Wednesday October 21 Ag News

Leading Farm and Ranch Employees Virtual Seminar Series to be Held in December

Finding, hiring and retaining quality employees are major challenges for agricultural business in Nebraska. Competition for the available workforce comes from area industries, and the labor market is tight.

Nebraska Extension will host a virtual seminar series in December (Dec. 8, 11, 15 and 18) designed to help agricultural employers learn techniques and leadership practices to help motivate and empower employees.

Dr. Bob Milligan, Senior Consultant with Dairy Strategies LLC and Professor Emeritus from Cornell University, will lead the seminar. Topics will include:
    Identifying the future direction of the operation and its workforce needs;
    Developing position descriptions, performance expectations, and accountability;
    Learning effective recruitment, interviewing, and hiring procedures; and
    Identifying employee training and development needs.

The seminar will be delivered via Zoom from 12:30-2 p.m. CST (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. MST). Participants will need internet access and are encouraged to use a computer with a camera and a microphone to participate. Participants in the seminar should plan to attend each of the four sessions.

Cost is $50 per person. Participation is limited to 50 people. Please register by Dec. 1.

For questions about the seminar or for more information, please contact Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Educator at 308-235-3122 or aberger2@unl.edu.

The Leading Farm and Ranch Employees Seminar Series material is Inspired by Annie’s Project and based upon work supported by USDA-NIFA under Award Number 2020-70017-32735.




ALFLAFA IRRIGATION IN THE FALL
Megan Taylor, NE Extension Educator, Platte Co.

With warm and dry conditions across the state should we be irrigating alfalfa one more time?

With the continued lack of moisture that we have across the state of Nebraska and the warm autumn temperatures, alfalfa stands may benefit from added water. Alfalfa is a drought tolerant crop with a  deep root system, however it does have a relatively high water use requirement. This means that alfalfa can survive between long breaks of irrigation or rainfall events due to its deep root system. However, timely application of water and recharge are critical for success of the stand over time. We need some surface soil moisture to prevent alfalfa roots from drying out and dying over winter, but too much surface moisture, especially in new stands, can stunt the root development of alfalfa. Soil moisture can help to regulate soil temperatures from dropping too low for alfalfa plants to survive and application of water now in heavy textured soils could allow water to move through the profile for spring capture.

During the peak water use period in summer, it is unrealistic attempt to keep up with the water demand of alfalfa with irrigation alone. Relying on water reserves available in the deeper portion of the root and soil profile are valuable to production. Irrigating in October and into November until soils freeze thus can protect plant roots and improve yields by mitigating stress on alfalfa stands). There are two main advantages to late season water application.
-    Low evaporation compared to summer, permitting very high irrigation efficiency.
-    Moving water lower into the profile for spring.

Most irrigated fields of alfalfa never get much water below 4 feet deep, but alfalfa’s powerful taproot can extend 8 feet deep. Allowing for extended water capture capabilities and application of water in fall can help to build a reserve lower in the profile. That water reserve will help to mitigate stress next year while alfalfa is growing rapidly during next summer's heat and allow you to irrigate on a timelier basis. Since many alfalfa soils have low water infiltration rates, irrigating now may provide an advantage to next spring and summer. It is important to note that irrigating in fall will not be silver bullet to recharging dry profiles, but should be used as a way to mitigate stress on alfalfa stands following dry conditions.



Frontier Coop, OOP, Inc. Announce Purchase Agreement

Frontier Cooperative has entered into a purchase agreement with OOP, Inc. (Otte Oil & Propane) of Wahoo, Nebraska. Subject to customary closing conditions, Frontier Coop would acquire OOP Inc.’s Agronomy Business unit, which has locations in Abie, Colon, Wahoo, and Weston. The transaction is expected to be effective mid-October.
 
The purchase agreement does not include or affect the Energy Business of Otte Oil & Propane.
 
“Frontier Coop is excited for this opportunity to expand our service offering and continue upon the strong customer commitment and foundation that was built by the Otte family business,” says Frontier Cooperative CEO Jeremy Wilhelm.
 
Under the agreement, Agronomy employees previously employed by OOP, Inc. Agronomy will be employed by Frontier Cooperative and will continue to focus on providing an excellent customer experience.

