensures a minimum three-year lease, which provides the stability for individuals seeking to get their feet under them,” Beacom said. “The farmer also qualifies for personal property tax exemption, meaning that property used in production, up to $100,000, is exempt from state personal property taxes.”
An additional reimbursement is available for the farmer to pursue financial management education.
For the landowner, the benefit includes a refundable tax credit equal to 10 percent of the cash rent or 15 percent of the value of the share-crop rent received.
“This program is a great opportunity for a landowner looking to transition to a younger farmer and to ensure their land remains in responsible production,” Beacom said. “For the new farmer, this benefit means more opportunity to rent land, to develop a relationship with a landowner, and to build a foundation for a long-term operation.”
Applications are due by Nov. 1. Visit nextgen.nebraska.gov for more information or to fill out an application.
ISU Hosts webinar on Government Payments and USDA FSA Programs
One-Hour Free Webinar on October 15, 7 pm C.D.T.
This one-hour webinar, offered at no charge, includes Alejandro Plastina, Extension Economist, addressing ARC/PLC Payments from 2019, MFP and CFAP payments as well as the impact on Iowa farm cash flows for 2020 for farmland owners, tenants, and across the range of crop damage we've seen for this growing season. Joining us this month will be Katie Kramer and Jutin Muir, Agricultural Program Specialists from the USDA FSA, Iowa Office to share details on the current programs available for Iowa producers, including CAP2 sign up.
The webinar is free, but pre-registration is required http://bit.ly/agdmoct20.
Can't make the live webinar? Click here for the ISU Ag Decision Makers https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/info/meetings.html.
Support for the Livestock Industry Amidst Marketplace Challenges
Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach is highlighting three USDA initiatives that build upon the considerations included in USDA’s July 2020 Boxed Beef and Fed Cattle Price Spread Investigation Report—risk management education funding, updates to livestock market reporting and producer training opportunities.
Recently, USDA announced two competitive funding opportunities for educational projects designed to help livestock producers and other agricultural producers improve their economic viability through targeted risk management strategies. The application deadline is November 19, 2020, and awards will be announced on February 12, 2021.
“USDA is committed to transparency, accountability and resolving ongoing challenges in the cattle market by equipping producers with information to help make business decisions. I encourage livestock organizations to look at these funding opportunities, as well as other existing resources available from USDA,” Under Secretary Greg Ibach, said.
This newly announced funding is available from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) Program, which is operated through four regional risk management education centers. The program provides funding for results and outcome-based risk management education projects designed to help producers learn and use tools and approaches that can reduce the adverse effects of the uncertainties of weather, yields, prices, credit, government policies, global markets and other factors, including human resources and legal issues – all of which may result in wide swings in farm income or threaten the economic viability of the farm or ranch.
USDA will also update its daily national livestock slaughter report by removing the word “estimated” from the title in order to encourage the market’s immediate use of the information.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) collects daily data from meat packers and currently publishes the Estimated Daily Livestock Slaughter under Federal Inspection report to provide industry stakeholders with information on supply and volume of several species. Two weeks later, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) publishes the Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection which includes the actual weights for cattle, steers, heifers and other livestock.
“Because a majority of meat packers are included in the data collected by AMS, the accuracy of the AMS estimated slaughter report is high with usually only a 0.5% differential compared to the FSIS actual slaughter data. We believe dropping ‘estimated’ from the title of the AMS report will provide more timely information without sacrificing accuracy,” Under Secretary Ibach, said.
Also in an effort to increase engagement with producers, in the next few weeks USDA will announce a series of webinars hosted in partnership with the CME Group and the three USDA Cattle and Carcass Grading Correlation Training Centers.
These centers, established in 2019 to educate and train stakeholders across the country in the grading of feeder cattle, fed cattle and beef carcasses, are hosted at West Texas A&M University, Colorado State University, and USDA’s Meat Animal Research Center. The series of webinars will discuss how live cattle and carcasses are evaluated for quality and yield grades, how production decisions influence the process, how official grades play into CME live cattle deliveries and carcass certifications, and how USDA officially grades carcass to the U.S. Standards for Grades. Details about registering for these free webinars will be announced soon.