“One reason we choose Frontier Coop, is that we believe Frontier will carry on our family’s legacy of providing high-quality service to the producers in the area,” says Steve Otte, owner OOP, Inc.

The company will operate as Frontier Cooperative, with the home office in Lincoln, Nebr. Frontier Coop will then operate approximately 60 grain, agronomy, energy and feed locations across 14 counties in eastern Nebraska.



NEW Cooperative Announces 2020 Patronage Rates

In today’s ag economy, NEW Cooperative believes it is important to get money back into our members hands.  NEW Cooperative also believes deferred equity belongs to the members currently using NEW Cooperative as evident by no members equity being more the 7 years old.

For the recent year-end, NEW Cooperative is paying 50% cash on the 2020 patronage allocation totalling 9 million dollars, as well as revolving 2014 local deferred equity of 5.6 million dollars and 2013 regional deferred equity of 4.4 million dollars for total cash payout of over 19 million dollars.

2020 patronage rates are 10 cents per bushel on grain purchases and 6 percent on agronomy sales and service.  NEW Cooperative members earn patronage refunds of 35 dollars per acre on corn acres and 15 dollars per acre on soybean acres.

For full details on 2020 Patronage Rate follow link... https://www.newcoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-Patronage-Rates.pdf.



Cattle Producers Recognized for Outstanding Environmental Stewardship

In a special edition of NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen, seven of the nation’s top cattle operations were honored for implementing practices that make them true stewards of land, air and water resources. Each of these farms and ranches exemplify the commitment of all producers to protect the resources in their care and improve their operations for future generations of cattlemen and women.

REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS:
Region I – SK Herefords – New York
Region II – Southern Cross Farms – Mississippi
Region III – Euken-Myers Family – Iowa
Region IV – Double C Cattle Company – Oklahoma
Region V – Beatty Canyon Ranch – Colorado
Region VI – Boies Ranch – Nevada
Region VII – Johnson Farms – South Dakota

“Cattle producers are the original stewards of the land. For generations, cattlemen and cattlewomen have shared a commitment to improving their operations with an understanding that better management techniques improve the productivity of our farms and ranches. Those improvements allow us to produce high-quality beef while also giving back to our communities in the form of beautiful open spaces, wildlife habitat and of course, a high-quality beef product,” said NCBA President Marty Smith. “These seven operations provide an excellent demonstration that agricultural stewardship can improve habitat and the environment everywhere across the nation.”

Established in 1991, by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to recognize outstanding land stewards in the cattle industry, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) is generously sponsored by Corteva Agriscience; McDonald’s; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

The operators of these seven cattle farms and ranches were awarded regional environmental stewardship awards and each will advance to be considered for the 2021 National Environmental Stewardship Award, to be announced in 2021.



NFU Welcomes Fourteen Participants to its Beginning Farmer Institute

As part of its ongoing efforts to support the next generation of American agriculture, National Farmers Union (NFU) today announced that fourteen participants had been selected for its tenth Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI) cohort. Over the course of ten months, these beginning farmers and ranchers will attend three sessions focused on technical training, mentorship, and leadership development.

NFU established BFI in 2011 to help address concerns about the rapidly aging farm population – a trend that has since only worsened. According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, farmers older than 65 outnumber those younger than 35 by more than six to one, raising serious questions about who will be operating America’s farms in the coming decades. “As the oldest generation of farmers retires, we’re going to see a significant amount of farmland change hands,” said NFU President Rob Larew. “Our goal with BFI is ensuring that there are plenty of young farmers who are ready to take the reins when that happens.”

This scarcity of young and beginning farmers is not due to a lack of interest – rather, it is due to immense barriers to entry, including the difficulty of land acquisition, high upfront costs, and a shortage of educational opportunities. Ongoing crises, including the covid-19 pandemic and climate change, have only added to these challenges, making programs like BFI even more crucial.

“Getting started in agriculture right now can be really overwhelming – there’s a great deal of uncertainty and beginning farmers might not know where to get all the information they need,” Larew noted. During the program’s hands-on training sessions, participants will gain practical skills to overcome any hurdles they may face during their careers, including business planning, accounting, insurance, and labor management. The program will employ the Farm and Ranch Business Health Assessment, a tool used to help farmers set goals for strengthening their business. “By concentrating on the issues that are most relevant to today’s farmers,” Larew added, “BFI prepares new farmers to get their operations off the ground and run them successfully for years to come”

In addition to an aging population, agriculture has another demographic challenge: gender imbalance. Though it has improved gradually over time, women and nonbinary farmers continue to be underrepresented and underserved: in 2017, only 36 percent of producers identified as female. An early supporter of women’s suffrage, National Farmers Union has been working to overcome this gender disparity for the duration of its 118-year existence through its educational programming and policy priorities. BFI has been a key part of those endeavors, with women accounting for more than 61 percent of the program’s 129 graduates.

Though historically participants have met in-person for classroom and on-farm instruction, NFU anticipates hosting some or all of this year’s sessions virtually to ensure the health of both instructors and students.

The farmers selected to participate in the 2020-2021 Beginning Farmers Institute are:

Beth Hoffman, Iowa
Tyler Lane, Iowa
Annette Allan, Utah
Britney Barnett, North Dakota
Cynthia Ryan, Alabama
Dana Atkins, Ohio
Iythiyel Zurishaddai, Michigan
Jerilyn Copenhaver, Montana
Kathleen Alves, Washington
Katie Tritsch, Texas
Kirby Hancock, Montana
Maggie Shane, Montana
Marty Henderson, Indiana
Troy Allan, Utah

NFU Foundation has continued to grow BFI through the generous support of CHS Foundation, Farm Credit, and Farmers Union Industries Foundation.



E15 Testing to Start in California

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), along with state corn organizations, ethanol partners and the auto industry, are working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to conduct vehicle testing at the University of California at Riverside (UCR). E15 in the California market is important to growing ethanol demand. CARB is a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is the state’s clean air agency.

The testing will demonstrate the environmental benefits and compatibility of E15 in selected makes and models of vehicles. This process will help pave the way for sales of E15 and higher blends of ethanol in California.

“With the scope of research agreed upon and contracts signed, E15 testing in California can move forward,” said JR Roesner, Indiana farmer and Ethanol Action Team (ETHAT) member. “If we can achieve E15 as the base fuel in California, based on estimated total gasoline usage in the state in 2015, the potential market opportunity would be roughly 750 million gallons of ethanol or 260 million bushels of corn.”

Tests will be conducted on 20 late-model vehicles to measure tailpipe and evaporative emissions. Testing a broad sample of makes, models, and technology levels with both E10 and E15 blends will provide CARB with the necessary information to permit the sale of E15 in California.

“Motor gasoline volatility is varied throughout the year to ensure good cold-start and drivability while also controlling evaporative emissions,” said Brian West, NCGA contributor and former Group Leader for the Fuels and Engines Research Group at the National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “Summer fuel is used in certification tests, and we wanted to use retail fuel for this program.  If the refiners had begun the changeover to fall/winter gasolines, we would have been significantly delayed either waiting for 2021 summer fuel or having to source a specialty fuel, which is very expensive and also has very long lead times.”

NCGA and state partners, Growth Energy, Renewable Fuels Association, CARB, and the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) are partnering on the study.



Weekly Ethanol Production for 10/16/2020

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending October 16, ethanol production scaled back by 2.6%, or 25,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 913,000 b/d—equivalent to 38.35 million gallons daily. The four-week average ethanol production rate ticked up 0.1% to 913,000 b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 14.00 billion gallons (bg).

Ethanol stocks declined 1.4% to 19.7 million barrels, which was 7.7% below year-ago volumes. Inventories drew down across all regions.

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, shifted 3.3% lower to 8.29 million b/d (127.07 bg annualized). Gasoline demand was 13.6% less than a year ago.

Refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol pared back by 3.0% to 838,000 b/d, equivalent to 12.85 bg annualized. This was 9.7% below the year-earlier level as a result of the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were zero imports of ethanol recorded after 25,000 b/d hit the books the prior week. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of August 2020.)



Most Fertilizer Prices Lower Second Week of October 2020

Average retail fertilizer prices continued to be mixed the second week of October 2020, according to retailers surveyed by DTN. For the sixth week in a row, prices for five of the eight major fertilizers were lower, while prices for the remaining three nutrients were higher.