USDA will continue to collaborate with its Federal partners and industry stakeholders and provide updates on opportunities for livestock producers as it works to incorporate stakeholder feedback and provide timely support in response to changes in the marketplace.
Soy Innovation Challenge Selects Seven Finalists That Enhance Sustainability and Disrupt the Soy Value Chain
After a careful review of over 89 worldwide applicants, The Yield Lab Institute — in partnership with the United Soybean Board, Syngenta and Amazon Web Services — is pleased to announce the cohort finalists for the Soy Innovation Challenge. This group represents a diverse and compelling array of trailblazing innovations and technologies that have remarkable potential to capture value for farmers and disrupt the soy value chain.
“All of these innovations are game-changers and will enable farmers to stay ahead of end-user demands, delivering sustainable outcomes while still keeping farmer profitability at the forefront,” said Andy Fabin, USB’s Sustainability Target Area Coordinator and farmer from Indiana, Pennsylvania. “Access to new technology at our fingertips to make more strategic decisions will allow us to farm smarter in lockstep with the soybean supply chain as a whole.”
Launched in March, the Soy Innovation Challenge has a purpose to find disruptors across the supply chain to bring value to farmers. The finalists are developing solutions, from land stewardship and greenhouse gas monitoring to blockchain and traceability advancements, as well as detailed nutritional information, to ultimately accelerate sustainability enhancements and maximize profit opportunities through technology that’s seamless for soybean farmers to use.
The seven finalists are as follows:
FluroSat — Provides full crop-cycle analytics for sustainable and profitable agriculture.
Ecosystem Services Market Consortium — A nonprofit collaboration of food and agriculture companies, foundations, NGOs and producer associations working toward a 2022 launch of a national ecosystem services market. This will provide farmers with compensation for the economic and social benefits from their land stewardship practices, such as soil carbon sequestration, net greenhouse gas emission reductions, water quantity and quality improvements, and biodiversity.
Sustainable Open Soy (SOS) — A free-for-farmers blockchain that traces U.S.-grown soy from origin to the end-consumer product. It allows farmers, brands and retailers to demonstrate commitment to sustainability, while accelerating trust and transparency throughout the soy industry. SOS is a joint venture between The New Fork and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action.
Soil Metrics — Provides software services for farmers to understand current greenhouse gas emissions and evaluate options for reducing them.
Genesis Feed Technologies — Platform that is increasing the market value of U.S. soybeans across the supply chain by revealing the economic impact of their high-quality nutritional profile. Their goal is to redefine premium standards for soybeans and bring that value back to the producers.
SLUcode — Improves crop yield and maximizes profit by predictive analytics of seed quality and environmental stress, and by turning every pixel to actionable crop intelligence using the latest artificial intelligence/machine learning and cloud computing.
Soy Carbohydrate Value — A collaborative cross-functional team working together to extract value from the waste soybean carbohydrate fraction. The effort is based on techno-economic analysis of processes to convert the carbohydrates into valuable industrial chemicals.
Soy Innovation Challenge winners will receive $100,000 in non-dilutive prize(s), provided by Syngenta; cloud computing credits, provided by Amazon Web Services; and mentoring to help advance their ideas in the areas of technical, business, financial and environmental impact, provided by the United Soybean Board. Further details will be shared soon about Soy Innovation Challenge programming, including the kickoff event scheduled for fall/winter 2020.
Looking To 2021, All Dairy Farmers Should Sign Up for DMC, NMPF Says
With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis teaching hard lessons on risk management throughout agriculture, and with dairy margins expected to be volatile over the next year, the National Milk Producers Federation is urging farmers to sign up for maximum 2021 coverage under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Margin Coverage program. DMC signup begins today.
“The DMC emphatically proved its worth this year, as payouts rapidly reacted to unprecedented price plunges and protected farmers exactly when they most needed help,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Coronavirus-related volatility in dairy markets is expected to continue well into 2021, with DMC payments a possibility. That makes it essential that farmers include DMC coverage in the robust risk-management plans they will need to ensure financial stability.”