The difference this week was prices for two of the three fertilizers that were higher were up by a significant amount, which DTN designates as 5% or more. MAP was 6% more expensive compared to last month with an average price of $473 per ton, while DAP was up 5% from the prior month with an average price of $455 per ton.  The remaining fertilizer that was higher in price was up just slightly from last month. 10-34-0 had an average price of $457 per ton.

Also different this week was that the price of one fertilizer was down a considerable amount. UAN28 was down 5% from last month with an average price of $209 per ton.  The remaining four fertilizers were slightly lower in price from last month. Potash had an average price of $332/ton, urea $359/ton, anhydrous $424/ton and UAN32 $249/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.39/lb.N, anhydrous $0.26/lb.N, UAN28 $0.37/lb.N and UAN32 $0.39/lb.N.

Retail fertilizer prices continue to be mostly lower in price from a year ago, but there is one exception. MAP is less than 1% higher compared to last year with its recent higher prices.  DAP is 2% lower, 10-34-0 is 3% less expensive, urea is 11% lower, potash 13% less expensive, UAN32 14% lower and both anhydrous and UAN28 are 17% less expensive from last year at this time.



FARM Program to Host Quick Convo Informational Sessions

The National Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program will host a series of online informational sessions beginning Nov. 4. The "Quick Convos" will feature FARM staff and industry stakeholders discussing program components, expectations, and available resources.

"These conversations will be an opportunity for farmers to really engage," said Emily Yeiser Stepp, vice president for the FARM Program at the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), which administers FARM. "Our staff can answer whatever questions the participants might have about program standards and expectations."

Each 30-minute, live-streamed segment will be hosted on Zoom and streamed via Facebook. Recordings of the conversations and supplementary material will be available on the FARM Quick Convos webpage after each session.

The initial sessions will cover FARM Program pillars and basics.

To register for the Quick Convos, please visit the FARM Quick Convos webpage and follow the Register link by each session. For more information or for help with registration, please email dairyfarm@nmpf.org.

Additional Quick Convo sessions beginning in February will delve into industry-specific topic areas like disbudding, the role of the veterinarian within the FARM program, and additional dairy hot topics.



University researchers offer weed management advice on preparing for 2021 growing season
 
As the 2020 corn-growing season draws to a close, Syngenta engaged university agricultural researchers from across the U.S. to analyze the agronomic challenges farmers encountered this season and offer tips on how they can best control weeds and preserve yields heading into 2021. Although weed pressures vary by geography, weed management fundamentals remain consistent throughout the U.S.

Researchers agree that the time to set a weed management strategy for 2021 is now. "The end of the season is the time to take inventory of whatever you did, how well it worked and then consider how you might improve on that for next year,” said Wayne Keeling, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at Lubbock.

Across the board, the researchers emphasized early-season weed control as the path to maximizing yield potential. “For corn, early-season weed control is especially important because key elements of yield potential are determined early in the growing season,” said Sarah Lancaster, Ph.D., assistant professor and extension specialist at Kansas State University. “Any limitations created by weeds during that time will limit the yield potential of the crop.”

Researchers underscored the significance of weed control during this early-season timing. “Control is mostly emphasized on weeds that germinate before or shortly after corn emergence, because controlling those weeds plays a large role in preserving yield potential within that crop,” said Erin Burns, Ph.D., assistant professor and extension weed scientist at Michigan State University.

This crucial control period is defined as the vegetative stages between V3 and V12. “If you let weeds stay in the field past the V2 stage of corn growth, you start to see 10% to 20% yield reductions,” said Bill Johnson, Ph.D., professor of weed science at Purdue University. “If you leave them out there until the corn is knee- to waist-high, you can start seeing 20% to 50% yield reductions.”  

In addition to the physical competition for resources, several experts mentioned the physiology of weed presence in the field. “We discovered that plants can actually detect their neighbors. They know who's around them, and they respond,” said Clarence Swanton, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the University of Guelph, Canada. “Even without touching the plant, a weed can reduce that plant’s capability to photosynthesize. The plant has to expend energy to heal itself after it experiences the presence of a weed, and that's part of why the yield potential changes so dramatically. What you and I as humans experience under stress, a plant does, too.”

Aaron Hager, Ph.D., associate professor of extension weed science at the University of Illinois, agreed. “We call them weeds, but they're plants,” he said. “They have a lot of the same requirements that the crop has — moisture, nutrients, sunlight — and the resources that the weeds use up become resources that the crop does not have access to.”

Syngenta consulted with these leading university researchers to highlight ways troublesome weeds impact yield potential. “We want to provide our growers with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively manage their top weed pressures so they can maximize their yield potential next season and for many seasons to come,” said Steve Gomme, herbicide product marketing lead for Syngenta. “And we have a robust portfolio of premixes, like Acuron® corn herbicide, that enable us to offer weed management solutions for every acre.”

Acuron contains four active ingredients, including the Syngenta-exclusive bicyclopyrone, and three effective sites of action.

“This combination delivers long-lasting residual weed control with built-in resistance management,” said Gomme. “Because of its powerful weed control, longest-lasting residual and proven crop safety, Acuron outyields all other corn herbicides by 5 to 15 more bushels an acre when used preemergence at full labeled rates.*”

Bicyclopyrone allows Acuron to provide greater consistency across various weed spectrums, weather conditions and soil types. This unique chemistry enhances control of more than 70 broadleaf and grass weeds. It also provides built-in burndown control and the longest-lasting residual to minimize the weed seed bank for the next year’s crop.

“The bottom line is less weed competition means more nutrients, sunlight and water are available for the growing corn crop,” said Gomme. “This leads to stronger, healthier plants that produce more bushels and, ultimately, more revenue potential at harvest.”



NGFA testifies on state of the rail network at Senate hearing       

National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) President and CEO Randy Gordon offered suggestions for improving the rail regulatory framework to address limited rail-to-rail competition in testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Oct. 21.

NGFA thanked Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., for examining the current state of the rail network, including impacts of COVID-19 and legislative considerations for surface transportation reauthorization.

In his testimony, Gordon commended the actions of the rail industry in continuing to provide service and communicating with its agricultural customers during the pandemic. “Our member companies generally have been pleased with both aspects – service and communications – from their rail carriers during this period,” Gordon said.

However, Gordon said two major issues that existed before the pandemic continue to contribute to what many NGFA-member companies consider to be a “tipping point” concerning the extent to which rail service is reliable and cost-effective for agriculture. He specifically cited the lack of rail-to-rail competition, with Class I railroad duopolies now operating in the East and West that haul 80 percent of grain and oilseed traffic, with many grain facilities captive to a single carrier; and railroads’ adoption of an operating model in which carriers drive their operating ratios to potentially unsustainably low levels to reward shareholders at the expense of customers.  

“In looking to the near-term future this fall and winter, there is nervous apprehension within our industry about whether railroads will be able to keep pace with what we all hope will be a very robust demand for rail service given strong grain and soybean sales and a rebounding economy, complicated by the vagaries of winter weather,” Gordon said. But a longer-term concern, he said, is “the potential effect on service of the implementation of the so-called ‘precision scheduled railroad’ (PSR) operating model by six of the seven Class I carriers.”

The adoption of the PSR operating model “has resulted in increasingly arbitrary, abrupt and disruptive changes to operating plans, service schedules and the type of rail service offered,” Gordon said. “Further, by reducing crews and customer service personnel, and idling locomotives – both more quickly and sharply than before – PSR has raised questions about whether railroads have enough surge capacity to respond quickly to increased demand for service,” he said.

NGFA commended the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for “being extremely active and making considerable strides under Chairman Ann Begeman’s leadership” in implementing the STB Reauthorization Act of 2015 and attempting to create a more workable regulatory framework within the agency for addressing and resolving disputes between railroads and their customers.

NGFA offered two specific policy matters for the committee to explore with the STB with respect to its future rail regulatory framework:

•    Clarify Common-Carrier Obligation of Railroads: NGFA said there is a pressing need to clarify what the railroads’ common-carrier service obligation means in the 21st century, which is characterized by reduced rail competition and PSR-related operational changes that raise questions about whether carriers are indeed providing “transportation service upon reasonable request.” The rail common carrier obligation – required under federal law – has never been defined by Congress, the STB or its predecessor, the Interstate Commerce Commission, NGFA noted.