DMC, the main risk-protection tool for dairy farmers enacted in the 2018 Farm Bill, is designed to promote stable revenues and protect against financial catastrophe on some or all of a farmer’s milk. Despite forecasts in late 2019 predicting that DMC assistance wouldn’t be needed by farmers in 2020, margins instead fell to their lowest levels in more than a decade in the first half of this year, triggering payments that undoubtedly kept many participating dairies afloat. And unlike difficult-to-predict federal disaster assistance that’s provided via specific legislation or administrative action, DMC coverage offers certainty in times of need, allowing for better financial planning and faster payment when necessary.
DMC also offers:
- Affordable higher coverage levels that permit all dairy producers to insure margins up to $9.50/cwt. on their Tier 1 (first five million pounds) production history. Recent margin trends in reference to that $9.50 threshold is included in the graphic below.
- Affordable $5.00 coverage that offers meaningful catastrophic coverage for farms of all sizes.
NMPF has a resource page on its website with more information about the DMC... https://www.nmpf.org/policy_tags/dairy-margin-coverage/.
Organic Commodity Markets Diverge on Trade and Demand Growth
Mercaris: The start of the 2020/2021 marketing year sees organic corn and soybeans on vastly different paths.
Mercaris’ Market Price Survey found organic feed-grade soybeans delivered to Corn Belt grain elevators over September 2020 increased 4% y/y (year-over-year), while delivered organic feed-grade corn has fallen sharply over the same period, down nearly 27% y/y.
“Understanding why these two prices have diverged is truly critical for assessing the risks these markets face over the year to come,” said Ryan Koory, Director of Economics at Mercaris. “Over the past two years we have seen the production and demand of these two crops take on very different paths. As a result, these two markets now face unique challenges.”
Mercaris estimates that between the 2016/2017 and 2019/2020 MY, U.S. organic corn production grew at an average rate of 12% per-year, while feed demand grew at an average rate of only 1% per-year. This discrepancy has resulted in a declining U.S. reliance on imports, as well as a U.S. organic corn market that has been stuck in a perpetually long supply position for the past year.
Over the same period U.S. organic soybeans production grew at 11% per-year, while feed demand growth averaged 6% per-year. The smaller gap between feed demand and production growth has held organic feed-grade soybean prices much steadier relative to organic corn. However, the U.S is also persistently reliant on imports to fill demand.
Mercaris estimates that over the 2019/2020 MY imports accounted for 29% of U.S. organic corn supplies, down sharply from the 42% of supplies imports provided over 2016/2017. In contrast, organic soybeans are still heavily reliant on foreign markets, with imports providing 78% of U.S. organic soybean supplies over 2019/2020 MY, little changed from 79% of supplies provided by imports four years ago.
“Keeping an eye on harvest is going to be key for organic corn prices, as the market is likely to be driven by the size and quality this year’s crop,” said Koory “which currently appears set to reach record levels. Organic soybeans are also expected to see a record setting harvest, but the majority of U.S. supplies will still be imported. Keeping this in mind, watching foreign markets, and any signs of global trade disruptions will likely provide a better indicator of price risk over the year to come.”
In addition to the discussion about fall harvest market trends, the October Monthly Market Update features major supply and demand factors for organic grains including organic livestock production and year-to-date import data for organic corn and soybeans. For more information, visit mercaris.com.
EPA Administrator Wheeler Praises President Trump’s Trillion Trees Initiative EO
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler praised President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order (EO) establishing a U.S. One Trillion Trees Interagency Council to further the federal government’s contributions to the World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Trees Initiative.
“Planting one trillion trees will have a major benefit to our environment, as well as recreational and educational opportunities for many thousands of children and adults alike,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “EPA has a number of actions underway to help plant, protect and conserve trees, which promote healthy watersheds and improve air quality."
Under this EO, the EPA Administrator will join the Council as a member and will include all Council-related activities within their respective strategic planning processes and provide Council leadership regular progress reports on their agencies’ activities.
Currently, our Nation’s forests uptake over 14% of the United States’ carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually and approximately 180 million people in more than 68,000 communities rely on our Nation’s forested watersheds to capture and filter their drinking water. Through Council coordination, EPA hopes to explore solutions that will help promote tree growing and conservation efforts.
Perdue Statement on President Trump’s Trillion Trees EO
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement following President Trump signing the Executive Order Establishing the One Trillion Trees Interagency Council:
“The Trillion Tree Executive Order signed today by President Trump further demonstrates the Administration’s commitment and leadership in ensuring our national forests are healthy and productive so they can continue to meet the needs of citizens and communities, both now and into the future,” said Secretary Sonny Perdue. “When I was growing up on my family farm, my father always taught me to appreciate that ‘when it comes to the land, we want to leave it better than we found it.’ The President’s Executive Order will do just that – leave it better than we found it and help bolster the 193 million acres of National Forest System lands to promote recreation, enjoyment, and sustainable economic prosperity across broad sectors of the rural economy.”
FBN Launches On-Farm R&D Network for Real-World Biological Trials for Farmers and Manufacturers
Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. (FBN®), the leading direct-to-farm ag tech platform and farmer network, today announced the launch of the FBN Biological On-Farm R&D Network, which connects developers of agricultural biological solutions directly with farmers and full-scale testing environments. This program creates a direct line to commercialization that benefits farmers, manufacturers and the environment.
Biological products look to maximize soil and plant potential, prevent disease, optimize chemical and fertilizer inputs, and drive long-term, sustainable and profitable farming practices.
Until now, the growth of the biologicals industry - which includes biopesticides, biostimulants, and other sustainable solutions - has been slowed by several significant hurdles: an inability to test at scale across multiple production environments, a dearth of robust, clean farm-level data and analytics to refine and prove the efficacy of their products, and a challenge in accessing the agriculture market.
Through its member-based farmer network, FBN will connect biological developers directly with farmers through the FBN Biological R&D Network so that large-scale trials can optimize biological input programs to deliver the best return on investment for the farmer. With the aid of FBN’s data science, participating biological manufacturers will also be able to collect valuable insights on product efficacy and performance by environment.
"We're proud to connect the world's leading biological developers with the most sophisticated farmer base in the world, FBN members," said Amol Deshpande, CEO & Co-Founder of FBN. "The Biological On-Farm R&D Network will create a win-win for farmers and manufacturers: a vast, real-world testing ground for biological developers and tangible, sustainable incentives for our farmer members."
The FBN farmer network contributes anonymous, detailed agronomic data at scale with over 260 million acre-events of real-world farm data aggregated from over 15,000 member farms in the U.S., Canada and Australia. This rapidly-growing network offers biological manufacturers access to an unprecedented – and unmatched – variety of trial opportunities in the U.S.
The FBN Biological On-Farm R&D Network will deliver a path to commercialization by providing biological developers with:
Large-scale testing on working farms across diverse geographies and production environments in the U.S. market, including variable soil types and weather patterns
High-quality, unbiased, real-world data anonymously contributed by FBN member farms, and customized analyses*
Access to the FBN industry-leading e-commerce platform, which directly links manufacturers with farmers
"We're looking forward to providing FBN members, and biological developers, with cutting-edge analysis that identifies the precise agronomic and environmental conditions under which certain products perform well, all based on unbiased, real-world data from realistic production environments," says Matt Meisner, Vice President of R&D, FBN. "This is an unmatched opportunity for companies looking for comprehensive testing and trials on working farms."
The Biological On-Farm R&D Network will connect manufacturers with a large and ever-growing pool of farmers to test, refine, and demonstrate the efficacy of their products. Farmers, meanwhile, will have access and input into the development of the biologicals that deliver the greatest ROI for their businesses and the biggest positive impact on the environment.
"We're looking forward to aligning farmers and biological manufacturers in the fight for a more economically and environmentally sustainable future for everyone," says Deshpande.
After enrollment of participating biologicals manufacturers and FBN members this Fall and winter, the first trials will commence in the Spring of 2021 in the U.S. market.
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