•    Reprioritizing the Importance of Rail-to-Rail Competition in U.S. Rail Transportation Policy: NGFA also said Congress should consider giving a higher priority to the importance of rail-to-rail competition within the Staggers Rail Act’s Rail Transportation Policy. Forty years after enactment of the Staggers Act, NGFA said believes it is important “to enshrine the importance of promoting rail-to-rail competition as part of the Rail Transportation Policy to encourage competitive switching and other pro-competitive policies.”  

Finally, NGFA recognized the reluctance of most rail customers to formally challenge the behavior of their rail carriers at the STB, a court or in private-sector arbitration, even when justified, because they have no alternative competitive transportation mode, want to maintain a good working relationship with their carrier, and have a fear of potential retaliation from the railroad.

“This again underscores the need for more competition as part of an effectively functioning regulatory framework,” Gordon said.



Bioenergy Day 2020 Showcases Biomass, Biofuel Benefits

Today marks the Eighth Annual Bioenergy Day, an occasion in which more than 40 organizations all over the United States and Canada – businesses, nonprofits, universities, and state and local governments – are showcasing the many ways they benefit from bioenergy.

Biomass is a sustainable substitute for fossil fuel-intensive products and can play a key role in maintaining forest health, controlling soil erosion and improving water quality. Using sustainable production systems, our nation’s grasslands and forests are a natural and strategic resource that can help America achieve and enhance U.S. energy security, economic opportunity, environmental quality and global competitiveness.

Bioenergy Day recognizes the importance of using domestic biomass for a wide variety of applications: renewable energy, heating and cooling, and biobased products, to improve health, mitigate climate change, and create jobs in rural America.

Bioenergy produces a significant percentage of the nation's total energy and supplies full-time jobs for tens of thousands of Americans. It is clean, renewable energy that can be generated from biomass of low value, which would often otherwise be discarded. Bioenergy in the form of biogas creates new markets for cover crops, which incentivizes sustainable land management, while supporting vibrant rural economies.

Restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will be curtailing what has traditionally been extensive interaction between bioenergy projects and their local communities on Bioenergy Day. But sponsors like the Biomass Power Association and others will find a variety of ways to virtually raise awareness of the economic and environmental benefits offered by bioenergy.

"Bioenergy" is the use of any organic material, including forest thinnings, crop residues and agricultural waste, to generate heating, cooling and/or electricity. The category also includes biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. As bioenergy, they all play a key role in a pillar of climate smart agriculture, as its use reduces greenhouse gas emissions relative to equivalent fossil fuels.

Many independent power producers across the United States and Canada produce electricity for the grid using bioenergy. Hospitals, college campuses, school districts and government buildings also use bioenergy for heat and electricity. Thousands of American homes and businesses have installed stoves and other appliances powered by wood pellets, reducing their heating costs. Working farms and other businesses with organic waste products recycle their "leftovers" to power or heat their facilities and produce high value, low carbon renewable natural gas.

In addition to serving as a domestic energy source, bioenergy is responsible for sustaining tens of thousands of jobs, many of them in rural communities where they are most needed.

It's important to remember that bioenergy's many stakeholders work closely together to keep American farms and forests healthy and put organic byproducts like forest trimmings, industry byproducts and agricultural residuals to good use.

A prominent example of stakeholder initiative is a project being undertaken in Iowa where a Climate Smart Ag Work Group is pursuing the integration of cover crops and renewable energy. The project calls for harvested cover crops to be used to enhance the effective functioning of anaerobic digesters on hog and beef farms in producing renewable natural gas. The effort is a great example of asymmetrical thinking and uncommon collaboration – combining an effort to better retain soil carbon while providing feedstock for biogas production. And it exemplifies the kind of thinking necessary in a post-COVID economic recovery.

Biomass is an incredibly versatile domestic energy resource that can contribute to a more secure, sustainable and economically-sound future. Not only can biomass be converted into transportation fuels and power for the electrical grid, but it can also be used to produce valuable chemicals for manufacturing.

A collaborative in-depth analysis by the DOE determined that the United States has the capacity to sustainably produce more than 1 billion tons of biomass annually—and still meet demands for food, feed, and fiber.

SfL commends the bioenergy sector, which has deservedly been recognized by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) its generation of large, sustained climate change mitigation benefits.